10/31/16 - For the first time that I can remember, I actually walked out of that place feeling happy, heard, respected and in full agreement with my oncologist regarding my surveillance plan going forward. And it's official, I am 16 months in remission!!! :) I got my regular oncologist today who not only was running on time, he was very clear re: my ongoing surveillance plan AND I'M FINALLY GOING TO GET MY MRI! :) He also assured me that the previous surveillance plan that he & I discussed at the start of this year WILL stay in place, contrary to what the other oncologist said last time! I actually told him in a tactful manner about the other oncologist NOT wanting to do MRI's on me at all "until symptoms appear" & that I was so upset by this that I went home & cried. He was very good about it & assured me I *will* get my annual MRI, so I am very relieved & happy! So, we're continuing with the chest x-ray every four months & the annual MRI of my thigh & annual CT scan of my chest, abdomen & pelvis. However, to my delight, there is one change - we're no longer going to monitor my ovarian cysts, as they've remained stable & will show up on the annual CT scan anyway, so f anything looks suspicious, we can address it then. Hurray, no more internal ultrasounds! Those are the worst! Speaking of MRI's, I also got answers re: the increasing pain I've been experiencing in part of my surgical area. He confirmed that...
(a) It's normal for extremity sarcoma survivors to experience this on an ongoing basis, and is most likely a result of radiation damage, in addition to all the scar tissue I have around my nerve.
(b) it can take up to two years to truly heal from this surgery & all the radiation I had.
(c) I may find at times it gets worse & other times it's not so bad.
(d) The best thing I can do is stretch the area as much as possible, so looks like my yoga ball & I will be making a reacquaintance in the near future!
(e) My hunch about this damage causing inflammation was spot on, which explains why the turmeric helps so much!
The other interesting thing to note, is he mentioned several times that my four-month interval of X-rays may last up to THREE years. Damn! Here I thought I was graduating to six month intervals in the next eight months but not necessarily! Oh well, if that's all I have to complain about this time around, I'll take it! Better yet, we inadvertently got free parking today when the hospital changed their parking payment system without us realizing! We could've gotten ticketed but fortunately for me, we didn't! Can this day get any better? Well, yes...YES, it can! ;) My luggage is all packed and i'm ready to finally see Culture Club for the first time after waiting 33 years, followed by a whole lot of Placebo gigs not long after that, and who better to do it with then my Kindred spirit in Placebo, packing, and planning! Let the fangirling begin! :) <3
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09/09/16 - Still a month to go before my next round of tests to check my cancer hasn't returned, but I thought I'd pop in with a little update. The summer was good while it lasted. We've had a lot of rain this year, but whenever the sun was shining, I took advantage of it to go for walks or just sit outside with my dogs to enjoy the fresh air & greenery - something I didn't get to do much of last year during recovery. It's been nice relaxing without having to worry about being somewhere (like the non-existent job I've yet to find since being laid off!). Hey, if you don't laugh, you'll cry, right? Gotta find a silver lining somewhere! :) For those new to my blog, in 2015, I had a very large high grade liposarcoma removed from my thigh. Check the side menu to the left for the link to my post where I describe the beginning of my journey with this rare cancer.
All this wet weather has led to an interesting discovery. Ever since the rain started falling, I've noticed an increase in pain on my surgery site, along with my shoulder which was broken years ago when I was hit by a car. Initially, the connection wasn't obvious, but now I'm starting to think the weather may be causing whatever is going on to get worse. At first, I blamed the shoulder pain on possible tendinitis, since I did have issues with it about 10 to 15 years after it was broken. I figured I'd aggravated it while lifting my monitor a month before, but upon speaking to my family doctor, it seems it's not normal for tendonitis onset to have a month delay, nor should it be lasting THIS long. It's been three months of me being super gentle on my shoulder, yet I'm still experiencing pain. Hopefully, it's just the onset of arthritis, but my family physician is taking it seriously, given my history. So, cue in yet another ultrasound & x-ray, yaay! :p My favourite things, LOL, not!
Speaking of tests, my family doctor has also agreed to try to get a copy of the pathology report from my grapefruit-sized uterine fibroid that was removed back in 2005. Back then, I didn't know enough to even think to ask to see it, so I just figured no news was good news when I never heard anything about it after the surgery. Knowing what I know now, I want to see the report, even though they say it's unrelated to my sarcoma. The fact still remains that in the space of 10 years, my body grew two large masses. I want to see that report!
