Happy Independence Day!

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. I'm not even sure that people are still reading this. This will be the last post for now.

If there are any noteworthy changes in Ted's health, I'll update the blog, and email you that we're posting again.

Happy Independence Day!

Today has extra special meaning for us, because we're celebrating the gradual return of Ted's independence. Today, Ted reached the goal of walking our entire circle in our neighborhood (about a half mile)!!!!!! He reports that although it was hot, this walk hurt LESS than before his surgeries! The pain is almost gone.

We celebrate every little milestone that Ted reaches. They are many. There are good days and bad days, but we're beginning to put this whole ordeal behind us and move forward. Part of doing that is not thinking constantly about Ted's health and worrying if the cancer will return. My mother gave me the best advice about that, "Don't even GO there!" So, we're not.

Our day to day life is pretty much back to "normal." We've settled into our summer routines, Ted is back to work, and I'm keeping busy around the house and working in the yard. We're both reading lots of books, and have taken some "outings." We went out to dinner 3 times in the past week!

Ted is doing his therapy exercises, and begins outpatient Physical therapy on Monday- where he'll start to use some weights and some equipment. He still uses his cane, but can get around really well with it.

There was a quote from a book I read this week, that has stuck with me. It was used in a completely unrelated context, but it went something like this: "God doesn't always give you what you want, but He will give you what you need."

As we have said over and over throughout this whole ordeal, we are blessed in so many ways. We were blessed with a good, very experienced Dr. who diagnosed Ted's problem, and treated him. We really are confident in the Dr. and his treatment. We were blessed with very good health insurance that helped Ted to get the best care possible.

We are blessed with great friends, family, co-workers and neighbors, who have given us overwhelming support, kind words, well wishes, prayers, surprises, and understanding. This is what helped us the most. Ted and I are deeply touched by all the support. He has enjoyed all of the little "surprises" he has received.

We are also very fortunate with the "timing" of the surgery in that I have the summer off, and have nothing to do but help Ted get better.

We are thankful for Ted's job and that he works from home. He was able to return to work 2 weeks after his surgery. He doesn't have to worry about driving, and getting around. It allowed him to be able to sit with his leg up on ice during conference calls. It allows the flexibility to take a break during the day for therapy. His friend Steve has been a HUGE help with work.

We are thankful for Crystal, who dropped everything and stayed at our house during Ted's hospital stay- holding down the fort is not easy with 4 cats and a dopey dog.

We are thankful for my mother, who then swooped in and helped us figure out how to move on, and who got us into a daily routine, when it was all we could do to get out of bed each morning. My mother would tell me, "It's clean up time," and "It's quiet time," and "Time to work in the yard!"

We are thankful for the AWESOME physical therapists that have worked with Ted so far. He is very pleased with his therapists and has taken an active role, doing his exercises, asking questions, challenging himself, setting goals, and meeting them.

So, although we didn't get what we wanted (The news that Ted's tumor was benign), we got what we needed, and we'll continue to count our blessings as we look ahead.

Tuesday

Just a quick update: Ted is doing great! He reports that his pain is better, and he slept better last night without all the bandages! He worked until early afternoon and then crashed and took a 3 hour nap. He worked a little more, we had dinner, and now we are watching, "I am Legend." He begins outpatient physical therapy on Monday afternoon.

Funny comments you guys! Crystal and Suzanne, thanks for sticking with us! For the record, we LOVED all those Disney channel shows. I'll never admit it to anyone, but the Disney channel is one that I find myself stopping on more and more while channel surfing.

Crystal- more numbers for you:

Number of leftover uncrustables Holly ate: 3
Number of days it took to do it: 1 ;)
Number of days since you left: 9 :(
Number of days we've been missing you: 9

Numbers

Ted's follow-up appointment went well today. He's healing nicely and they took the bandages and staples off. They are pleased with how well he's doing. Ted walked into the Dr.'s office from the parking lot with his walker, walked to radiology for an x-ray, walked back to the waiting room, and then back out to the car without much difficulty.

The X-rays were neat. Ted is going to try to get copies. There's lots of metal in there! Ted panicked a bit when the bandages came off and he saw what the knee looks like. The incision is long, and there were many, many staples. Finally seeing what was underneath the bandages was overwhelming for both of us! The nurse who took out the staples worked quickly, and Ted was a good sport. I was hiding in a corner, trying not to look, and popping xanax.

Over the past few days, the reality of all we've been though is finally hitting me. There are bunches of numbers running through my head.... you might find some of them interesting...



Incidence of Chondrosarcoma: 8 in 1 million
Incidence of clear-cell chondrosarcoma: 2% of all chondrosarcomas

Days since Ted's surgery: 13
Amount of femur they took out: 16 centimeters

First hospital bill (so far): $127, 791.00 !!!!!!!
That does not include the surgeon, anesthesiologist, etc.

Difference in the cost of a priate hospital room vs. a semi-private room per night: $27
Amount we SHOULD be responsible for: $100 (THANK GOD for good insurance!)

Number of physical therapy sessions (so far): 10 (5 at home, 5 in the hospital)
Ted's current range of motion: 6 degrees (almost straight) to 93 degrees (bent)

Number of staples removed today: 45
Length of Ted's incision scar: 12 inches

Number of round trips to Tampa in the past 14 days: 8
Number of $80 tanks of gas put into in our SUV in 2 weeks: 5

Number of nights our guest room has been used so far this month: 13

Number of times my mother dragged me to Beall's this week: 3 :)

Where do we go from here?

It's Holly. Ted says he doesn't know what to type, so is leaving most of the blogging up to me.
Dropped my mom off at the airport this morning. We're on our own now, for a while.

Now, we have to begin picking up the pieces and piecing our life back together. Things have been so upside down and inside out since the beginning of April. It's hard to know where to start.

The house is super-quiet. Ted is zonked out on the bed, and Jack is snoring in his own bed.

The thunder is booming out the window. It's been raining a lot lately. My mom is known as the "rain goddess," but it's still raining and she's in the air somewhere over Virginia, speeding back to NH, so I can't blame her.

On Thursday, the weather got so bad, that a gust of wind blew our new grill clear across the patio, where it hit a planter, and fell over. Ted was on one side of the house, yelling to me, "The grill! Holly the grill!" Mom was on the other side of the house, looking out the window, yelling, "Oh my god, the grill! The grill!" I was somewhere in the middle, and couldn't see what was going on. Ted started running out of the bedroom, and realized he forgot his walker. He was crazy enough to think he was going out in that awful storm to pick the grill up. I haven't seen him move that fast in a long time! Ted and the grill survived, unscratched and without any dents.

Ted's follow-up appointment with the surgeon is tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. We hope that Ted's bandages will come off, and that the staples will come out. The poor guy hasn't had a shower in 2 weeks! The bandage has slipped a little, and we got a peek at what's underneath. He probably has more than 50 staples. They go more than halfway up his thigh, and we think they go down to his upper-calf. Overall, the incision is probably 18 inches or longer. Ted is hoping they'll take an x-ray and that he can get a peek at the hardware they put in. The knee they used is called the "stryker"

Last night Ted cooked dinner. He made a wonderful roasted chicken stuffed with fresh rosemary from our garden. It boosted his mood and his confidence that he got back into the kitchen to do what he loves to do.

Ted is finally able to do his leg lifts without assistance! He's very happy about that. Less than a week ago, he'd lay on the bed to do his exercises, and his face would be scrunched up in concentration, willing his leg to lift off the bed. He would get SO frustrated when he couldn't do it. Now, he can do 10 without breaking a sweat!

So, slowly now, we'll begin to pick up the pieces. Slowly we'll get back to our old routines, our old ways of doing things. Things will begin to get back to normal.

We're very happy that Ted is progressing so well! It has a lot to do with his willpower, and also, I think, all the support we've had from everyone. Ted and I have set many goals and worked as a team to get things done, but we were smart enough to realize this time, that this is a battle we can't fight alone. To know that there are so many people out there routing for Ted, and sending well wishes and prayers has helped Ted be strong and given him the will to get out of bed each day.

