Yesterday arrived in the mail Christina’s Valentine’s Day gift and I just opened it up and gave it to her on the spot. I’m tired of waiting for things, there’s no time to waste anymore. No one knows what’s going to happen next, so … Anyway, I was really happy with my gift choice so let me share it. For Christmas I had gotten Christina 9 rings off of eBay that were all vintage, semi-precious stone, filigree setting rings. Why 9? I don’t know. It’s not because she lost a finger, or that I’m planning to cut one off, any time soon, it just happened that way. So, to round it out to an even ten sounded right, so that’s what I did. One more ring, but this one with a heart theme for Valentine’s Day and a one carat blue topaz. What a great ring! And she likes it!
Valentine’s Day Rang In Early This Year
Session 9 Not As Bad As a Dead Horse
The three week break between sessions 8 and 9 instead of the standard one has done wonders for me. I feel almost like it’s the first session but not quite. I still have had to take naps but my appetite is better and I have a lot more energy. So, only 3 more sessions to go or about seven weeks. I just wish every day for the day to be over so I can be finished with this shit. I’m still working as much as I can though and that helps pass the time and make me forget my health issues for a time. Not sure why i haven’t been writting. Probably because not much is going on except I’m just trying to get through this thing.
So Many Things Are Happening
During my chemotherapy, I have turned forty, Christmas has been celebrated, and Thanksgiving, and Halloween, my daughter turned 9, Barack Obama was inaugurated; and there are events yet to occur, Easter, Aydin will turn 7, Christina and I have our fifteenth anniversary. For all of these milestones, I have been or will be on chemotherapy and may still even have cancer, and this saddens me somewhat. I don’t want to be this way or feel this way, but this is the way I am. And, I want to be around for all the other milestones to come, which is why I carry on.
Session number nine began today. I have had four weeks off since my last session which has given me a new energy I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and I am grateful for that. This same time last session, I would have still been asleep in an eight-hour nap. So much for that! I feel better than I have in weeks although not “normal” by any means, but as far as being on chemo, it’s pretty good. My hope is that this respite has allowed me to finish chemo on a more energetic note and may even reduce the time it takes for me to recover from chemo which my doctor tells me should be about two months. But, of course, in my case, that may not happen as he says.
How Do You Like Them Apples?
Well, I’ve had the last week off of chemo and I took the same week off from this site. But now it’s time to get back to the grind. I couldn’t have my chemo last week because my GRAN level (”new” white blood cells) was too low for me to get the therapy. This is related to session eight when I wasn’t given the Oxilaplatin and because of that, I was told and relived to know that I wouldn’t be needing the Neulasta and Neumega since the Oxi is what really knocks your blood levels down. But, of course, NOT IN MY CASE.
I’m just full of surprises when it comes to this therapy. This week, again, my blood levels are still too low. Not only are they still too low, the went even lower instead of coming up. Mother (you know)! So my doctor caused this problem since if I had gotten the Neulasta shot we’d most likely be good on white blood cells. But then, it’s really me and my special chemistry. They fully expected I would be ready again. Now I’m not sure what to think. It’s nice to have the time off since it was getting pretty bad but this is not part of the normal course of the therapy. I’m not sure how this delay is effecting the success of my treatment if at all. The thing is, no one knows. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.
Where Did My Fingerprints Go?
Looking at my hands today I noticed my fingerprints have disappeared. How the hell did that happen? Chemo is good for so many things, I’m surprised no one has brought this to the attention of the general public. Where’s Billy Mays when you need him? Weight loss? Espionage/Life of Crime, leave no fingerprints. Need to look like the grim reaper for Halloween? Just take eight sessions of chemo! Call in the next ten minutes and we’ll double the offer!
My Hair
Between the shave, the weight-loss, my hair, and whatever the chemo does to my face, I look like death. Like how a funeral home makeup artist might do me. My hair looked like some of the guys I saw in a Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion performance, do they really need three guitarists? They had a “When they were young it looked good long, but not now” kind of look to them. Of course they were playing FreeBird and when the lead singer (brother of the original?) was singing, “this bird will never change,” he was raising his mic stand draped with a confederate flag while the crowd roared. Later, he threw the mic stand to someone dressed as Uncle Sam. Just another one of the things that scares me about the South of this country. Kentucky Fried Chicken is another. Here’s Dread Zeppelin’s rendition of Freebird.