Back to the subject of the pain I've been having... Recently I started taking turmeric upon the recommendation of some of my fellow liposarcoma survivors for my shoulder, but to my surprise, the pain in my surgery site ALSO almost completely disappeared within 24 hours but returns whenever I stop taking it. Turmeric is said to have a very strong anti-inflammatory agent so now I'm really baffled. I don't think a sarcoma recurrence would inflame any of the tissues, BUT I do know of other sarcoma patients whose recurrences were misdiagnosed as tendonitis, so I'm really happy that my family doctor is not sweeping this under the rug & is at least taking a look to be on the safe side. I should have the results within a week, so cross your fingers for me all goes well. I assume it's either arthritis, tendonitis or both in my shoulder & just the aftereffects of surgery & radiation in my thigh, but still, there's a small part of my mind that worries it's more than that. OK, maybe not that small! Although any distant metastasis is more likely to occur in my abdomen or lungs, liposarcoma has been known to metastasize to odd locations, so I don't take anything for granted. We're not scanning my leg at this point (I'll ask about that next month when I meet with my oncologist), but if anything turns up weird in my shoulder, my family doctor will order an MRI. MRI's have a long wait time when they don't think it's life threatening, so hence the reason we're starting with this other batch of scans.
Meanwhile, next month is my next batch of usual scans to check specifically for distant metastasis. They're sending me for a second CT scan this year despite the original plan being for one CT scan annually, alternated with a chest x-ray & abdominal & pelvic ultrasound the rest of the year. This means increased exposure to radiation, and to quote my oncological team, CT radiation is not insignificant, so I'm not exactly thrilled about this. But somebody messed up & only ordered a chest CT in June, plus the usual pelvic & abdominal ultrasound, instead of scanning everything in just one CT scan like we'd previously discussed. So, now they're doing the CT scan of everything in October, plus they're still doing the pelvic ultrasound, most likely due to my ovarian cysts they're keeping a careful eye on. *sigh* Oh well. It's not worth the stress to argue with them, especially after what happened last time!
Getting back to my surgery site, though, the pain is quite severe when it does happen, but thankfully it's not constant. I think that pain could be sciatic inflammation. Fortunately, that doesn't keep me awake, becaus it only lasts for a few moments & happens when I move a certain way or try to stand or sit, but the strange thing is, it's not every time. Because of this, it's next to impossible to replicate for my oncologist. My shoulder, on the other hand, kept me up at night for about a month. Ah, the joys of getting old & being a sarcoma survivor! :p Despite all this, I am in good spirits & really looking forward to my trip this fall to see my favourite band Placebo's 20th anniversary tour! I think it'll do me a world of good to get out of here for a while!
On a more sombre note, I would like to pay my respects to Jeff Landes who passed away from his six year battle with liposarcoma earlier this summer. Every liposarcoma survivor knows this cancer has a high tendency to recur & many experience multiple recurrences, especially with well-differentiated & de-differentiated liposarcoma. His passing hit me particularly hard, because he was one of the first people to reach out to me when I joined the liposarcoma survivors support group on Facebook. Wherever you are now, Jeff, thanks for sharing your story & spirit with the rest of us lumpy folks. Your sense of humour & amazing spirit are very much missed.
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06/12/15 - It’s been a while since my last update, so I figured it’s about time I put in an appearance here.
Feeling rather emotional today, having finally made it out to Wellspring to check out two of their many programs. During the music jam, I came *this* close to breaking down sobbing during "Puff the Magic Dragon" of all things. That song brought me to tears as a child, so perhaps it's not that much of a stretch. However, I think the emotion driving today's tears ran much deeper, sitting in a room with a bunch of strangers, all of us with cancer, singing about friendship, loss & grief. And you thought it was just a nursery rhyme? Think again! That song is heartbreaking! Even though prognosis is often good for most of us with myxoid liposarcoma in the leg, it still unavoidably makes you confront your mortality - consciously or not. Singing about little Jackie Paper not coming ‘round anymore hit home like a ton of bricks - and unexpectedly so. Thank god, I just barely managed to avoid a complete breakdown, *phew*!!! Something tells me the tunes in that songbook (which is probably 2 to 3 inches thick, by the way!), weren't chosen at random. There are quite a few lyrics that jumped out at me - from living in the moment to finding strength to look outside yourself & everything else in between. It's funny how music never ceases to drag emotions out of you, even those buried deep down. You know, the ones you THOUGHT you were done with?
