Surgery #2 and an Unexpected Surprise

I am happy to report that surgery #2 was a success!!!! This time I felt so much more prepared and at least I knew what to expect, except for the delay. Unfortunately Dr. Feldman's 1st surgery ran late and mine didn't start until 3 hours later...needless to say, I was STARVING!!!! I saw a lot of old faces from the first one too and that made me feel even more comfortable.

The days that followed were very similar, A LOT of pain on the first day, a lot of itching (as a result of the meds), drowsiness, dizziness and all that good stuff. But there were also a lot of the great things from the first one, visitors that brought me yummy food and TLC...Thanks Jess for my Mexican food, Dorothy for Crumbs' cupcakes, Vero for my Get Well Teddy Bear...and also all the beautiful flowers from other wonderful friends...

At home, the first few days were really tough too, just getting used to my strong meds again, the dizziness, and how much they affect your belly. Oh man, getting up the stairs coming home was hard again, how easily the body forgets LOL. After 3 pretty crappy days, today has been a much better day!!! Feel like myself again, just with a cast at the end of my right leg. And my left foot is behaving so nicely, all new and strong, supporting the weight of my body with no complaints.

I feel like a weight has been lifted, like I pulled the band-aid. The surgery is done and now it's just my way to recovery. I already go see Dr. Feldman to remove the first cast and the stitches next Thursday and before I know it, I'll be walking again.

And in the midst of all this craziness, I got the best news...I got the job!!! I cannot even start to describe how excited I am! Things were really meant to be!!!! My original surgery date was September 20 and then Dr. Feldman's office changed it to the 22nd. And instead, I had a first interview on the 20th and a second interview on the 21st. And they loved me (Why wouldn't they? I am pretty fabulous!)! They're going to wait until I recover so my start date is December 1. I am so so happy that I don't have to look for a job as I start to get better, that I have an even better commute than I had before, I get my own office, and most importantly, I get to do what I really really enjoy.

So I guess the lesson here is to keep your head up, just as you are struggling in life (i.e. pain), God has a plan for you and he might surprise you at the end of the day with something totally unexpected :)

My aunt, visiting from Brazil, got tired of the waiting too and decided to take a nap LOL

Here we go again!!!

It's finally the eve of my 2nd surgery!!! As weird at it is, I'm really excited!! WOOHOOOO...I'm ready to get this show on the road and get better already. Thank you to all my friends and family who called, texted or emailed me today to wish me good luck. Once again, I truly feel loved and appreciative of all the support.

I had a really exciting surprise this week...got an unexpected email from a recruiter on Thursday about a perfect job 15 minutes away from home, which is exactly what I did and love to do...Marketing for Professional Services firms. They loved my resume and asked me to come in, after interviewing yesterday, they asked me back for a 2nd interview today. They are aware of my "situation" and the big dilemna is whether to wait, or not to wait...I think they'd be crazy not to, because after all I am pretty awesome! But I won't know more until at least some time next week. It would be fantastic to know I have a job as I'm recovering!!!

But on other breaking news, I wanted to post a couple of pics of my right foot before I say goodbye to it:

Picture of my Fraternal Twins

Bye Bye Footsie!

Podcast with Lenka

Today I was very happy to "meet" another blogger I've been in touch with since I started this blog. I had the pleasure to "meet" Lenka over the phone for a podcast she's doing to kick-off CMTA Awareness Week.

Lenka lives in California and interviewed 3 people with CMT from North Carolina, Texas, and Connecticut (me). We have CMT types 1A, 1B, and 2. She wrote a great entry on her site as a result of our discussions.

Please take a moment to read and listen ... It really is amazing how people spread all over the US who have never met can have such similar experiences. If you want to start by listening to my conversation with Lenka, fast forward to minute 60:

Podcast! CMT Stories with Three Special Guests

Happy CMTA Awareness Week!!!!

My Buddies are CMT too :)

Click on pic to see entire thing...

Blue Circle: Nic
Red Circle: Little sis, Mica
Green Circle: Jess

I am CMT

CMT Awareness Week is almost here and the CMTA (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association) has set up this special website: www.wearethecmta.com

Please take a moment to browse through the site where you can find facts about CMT, events going on this week, the many faces of CMT (can you spot me in the crowd?), and most importantly, donate. If you can, please donate to CMT research so hopefully we can have some form of treatment or medication in the near future and who knows? Maybe even a cure....

Small Change of Plans

Today I woke up with a phone call from my surgeon's office "about my surgery on September 20th." Immediately I thought "OMG What is the problem now?"

For some reason, Dr. Feldman can't do the 20th anymore, so now my surgery will be on Wednesday, September 22. While I am not horribly upset, I am a little annoyed because I am so ready to get this show on the road.

So I guess I have 2 extra days to paint the town red!

Cristian & Ivete....

Today I am so so sooooo happy! Happy that I decided to re-schedule my surgery to September 20 (It was originally scheduled for August 27). So happy that it has been four and a half months since my first surgery and I'm feeling so great.

Yesterday, September 4 was just an amazing day.

First, I got to meet my little nephew that came into the world at 4:38am...Cristian is healthy and chunky at 8lbs 10oz and 21 inches long. He is just so beautiful and adorable! Congratulations to John's sister, Heather, and her husband, Joe.

Then, I headed off to Jersey where I would go see my idol, my favorite singer/performer of all time, Ivete Sangalo, perform and record her 4th DVD at Madison Square Garden in NYC. I bought these tickets months ago when I was still laying in bed with a cast on my leg, not knowing how I would be feeling by today. But I love her so much that I would have gone even if I had to sit in my wheelchair the entire night. It was a FANTASTIC show and it truly felt like we were back in Salvador....Bahia....Brazil....

To see more info about her show, click HERE

I've gone to many of her concerts back in Brazil and to think that this time she would be here, so close to us...I really couldn't imagine myself not going to this, regardless of what condition I'd be in by now.

I am so thankful that my foot is feeling better...I danced, jumped and sang at the top of my lungs for 3 hours...of course taking breaks to sit down during the slow songs. And to my wonderful surprise, my new footsie wasn't even swollen when I got home and didn't need to be iced. I enjoyed the chance to party because in 2 weeks I'll be back in a cast...starting the next chapter of my recovery process.

Since I still have 2 more weeks of freedom, I'm going to enjoy baby Cristian as much as I can, celebrate John's birthday on September 8, go to a wedding on the 10th and dance with my hunny, hang out with friends and family....

I am so ready for this surgery. I can tell how much better my new foot is compared to the old one and I'm ready to have two new feet ... I hope the 2nd time around is as great as the 1st one....