Red Rover, Red Rover, I am Red All Over

OK, so I am not red all over, but I couldn't come up with any other catch phrase with Red in it. The photo below does not do justice to how red my back and underarm area is. Jeff took the picture yesterday and it is way more red today. It is almost purple. The spot on the top is the most red and then a swath under my arm is about the same color. The rest of my back/side is the lighter color and my chest is covered with splotchy dark red spots (like a rash) that may come together to make the whole area look like a newly painted stop sign. It hurts! and is really itchy. I know that the peak of the redness/burn will come about a week or two after the radiation actually ends, so that means I have about 3 weeks left until I can start feeling relief from all this. It isn't so bad, but that area is also swollen and the skin and underlying muscle are tight from the burn and weren't all the way stretched back to normal from after surgery. (I was not so good about remembering to do my stretches) OK, so it is bad - it is uncomfortable with a seat belt across it, I'm starting to feel it hurt when I lie on my back and even just reaching for something can make the whole area be noticeably painful. Not cry out in pain (we're actually having an issue on this very thing with N - trying to teach her to suck it up and not need consoling for every little scratch) - back to what I was saying, not-cry-out-in-pain, pain; but suck-in-your-breath-sometimes-pain.  And the itch can be distracting. I try to gently rub my clothing, just moving it enough to give some kind of relief from the itch. The hydro-cortisone cream helps with that. And I am putting on lotions, aloe and emu oil frequently to help with the burning. I don't know if it is helping to actually cut down on the severity of the burns or just giving temporary relief to the area??? I don't want to find out by cutting down on it all. As I say, just about a month from now, I should be seeing noticeable difference and recovery from all of this! 

 My energy level is pretty much back to what it was before all this started. Sometimes during the day I hit a wall and need a power nap - and sometimes the power nap turns into a couple hours, but that was normal a year ago. I noticed that my sleep patterns are really similar. For a few days out of the month, I wake several times during the night. Some nights I am awake for a couple hours. And some nights (like last night!!!!) I actually sleep all night without waking or having to get up. I am awakened now with hot flashes, but except for the couple nights where I wake up 5 times - every 45 minutes - and can't go back to sleep for half an hour, it is all manageable. I guess there are some medications (surprise! NOT), to help with hot flashes, but they are anti-depressants and I don't want to add something that I don't have to. The Tamoxafin is enough on it's own. Dr. Sri did say that I most likely will adjust to the drug and level off somewhat so the side effects won't be so drastic. 

I went in for a temple recommend interview the other night and President Martin - the counselor in the Stake Presidency - who interviewed me is an Oncology Pharmacist. He knew all about the drugs that I had and was able to tell me a little about the advances that have been made very recently. Having the HER2 positive used to be a really bad, bad thing and survival from that type of breast cancer was very low. Well, with Herceptin (which I read has only been in use for the last year or so), being HER2+ is actually a very easy and straightforward treatment now. Herceptin is a type of miracle drug for that and they pair it with Perjeta which was the only option before and it raises the survival rate way higher! 

Not much other news from the family. We are enjoying the nice spring that is happening right now. Last week most days were actually near or above 80* and this week just around 70. Spokane doesn't have lots of dreary misty, rainy days. When it rains, it rains, then moves on to partly sunny or all sunny. Having grown up in Western WA, and being one of very few people who really like that weather there, it is hard to adjust to mostly sunny days. I like a big storm and rain for a few days in a row. I still feel that when the sun comes out I need to be outside soaking it up because it won't stay for very long. But I'm getting used to it. I'm looking for some fun hiking spots close by. I have started a hiking group with anyone who wants to join me. I would like to finally hike Mt. Si and Rattlesnake Ridge this summer when I am visiting my mom and dad. There, I wrote it down, it's a goal! All those years we lived in Snoqualmie, and I've never climbed those two popular hikes. I have done Little Si, but never all the way up to the top of Mt. Si. So I am doing hikes around here to bring my body up to a good fitness level to do this. That's about it! 

OH, tomorrow will be the last of 5 weeks of radiation. Dr. Call said that the last week, they focus the rays directly on the surgery scar, so it won't be blasting the whole area like they have for the last 5 weeks. That is a relief! 

