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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
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Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
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Sunday, October 20, 2002
I am not an animal!!
Debbie Hicks explained more about the lymphatic system which really helps illustrate how all this happened and why. It's complicated and difficult to understand, so I'll explain this as well as I can based on what I have learned so far. The lymphatic system filters impurities, infection, bacteria, and other things from the body through tiny vessels and into nodes until it reaches the vena cava and along with blood goes to the kidneys to eliminate impurities. If the body were divided half-way down and at the waist, it would form four quadrants. The left terminus is in the clavical area and empties the lymphatic fluid from all of the body except for the right quadrant. The left terminus is really busy since it is responsible for 3/4 of the body, and that is what was clogged on me. Since most of my tumors were on the left side of my neck, when they were killed by the chemo faster than was expected, it was more than my body could get rid of. That's why the swelling was in the clavical area since the terminus was not able to get rid of all the necrotic cells. They became infected and abscessed. Then the infection spread throughout my body and that's where sepsis came in. Since this is so unusual as I keep hearing, the doctors thought the chemo wasn't working well enough and the tumors were still there instead of just the opposite. A third of our lymph nodes are in the neck which is about 200 of them. There are around 600 or so in the body. That's amazing!
MLD involves a series of light touches on the skin to stimulate the lymphatic flow. It doesn't hurt at all and is helping already. The swelling has decreased and the fibrotic tissue is softer. This might not mean much to you if you haven't seen it, but my joke about the Elephant Man was much more accurate than I thought. This can be a form of elephantitis which is what he had. Lymphedema is managed, not cured, so it will require some maintenance treatments. People with it have to be careful when flying and wear compression garments if it involves their arms and legs. Obviously, that's not too good an idea for necks. Moving around and drinking only water are two things to do to help when flying if someone has lymphedema. I had no idea this was such a big deal. Now I do but feel optimistic about the outcome.
This is from an article online about the lymphatic system that is really informative.
Filtering and phagocytosis
Lymph is filtered by the reticular and lymphoid tissue as it passes through lymph nodes. Particulate matter may include microbes, dead and live phagocytes containing ingested microbes, cells from malignant tumours, worn out and damaged tissue cells, and inhaled particles. Organic material is destroyed in the lymph nodes by macrophages and antibodies. Some inorganic inhaled particles cannot be destroyed by phagocytosis. These remain inside the macrophage either causing no damage or destroying it. Material not filtered off and dealt with in one lymph node passes on to the next and so on. Thus by the time the lymph reaches the blood it has usually been cleaned of all impurities such as cell debris and foreign bodies. In some instances where phagocytation is incomplete the node may swell. Swelling of lymph nodes is often an indication of an infection. You may well have experienced swollen cervical lymph nodes. These often accompany a sore throat due to streptoccocal infection. Infections in almost any part of thre body may result in swelling and tenderness of the lymph nodes associated with that part of the body.
Lymphatic System
10:26:00 PM
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