So yesterday I had my appointment with my surgeon to discuss the progress of my arm. I had an MRI, and X-Ray at 8 a.m followed by an appointment with my surgeon at 10:30. I was a little late to the 10:30 appointment because the MRI took so long though. I don't know why but the test took around 90 minutes. Before my MRI's would take 45-60 minutes. I also had to wait a while for the machine to be open which contributed to being late. By the time I was finished with the MRI, and X-ray it was 11:00. The length of the scan probably had something to do with the different MRI machine I had to use this time. I had to use a special machine because of all of the metal in my arm. The only difference I could tell with the machine was that it felt really hot in the scanner. I was sweating like a fiend in there; I thought I was going to pass out.
Here are the results from the tests. The good news is there is no recurrence of the cancer. The bad news is that my humerus isn't fusing with the cadaver bone. There was no new bone growth since my last x-ray(April 4th). This was the bad news I was kind of expecting to hear today. Like I have been mentioning; improvement in my arm has plateaued. This is why I expected to hear that my arm hasn't taken the cadaver yet. I asked my surgeon if I will know when my cadaver fuses, and she said that I won't be able to tell when it does. Only imaging tests will be able to prove whether my arm is well...becoming a fully functional arm again. I asked about the pain I have in my arm, and she explained two possible reasons for this to me. One could be that from the bone not being fused yet. Another could be as a result from the plate in my arm rubbing against the muscles, and other tissues in there. It seemed like she was leaning towards the second reason, but she said we'll just have to wait and see. She was happy with my arm function aside from the strength. She told me that I'm one of her best outcomes for this surgery that she has had when it comes to arm flexibility. She gave me a lot of credit for all of the rehab I have been doing on my own because a lot of people limit their end function due to their lack of dedication to exercise. It was evident in how much I have worked to get where I am now. I couldn't take all the credit though. She is one of the best in the country for what she does.
The next step for me is to have another surgery to hopefully jump start bone growth in my humerus. I'll need a bone graft from my left hip this time. Those bone cells from my hip will be used to fill in the gaps between my humerus, and the cadaver. This didn't work last time because the chemotherapy killed off the graft. I decided to have my surgery late July because this will allow me to enjoy the bulk of the summer, and also give me enough time to heal from the surgery to be ready for school. One thing to note is that my arm will not be at full strength when I begin school. It might not even be fused at that point. This is going to be a lengthy process. Just how long? No one can answer that question. What I do know is that it could take months, and in some cases never work. But, the first step is for my arm to fuse with the cadaver. That's all I'm worried about for now as far as my arm goes.
All things considered I was still happy with how everything went yesterday. I mean... things could have gone much worse. There are a lot of worse things that could happen to me that relates to my cancer. Before I started this journey back in August, I wanted just two things: To survive, and to keep my arm. So far I have gotten both of my wishes. The possibility of having a mostly functional arm when this is all finished is just icing on the cake.
Well anyways, today I'll be at my brother Brian's high school graduation. Congratulations to everyone graduating today! Happy father's day this Sunday to all the dads out there!