Old Habits Die Hard

When I got Lasik surgery 8 years ago I was so happy to be done with glasses. But the habit of pushing up glasses or carefully reaching under the glasses to rub my eyes took a long time to go away. In fact, I still sometimes do that when rubbing my eyes - slide my finger up as if under the glasses to take care of that itch. Yesterday when I was drying off after my shower I reached my hands up and did the motion to wring water from my hair (like pulling hair into a ponytail). I actually wondered for a split second why there was no hair in my hands.
Speaking of hair, mine has been growing back since the end of January! It's maybe an inch and a half long. It doesn't look like it will be curly.  It seems to be just straight as can be - at least that is what it looks like around my ears. The top has a little lift to it, but I think it's because it is so short. It is dark with some grey strands mixed in. Not enough to make it look greying, but Jeff says there is some grey. On Friday when I left radiation, I passed a gal who was just going in to that office. She was completely bald and not wearing anything on her head. I thought - well, I guess my hair is long enough - if she can go shiny head, I can go with a little fuzz. I contemplated going hatless on Sunday, but didn't. But Monday came and since then I have gone to all my appointments and errands without a hat. I keep one in my car just in case it is cold. I do need something for when I go out in the sun so I don't get sunburned, but for now, I am good without. I went to church last night for a meeting and it was activity night. So a lot of people have now seen me without any adornment. I think I am ready to do this. Besides, when I do wear a hat and then have to take it off because it is too hot or I am at home, I have funky looking hat-hair.
I shaved my hair off on September 16th. It has been 7 months since then and 3 1/2 since my last chemo treatment. Looking back I would say that it wasn't so bad. At times it was actually nice to have no hair to worry about. When I was so sick and went a day or two without showering, I didn't have greasy hair. It wasn't there to get in the way and I didn't have to think about getting it cut or styling it. It was especially nice after surgery when I couldn't do much with my right arm. I didn't have to struggle drying it or anything. I would have liked to not deal with a cold head - especially at night. But the little lap blanket that Heather M. made for me was perfect to keep just above my pillow at night so I could tuck it around my head when I got cold and just push it off when I didn't need it. It was one of the side-effects that I was most dreading, but really it was easy to get used to. It is also some kind of a statement without having to say - "I have Cancer" - people understand a little why you might looked haggard or might need a little more help or patience or why you are having to say NO to requests, etc.
I am 1/2 done with radiation! Starting to get itchy and my underarm is the most red at this point. Still feeling great and getting lots done around the house. I haven't been able to deep clean since August, so I am doing a little bit of that every day. I know a lot of people would tell me "don't worry about that!" or "don't over do anything". I am not over doing - just doing a little bit each day. I don't have a goal to turn the house inside out in a weeks time. I am doing only what I can. Also, I like to clean - well, I kind of like to clean, but I do like a clean house, so again, I am doing a little bit on the days I don't have other obligations. I am also purging stuff. I keep trying to downsize and simplify, so that is partly what I am doing. Although looking at all the junk we have, one wouldn't know that is what I am doing. I look at our neighbor's garages when they are left open and wonder how it is they don't have anything in them. There is a nice storage room downstairs in each place, but we have all our food storage and luggage down there. Plus all the walls in the garage have shelving which we have filled. I do have to say that we use what we have, but I have also kept a lot of things over the years - that is what I am purging out. It is something that I like to do, so it is fulfilling to me to get that done!

I just was going through old posts and saw another one with this same title. The first paragraph is almost verbatim with this one - funny! But I'm not going to change it.

The Lone Lash

It is really hard to take a selfie with an iPad. Then, iPads don't do macro shots. So this photo is really blurry, but it tells the story anyway. It is cropped to not show the eyeball. That is for my mother and son's benefit. But I needed to document this.
 If you look hard enough, you can see the one eyelash sticking up longer than the others. My eyelashes did end up falling mostly out, but this one held on through thick and thin. I was finally able to put mascara on this last weekend and this one lash sticks out even more with the added mascara.

I was just going over all my posts and realized this picture never got in there. For some reason, I can't insert a photo from my ipad photo gallery. So I took the picture and never sent it to myself so I could put it in on the computer.  My lashes are slowly getting longer, but that one lash is still longer and hanging in there!

What is Radiation?

I am 43% done with radiation!! I keep getting asked what happens with radiation. I go in every day and it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. In fact, with a 9 minute drive, today it took me 32 minutes from leaving my house until I got home. I go into the office and change into a lovely hospital robe. They have me then lie down on this table...



