How do I spell freedom? C-A-R. I now have the ability to drive a car again.

Monday night, nearly seven weeks after my mastectomy and cellulitis post-surgery complications, my physiotherapist has cleared me to drive a car.

Oh Joy!

I have been in physiotherapy and acupuncture twice a week for the last three weeks to regain mobility and the range of motion in my arm, neck and shoulder as some of my other post-surgery complications. My daily one-hour stretching sessions and exercises to regain my strength and the use of my arm and shoulder are finally paying off.

The last seven weeks have been a test of my patience and independence. I have felt somewhat of a hostage in living with cancer and being housebound.

I didn’t realize how much I have taken for granted in being able to get into a car and drive using my arm to steer a wheel. It has been such a natural act since I was 16. I have never been away from driving a car for more than a few days in several decades of driving.

I also have taken for granted the daily ability to freely lift, stretch, wave, and raise my arm up over my head to put on clothing or do simple household tasks requiring a full range of motion in using my arm and shoulder.

Ah, the simple things in life in living with cancer! It’s now a little daily thrill to be able to put on t-shirts, pullovers, and other lift-over-the-head garments. This ability comes just in time, allowing me to move away from weeks of wearing sweats and zippered tops, to wearing something dressier to our daughter’s university convocation on Thursday this week.

In this post surgery recovery, I have gained a new respect for independence and the freedom to come and go as I please in hopping into a car and driving away. These past few weeks, I have had to rely on others to get me to medical appointments and errands. This is new for me.

It has been frustrating and hard to ask for help as I have lived many years doing these day-to-day tasks independently. I now have a sense of how it feels to lose your license and your freedom when you can no longer drive.

Herein lies a lesson for me. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s become necessary in living with cancer.

Slowly, but surely I am starting to own this required change in behavior. It’s happening in baby steps. In a way, maybe this is how I am evolving in my ability to ask for help. It’s feasible that in the next few months I will have to rely on others to get me to even more appointments should chemotherapy and radiation become part of my next treatment phases. I may have a better idea about this after my next appointment with my oncology surgeon today.

In the meantime, as soon as my homecare nurse finishes changing my surgical wound dressing, I will be jumping into my car to run errands in the neighborhood. I will heed to my physiotherapist’s caution to return to driving slowly and for short distances until my arm and shoulder strength continues to increase. If I don’t, she’ll know that I didn’t listen when I see her later this week.

A new day of adventures wait for me outside of my house. I’m looking forward to riding away today in my car as I continue to learn to live with my cancer diagnosis with Strength, Courage, and Determination.