As things get back to normal, one thing is drastically different. We will make sure to enjoy each and every day, celebrate the little successes, and make it a point to spend more time with our friends and family members.

And every day, I'll hope and pray that the big bad monster we call the fu@%ker is gone for good.

Holly made me do it.

Hello everyone it is Ted. It has been 11 days since my surgery. I feel a lot better now, in fact better every day. My physical therapy is going well and I honestly see improvements each day.
I still have some pain and the bandages and wrap on my knee and leg are a huge pain. I think half of my discomfort is from the bandages. Hopefully they will come off Monday when I have my follow-up appointment.

I am still pretty tired. I do not sleep very well at night because of not being able to get comfortable, but I have plenty of naps.

That is about it. I am not much for writing and I am making dinner tonight. Thank you everyone for the well wishes and all of the nice words.

Getting Stronger and Faster

Just a quick blog this morning, in case anyone is still reading this.

Ted continues to get a little bit stronger and a little bit faster each day. He looks fantastic, has nice color in his face, and his eyes don't have that exhausted look they've had for the past couple of months. I'll try to get him to let me take a picture.

Ted is religiously doing his PT exercises 3 times a day, and is working hard to stretch and get his range of motion back. The bandages are beginning to pull, slide, and bother him. He's itchy, too. But he's taking it easy and doing things slowly. He's getting around pretty fast with his walker, and putting most of his weight on his new knee. I don't forsee him using the walker for much longer- maybe only for pulling up from a sitting position.

Today we need to talk about whether or not Ted is ready to return to work next week. Monday, he has PT and a Dr. appointment, but after that, we're not sure. Ted is ready mentally to get back to work, but physically, he can't sit in that position for very long.... he might be able to do some stuff from the recliner with his laptop. So, today we're going to brainstorm and figure out a plan for next week.

My mom is here! It's amazing how mothers (at least mine) have the ability to swoop in and make everything feel all better. She came with a suitcase full of surprises for Ted and me. She also brought pictures and video of Tony's wedding. We were able to see some of the special moments of the wedding. We both feel better about not being there. I'm starting to relax and feel like myself again, I think Ted is, too. He's been in a much better mood.

Off to get the house clean. Then my mom and I are going shopping! Ted loves it when we leave, because he gets to have some peace and quiet.

Ted promises to do the next post.

Getting Better Every Day

Another week has begun and Ted and I were so excited to sleep in this morning. Usually Mondays are so hectic around here. We're finally at the point where we can relax a little bit.

Ted is still very tired, and has been sleeping a lot the past couple of days. It's great for me though, because I've been joining him on the couch. We have been SO LAZY!

My mom is flying in tomorrow. She is exhausted from the wedding, and probably still hungover, from what I hear. She'll be joining us for afternoon naps, I'm sure.

Ted seems to be in less pain. Each day, he's getting around a little better, and putting a little bit more weight on his knee.

He spoke with the Dr. today about how hard he can push himself. The discharge paperwork we were given said to use the CPM only at 60 degrees (bending his knee) and the PT was unsure that he should push himself beyond that if there was a reason- but that Ted is already bending his knee on his own at almost 80 degrees, so he didn't think 60 degrees on the CPM machine was doing too much to help. The Dr. told Ted to go as far as he can and bend to what he can tolerate as quickly as he can tolerate it.

So, there's not much to report today. I guess that's a good thing. We've had a couple of relaxing, very uneventful days, which is just what we both needed.

I'll end with a couple of pictures my Dad emailed me from Tony's wedding. Tony and his friends know how to have a party, and my family apparently kept right up with them. It sounds like it was one of those weddings where everyone drinks way too much, but has so much fun they talk about it for weeks. Glad it was a smashing success!

Did we expect anything less???? Tony and Krissie at their best:

Here's a cute one of Tony and Dad. I'm not used to seeing either one without their hats. Looks like they couldn't keep Tony's hat off for very long!

Here's the happy couple with my Mom and Dad. Mom looks about 12 years old in that picture!