They described it as large Kitchen Aid. I had never really looked at it before taking the picture. I just went in and got on the table. You can see the blue "pillow" there. (misleading description as it isn't soft in the least) That is where I put my head and reach up to grab hold of the two white posts above it. The pillow is specifically designed for me so I am in the same position every time. It is not a pillow, but a form of some sort. When they made it, they just pumped up something with air to form around me. I guess they used that as a mold, or maybe it was soft material that they pumped up that hardened when they were through. Anyway, the table then gets raised up and back under that large round thing. That is where the radiation (think x-ray) comes out. That moves around me, so it is pointing at different angles. The radiation part is about 2 seconds long - they do about 3 or 4 angles. In that big round thing, there are teeth that move open or shut to direct the rays exactly where they need to be. When all the teeth are open, it is about 10" square. When it is radiating, the openings are about 1-2 inches or smaller. Hard to explain, but that is the best way I can think to explain it. This other picture is of the ceiling. In the CT room, it is of a waterfall in a rain forest. Kind of nice they think of the patient lying there with nothing to look at.

I am starting to feel the effects of the radiation. I have a definite darker "tan" line on my chest. It goes from the mid-line (sternum) and across the bottom of the rib cage. My armpit is getting red also. It also goes up over my shoulder just about where I can reach with my opposite hand and around my side to where I can reach. That quadrant will always be darker than the rest of my skin and will be sensitive to the sun. I need to make sure to always have sunscreen on anything exposed. It is also getting to be more sensitive. I wouldn't say it hurts yet, but for sure it is sensitive on the verge of being itchy (think sunburn). The itchy will get worse and annoying. There could possibly be blisters at it's very worst. I am using aloe and creams to keep the skin moist and soothed. I also switched to a very mild shower soap.

Other than that, I am feeling really good. I went out and did some weeding for about 20 minutes (I had to set the timer or I would just stay out there for far too long). I also sprayed some weed killer for about 2 hours. We have this large yard and along both fence lines is a huge space of nothing but weeds. If it were mine, I'd either plant grass all the way to the fence or build some of it up for planting. We have some "raised beds" - we just nailed together some scrap wood that was left here to make some 6 foot square gardens. There are 3 of them and then another deeper one for tomatoes. Last year, the girls each took one and I had one and we had fun deciding what to plant. N grew a huge sunflower and A got the largest pumpkin. We planted marigolds around the border and since I wasn't up to cleaning it all out in the fall, the marigolds all went to seed and there a thousands of seed in and around each garden bed. We'll have to be diligent about pulling those this spring. They made a nice border, but I thought they'd be about 8 inches tall. They got to be about 2 feet tall and made it hard to get into the rest of the garden. Nova already has a strawberry blossom on one of her plants.

  

It has been really nice weather this past week, which has been our Spring Break. We took a drive out to Kettle Falls, only to find out that the Falls are under a lot of water due to the Grand Coulee Dam which was built back in 1942. I guess no one thought to change the name of the town to signify that there are no longer any falls there. It was a cute town, but it was a long drive and the girls were bored. We did get out and explore an old mission area. The building has been re-built and there was an old cemetery and a large boulder that was used as a sharpening stone by the Natives to sharpen their fishing tools. It is made of amphibolite which is more fine-grained than the local bedrock. All this overlooks Lake Roosevelt which is the lake that now covers the original Kettle Falls. We did go down a side road and were able to view Myers Falls which is part of another river that feeds into the Columbia.

Since I have had radiation every morning, we didn't plan any other trips. It has been such nice weather that the girls have just been playing with neighbors and outside a lot. They even slept in the tent last night. Since last year's backyard sleeping lasted a whole 15 minutes, I gave them about 20 before coming in. No, they lasted all night. We slept with our window open which put us actually closer to them in the tent than when they are in their own beds. They woke up a little cold and got damp from all the dew this morning. It has been a quiet, but good week.

One down, 29 To Go

It has finally started. I am nearly 7 weeks post-op and so today was my first radiation day.