That said, the acoustic sing-along ended just in time for me to pull myself together. I then moved on to the women's group, where we spent two hours sharing our own personal cancer experiences & information. Never thought it was possible to feel grateful & terrified simultaneously, but that was me today. The group is a mixed group, meaning it’s not limited to just one type of cancer patient. Thank god, because if it was only my type of cancer, there’d be no one there but me! What really hit me were the brave stories from those who started out with one kind of cancer only to develop yet another type of cancer after beating the first one. Two of them in particular, came across as incredibly brave & positive in spite of being to hell & back not once but twice & even three times. Hearing stories like that really makes me wonder, though. I already know about the chance I could have a reoccurrence in that same leg due to radiation treatment, and I already know about the chance it could metastasize to my lungs or abdomen, but what I'm really curious about now is the likelihood of developing another seemingly unrelated type of cancer later down the road. From what I’ve observed, it seems to happen quite a lot to people whose cancer originates in an organ. No idea if liposarcoma survivors are equally or less prone to this same pattern. I shall have to inquire about that when I meet with my oncologist at month’s end.
Other topics that arose were the issues of being released from hospital too soon & the complications brought on by delays in home care. Thankfully, I have a wonderful mom who's going to stay with me after my surgery in a month till I've recovered well enough to manage stairs, but she can only take so much time off work, which means I'll probably need to get home care, so this part of the discussion was particularly insightful. The removal of the alien in my leg takes place exactly four weeks from today. The facilitator of the women's group suggested I speak to the hospital NOW to request a social worker to help organize home care well in advance of surgery, so although today was emotionally draining, I'm glad I went even just for that one peace of advice alone. When I asked my oncologist about home care, he just said the hospital would organize that once I'm on the ward. Sounds like he may be unaware that some patients are being sent home before they're ready. Hopefully, I won't be one of them! Perhaps I should invest in a pair of handcuffs to chain myself to the bed if they try pull a stunt like that on me! :p
Thank the universe for my dogs who gave me lots of kisses when I returned home. Nothing beats the warmth of canine cuddles! <3
Whew! Okay, now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, here’s an update on my chemo & radiation therapies. After three months of stress & worry over possible side effects, I feel I’ve been extremely lucky. Unlike one of my hospital roommates who was on the same type of chemo for a similar type of sarcoma, it took two days before I began to experience nausea, which then lasted five days. Sweets, such as chocolate, began to taste weird & spicy food became turbo charged overnight, but thankfully NO iron-tasting food!!! It took about a week before I resumed normal eating, though I use that term loosely, since to this day, I still don’t get normal hunger signals like I did before the cancer. I suspect this is due to the stress response that kicked in when this medical roller coaster began back in February. Still, it could’ve been a lot worse! By contrast, my chemo buddy was projectile vomiting from day one & felt miserable the entire time. You know how people experience survivor’s guilt? I actually felt chemo guilt, because my response to the exact same treatment was so different from her’s! Before my much milder nausea kicked in, my biggest challenge was frequent fatigue, which continued during & after, my radiation sessions. Besides that, I experienced weakness & increased soreness within my leg muscle, skin tenderness & a bit of pealing during & after radiation - the fatigue being the most significant side effect. Some days I would start out feeling relatively ok but was absolutely exhausted after the radiation session to the point where I’d fall asleep sitting up on the couch in the middle of the day. Other days I was just tired all the time regardless of how much sleep I got or whether or not I had a session. But once again, I’ve been relatively lucky. One day while waiting to go into radiation, I overheard a crying boy who was also undergoing radiation treatments, saying “I'd rather die than go through this again”. Cancer is a challenge for everyone who goes through but hearing those words come from a child’s mouth really throws you.
Chemo, which was supposed to last three days, ended up stretching to almost four days, due to delays on the day one. First, the PICCS line insertion ended up taking not one but THREE hours! The line decided to go UP into my neck instead of down to the large artery near my heart! As they flushed my system trying to figure out its location, I could hear water rushing through my ear! Note, there was nothing actually inserted into my ear, so to say this was a surreal feeling would be an understatement! And every time they flushed me, I could taste the saltwater of the saline solution! Several flushes & x-rays later, they finally had it where they wanted, so I was taken upstairs to settle into my room & wait…and wait some more. It was five hours AFTER the PICCS line was complete before chemo even started! But it wasn’t all bad. They made me do a funny “dance” before each x-ray, presumably to… Well, you know, I have no clue why but I’m sure there’s some scientific or medical reason for it! I just wanted to burst into a chorus of “Y…M…C….A!”, LOL! :p Good thing I refrained, though. My PICCS insertion is STILL healing a month later & I still have bruising around the insertion point. They sure weren’t kidding when they said chemo can effect wound healing.
