Pretty neat quote ay?? I never really understood the folks who think they are getting out of this thing alive. We all have a set amount of rotations around the sun, not one day more or less and there is not a damn thing you can do about it. So live your life, love those around you, go to Church, work harder and play harder. You never know when it will be taken away, if only for a short while.
It is 4am as I type this out, you are reading a side effect of chemo treatment number 1. More on that later, it was a great, crazy and scary day yesterday.
The day started like most days here in the Cueballs household. Kids up by 6a, my fantastic wife making coffee and breakfast for the boys, but oddly enough I slept until around 7a. Normally I am up by 6:15 helping, ok actually "supporting" this school day ritual but yesterday I really had to drag myself out of bed. My first thought was I was just being lazy, but it could have been a little more than that.
I've been having a couple cancer symptoms, one that is pretty much constant the last two weeks and the other just rears its head every couple of days.
The first symptom is a really persistent heaviness in my chest. Sort of like the beginning of a cold, an occasional cough but nothing produced. It feels like fluid is building, sometimes it is worse than others but it is always there. The second is really odd and not me at all, unexplained, immediate, where's my pillow tiredness. It will hit me out of the blue and come hell or high water I am going to sleep, maybe only for a half hour, or maybe longer but sayonara baby...lights out. Yesterday morning felt a bit like that, getting up was a really a strange sensation of having weights tied around me, not usual for me at all. But what you gonna do.
At 8:45 I was off to the appointment, armed with a bundle of nerves, heart palpitations and a credit card, what could go wrong? Actually nothing went wrong, it was a good day.
A view from the parking lot. In this building I've had the majority of tests, met with the fantastic staff of KP and have been ushered from the normal life to the cancer life. Really a great new place, lots of light, very clean, certainly a place I won't forget anytime soon. This is where my treatments will be held. The walk from my car to the entrance was really a piece of cake. I don't mean physically but mentally. There have been times when walking toward this building entrance felt like my shoes weighed 50 lbs a piece and I couldn't bare the though what the next test would be, but not today, today was a day of action and I really wanted to get the party started.
If you ever see this sign as part of a doctor's visit here's a hint...your life is not going as planned...get ready for the curve ball. Behind this door is my next 12 treatments, 6 months worth of highly trained, professional and wonderful folks trying to kill my cancer and keep me alive in the process. I will be receiving 6 rounds of ABVD (I'll explain this next week) then hopefully be cured. My oncologist says there is a 80-90 percent chance for a cure, not too bad as far a cancer goes.
The room is really pleasant with a fantastic vies of the Rocky Mountains, but believe me, it ain't no social club, there is really serious life saving business going on. What really make it is the incredible staff of nurses, pharmacists and doctors that see you through this.
Ah yes...my "little bastard" tapped and ready to go. Got to admit, the whole port fiasco may give way to a really good way to put chemo into you. No issues what so ever, it will still send my heart into palpitations every so often, but overall not bad.
Sat in the chair by 9:45 am, was walking out around 12:45 pm, next time it should only take 2 hours. Now for a couple of symptoms.
On the way out, I stopped at the pharmacy for some meds, mainly anti-nausea stuff. While the order was being filled, I went outside to call my wife. It was a great day, 40 degrees, incredibly blue skies and a light wind. While talking I felt a small tingle around my nose and eyes. Tingling in the location of an old Lone Ranger mask, then the tingling moved to my upper lip and mouth. My first thought was I may be having some sort of delayed anaphylaxis reaction, then BOOM it hit me. The feeling went from tingling to a thousand red ants being thrown on my face, I needed to get out of the cold and fast. As soon as the old cheek bones warmed up inside all was fine, it was just a reaction to the cold.
My extremely "unedumacated" and google induced guess is that it is some kind or neurapothy where I become hyper sensitive to heat and cold. No doubt the nursing staff will be thrilled with my excellent self diagnosis.
All in all a good day. Next week I hope to update you on the actual treatment, that is if a mountain lion doesn't get me. Thanks JohnL.
No comments:
Post a Comment