To re-cap, I have been healing really well this last month and have most of my function and range of motion back for my right arm. My left arm has not had very many problems with healing and I got my range of motion back really quickly with that. I had my physical therapy appointment on the 11th and that went well. I don't have to go back unless I find that I am having problems or getting any kind of swelling. She sent me with instructions on how to massage to clear out my lymph system and stretching exercises. I also have to do some massaging on the scars to break down any scar tissue. I have to do the massaging once a day and the stretches 3-4 times a day. I haven't been very good at the stretching, doing maybe one time a day. I don't feel very many limitations, mostly when I go to hang up something and I can't quite reach without it being uncomfortable. I need to be better at doing those stretches. I also was told to get a compression sleeve. I need to wear it daily until about 2 months after radiation ends. Then I will need to wear it just when I work out (never), do any type of heavy work or fly. I was told that it may be uncomfortable, but it really isn't too bad. If I put it way up on my arm, it pinches in my armpit, but I try to put it just under where it does that.

I am really lucky with the timing with all of this. My hair fell out just when the weather was getting cold, so I just wore hats all the time. It is almost grown in enough to stop wearing the hats. I also will not have to wear this sleeve in the hot, hot weather. Just through June. I am feeling really, really good. I guess when one feels really crummy, then when you start to feel better, it seems like everything is lighter and brighter.

Yesterday was my safety day (in regards to the radiation). They put me on the bed of the machine and ran through all the stuff to make sure the computer settings were all correct. They also put two other markers on my. Actual permanent markers and covered with a clear bandage. I don't know why they couldn't have done that instead of tattoos. But oh, well. I have to be careful of the bandages in the shower and not scrub them. I am assuming that they will have to replace them a couple times during the next 6 weeks. But I will be careful not to scrub them off or peel them in any way. Today was the real thing. It took exactly 10 minutes for them to do all the adjusting and then the zapping. It is just like getting an X-ray. The machine adjusts to where it needs to be and zaps whatever it zaps at me. I don't feel anything. It will be a pain to go out every day for a 10 minute appointment, but at the same time - it is so close that at least I am not driving 30 minutes to the doctor's office for a short appointment every day. It is an 8 minute drive. I was home half an hour after I left this morning. That is a good thing! Tomorrow I have my next infusion and visit with Dr. Sri, so I will be gone all morning, and Friday I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist in the morning before my radiation. I started on Tamoxofin 3 weeks ago. That is an anti-estrogen pill I have to take every day for 5 years. So far the only side effect I have had from that is hot flashes. It is that time of my life that it would happen any way, and it is definitely happening. I haven't gotten to the point of actually sweating in public, but I have been awakened in the night having to throw off all the blankets for a couple minutes. I am also hardly wearing my hat (which my hat of choice is knit), at home. I have been tempted to cast it off while out doing errands, but I don't think I am ready for that just yet. Maybe next week....

My hair is coming in just as straight as it was before. It is also dark. We'll see if it stays that way or not. I was so wanting curls and I imagined that it would mostly be gray or white. I remember when a good friend - Paige Cahoon - had her hair grown back. She told me (I didn't know her before she lost her hair) that it was almost black before and it came in a nice dark brown. Of course not knowing her before, it looked totally normal to me, but it probably was weird to her having it be different. I don't know if I will color mine or not - I just have to wait and see. It will be probably another year before it is the length I want it anyway.

Well, not much else going on here. The weather has been really nice. It is cold in the mornings and warm - up in the 50's and 60's in the afternoons. I have been walking at least a mile in the mornings when the girls go to school. I was going to start riding my bike with them this week. But I just realized that I won't be able to do that. I had told the gal who scheduled all my radiation appointments that I could do 9:30 or after and before 2:30. When she walked away, she said "So between 9 and 2:30" and I corrected her and said 9:30. Well, she scheduled me at 9:20. That means I can see the girls off and then leave. So I am missing my morning walk. Maybe I'll see if I can change that tomorrow. I asked about changing one day for next week, and the other gal (all the radiation nurses do the scheduling, too - they don't have just a scheduler), said that if I need to change a day, to talk to them the day before as things are changing all the time with new patients starting and older patients finishing treatments. But I am wanting to change my actual everyday time. I don't want to be difficult, but I also want to be able to walk or ride to keep up my energy.

You Guys Made Me Ink

One of my favorite scenes from "Finding Nemo". I hope the video uploads correctly. But today my saying is "Cancer made me get inked".

That's right! I have tattoos. 3 to be exact. And I have to say...... What the Heck! Why would anyone go through that no matter how beautiful or sentimental the art or how drunk they are at the time. OUCH! is what I have to say about it. No way, no how would I do that for a full-sized one.

