the trip to nashville brought some great and dreaded news. i'll get to the news in a minute. the drive down was crappy as usual. it seems to pour down rain everytime we make the trip. this time we skipped a hotel room and stayed with our friends helen and rob. they live about 20 minutes from the hospital. we really enjoyed their hospitality and visiting with them. much better than a hotel.

the doctor had good news about the tumor that was removed. The chemo killed 95% of the cancer cells. this means that the chemo was very effective. bad news is that since it worked so well, i will most likely have the same type and amount of chemo again. i still need to contact my oncologist this week to discuss the details with her. i was really hoping for fewer lower doses. i guess it is better to be safe than sorry later on. i just want this to be over. i want to be sure the cancer is gone and the probability of it coming back is very low.

my mobility has increased a bit. just removing the staples helped some. i can put about 1/3 of my weight on my leg and bend it about halfway without much pain. getting around on the crutches is tiring but not too bad. i am glad to be out of the house today and back to the office.

yesterday was my first day out of the house since leaving the hospital. it was great to just get some fresh air. riding in the car was not very comfortable. i could feel the bumpy roads all the way up my leg. we went to get some ice cream and see a movie. i decided to put away the walker and get out the crutches. they are much better for navigating in public and easier to get in and out of the car. getting in and out of the movie theater seemed to take quite a bit of effort. the theater seating was also not very comfortable. i had to sit on the end of the aisle so i could stretch my leg out straight. that is nothing new. i had to do that for months before the surgery because the tumor would not let my leg bend enough to sit in a middle seat. by the end of the movie i was ready to come home. my leg was aching pretty bad from the uncomfortable position. we got home and i headed straight for the recliner and bottle of pills. i slept great last night. didn't get out of bed until after 1 pm today.

tomorrow night we are going back to nashville for my 2 week check-up. i can't wait to get these staples out. i have been wanting to take them out myself for about a week now. i think my leg looks pretty good. not much swelling and i can bend it fairly well (even though i am not supposed to right now). i still can't put much weight on it, but that will come with time. i guess we will find out how much more chemo i will have to endure. i feel like things are starting to get better. i can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. i am just hoping for good news from the doctor.