Dat 10, The End Of Week Two / May 12, 2017

Wow, this has been a long week and it has been an emotional roller coaster.  I started the week off strong. Even though the chemo went better with the new meds, mentally it was a lot more taxing.  

Each day I am presented with new side effects such as sore throat, dry mouth, acid reflux and taste issues.  One issue by itself is not bad but as they compile they can start to be overwhelming.  The biggest issue right now is my fatigue and energy level.  I was told it would plummet, but I wasn't expecting it to drop so quickly.  

I talked with Kim and told her I am starting to feel a little defeated and part of that is from knowing the worse is yet to come. Kim pointed out that I spend most of my time either getting treatment, or resting from treatment and I am not keeping myself mentally active.  She suggested that I take up a small hobby such as building models or some other low impact activity that will not wear me out, but will keep my mind busy.  I think this is a great idea.

Kim has stepped away from work as of Monday, so I will have her here full time. This will help by giving me companionship during the day and a caregiver throughout the rest of the treatment.  I thought it would have been too early, but I was wrong.  The timing is perfect.

As for now, I am going to rest up over the weekend since I do not have treatment over the weekends and look for some small activities that I can use to fill my time. As I start week three on Monday I ask that you pray for both mental and physical strength for me.  

God Bless


Comments

  1. AndreaMay 13, 2017 at 1:03 PM

    I pray every day for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 14, 2017 at 7:40 AM

    "A little defeated", don't sugar coat it. He is getting depressed! We are going to look into him talking to a counselor and/or get on some meds. This is suppose to be normal too. But we can't have him throw in the towel mentally so early! He is just approaching the enemy line! And he needs to be physically and mentally ready! Things are going to get ugly, yes. But he can get through this if he is mentally is ready. So our job is going to rally around him and find ways to renew him mentally! He use to love building model cars and planes so I'm hoping that he'll still love that and help keep his mind off of "cancer". Charlie is one of the strongest guys mentally I know! He ALWAYS sees the brighter side of everything. This is new territory for him! Please pray for strength and courage for him as well as ways to "occupy his mind". Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teeth Extraction Surgery / April 5, 2017

Image
It is April 5th and I am back at Orlando Health hospital for more outpatient surgery.   This time I am scheduled to have eight teeth and my tori bones removed from my mouth.   I am not as concerned about the dental extractions, but don’t get me wrong they will suck, as I am bout another round of general anesthesia. I have been assured that the hospital staff knows how hard anesthesia is on my body, and I have the same anesthesiologist.   This guy seems like he is really on the ball and is telling me all of the precautions he is taking so we don’t have the same problem as last time.   He also explains that since I ma having dental surgery, he has to intubate me for my oxygen through my nose.   He warned me that I will have a bloody nose and sore throat when I come out of surgery. Kim is concerned enough for both of us, and I feel really bad for her.   People always worry about the patient, but the caregiver has just as hard of a job if not harder.   The patient just has t
Read more

Throat Biopsies and Getting My Port / March 28, 2017

Image
March 28 th and I arrive at Orlando health hospital for my first outpatient surgery. I am scheduled to have several biopsies of my nose, mouth and throat. The ide is for the surgeon to put me under and then use forceps to take small pieces of tissue from several of these areas.   Once he takes these tissue samples he will bring them to pathology to be read.   If cancer is found on any of the samples then we found the cancer.   If cancer is not found on any of the tissue samples, he goes in and takes a second pass at each area.   Hopefully between two sets of sampling we can find the primary source of the cancer. I am also having a port inserted into my chest.  This port is a mechanical device that goes under the skin on the left side of my chest.   Once it heals up it can be used to draw blood without having to start an IV and can be used to give my the chemotherapy without destroying my veins.   This port has a tube that goes directly into the main vein in my heart, so we h
Read more

Day 17... I Have Passed The Halfway Point In Radiation / May 23, 2017

Image
Wow, I can't believe today I have gone passed the half way point in my radiation treatments.  From here it is all downhill.  The side effects of the radiation will start to intensify, but at least I can see the end approaching. It is the day after my chemo treatment, and this is always a hard day.  I feel like I have been run over by a large truck, twice.  I spend a lot of the day resting and napping so that I don't exhaust myself or get myself too nauseous. After my radiation treatment I get to go back to the cancer center and have fluids run through my veins. This may not sound like a good thing to most people, but for me it is a boost of energy and helps push the chemo drugs out of my kidneys and out of my body.  It really does help with the recovery. On the fun side of things, my body now does a new trick.  The radiation is obliterating my sinus cavities. I have to do a sinus rinse every day to keep my sinuses clear and keep working smooth.  Now when I do my rins
Read more