Short Blog Break

I am going to take a short - but planned - blogging break.  My husband is having surgery on September 2, and rather than leave you wondering, I thought I'd tell you what is happening.

Phil had a dermatologist look at a spot on his right wrist three years ago, and after a cursory glance, the doctor declared "it's not cancerous, don't worry about it".  Well, we didn't, and that was a mistake:  he now has a melanoma that is "of medium depth".  The dermatologist referred us to a surgeon because he was concerned the cancer might have spread to the lymph nodes, so on that Friday, Phil will have the melanoma removed, which will require a skin graft to close, as well as a lymph node biopsy, as well as removal of a strange spot on his right ear.  If you know anything about skin grafts, they require the use of a vacuum machine to remove moisture from the graft, which Phil will have to carry around for six days following surgery.  We were told that there shouldn't be too much pain, but that remains to be seen.  At the least, it will be a long couple of weeks as Phil heals, and I will have to help him with some of his basic needs until he can get the wounds wet.

Some of my readers know that I suffer from fibromyalgia.  Stress is a trigger, and I certainly have been enduring a lot of that.  I was also recently diagnosed with TMJ, which is not uncommon amongst fibro patients.  My doctor told me to take my muscle relaxant on a regular basis - at bedtime - to help with it; it was also helping with terrible pain in my right arm.  Unfortunately, it made me terribly sleepy, but after several days without it, my TMJ has gotten very bad, so I'm taking it again.  It's a terrible place to be in - needing to be alert to drive, interface with medical personnel, care for my home and family, but being so sleepy that I can hardly function.

Hence my blogging break.  I hope that by the time I'm back - probably in a couple of weeks - I'll have a new purse to share, as well as a cross stitch project or two.  See you then!

P.S.  I'll be updating my husband's Caring Bridge site following his surgery, if anyone wants to stop by and read it.  Click here.