An Update
I went to Portland last week for a work trip and extended my stay over the weekend, to ride my bike around the city, explore, and just hang out. Every other time I've gone to the River City, my time has been fully booked, so I was looking forward to this opportunity to have a free weekend with no obligations.
I booked a cute AirBNB in SE near Hawthorne (seriously, so cute, if you're looking for a getaway, I highly recommend this one) and was off for a weekend of solo time. The guest book at the trailer had a quote on the cover that struck me and is the theme for this post:
"Funny thing about joy is that you only really find it when you are too busy having fun to go looking for it."
It's crazy how true that is, and I think a really good reason why I haven't updated this page in so long. After my cancer scare late last year, I've been busy living life. That's not to say I haven't reflected on it, or been joyful for it, or planned to write about my adventures, it's just been pushed to the backburner while I've been out living it.
So a quick update on what's been going on:
-Cancer is gone. They did a quick in-office procedure on February 4th to cut out part of my cervix. Thankfully the affected cells hadn't spread beyond where they treated, so now I'll just need to go get a pap smear every 4-6 months for the foreseeable future.
-I traveled to Hong Kong. I hope to eventually write a longer post with photos about the trip.
-Camping season 2017 has started. We had 2 sunny-ish days in a row a few weeks ago so I took advantage of it and went for a quick S24O to Bainbridge Island. Cold but fun. Can't wait to do more of it.
-I'm going to Stockholm in June for a work conference. Hopefully going to extend my stay to get to Helsinki and Tallin, Estonia. I'm really loving my job and the opportunities it's providing.
-My dad is in a really bad place health-wise. I'm realizing how precious this one life is and trying to navigate what it means to be an adult child.
EPITHELIAL CELL ABNORMALITY, SQUAMOUS
EPITHELIAL CELL ABNORMALITY, SQUAMOUS.
High grade squamous intraepithelial lesion.
Uhhh, ok doctor. Thanks for releasing my pap smear results to me, but what the hell does that mean?
More tests.
Ok. Cool. I can handle more tests. People get abnormal pap smear results all the time. (I'm a little worried at this point, but not too much.)
Schedule the follow-up tests for the next week. Doctor says it should be no big deal, 5 minute procedure, maybe a biopsy, and then I'm back to normal life.
20 minutes later my legs are still spread wide open, she's taken 4 samples from my cervix and 2 from my vaginal canal wall. I don't think this is "normal" anymore.
Test results come back stupidly fast when cancer is involved, as it turns out.
A: Cervix, 12 o'clock, biopsy:
High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (CIN 2) involving
transformation zone mucosa.
No invasive carcinoma identified.
B: Cervix, 6 o'clock, biopsy:
High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (CIN 2-3) involving
transformation zone mucosa.
No invasive carcinoma identified.
C: Cervix, 9 o'clock, biopsy:
High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (CIN 2-3) involving
transformation zone mucosa.
No invasive carcinoma identified.
D: Endocervix, curettage:
Rare fragments of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (CIN 2-3).
Endocervical tissue with reactive changes.
As it was explained to me CIN 2-3 is still considered pre-cancerous by most doctors, although some of the spots could be Stage 0 cancer. The plan at this point is to do a LEEP procedure, where the problematic parts of my cervix are removed using a super-hot electrical wire. Sounds fun, right?
I'm still kind of in a stage of shock. I'm glad they caught it early. But also mad, angry, confused. Everything you read about Cervical Cancer tells you that it's caused by HPV. Never until this year have I ever tested positive for HPV. So not only did I contract it, but I also got one of the strains that causes cervical cancer. Cool.
So, for now, I wait.
New Design, New Features!
Truth be told, the last 5 weeks were glorious. I relaxed. I can't tell you the last time in my adult life that I have come home from work and haven't rushed off to the next thing, or gone straight to a bike ride, or had my schedule packed so full that by the time Friday came around I was exhausted.
I've been so neglectful of this blog. Sorry. I had such high hopes for surgery recovery- I was going to use my downtime to learn a new hobby, to walk all over town, to read books, to catch up on tv, to learn to cook. And you know what I did? NOTHING!
Truth be told, the last 5 weeks were glorious. I relaxed. I can't tell you the last time in my adult life that I have come home from work and haven't rushed off to the next thing, or gone straight to a bike ride, or had my schedule packed so full that by the time Friday came around I was exhausted.
I've truly just taken the time to lay back and heal and it's been really nice. Sure, I've read some books (and in the process, become OBSESSED with the John Muir Trail. Seriously, who wants to go backpacking with me in the spring?) I've gotten really good at chopping garlic, my break making skills have gotten better, and yep, I know what kind of wine I like a little more precisely.
And funny enough, as soon as I slowed down, I found that I actually had time to date somebody and actually get to know them at a really slow, wonderful pace! Who knows if it was the timing of the surgery or if we just happened into each other's lives at the right time, but its been a lovely past 4 weeks. Funny timing though, being off the bike and not having that be part of the beginning of our relationship at all.
Tomorrow I'll find out if I can get back on the bike. I really hope that I can. I miss my friends on my bike. I miss seeing my city by bike. I miss participating in the activities that happen by bike. All in due time I guess.
Anyway- I know there are things about this new template that are weird and wonky- please let me know if you find things that need to be updated. I'll continue to fix them as I find them. The hope was that readers would be able to contribute more easily and find old posts easier. I would also be able to add more trip reports and not just in blog form. We'll see how it goes!
Van Gogh is So In Right Now (Recovery from Tympanoplasty Surgery)
The surgery seems to have been a success, although we won't know the full results for nearly 6 weeks. For those who don't know, I had a tympanoplasty performed last Wednesday on my left eardrum. I also apparently have a small ear canal, so they couldn't access the eardrum via the canal and had to make a big incision and go in from the back.
Recovery has been a mixed bag so far. The pain was at first pretty manageable. For the first few days, I didn't really even notice it and kept it at bay through a mix of prescription pain killers, sleep, and high CBD/low THC weed. I also took Wednesday-Friday off work, and Saturday-Sunday off life (basically) and pretty much just slept and watched Netflix. It was a big deal when I walked around the block.
Leaves on my walk around the block. Tiny victories.
This week, however, life slapped me in the face with my return to work on Monday. And holy shit does my ear hurt. I tried to tough yesterday out with just Tylenol Extra Strength because I figured prescription pain killers (opioids at that) and high level functioning don't work out so well. Turns out pain isn't conductive to work either.
The other complication from this surgery is the fact that I can't hear out of half of my head. If you've ever gone swimming and gotten water lodged deep into your ear, you know that feeling of having your ear feel really full. Well, that's how my left ear fulls 100% of the time right now. Intentionally. For the next 6 weeks. It's driving me bat shit insane.
I know that a key component to all of this is keeping a positive attitude and outlook. And I need to keep reminding myself of this. It's been made easier by friends bringing me deliveries of food, chocolate, pickles, home cooked meals, and pints and pints of ice cream. I am swimming in ice cream right now, and it's glorious. So, thank you friends. I love you all.
Even though I might not be ready to hang out with you, please don't forget about me.
Cake, cake, cake, cake!!!!