brachy what?

the year was 2002 and my big toe decided that it wanted to start tingling...ever so slightly at first, then full on pins and needles...by the time i get to the doctor (doctor #6) my big toe was numb and my other toes started to tingle...diagnosis...i had a new tumor...now in the sciatic nerve....so what did that mean, that the tumor was in the nerve? it meant either take the tumor out...which would leave my leg partially paralyzed or she could amputate my leg...she wanted me to think on it...in my eyes wasn't sure what it was she wanted me to think about...no leg or leg with limited movement...leg with limited movement ding! ding! ding!

so she described this paralyzation being far more complicated then it actually ended up being....after the surgery...i was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks....the first week in a regular hospital room...week 2 i was in a led room to receive my radiation treatment but not your average radiation therapy...i was to be the recipient of bracytherapy...what is brachytherapy you ask...i tried looking up an official description to find: Brachytherapy (BRAK-ee-THER-ah-pee) Internal radiation treatment achieved by implanting radioactive material directly into the tumor or very close to it. Sometimes called "internal radiation therapy". okay so for me this meant as they were removing the aforementioned tumor they inserted 10-12 (i forget the actual number) straws in my thigh....(i am sure there is a technical term for them but they looked like straws)...24 hours or so after i was delivered to the led room people in radioactive suits came in to my room (not really) but the radiation team came in and inserted said radioactive material (looked like little seeds) into the straws....and at that point i was considered highly radioactive and if i had any visitors they could only stay in my room for if i remember correctly less than an hour maybe even a 1/2 hour...this treatment lasted 36 hours...then a day or 2 after they removed the straws (the correct name just came to me cathaters) and seeds, i was free to go home after doing a little physical therapy....because my foot and ankle were paralyzed...which meant i would have to use an ankle, foot orthotic in order to walk...the joys of walking....

since this surgery i haven't been able to work, there was a lot of muscle twisting and patching and what nots going on to my thigh, (they had to basically build a new thigh because of the muscle they had taken out in 95 and more in 2002) including all the radiation and nerve damage i have intense pain...pain when sitting, standing or walking...i have worked with the pain clinic to be told i could take medicines for the rest of my life or have some nerve stimulator attached to my spine (i am sure it is a bit more techinical than that) but my answer was, um, yeah no! so some of my days are not so great and some are not too bad...just have to keep truckin.