Rainy days and Sundays

We have had an epic amount of rain over the past week!  Even had one day when 17 tornadoes touched down in the state, 10 of which were in this county.

So much for our quiet storm season!

My big step forward for today is that I was able to rub body moisturizer into my chest area.

The skin around the incisions is dry and flaky from being stretched, and the incisions themselves are drying out.  I am hoping that greasing everything up with natural oils will help make the stretching out process more comfortable.

Taking off the steri strips helped when it was time for that...now it's time for this.

The surgeon told me that I should start doing this, but I had not thought I could touch myself, so I had not done it.  I was going to ask Dave to do it for me.

But then I figured, I can actually gaze at myself in the mirror now, not just glance.  I should be able to touch my own body.

It's part of getting back to loving my body, and living fully IN my body, which is necessary if I am to completely heal.

SO-- I did it.  The numbness wasn't as weird as I thought it would be.  It's not as weird as when I am in the shower and the shower pouf or wash cloth is being rubbed over my numbness.

I thought it would be worse than that, but it was actually easier.  PROGRESS!!

I also have noticed that ALL of my hair is growing back....except my eyebrows.  I am back to having to shave my legs and underarms.

Went to work on Friday.  There were flowers waiting for me, and a mis-spelled sign taped up in my cube.  It said "Welome back, we missed you."

SO cute.

I made it through the day.  Sorted through 357 emails, did my daily tasks, and made a list of things that were either done wrong while I was gone and need to be RE done, or things that fell by the way side.  That took the rest of the day.

It is going to take me a while to catch up.

At the end of the day, I was EXHAUSTED.  Facing the prospect of four days in a row next week is a little scary, but I have to get my strength back.

Only 4 days next week because at the end of next week, I start the next course of chemotherapy.

The really amazing thing about my workday on Friday was what my boss told me.

Apparently, someone went to the mat for me with the top brass, and got the "time sharing" policy reinstated on my behalf.

My co workers can donate sick and vacation hours to me so that I can be paid when I have to be off for cancer treatment.

My next pay check will be full, instead of only for 6 hours.  The one after that is only 3 days short at this point, instead of being completely empty.

I was stunned, and so very very emotional when she told me that I burst into tears.  I told her that lost wages was the thing I had been worrying about the most.  (The fund raisers people have done have been great, but they would only have made up a portion of a missing paycheck. )

Then she apologized for not telling me before I was off for 3 weeks, believing that I wasn't going to be paid for a big chunk of that time off.

YA THINK?!

But, be that as it may, the program will be ongoing so that I don't have to keep worrying about using up my hours as soon as I earn them, and since my first day off is already this coming Friday, that gives me a tremendous sense of peace.

Then I told her about the outing to Chicago in July, and that will be covered as well.  Wow.

I don't know which of my coworkers has donated, and unless someone comes up to me and says "I gave you a day," I will probably never find out.

So, I sent an email to everyone in the office, and I posted about it on Facebook, and now I am putting it here, so that everyone will know what an amazing group of people I have on my team.

I thought it was a big deal when they gave me a bag full of scarves and $50 to help with bills.

Then, it was a big deal that they had a luncheon for me before surgery where everyone was given pin-on buttons with my picture, and the slogan "Paula Bowen is a Fighter" on them....and they dyed half of the food items PINK. *urp*

I thought it was a big deal that some of them have worn those buttons every day since then.

But this?  This goes beyond big.

I have no words.

Anyway, happy Sunday.  I'm off to season some cast iron.....and maybe get out and plant stuff in the yard if the rain holds off long enough.

People have sent me plants and bulbs, and I need to get them in the ground!