Hooray, Pam, I'm glad that itchy and annoying bandage is off, at least. Keep working on range of motion, it'll be better a bit at a time. And after you get the cataract surgery, you'll be able to see it too! (grin) Actually my mother, my stepmother and my Dad all had cataract surgery and they all said it was really quick and easy, so hopefully it really is quick and easy! I'll have to check with Ashley's new MIL about those shoes, she works at the local orthotic footwear store, the place that makes special shoes and sells stuff like Birkenstocks and Uggs. They might even be available here in the sticks! I especially like their advertisement about how if you are old and fat and your knees ache, they'll fix you up with shoes, LOL. Helene, I'm glad you are feeling so well. My doc says the same thing, that I can maybe recover faster with PT, but rehab is normally 4 to 6 months and I'll be fine without it if I choose not to participate. As for the stairs, heck, I'm still going down one at a time, so you're probably doing very well. I'm amazed you're getting around so quickly, I can tell you that. I'm doing pretty well too, I think. I'm back to walking to work, and I went to the farm and cut a big maple that had fallen onto the fence line during our last storm. That entailed crawling onto/into/over the tree to cut the ends of the branches that were lying on the fence, and I managed to at least not hurt myself further, balanced with each foot on separate limbs while sawing branches with a hand saw. If I were a REAL farmer I'd have a chain saw.... And I have no problem at all sneezing or laughing, thank goodness, so it appears that my problems are at least dry! Annie

I had an ablation about 6 years ago. I had previously had surgery to remove a couple of fibroids and that helped considerably, but a year later I was still having bleeding issues and I had the ablation. (my doctor had suggested it at the time of the fibroid removal, but I didn't want to do them both at the same time). My periods didn't stop, but I discovered Light tampons, and only needed about 5 of them a month. I haven't heard of women having hormonal problems after ablation. I certainly didn't have any problems with my procedure, which was done with the balloon method. I had cramping for less than 12 hours, then felt fine. You do need to use birth control, because you can conceive, but there is no where for the embryo to implant without the lining, so a pregnancy could be dangerous. I think that it's important to know why you are having bleeding problems. For example,if you have fibroids like I did, an ablation isn't going to remove the underlying problem.

Lated update: he is in recovery right now. Chris (dad) ended up coming back here to the hospital as things got stressful here. He now has a port and a feeding tube. They were not able to do that other procedure as there was no clear boundaries and if they would have pushed thru they ran too high of a risk hitting a major vessel per say and he would die on the table. So, with that said he will be back in surgery next week to place a permanent shunt. Keep up the prayers. He needs some major miracles. Seems like all odds are against him and oh...his vocal chords are weak and they don't know for sure if he will speak or swallow again. Only time will tell. Generally it takes 3-6 months to get that back in other cases in other grades of this tumor. They don't have statics on a grade 3. Dear God, I feel like we are writing history here. Let's just pray that everything that they are doing is right and that other kids who get this will survive like our Bradley. Thanks:) Wish i just had better news for once...hopefully at the end of this we will. I am sure there is alot of the medical terminology that neither 'mom or dad' completely understand, they are not in the medical field.....as long as the Dr. does, that is what counts.

Strong, heart-felt prayers going out for little Bradley, his family, and those who love them. Sandy, the care page link didn't work (it said I had to be a registered member). I can't even imagine the pain the family is going through. Wishing/praying for a full recovery, Hugs, SadieSaide