I am finished. We went to the final control for this phase and I got the all clear. My immune system is back and I can start socializing and going to stores and restaurants . Soon I’ll have my catheters and tubes taken out and life will slowly start getting back to normal.
I would like to thank you all for your encouragement, prayers and well wishes. I am so grateful to God for bringing me through this and being with me every step of the way. And a special thank you to my wonderful wife and kids who suffered through this summer with me and to those who cooked, and fed us. Thank you so so much.
This concludes the voyage as I am now cancer free. I won’t update about how or what I’m doing but will occasionally post about my progress and how my recovery is going.
Thanks again for coming along on this ride.
The doctors sent me home yesterday. My blood numbers (number of blood cells and various other things in my blood) aren’t as high as they should be to be released but I was otherwise healthy and taking up valuable real estate as there were 7 patients camped out in beds in the hall way. (one of the down sides to socialized medicine).
So here I am ready to recover and get back to normal life. Yesterday I signed up for a physical therapy group for people who finished their cancer treatments. It should be a busy fall with doctor visits and controls, physical therapy, counseling and all the other stuff I need to do to get back to normal.
On the bright side
This is really about as bright as it gets. This is what I have been working and hoping for for the past three months and here I am. Thank you God!
It’s Sunday morning and I am stilling sitting my hospital room waiting to be healthy enough to be sent home. I’m not there yet, but it’s not far off. My immune system is building up day by day and I can go home on “leave” for a few hours today between my antibiotic infusions. (about 5 hours at home each day). I’m really looking forward to that.
Other than that there isn’t really much going on, which means no new problems or complications. That’s always a good thing.
On the bright side
I’m so close now I can taste it. In the meantime it’s so nice to be able to go home and see the family and eat home cooked food.
I finally got the word today that my immune system is coming back online. My white blood cells have doubled since yesterday. It is still minimal but at least it is going up and not down.
Other than that I am super bored. Being in the hospital when there is nothing really wrong with you leads to some long, boring days. The walls are white, the floors are grey, no curtains, no pictures, no colors. Luckily I have a TV but I can only watch it so much a day. I can restore a car, remodel a house, cook a Michelin dinner, hunt, fish and supply my family with meat through the winter in the wilderness.
Sadly my mustache has started falling out. I hope it grows back, who knows, maybe even thicker and darker.
On the bright side
I should be heading home in a few days, once my blood cells are up to a healthier level.
Last night I got a slight fever and that meant that it was time to go back to the hospital.
So here I sit and wait. I’m as healthy as I was yesterday, but the combo of fever and no immune system means that they have to keep a close eye on me, especially after what happened last time.
Hopefully it will be no longer than a week. Once this hospital stay is over I have another checkup / bone marrow test at the university hospital (outpatient procedure) and then I am home free. I see the light at the end of tunnel it just feels like it’s slow getting to it.
On the bright side
I’m safe here. I won’t get corona and they have me on antibiotics to fight off any infections. It might be boring but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Well, I’m still home. I have no functioning immune system but I’m not sick either. I won’t be admitted until I have a fever. Hopefully I won’t get a fever and won’t have to be admitted.
So I just sit here at home, lazing about being careful not to put myself in harm’s way. I watch a lot of TV, read, eat and sleep. I look forward to being finished with this final down phase and concentrating on getting myself back to normal. I will be good to see people again and rebuild my strength.
On the bright side
This whole experience has gone quickly and hasn’t cost us much money at all. Our greatest expense thus far has been parking at the hospitals. I’m not singing the praises of socialized medicine, but I pay those taxes anyway and and thankful that when it was my turn, things went smoothly. God is good.
