5 months 1 week

5 months and 1 week since my brain surgery and I am doing great! So far it is the best I have even done coming off steroids! It has now been a week that I have been off of them. I had a blood test on Friday February 29th which reveals all my blood chemistry is back to normal. I have managed to resolve the anemia squashing out any deep seated fears of the blood cancer returning. Further, with the long and slow steroid taper my body has been able to adjust so far and is not succumbing to adrenal gland insufficiency! What a dang relief! Now hopefully I can stay off the steroids until the next surgery.

During the taper I did experience some days of nausea where continual napping off and on provided relief. Interestingly on those days I was able to force myself outside in the late afternoon to get some fresh air and go for a run. Somehow running out in the crisp outdoors made me feel better and the nausea was gone for the evening.

Fatigue is faring much better than any of the tapers between now and 2004. I have gotten a little tired napping for a couple hours after activities but my energy seems normal while I am doing the activity and I am not experiencing body/muscle aches as before.

I don't recall having a headache over the past week which is FANTASTIC! I did expect to have a few to varying degrees as I have had with every other single taper. The marvelousness (if that is a word, if not I am creating it) is great but making me slightly nervous that it could quickly turn with the climb less than a week away.

For now, I am enjoying the "high on life" feeling of things going well. I will continue to ride it out as long as it lasts.

Note: The same day I was slightly down when thinking of the privileges taken from hearing loss, I realized later that evening while at the gym that it has been almost 5 months since my surgery. Just the fact that I have come this far so soon after lying in a hosptial bed after having my head cut open gave me a fuzzy "high". While doing my workout I could not help but smile at myself several times by thinking of how proud I am of my accomplishment. In ICU after my surgery, I could not even fathom being at this point where I am right now.