Speaking of dancing, during my sixth radiation session, I discover I had the option to have my OWN music playing while undergoing treatments! Call me easily amused, but I was absolutely ecstatic by this news, because of course, music makes everything better! So, what better companion to join in my “battle for the sun” visualizations than the melodies of Placebo themselves for my last three sessions! :D I’m sure they must’ve thought I was nuts, as I laid there tapping my foot & singing along to the tunes in the middle of treatment! :p For those wondering, the radiation treatments themselves don’t actually hurt during the session. It’s the buildup in your system that eventually causes side effects. Hell, getting off that hard treatment bed hurt more than the session itself! They had a really neat faux skylight to help you relax, though, that made it look as though you’re looking up at blue sky, trees & fluffy white clouds. I kept threatening to take it home with me! Seriously, I wonder how much those cost!
So, two weeks have passed since the end of treatments. I still have a brain like a civ, concentration isn’t what it once was & fatigue levels are up & down but better than what they were. My anxiety levels are starting to creep back up, though, as my surgery date looms ever closer, so I’m trying to keep things as stress free as possible. And then there’s the hair loss, which took longer than expected but alas, it’s happening. The week after radiation ended, I noticed more & more single strands coming out. However, by two weeks after radiation, it looked like I lost half a sheep just from what fell out in the mornings alone! Have you been wanting to take up knitting or perhaps stock up on wool for that winter sweater you've always wanted?! Look no further, just give me a few more weeks & I'll have all the wool you need, LOL! Oddly enough, I was more amused than distressed by the miniature sheep in my garbage bin. What freaks me out more are my lop-sided eyebrows! As they said might happen, I’ve lost the end of one of my eyebrows! It looks totally weird to me, but that’s probably because I’m more self-conscious of it. My mom forgot all about it when she came to visit, so it’s nice that it’s less noticeable to others.
Now that chemo & radiation are done & my energy is getting better, I am finally taking advantage of the local support programs, which I wouldn’t be able to do while working. Thankfully, my insurance company is allowing me to continue to be off until after I’ve recovered from surgery. I also plan to use the time to get organized before surgery, both at home as well as with the hospital, and complete the insurance forms I just haven’t had the energy to deal with. Hopefully, I’ll tackle the latter over the next week or two! I also have more diagnostic tests coming up, as well asa a pre-surgery consultation with y oncologist to learn how well the chemo & radiation worked. Although radiation may not actually shrink the tumour, it’s supposed to “clean up” the edges, so that my oncologist can get cleaner margins while removing the tumour, thus reducing the amount of healthy tissue that has to be cut away in order to get all the cancer.
And on that lovely note, that’s it from me for now! I’ll probably post one more update before surgery, which takes place in early July. I don't know if I"m just lucky or stronger than I thought, but whatever the case, I hope it continues into the next phase of my treatment & recovery! After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
PS - Many thanks to all the volunteers & participants at Wellspring! Although today was very emotional for me, it's nice to finally be able to talk to people in person who truly understand. I truly appreciate your time, support & bravery. I feel very blessed to have found this organization. :) And much love & hugs to all my friends & family who've been there for me ove the past few months! I couldn't have gotten through them without you!
*[NOTE: Title of this post was inspired by Placebo's "Bulletproof Cupid" off their 2003 album, "Sleeping With Ghosts".]
05/11/15 - Wow, packing for 3.5 days in hospital is almost as nuts as packing for one of my Placebo treks! Just substitute the concert tickets, t-shirts, boots & excitement with a meds list, nighties, slippers & anxiety! :p I even have my obligatory tech for killing time, plus I'm STILL up packing & doing laundry at stupid o'clock JUST like one of my road trips! Now if only one of the nurses looked like Brian Molko, I'd be all set! ;) Wish me luck! 3.5 days of overnight 24 hour chemo, followed by the first two of 10 radiation sessions this week. Someone give me a time machine, so I can travel back to March & relive my last roadtrip instead!!!
*[NOTE : Post title inspired by lyrics from the song "Julien" by Placebo off their 2009 album Battle for the Sun.]
