Wednesday, June 8, 2011

So, I Still Have Cancer (But Refuse to Let it Stop Me)

I am determined to not let this Lymphoma get me down and I want to lead a "normal" life, but sometimes I push it too far. I went to chemo this past Thursday and Friday and afterwards the "pushing" began. I now see why athletes use steroids to enhance their performance. This in no way condones those actions and after getting them during chemo I see how detrimental they can be. They totally mess up your normal thinking and sleep patterns, but hey you feel great and think you can conquer the world. By now you are probably asking, "Ok, what did you do...now?" It all started on Thursday night and barely sleeping and finally, by earlier this morning a light came on. Yes, the past five days I have had alot of fun, (paid for it) and my dumb ass just kept right on going.
After receiving chemo Friday I decided to peruse some thrift stores in South Austin and see if anything struck my fancy. Being the big spender that I am, I spent a few bucks on some t-shirts and had enough fun and was ready to head home. Upon leaving the store I looked over and there went the city bus. Just great. I rely on Public Transportation to get around and I knew the next bus would not be here for at least thirty minutes and so starts the stupid choices. I was tired, cranky and hot and not in the mood for this minor set back. Being the intelligent person that I am, (insert rude comments here), I decided to walk home. What the heck, it was about a mile and it was a balmy high ninety degree day out, a mere walk in the park as it was.  Sothe march began, I got home totally exhausted and started to make plans for Saturday. I rested and played around on the computer using social media to get my mind off things. My son's wife and daughter were going out of town to visit relatives and we were going fishing, hell yeah. I had also seemed to put the continual dull ache in my back from the thoracotomy aside and pushed foward.
Six in the morning comes mighty early unless you have been up most of the night, but enjoying the outdoors and the company of my son far outweighed the cost. At least in my mind it did. Quoting the new jargon "fail". After a great breakfast and a few coffees it was time to show some fish who was boss. Needless to say, the fish won. It was great being at McKinney Falls State Park. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/mckinney_falls/
I still remember going there with my Dad in the mid seventies and then taking my kids there when they were younger, a beautiful slice of nature not far from the hustle and bustle of downtown Austin. As you may notice from the link, limestone cliffs and rocks seem to be everywhere. Armed with caffiene and pain killers, I was ready to take on the world. We hiked and climbed our way to different areas only to catch some monster three inch perch. It was worth it, we also let some kids out hiking with their parents give it a shot. Seeing the joy on their little faces made me and my son happy. About noon, we decided it was enough, the pain pills were wearing off and I was getting tired. Saturday night and Sunday were pure hell. I moved from the bed, to the couch and then the recliner, trying to find some relief. I tried to take my mind off things by turning to Social Media. I tweeted, chatted on Face Book and also "talked" to friends in a Shout Box. I found myself fading in and out during conversations, so I just kind of gave up. An appointment for my nuelasta shot and an office visit with my Oncologist awaited me on Monday. BP, weight and blood work all looked good. After chatting with the Doc, (who was not impressed with me pushing things), we did make a schedule for future visits. Yes, more chemo, blood work etc. I am looking foward to the week of June 20th. I will be getting a PET scan. This will explain the procedure, but in a nutshell, I will find out how many treatments are left. Wish me luck!! http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=PET
Not having learned from the weekend, I decided to go traipsing about on Monday afternoon and yet again Tuesday. After eating dinnerTuesday evening, crash...I slept through numerous texts and calls about an eight alarm fire in RI. After coming to about midnight, I noticed a friend on FB. I got the skinny on the eight bagger and a few other "jobs", I missed. We chatted for a bit and then it was off to bed.
So, it is now Wednesday...I have decided to stay home and not do a thing, what a concept. My daughter and granddaughter will be taking me to meet with the Cardio Thoracic Surgeon on Thursday. I still am dealing with the pain and aggravation after my surgery and hope to get some answers. I will keep you posted on the outcome. I am also working on a post about Social Media and how it has affected me. Till then, Take Care, Be Safe and Never Forget.

 
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