Today I went in for what is called a mapping session. It is pre-radiation as they need to program the computer and machines to do what they need to do specifically for my treatment. I was put through a CAT scan machine to measure everything, and with stickers and markers, they found the right position for me to be in before marking permanently with the tattoos. I have one on my sternum and one on each side. Granted, they were just one prick with the needle, but still it is a tattoo. I have to be put in the machine precisely the same position every time to make the radiation hit what needs to be blasted.

I had to be on my back with my arms up over my head. Problem with that is at 5 weeks post op, my right arm is still pretty sore and stiff. I do exercises to straighten it by lying on the floor with my arm straight out to my side. I slowly let my forearm down so it is also flat on the floor. Then I try to move it up more and more. I haven't gotten it up very much past straight out. Just the other day was the first time I was able to put both hands behind my head with my head propped on a pillow. So, today on the flatbed of the scanner, I needed to be in the position they will put me in every time. The technician had a type of blow up pillow thing around my head and shoulders that was programmed to be blown up around me in the position I will have to be in each time. I wanted to be able to grasp the handles they had for me above my head, so I stretched way out of my comfort zone to do that. I only had to be in that position for about 20 minutes while I was put in and out of the scanner about 3 times for him to get just the perfect position. I was just getting a cramp in my neck when we were finally done.

Yesterday I actually went in for my pre-radiation visit with the radiologist to discuss my pathology report and the treatment plan. We are on track. Both today and yesterday, I was told how well my surgical site is healing and one of them couldn't believe it has only been 5 weeks since surgery! I am grateful for a healthy body that can take all of this stuff and still bounce back so well and heal properly and quickly.

Here are some of the things that stood out to me from going over the pathology report with Dr. Call.
First and important - surgical margins: widely clear from invasive carcinoma. This is of course everything one wants to hear when a tumor is being removed from ones body. Clear margins means they got everything they were going after and the cancer was contained in the tissue removed with no cancer left behind.
Next: the Surgical Pathological Stage after Neoadjuvant chemotherapy - ypT1c N1a. I have no idea what this means, except that it is the stage of the cancer after chemotherapy which is given before surgery (neoadjuvant). I guess this is good? Everybody seems to be happy with it. The tumor removed was 1.2 x 1.2 x 0.9 cm in maximum dimension. I can't remember what it was before this all started, but I know the chemo shrunk it significantly. I will go back to the other reports and see if I can find it. And another thing that stood out to me is the Histologic grade: Low Whatever that means???? I am sure I can find out what histologic means, but I don't have time to look that up. I just like the word LOW in there!

So, everything is looking good. I am on track for my next step which is radiation. I have my run through appointment on the 22nd- they call it a Safety day. Meaning that they put me in the machine and punch in all the numbers to make sure that it is positioned correctly and the computer will work as it is programmed to do! They don't do any radiation that day, just a run-through. The radiation starts the following day and will run for 30 sessions. This means 5 days a week for 6 weeks. We talked about the possibility of me taking along weekend if we need to. I can go in on a Thursday morning, and back in at least 6 hours later for a 2nd round that day. Then take Friday-Monday off and do the same thing on Tuesday. There has to be at least 6 hours between treatments. I don't think I can do twice a day for 15 days, but I can do it if we need a 3 or 4 day weekend. Pretty much we don't have anything planned from now until the end of April. The only thing we would take off for is to make a quick trip to SLC for Gaius' blessing. I want to get this started quickly to get it over with quickly.

The only thing I am really not looking forward to about the radiation part is the skin burning. There have been things about each stage of my treatment that I haven't looked forward to, but I have gotten through each one and it is now behind me. There are 7 weeks between me right now and the end of this next experience. Since I still can't believe that 5 weeks have passed since my surgery, I am hopeful that this time will go quickly. There will be something every day, so that should help make the time go by quickly. Well, I need to go say prayers with the girls and get them tucked in. I am 5 minutes over what I told them. Jeff is at some training, and he was maybe going to be able to call - he's calling now. BYE

