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This is an Actual Wyla Update™ journal.
11 years ago
HELLO. Thank you for reading Actual Wyla Update™ journal I hope you are happy with your purchase.
PERSONAL STUFF
I finally had another x-ray today. See that nice curved line about an inch above the titanium chain? That's the top outline of the new bone which has grown in so far. :) It looks like the new bone is filling the whole area which is fantastic news; I was so worried about the graft not taking. This is my collection of x-rays so far for those curious; it's amazing how the stem cells turn the BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) compound from a pile of mush into a perfectly shaped bone.
My doc is a little concerned that there may be no bone growth right up near the 'hinge', though. At the top end of the titanium chain you can see that it's attached to a bit of bone; that's my original hinge. They left about an inch there to have something to anchor the plate on to while still leaving enough margin around the tumor they removed. Below that hinge though it does look fairly dark. Doc says that either the bone growing in there is too thin at the moment to see on x-ray, or there might not be any there. (It's not unusual for some of the bmp compound to be lost/'melt away' during the healing process.) They've scheduled me in for a CAT scan on February 3rd to check.
If there is indeed no bone there then they'll do another surgery to insert some bone/more bmp which will hopefully bridge the gap. Thankfully that would be a FAR less invasive surgery than the original op though and I might not even need to be wired shut again after it so... we'll see. v0v My fingers are crossed that the CAT scan will actually show bone growth!
Knowing that the graft is taking is a huge weight off my mind. I will admit that the idea of having to go through all of this again was really stressing me out. The whole ordeal has already been, uh, hard to deal with haha. Getting used to the 'new normal' of having to watch how I eat and sleep, how I walk and work out, dealing with the nerve pain, not being able to ride. It's bothering me a lot. BUT there's no going back and things should still get slowly better so eh. These past few months I let myself slip into a "why bother planning or starting anything new if plans are likely to get ripped out from under you again" slump. Today's news was good though and should help me get out of my rut.
ART STUFF
I'm still pretty much taking a break from commission work. My recent pieces have all been personal and kind of experimental which I've been really enjoying. It's nice to be able to branch out a little and I'd love to start bringing in a little more income through non-furry work. As always you can follow my ~non-furry alias~ at Tumblr and my merch is available through Society 6. (free shipping today!)
I may post a couple of YCH's or adoptions to scrape a bit of cash together. Ceb and I have also been contemplating attending Texas Furry Fiesta next month as it starts on my birthday and is within driving distance so we wouldn't need to pay for the hotel. It'd give me a place to perhaps sell some of these recent paintings in the art show and get out of my recent hermit state. ;)
PERSONAL STUFF
I finally had another x-ray today. See that nice curved line about an inch above the titanium chain? That's the top outline of the new bone which has grown in so far. :) It looks like the new bone is filling the whole area which is fantastic news; I was so worried about the graft not taking. This is my collection of x-rays so far for those curious; it's amazing how the stem cells turn the BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) compound from a pile of mush into a perfectly shaped bone.
My doc is a little concerned that there may be no bone growth right up near the 'hinge', though. At the top end of the titanium chain you can see that it's attached to a bit of bone; that's my original hinge. They left about an inch there to have something to anchor the plate on to while still leaving enough margin around the tumor they removed. Below that hinge though it does look fairly dark. Doc says that either the bone growing in there is too thin at the moment to see on x-ray, or there might not be any there. (It's not unusual for some of the bmp compound to be lost/'melt away' during the healing process.) They've scheduled me in for a CAT scan on February 3rd to check.
If there is indeed no bone there then they'll do another surgery to insert some bone/more bmp which will hopefully bridge the gap. Thankfully that would be a FAR less invasive surgery than the original op though and I might not even need to be wired shut again after it so... we'll see. v0v My fingers are crossed that the CAT scan will actually show bone growth!
Knowing that the graft is taking is a huge weight off my mind. I will admit that the idea of having to go through all of this again was really stressing me out. The whole ordeal has already been, uh, hard to deal with haha. Getting used to the 'new normal' of having to watch how I eat and sleep, how I walk and work out, dealing with the nerve pain, not being able to ride. It's bothering me a lot. BUT there's no going back and things should still get slowly better so eh. These past few months I let myself slip into a "why bother planning or starting anything new if plans are likely to get ripped out from under you again" slump. Today's news was good though and should help me get out of my rut.
ART STUFF
I'm still pretty much taking a break from commission work. My recent pieces have all been personal and kind of experimental which I've been really enjoying. It's nice to be able to branch out a little and I'd love to start bringing in a little more income through non-furry work. As always you can follow my ~non-furry alias~ at Tumblr and my merch is available through Society 6. (free shipping today!)
I may post a couple of YCH's or adoptions to scrape a bit of cash together. Ceb and I have also been contemplating attending Texas Furry Fiesta next month as it starts on my birthday and is within driving distance so we wouldn't need to pay for the hotel. It'd give me a place to perhaps sell some of these recent paintings in the art show and get out of my recent hermit state. ;)
I might make my way up there on a free weekend, though I doubt I'll attend TFF.
Take care and have fun!
V/R,
Vesper
Been thinking about you lately, hoping all was going well
I keep hearing wonderful things about TFF, so I hope to drop in one of these years (not this year, sadly) and see what all the fuss is about. Have a wonderful time if you're able to go. :)
For now I think it is good to already celebrate that the graft is taking on. :D I'm cheering for you on the sideline (on the friggin' other side
of the world xD) and I'm burning candles for you and sending light. May the CAT scan show some more bone. :)
I don't know what you ride, but I'll be thinking of you when I'm out on mine.
/fist bump