Catharsis. . .

Well, Campers, today was a day of catharsis. .  .

I cleaned up the Wall of Tributes which held all the cards I received during my treatment and the white board which contained the calendar with my treatment schedule on it.

I reread each card as I took them down (and got a little misty-eyed) and then wiped the white board clean.  It’s time to go on with a clean slate.

And I want to thank you all one more time for the cards, visits, and other well-wishes during my times of treatment and recovery.  They made the pain and fear easier to take.  (OK, the OxyContin, morphine, Xanax, and Remeron also had their place. . .  ;-)

And a special thanks to my friends Karen and Will who drove me to Moffitt  on many occasions and sat with me many an afternoon through many a movie on DVD.  I have been blessed with the best friends a poor boy from the sticks could ever hope to have.

The healing is still in progress, but I feel more like my old self every day.  Whether that is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen. . .  ;-)

It’s Saturday and I’m going to run some errands as Elaine is at work.  March Madness is on the TV and all is right with the world. 

Peace and Love!!!!

Joe

Back in the Saddle Again. . .

Well, Campers, I have returned to work on a part-time basis as of today!!!

There are still  numerous side and after effects from the disease and the radiation and chemotherapy that I received last spring.  Oh, I have been free of disease since August, so that’s a good thing!!  But, let me list the goodies. . .

• I’ve lost some weight.  I could still afford to lose some more, but it’s a start.
• I am very sensitive to cold.  I’m not sure how much longer that will last, but I’m fortunate to live where I do.
• I get tired easily.  I’ve been told both by my doctors and in my support groups that this will last a year or two after treatment ends.  Since my treatment ended in May 2014, I still have a few more months to make the one year mark.
• I suffered some nerve damage and now have neuropathy, or occasional tingling in my hands and feet.  This will probably be with me the rest of my life.
• My throat is still swollen and filled with mucous.  As a result, my voice is somewhat ‘muddled’.
• Also, I still have the feeding tube in place though I haven't used it for a month and a half.  I'm still limited as to what I can eat, and am restricted to pureed foods and thickened liquids.
• I have lymphedema in my neck.  The cancer also affected some of my lymph nodes and others were fried by radiation.  As I result, the lymphatic fluid in my neck pools instead of draining as it’s supposed to.  So, I have to have my neck massaged daily and taped with kinesiology tape to keep the passages somewhat open and the fluids flowing.  My wife Elaine has learned to do the massage and taping, so my frequent visits to an occupational therapist are a thing of the past.  The lymphedema will be with me to some extent for the rest of my life.  I may not have to tape up that long, but we shall see what we shall see.
• Finally, the chemo drug I received, cisplatin, has a known side effect of hearing loss in 10 – 30% of cases.  I was one of the ones that scored on this one.   The hearing in my left ear is significantly degraded and the hearing loss in my right ear is total.  I now wear a system of bi-cross hearing aids that wirelessly routes sound from my right side to the hearing aid on my left ear.

So, that’s the way it is.  Every day we wake up on the green side of the grass is a great day!!!