In Like a Lion.. Out Like a Lamb

I can't believe it's March already. I guess most surgeries go this way. Mine certainly did. It started out recovery seemed to be hurting and stretching on forever! In fact, I was really worried the 2nd week that my arm was going to atrophy from mis-non-use. My left arm bounced back so quickly. Luckily it did as I was able to do so much with it. Like reach for my own glass, clean myself, feed myself and get in and out of bed without much trouble. If I had had a radical surgery on both sides, I can see how some people feel like their arms are tied to their waists. My right arm has been pretty much useless for the last 3 weeks. It is just the last week that I have actually been able to do some things without much pain. I say pain, but I don't mean "OWW! that hurts!!!!". More like "ooooh, that muscle is tight and needs stretching" type feeling. I still can't raise it without supporting it with my left hand. The muscle that enables me to lift my arm straight out to the side is still numb and heavy feeling. I haven't driven myself anywhere yet. I plan on driving myself to the radiologist appointment and PT appointment at the end of next week. If I don't feel like I should on that morning, I will call someone. I did run something to the school the other morning. I drove very slowly and made sure no one was around when I pulled out on the road. My arm was heavy to lift up to turn the wheel. I was ok doing that half mile on a back road, but I won't drive myself to the grocery store a mile down the highway, yet.

I have been out walking in the mornings. The girls are riding their bikes most mornings, so we take off at the same time. They ride through the neighborhood next to ours and I walk out to the main road. By the time I get there, they are down at the other end of that neighborhood where there is a crosswalk and I can watch them cross. I have been walking for about 20 minutes or more. The other day, we all walked, so I went with them to the school. I also met them after school. I hope to be able to ride my bike in the morning and afternoon here pretty soon. I will wait until I get the ok from the physical therapist.

I had my week 25 infusion of Herceptin yesterday. That goes on for the full 52 weeks from when I started the last of August. I should have started Tamoxafin yesterday, but the pharmacy has to order it, so it should be in today. I also got reprimanded by Dr. Sri yesterday because I have not been taking Calcium. I hadn't gotten any yet, so I hadn't started that. I got a year and a half's supply as the store had a sale on a large bottle and it was buy one, get one free. The Tamoxafin will be a once a day pill for 5 years, with a reassessment part-way through. I may switch earlier than 5 years to another anti-estrogen chemo pill, and that will go for another 5 years. I am not excited about the side-effects of this one. I can't remember them all and most of them are a very low risk, but still a risk. It increases my risk of getting ovarian cancer, cataracts, blood clots and stroke. My lifestyle puts me in a low-risk category for all of these, but the drug will increase that by a little bit. I have to have yearly PAP tests, visits with an ophthalmologist and bone density tests.

My peach fuzz is about an inch long now. Not quite thick enough to go without a hat, still. Maybe another month. It is getting warmer out, so the hat is going to have to go soon anyway. I think (hope) my eyelashes are growing back in. I wore some eyeliner a couple times this last week and Jeff didn't like it. He said it was too much. It's hard to put on when there isn't a line of lashes to use as a guide.

We are looking to go to SLC soon for G's baby blessing. We may do it in a couple weeks as it will be before I start radiation. It will be a long weekend whenever we go as Jeff can't take off too much work. If we want to do a full week 'vacation' we have to wait until May as radiation will go from the middle of March through the month of April.

My fingernails ended up having a weird reaction. A few posts ago, I put a picture of the red spots on them. That happened on one hand back in October and the other hand in December I think. they got these bright red spots and the nail was sensitive to pressure. Well, that part of the nail must have died because as it grew out, nail separated from the finger earlier than it should have. So the white part of the nail went way back almost half-way into the nail bed. It is hard to explain, but I had to be really careful cleaning out my nails, as stuff could get way back into my nail and it was hard to reach with a file. It has grown mostly out, so I just have a couple of the fingers where the white part of the nail is deeper than normal. They aren't sensitive as they were in the fall. At least I didn't loose my nails! My cheeks are a little numb. I didn't notice it until a couple weeks ago when a blanket softly brushed up against my face. Dr. Moline said it would be something to discuss with Dr. Sri as it wasn't something she attributed to surgery. It is not extremely noticeable or bothersome in any way. I just notice it when I lightly brush my cheek with something soft. Well, Dr. Sri was stumped too. I don't know if it is due to all this cancer stuff or has to do with my TMJ? We shall see if it gets worse or better with time.

Well, I am feeling this in my upper arm, so I should stop typing. I think today will be the last day with the ace bandage. I have gone without it for the majority of the day the last few days. I was going to go without it all day today, but I figured I will do that tomorrow so I can have Jeff around to put it on for me if I feel like I need it. Hooray for progress!!!