NHRA legend Shirley Muldowney on road to a full recovery

Four-time Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney is on the road to a full recovery after surgery and subsequent tests revealed tumors found in her lung were not cancerous.

Muldowney was discharged from the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte, NC., on May 31, and is now convalescing at home.

For Muldowney, there's no place like home.

“You can ask anyone that has been away and didn’t really want to be; anybody that’s been in the hospital or anyone that’s been forced out of their home for whatever reason, I feel so good," Muldowney said on Friday afternoon. "I have my puppies. It’s like they know I’m hurt; they stood back cautiously, but they were happy to see me. It’s funny with how things are situated now with my incision. I have to sleep on the other side of the bed that I normally sleep on. Other than that, I’m doing really good.”

Muldowney's May 25 surgery lasted five hours and, initially, thoracic and cardiac surgeon Dr. Harold Howe planned to remove her right lung, but upon closer inspection removed instead the upper and lower lobes of her right lung and lymph nodes.

Muldowney, who has bravely stood up to chauvinistic men during her storied career and made her way back from a devastating crash in 1984, admitted the initial prognosis and surgery made her more frightened than ever.

“I was afraid. But I’ll tell you, you sit there and watch television; they have all these medical ads that say lung cancer. I was in recovery, and it takes time to get those results, and the doctor didn’t want to give me false hope," Muldowney said. "All of a sudden, here comes Dr. Howe and he sits down at the end of my bed and he had almost like a smile on his face. He said to me, ‘I have good news for you.’

"’You have no cancer.’ He was so happy to tell me. Thank God the place was as good as it was and as good as they were to me. They were so gentle with me and wonderful. The nurses were great to me.”

Muldowney, who is retired from active competition, still attends the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series as an ambassador of goodwill though her Shirley's Kids program, a 501(c)(3) charity.

Shirley's Kids provides funds to select children who may be struggling with medical issues or financial hardships brought on by a personal or family tragedy.

Muldowney, per her Twitter account, anticipates a return to the drag races in July when the 24-event NHRA tour rolls into Bandimere Speedway located outside of Denver.

Muldowney will gladly take the time to heal before she enjoys her new lease on life.

“I dodged a bullet," admitted Muldowney. "I feel very lucky."

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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit www.competitionplus.com or follow on Twitter @competitionplus