I drew this over the weekend of May 14-15. The numbers and letters serve as a positive reminder . . .
The “2W” stood for 2 weeks. Thursday, May 12th marked 2 weeks since my cancer surgery (April 28th). The surgeon removed the tumor along with 70% of my stomach and 46 or 47 lymph nodes. That got it all — and there was no sign of cancer in the nodes or anywhere else in my body.
The “1B” stood for, well, 1B. When I was diagnosed in early December tests showed the presence of both a bleeding ulcer (the result of a bacterial infection) and early stage gastric cancer. The tumor was maybe ½ inch across and just beginning to reach into the second layer of my stomach lining. The doctors classified it as Stage 2A. Three months and 4 rounds of chemo later, the tumor had shrunk in size and depth. After surgery it was reclassified as 1B, embedded in the first layer only and smaller than at the start. Another blessing!
“1M” means 1 mile. When I came home Monday, May 2nd, I could get around the house — but just barely and only slowly. By the following weekend (May 7-8) I was walking up and down the driveway and the sidewalk in front of the house. By the weekend of May 14-15 I was averaging 1 to 1-½ miles a day. My endurance had improved.
“1G” is 1 gallon. At the time I drew this I was limited to lifting no more weight than the equivalent of about a gallon of milk. I can do better than that now, but I was okay with 1 gallon at the time since I don’t like milk anyway.
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