Short version here is that when I took the bandages off yesterday afternoon, my arm was smaller. It works, and now I have measurable evidence. Here are the results:
Before/ After
18 and 18 (wrist, 17.5 by the therapist on 7/14)
25 and 23.
29 and 30 (this is the only one that went up, no idea why)
36 and 34
40 and 39
45 and 42.5 (41 by the therapist on 7/14)
So it is not as small at the wrist and upper arm as it was on the day I left therapy, but it's better than the day before the bandaging. I did the machine last night and felt good during and after the treatment.
I enjoyed my day yesterday. I went to the cancer support group, which I always enjoy. It is a wonderful group of people. Then Mark and I went to the Upper Crust, our Solivita pizza restaurant. We had custom-made salads and one slice of cheese pizza each. I also took the time to wander through the Solivita library, which is next door to the Upper Crust. It's a volunteer/honor system library of books donated by residents. I wrote down the name and phone number of the woman in charge because I have three or four boxes of nice books I brought down here just to donate. I took out a James Patterson paperback and a Gregory MacGuire book, Mirror, Mirror, the "story" of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, somehow mixed up with Lucrezia Borgia. I have read about 30 pages so far, and it's getting off to a great start! MacGuire wrote Wicked, which I loved. I recently found out from Emily S. that he wrote two other Oz books since then and a fourth is on its way soon.
After I got my books, I drove Mark to the Palms so he could do his weight-lifting. I have done weights with my arm in a bandage, but I really don't like it. This time I sat in the beautiful lobby reading my new MacGuire book instead. The pool was our next stop! The weather was kind to us, with just a little thunder and some light rain for a few minutes. It did not stop us from having a good time in the pool. In fact, I swam for 33 minutes straight and was feeling pretty good about that. I took the bandages off and had Mark do my measurements just before we got in the pool. When we got tired of swimming, we read our books and then went to the bar for a nice Jameson's Irish whiskey on the rocks. At 6:30 we met some new friends for dinner at Lakeside and had our usual glass of wine and pan-seared grouper dinner. This time we invited Randy and Joan back to see our house. They also live in Solivita, so it wasn't far from their house. We had a lovely time showing off the house and just schmoozing in the living room until after 10 p.m. Wow! Life is normal and life is good.
This morning, before I sat down to write this blog, I finished my jigsaw puzzle. It's "View of Oyster Bay," a replica of a Tiffany stained glass window. I bought the puzzle in the Morse museum gift shop in Winter Park after visiting the Tiffany exhibits there. Now I'm excited to start another puzzle. Oyster Bay was just 500 pieces, so it was relatively easy. I have two 1,000 piece puzzles in the house that were gifts over the years. I got one out and I'm about to break it open some time today. I think it will take me FOREVER to do it, but then does time really matter for something like that? I don't think so. I feel relaxed and happy sitting at the table on the lanai every morning and sometimes in the evening, sipping coffee, enjoying the views out of the lanai, and looking for a few pieces.
PS I'm not sure what to do with the puzzle now. I guess I will take it apart and put it back in the box. If anyone reading this blog is interested in having it, I would be more than happy to ship it to you.
The puzzle you finished is beautiful. I am glad that your arm is smaller after bandaging. I have seen some women with unsuccessfully treated severe arm lymphedema and it really seems to impair functionality. I am so glad that your treatment plan for your lymphedema is working.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever framed any of the puzzles you put together after adhering them with the puzzle glue. I never had. I have seen it in the stores at different times and have always wondered how it works.
I hope that you have a good day today.
I did a cute puzzle of a bunch of cats wearing red hats. It was so adorable I just couldn't bring myself to take it apart, so I glued it together with the special puzzle glue. I didn't do a great job of it, but it did work. Then I gave it to a friend who likes cats. I should have put it in a frame first because it started to come apart when I delivered it, but framing is pricey. I am now considering glueing and framing this one and hanging it in my TV room. No one has offered to have me ship it to them and I really hate tearing it back up. LOL
ReplyDeleteAs for the arm, yeah, I'd really like to keep this in control even though it's super annoying. I've spoken to two women this summer with it out of control. Both had said they didn't feel like dealing with it and both had arms considerably bigger than the other arm. One lady seemed not to use the affected arm at all. It just sort of dangled uselessly. I cannot afford to be like that. I want to use that arm!