05/04/15 - After a month of waiting & several "tentative" start dates, I *finally* got CONFIRMATION of my chemo & radiation start dates beginning a week from today! Not sure excited is the right word - more like apprehension & fear of the side effects, but I feel relieved nonetheless to at last have some concrete dates, so that treatment can finally begin & I can move FORWARD in trying to beat the evil alien in my leg!
Everyone reacts to chemo & radiation differently, so I decided to post a bit of the info provided by my doctor's office ahead of time while I am still feeling relatively well. So, here goes...
My chemo will be administered by PICC (peripherally inserted central-venous catheter), which is a soft long catheter that's inserted into an arm vein while its tip rests in a large vein near the heart. A PICC can safely remain in your vein for days, weeks or even months, although I believe they're only leaving it in for the three days & nights of "chemo-light" I'll be having. Again, for those who're just tuning in to this blog, they're only doing a small dose of chemo in my case, in order to accustom my body for the upcoming radiation treatment. They say they get better results with less side effects, as fewer radiation treatments will be required doing it this way, in conjunction with doing the chemo & radiation prior to surgery. But getting back to the subject of PICCs...
Why is a PICC used? PICCs are used to administer:
- IV fluids
- medication
- blood products
- chemotherapy
- special nutrition
Once the PICC is inserted, they'll perform an x-ray to ensure the end near my heart is in the correct position. Only once that's complete will they start the chemo.
So, I'll have chemo overnight for three days in a row, then out-patient radiation begins the same day chemo ends for 10 days.
The hospital has some classes re: radiation therapy orientation I'm going to try to attend this week. I forgot to ask if there's also a chemo class. I'll be sure to report back on those should I attend either. Meanwhile, I'd been hoping to attend some local support programs re: meditation, drumming & just hanging out with other cancer patients, but the organization requires you to become a member first, which can NOT be done online, so stay tuned on that one! Crossing fingers I'll get my fax working that I haven't used in years! :p
*[NOTE: The title of this post was inspired by Placebo's song "Hang on to Your IQ" from their self-titled debut album.]
04/27/15 - My radiation CT scan & planning (see lower right photo below) were completed in half the time anticipated, only took an hour! :) It was relatively painless, apart from the horribly hard medical table I had to lay on (Oh, my poor spine!). They had this beanbag mould thing filled with air that they used to build the mould that will keep me still during radiation treatment. Once they found a position that worked for them, they'd release the air & the mould would harden around my legs. If they needed to make an adjustment, they just filled it up with air again! So cool! Also, the giant digital photo frame on the ceiling showing blue sky & tree branches was a really nice touch. :) I want one! ;) In addition to this, they drew lines on my leg & placed tape in certain places, which will ensure they place my legs in exactly the same position during each radiation session. Still waiting for official confirmation of the chemo & radiation start dates. Tentatively, they commence next week, but I'll believe that when I see it, since one staff member today suggested it could be another two weeks before they start! Arrrggghhh!!! So frustrating! I feel like my leg is a ticking time bomb! I just want them to get this treatment started before Sir Alien decides to freakin' migrate somewhere else!
In addition to the radiation planning, the pics below show a lot of the past month, including pics of several of the tests. Speaking of which, one more test tomorrow - ultrasound on my ovary. Crossing every appendage possible it turns out to be nothing to worry about!
Last but not least, I have to give a huge THANK YOU to the CCS's Volunteer Driver program!!! My driver was wonderful! She even waited while I was at my appointment, so that we could get going as soon as I was done!
Sorry if this post is rather all over the place. I'm exhausted!
*[NOTE: The title of this post was inspired by the song "Pictures" written by Brian Molko.
