Monday

Today was a great day again. I have the score at 6 good days and 1 bad day since beginning chemo. That's 86% and I'll take it!

I am very tired at the end of each day. I feel like it's midnight right now. I can deal with tired though, not a problem.

Brandi, the kids, and I went for about a mile walk tonight. I felt really good afterwords. I put a call into Bertha today to ask if I could work out with my weights a little bit. She said she thought I could but wanted to ask Dr. Miller and get back to me tomorrow.

I found a new friend today; Iced Soy Green Tea Latte at Starbucks. So good and like a shot in the arm at the same time! I wonder what the nutrients label would read on that one? I bet it would be pretty good.

Going to bed now.

Sunday

It was a perfect Sunday. The weather was beautiful and we had a great day. I felt perfect 100% of the day today. It was a winner for sure.

Things are starting to resemble normal again. This week I have no medical appointments, no tests, no treatments, and I'm not even taking any medicine, besides chemo that is. Just a normal work week. I can't wait!

Back On Track

We finished last night feeling fine. I woke up this morning to feel normal which is fantastic compared to how I felt yesterday morning. We'll hope for the best moving into today.

......

Alicia came and took our kids to play with hers this morning. Camron and Alicia took the kids to the park and met Kristy and Erica there. Thank you guys for showing our kids such a fun day!

Brandi stayed with me and we kinda toughed through that rough morning together. I still have yet to vomit but it was a very rough morning.

On to tonight.

Tides Have Changed

The cake walk is over for now. I feel like hell today. I feel very hot but my temp. is only 99.1. We have to go to the emergency room if it hits 100.1. My stomach is still unsettled but my streak remains. Everytime I fall asleep I've been having bad dreams since I laid my head down last night.

I think everyone knows that there are going to be days like this when you go through chemotherapy. I can only hope that they don't come to often. This sucks.

Day 4 7:45 PM

Another day completed. I feel like I can slow down a little bit know that the weekend is here. I am beat!
My skin is feeling really dry. We'll need to address that over the weekend.

So, bad dreams, dry skin, and mild fatigue is as bad as it's been. I'll take that.

Dr. Logsdon's(RT) office called today and said he wants me to come in on March 17th rather than April 4th. That will put my treatment completion date two weeks sooner. We will be doing some scans to see the progress of what the chemo is doing for me right now. Then we will do a Radiation Simulation.

Right now I'm starting to feel my stomach getting a little unsettled. This is the first time I've felt anything in my stomach so far. Hopefully my 27 year vomit free streak will remain intact through the night.

I'm so lucky to have made it through this first week without missing any work and without ever feeling bad. I would have thought it would have been a little worse.

Day 4 - Noon

Halfway throug my fourth workday since chemo and all is still good. I feel tired but thats it. I have two kids so I'm always tired anyway. No big deal yet.

Day 3 5:00 PM

The day ended fine with no side effects at all. I am wiped out though.

Day 3 7:00 AM

I'm still good. No hard times as of yet.

On to a normal day at this point.

5:00 PM

I've made it through my first two workdays without any side effects since receiving the chemo. I am so happy about that.

Bertha called back to say that everyone handles it in a different way so you never know. She told me that Dr. Miller said that probably day 4, I would be having some nausea and fatigue. I read that the nausea affiliated with Carboplatin could last 24 hours.

Nausea is my second to worst fear in chemo. For one, I haven't thrown up in so long it seems frightening. Next, I can't work if I'm throwing up or nausious. So, this could be GREAT news if I could go through the peak of nausea over the weekend. Day 4 would be Friday.

My worst fear is losing my hair. For the fact that my kids would see my sickness. The good news is hair loss is rare with Carboplatin.

All and all, it was a great day. Now, I'll go home at let my kids wear me out!

2:00 PM

Still nothing. It's been an average work day so far. As of right now I have yet to feel a thing, besides sleeping more than usual last night.

I have a call into Dr. Miller and Bertha, his triage medical assistant, to ask if this is normal. They told me it was going to slug me. I'm just wondering when?

7:00 am

I feel fine today again. I went to bed much earlier than normal and woke up later than normal, but other than that I'm fine. Business as usual today.

I am going to see the customers that are closer to home like downtown hotels and hospitals so I could get back if I start feeling bad.

Two thumbs up for sure!

9:00pm

I'm still feeling great. I was expecting to be getting beat up a bit by now, but nothing yet.

5:00 pm

Everything is fine right now. I'm getting a little tired, I think? I did take 1mg Atavan so that might be whats making me tired. I'm sure it's coming, but right now I'm pretty darn close to feeling normal.

2:30 pm

So far I'm fine. I feel a little tired but that's it. It's probably the calm before the storm.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Over

We're on our way home now. I feel fine. As of right now I have a streak going of 27 years without ever throwing up. Something tells me that streak will come to an end sometime soon, but you never know. I'm planning on working today and every day this week as of right now. We're playing everything by ear. I'm not afraid to take some time off but at the same time, I'm not taking time off if I'm able to work. We'll see.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Other Meds Given

The drugs they gave me in the IV for nausea were Kytril and Decadron.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Chemo In

The drip of Carboplatin just started. It should take an hour, they said. Four doses total at 1350 mg. They gave me some nausea medicine in the IV before the Carboplatin.

Cece is my nurse and she's a very nice lady with a good sense of humor. This place is so bright and upbeat.

Brandi has been with me every step of the way and today is no exception. Its very nice to have her here with me except when her embarrassing ring tone went off and everyone was looking at us.

We're doing great!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

03.04.08

Today is the day that I will go on the offensive, for the first time since surgery, in my fight against this stupid cancer. I'm a competitive person and I turned this journey into a competition a long time ago. Today is my turn to be aggressive. I'm SO ready! I know that the next couple weeks are going to be a bit of a drag, but that's okay. I know that every second of worry, every sick moment, and every minute of fatigue will put me a second, a moment, and a minute closer to full recovery.



There is a paragraph in the book, "It's Not About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong that has came to be my "light at the end of the tunnel", I read it everyday. It reads:



.....What you learn in cancer surviorship is that after all the shouting is done, after the desperation and crisis is over, after you have accepted the fact of your illness and celebrated the return of your health, the old routines and habits, like shaving in the morning with a purpose, a job to go to, a wife to love and children to raise, these are the threads that tie your days together and that give them the pattern deserving of the term " a life". ............



I'm ready to return to my normal "life" and it starts today. My coworkers are all boarding planes tommorow in the cities where they live to go to a company wide event in Florida. I hope this is the last work function that I miss.



We're off to take the kids to my parents house and then II'S ON.


Two thumbs up!

Chemo Eve

Well I can't believe its finally here. I'm as ready as anyone can be to receive chemo. I hope this will be a knockout punch in this fight. I'm very confident that it will be. What the chemo doesn't kill, the radiation will, starting four weeks from today.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile