That’s right, I’m still at home. I am too healthy to be admitted. I’ll have to go back for another control on Thursday and then probably M, W, F next week. They will be keeping an eye on my until all my blood levels are on the rise and my immune system is back up and running. Hopefully no more than 10-12 days. I don’t know if I can avoid the hospital for that entire period but it does happen…
On the bright side
Tonight my son gets his second dose of the vaccine and my teenage daughter gets her first. May and the oldest are already fully vaccinated. I’m the odd man out in the family as I have not been vaccinated at all. Hopefully this fall.
The last few rounds of chemo went fine and I am now home eating and drinking and being merry. I go in for blood tests and a control tomorrow, which may end up with me being admitted to the hospital again. But that is a good thing. With covid blowing up again over here and memories of blood poisoning fresh in my mind, the thought of being at the hospital is a little bit comforting. I love being home, but for the next 10-12 days I’d rather be safe than sorry. The hospital is only 20 minutes away.
Being home has been wonderful. I relax and eat. We have had great food and lots of quality time. I’ll be glad when I’m home on a permanent basis.
On the bright side
My mustache is still coming in and now I’m getting a fuzzy beard growing in much thicker than anything I’ve had before. Its like the chemo has awakened dormant hair follicles on my face.
When I started this blog I promised to be upbeat and keep my sense of humor. Somewhere along the way (probably in the ICU) I dropped the ball and I apologize for that. I’m still positive and my faith has only increased through this process, but I am worn out. I don’t want to put up a fake cheery face, I want to stay real and the truth is that I’m tired. But I am almost at the finish line and will try to be upbeat and positive from here on out.
I’ve never had much facial hair. Growing a beard or mustache has always been out of the question. But right now growing on my face is a smooth, soft, dark mustache. May can’t believe it. If this keeps up I’m going to look like a bald cowboy in no time. I hope it doesn’t fall out after this round of chemo because this is the coolest thing that has happened to my face since I had most of my burn scar removed in the 80s.
On the bright side
Beside the mustache – In about 30 hours I am done my final chemo treatment and on my way home. Good food and people I love. I can’t wait.
As I’ve mentioned several times, things move fast around here.
About an hour after I posted to the blog yesterday the doctor came in and said that all the tests looked good and that the hernia or infection was so small that they weren’t going to worry about it and that they wanted to start the chemo treatment ASAP. So yesterday afternoon I got my first of five treatments. Four more to go.
I’m nauseous and tired but pushing through. By this weekend it will be over.
Here I sit at the hospital expecting to start the final round of chemo today, but plans change. Nothing goes according to my plan. I seem to have a hernia or maybe some sort of infection which they need to clarify first. In addition they need to run a series of blood and bone marrow tests before they can start the chemo. The hope is to start tomorrow but I may not start until Wednesday. In the meantime we wait.
The doctor said that its an easier round of chemo than I’ve been through before. That was good news. It will still wipe out my immune system for a few weeks though. But once we are through that phase and my immune system builds back up, I am finished. I’ll of course need to go through rehab, check-ups and recovery but as treatments go I’ll be finished. Praise the Lord.
On the bright side
Although I hate all this waiting, I have plenty to read.
It looks like I’m headed back to the University hospital to start, what is hopefully the final round of chemo. I’ll go in Sunday evening and treatment will start Monday morning. Things move quickly in Norway.
It’s a five day chemo treatment followed by about weeks of observation (during which my immune system will be torn down and I’ll be vulnerable to the world). After those two weeks I’ll be able to start my recovery.
I’ve barely had enough time to mentally prepare for this. Like I said, things move quickly. But I’m really just along for the ride. I just hope that the next few weeks go by quickly and uneventfully and that I can get home again quickly.
On the bright side
I’m headed in for my final treatment. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. God has delivered on all His promises to me. We are almost at the goal.
We got the news today! I’m cancer free! That is probably the third best thing I could hear, after hearing God say “well done” and hearing my wife say “I do”.
What a relief. It wasn’t something I was expecting to hear today, but man does it feel good. But it doesn’t mean I’m finished. I will get one more round of chemo just to make sure I stay this way. After that I’ll have 12+ days with no immune system. From there I go into recovery modus and spend this Fall building up my immune system, gaining my strength back, going to counseling and regular control trips to the hospital. If all goes well I should be back to normal in 4-6 months.
God brought me through this just like He said He would. Its gone quickly, even though at times it felt like it would never end. I am so grateful to God and trust that we’ll get through the next round as well.
On the bright side
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and its a little overwhelming. I got the news and came home and slept for two hours. Its been an afternoon of tears and smiles and its been emotionally draining, but it feels good.
Being home all day I mostly sit and rest. I do small easy chores around the house the fill the dishwasher, wash a few dishes, help with meals and straighten up, but mostly I lounge about.
May takes me on a few walks everyday, not that far but we try to stretch it out every few days to increase my stamina and strength. We are definitely making progress. Last night’s walk was the longest I’ve walked without a rest. I do the stairs about twice a day and try to get in some arm exercises as well. Sometimes it wipes we out, some times not, but in the long run I’d say its all having the desired effect. I’m glad I have May pulling me along and encouraging me.
I slowly feel myself coming out of the fog. I just hope I don’t slip back into during the third treatment. Regardless, being home has been wonderful and I’m so glad for this opportunity. We sent our older daughter to college day, I was glad I could be there for that milestone in her life.
On the bright side
I have eaten so much good food and drank so much good juice since I’ve come home. I’m almost certain I’ve put on weight. I have a wonderful wife who cooks and feeds me and friends who deliver food. We are truly blessed.
Ever since my spell in the ICU I’ve been in a fog, both mentally and physically. I’m coherent and I can function but there is some disconnection from everything going on around me.
I’m surprised at how much strength and stamina I lost during that period. My body is still weak and I need to exercise everyday to get back to where I was. Between the training and the lost strength I feel like I’m in a constant state of exhaustion. I know it will pass with time as I build myself up, I’ve already seen great improve in how far I walk. I look forward to not constantly being tired.
My mental fog is more difficult to explain. As I mentioned I am coherent and functional, but somehow my head is still in a fog. Maybe it´s related to being physically worn out all the time, I don’t know. Hopefully being home the next few weeks will help me clear up and I can start feeling like my old self.
On the bright side
There is no better place than home for restoring the body and mind, so I am off to a good start to coming out of my fog.
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. I was kind of in a fog. After three days of waiting to harvesting my stem cells, the doctors gave up trying today. It’s perfectly normal after a long hard chemo treatment that the body can’t produce enough stem cells to harvest.
That eliminates one of the three final treatment option. It was the the treatment option that I personally would have chosen as the other two scare me a little. But God is in control and I’m sure that, in the big picture, whatever He has planned is better then my choices.
But the good news is that they sent me home for two-three weeks. I am so happy to be home. We had a nice rich dinner to try and fatten me up. All I need to do is rest and eat. though I should, and will, try to build up my strength and stamina. I’m still weak and a bit weary from my stay in the ICU. But today I will just enjoy myself.
I’m just know beginning to process the severity of what happened to me in the ICU. I can’t talk about yet without crying, but I can talk about it. I will take a long time to process everything that has happened and will happen. But when the time comes I look forward to working through and gaining a widening perspective of what has been happening to me.
On the bright side
I am home and surrounded by my family. I love it.