04/20/15 - After much waiting & a week's delay, I finally got my consultation to discuss the results from all the many, many tests I've had over the past two months, especially those over the past two weeks. To my relief, the news was mostly good, though I'm not completely out of the woods yet. There was so much information covered today, there's no way I'll remember it all to share here. They estimated the consultation would take approximately two hours - we were at the hospital for nearly FIVE! That being said, here are some of the more important highlights. :) First, I have a stage three 25x12x8cm tumour, which currently does not appear to have metastasized.[EDIT: I later learned speaking directly to my oncologist that the resident doctor screwed up, and I was actually stage 2B, GRADE 3, 25x13x8cm!] However, indeterminate spots WERE found in the bones of my abdomen & spine, plus another unusual spot was found on one of my ovaries. Now, before you panic - I sure did! - the abnormalities found in the bones of my abdomen & spine can also be found in people who do NOT have & have NEVER had cancer, BUT due to the fact that I do have cancer, they have to be vigilant. So, for now, my specialist is not overly concerned but will continually monitor them. As for the ovary, that's another story. Yep, here comes one more test (an ultrasound) to ensure it's nothing to worry bout. It's possible it could be related to surgery I had 10 years ago, so it may not be significant, but again, better safe than sorry. So, that'll be checked out prior to starting my treatment, which has been further delayed. Looks like it'll probably be another two weeks now. I'll also need to go in for a more in-depth radiation planning session, where they'll determine the best way to go about the radiation, such as position of my legs, etc. So, to better cope with all the endless waiting, stress & yet more delays, I've decided to take advantage of the hospital's individual & group counselling services, in addition to the closely-matched peer support volunteer available through the Canadian Cancer Society. They also gave me info on courses patients can take through our local cancer centre. Haven't had a chance to look through them yet, but once I have, I'll share more info if they seem useful. Speaking of which, one very useful service they have on offer is a volunteer driver service to get patients to & from appointments. It's not only free but it's more flexible than the city's shared ride service for people with disabilities, as you don't have to worry about missing your ride home, should your appointment run longer than expected. In addition to meeting with my orthopaedic oncologist again, I also met my radiologist for the first time, along with the respective resident-physicians for both specialists. Think of the residents as extensions of your primary medical team who fill in the gaps when your primary specialists have other patients to attend to, etc. It was here where I started to get more answers re: treatment & its short-term & long-term side effects. Now, keep in mind, everyone's different, and not everyone gets the same dose of chemo or radiation, but this is what they're expecting in my case... Chemo therapy - Despite the low dose & short duration I'll he receiving, there's still an 80% chance I'll lose my hair but only on top of my head. It is rare for patients to lose ALL their hair (eyebrows, lashes, etc.), although it can happen occasionally. Despite being well aware hair loss was likely, the high percentage rate sure threw me for a loop! They also expect fatigue to be an issue, in addition to bruising more easily, risk of infection, nausea, change in appetite & taste. Radiation - One of the most significant side effects will be skin soreness, irritation & peeling comparable to that of a sunburn.... My skin will also become darker in colour & become tighter. Other side effects are likely include fatigue & mouth sores. Due to the many changes to the skin, they recommend regularly using powder, such as baby powder, in addition to a medically prescribed cream. Fortunately, they don't anticipate blistering in my case. Here's hoping they're right! Given the large size of my tumour, feeling as if I have a sunburn on the posterior & side of my thigh will be more than enough to deal with, thank you very much! Long-term side effects to keep in mind after treatment will be an increased risk of fracture years down the road due to the tumour removal occurring so close to my bone, as well as the possibility of secondary tumours due to the radiation. They said these secondary tumours occur in 25% of the individuals, and if cancer were to reoccur, it would most likely be in the same site as my original cancer. For the first two years once I'm cancer-free, I'll have to be checked every three months. Then for each of the five years thereafter, it'll be every six months. While this sounds like a lot, I'm being assured that my work's insurance company will be required to consider this all as part of my original claim, and thus I won't lose a bunch of sick days over all those appointments. :) Recovery time will largely depend on how well my tumour responds to radiation & how the surgery goes. It could take anywhere from one to three months to recuperate from the surgery alone. It is up in the air how much physio therapy will be required, as this will be determined by how much surrounding tissue they'll end up removing. What I do know, is regardless of this, a large chunk will be removed from my leg, and it'll look as though someone took a bite out it. Fittingly, the in scission will be large. They are going to do everything they can to preserve the nerves & muscle surrounding the area but it's impossible to say that this point what the outcome will be. That being said, I did ask about my eventual ability to once again stand for long periods of time at, say...a general admission concert gig. Come on, Y'KNOW this question had to be forthcoming! ;) The resident physician said although the muscles in that leg will always be weaker, chances were promising, but of course, no guarantees. Only time will tell! Better start compiling my physio-workout music playlist now, haha! 2016 20th Anniversary Tour, here I come!!! Even if I have to waddle like a duck, I'll be there, someway, somehow!!! ;-) *[NOTE: Post title inspired by Placebo's song "A Million Little Pieces" off their 2013 album, "Loud Like Love".]
