Continued Improvement

It's now almost three full weeks since my last radiation treatment. I needed to gain a few pounds and get my strength back in time for surgery in May. The last week has been great. Each day I think I have arrived back to normal only to find out that the next day is even better.

I have no symptoms of chemo or radiation at this point. I am eating normally. My radiation burn redness is almost gone on my back. I'm able to walk a couple of hours and I can feel my muscles again. I'm sleeping a full eight hours a day and I don't need any naps.

So, I feel like I'm ready for a CT Scan and meeting with the surgeon that is scheduled for Thursday. I should have my surgery schedule cleared within a day or so of that meeting. Surgery will probably be scheduled in May. It's hard to face surgery and a long recovery after just recovering. I want to just keep going without being brought down again. On the other hand, we have this cloud hanging over us that we want to get rid of and I'm happy to be doing well enough to get on with the process.

In many ways, I feel healthier than I have in years. I am 25 pounds lighter. That brought my blood pressure down to normal levels. I was living with untreated Atrial Fibrillation and some good diagnosis and medication has rid me of that. My heart rate is slower. I feel rested. I've had little stress of any sort for weeks. I've never felt more support and love from friends and family.

I feel blessed!

Spring and Recovery March into April

We are in Pacific Grove for some recovery time and Spring is in full blossom. Everything here is just gorgeous. I'm beginning to eat well as my esophagus irritation subsides. I'm getting a lot of exercise. I still have to sleep an hour in the afternoon, but generally feeling better every day. This is a good place for recovery. Every look at the ocean brings a renewed sense of well being.

We are doing some remodeling on our home, so we've done considerable moving and prep so that the contractors could get going this morning.

The next meeting with the surgeon is on April 19th. I'll also have a CT Scan that morning. After that, we should know the surgery date. I'm confident that I'll be physically ready. Again, thank you all for your messages of support. They have meant to world to me.

Good Progress!

I had my last radiation treatment on Monday. It wasn't really a tearful goodbye to the technicians, as nice as they are! I felt well enough to drive myself to the clinic. I went shopping for a few pairs of pants and shirts that fit. I dropped a couple of sizes and my old cloths are hanging off me. I don't want to buy too much because I'm not sure what weight I will be at the end of surgery and recovery. I suspect I will weigh less than I do now and that may be another size smaller.

On Monday, I also started a different medication to try to get my irregular hear beat under control. The fist medication we tried last week didn't work. Within an hour of taking the medication on Monday, my heart went into it's normal rhythm and seems to have stayed there. I'll confirm that with a cardiogram this morning. What a relief! I feel so much better just from that. My energy is coming back along with my appetite already. My esophagus still hurts when I eat or drink, but it is subsiding each day. I think I'm going to recover very quickly.

As I look back on the radiation and chemo treatments, I did very well. The asthma problem was unrelated. The heart rate problem was almost certainly related and unusual as a side effect. The expected side effects weren't that severe. The radiologist said that my treatment was very aggressive and that most cancer center's wouldn't even try doing that much.
I have a CT Scan on April 19th in the morning to confirm that there isn't any cancer anywhere. Then, I meet with the surgeon to schedule surgery in May.

I am particularly happy to have taken the most aggressive course of action when I hear the stories about the Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow. I realize that no matter how aggressive we have been, I will still have to get scans a few times a year for the rest of my life and every scan will be a drama. I can only hope that a constant reminder of my own mortality will keep me focused on what is important in a way that improves my life. I have seen that dynamic at play already. More on that later.

One more to go!

I've completed 27 radiation treatments with one more to go on Monday. These last three sessions were very small compared to the the others and I'm already beginning to get my strength back. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and finishing on Monday. Then, I should have six pretty good weeks for recovery and building my strength back before surgery. We plan to go to Pacific Grove on Wednesday and stay most of the six weeks before surgery.

I'm doing well!

I had the last big radiation treatment yesterday. I am still able to eat and drink with some difficulty and I'm feel tired quickly, but, other than that, I'm doing very well. I have three more radiation sessions to go, but they are only 25% of my normal dose. So, I should start to recover next week. I've lost at least 20 pounds in the last five weeks and I lost 10 pounds before that. I'm down to the weight I was 40 years ago! I'll need to gain some back before surgery in May because I will lose more with surgery.

Moving Along!

I have only 4 radiation sessions left in the next 4 workdays. So, I'll be done by Monday. So far, I feel good and I'm able to eat and drink. It is a bit painful but not as bad as I expected. I have to take a couple of naps a day. The chemo feels gone from my system and I'm feeling much better as a result. I expect to start to feel really well about a week from Friday.

Unbelievable!

As I said, I didn't sleep much Tuesday night. I woke from a brief nap about 7:00 am Wednesday to a bright eyed and bushy tailed resident and his clipboard. This guy was 100% energy and intelligence. It's hard to take someone like that in the morning.

"We think we know what we are going to do. Don't eat breakfast. We are going to try to restart your heart rhythm with a defibrillator. You will be put to sleep and we will try to shock your heart back to it's natural rhythm." I picture the electric shock images from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

"In order to do that, we need to do an ultrasonic endoscopy so that we can take a closer look at your heart to make sure that there are no blood clots."

"So", I say "tell me how you are going to send a scope down my esophagus after it has just had 22 radiation sessions and is so sore that I can't swallow water without it hurting. Will I be out colder than the handle on that door for this procedure?"

"No", he says, " we need you to be conscious through this test, but we will make you feel real good".

"And what are we going to do tomorrow", I say, "burn holes in my leg with cigarettes? I'm not agreeing to do this procedure until I've heard directly from the cardiologist, the radiation oncologist and the oncologist. I'm counting on you to get all three of them on the phone to hear about your plan."

He loses some of his color and stammers a bit. "Well, we are still talking about it".

He comes back an hour later, when Sharon is with me, and talks about it again as if it's going to happen. Sharon pushes back as hard as I did.

Thre hours later the resident arrives. "Good news", he said, we've decided to take a less invasive approach. We will control this with medication. You'll have to stay for a couple of days of observation."

Then, a woman arrives with her clipboard clutched tightly against her breast. "I have a good deal for you", she says, " a bed has opened up in a really large room".

"How many people are in this very large room?" I ask.

"Four", she answers with great positiveness.

"You want me to move from a double room to a dormitory?" I said. "No thanks. I'll suffer through this very small room ".

"Well, I'll try to keep you here, but we need to place a woman and we like to keep the room same sex", she adds.

"I'm already wearing a Johnnie that looks like a dress, so get me a wig and some lipstick. If she is really sick, she'll never know the difference".

She laughed and walked out.

An hour later a roommate arrives. I can't see her because my privacy curtain is up. I hear a lot of Spanish conversation and someone says that the pain level is an 8 out of 10, There is talk of morphine. Things quiet down an hour later. I get out of bed to take a walk and glance over to see who my new roommate is. I glanced quickly and observe an obese young woman lying face down in her street clothes. On my return, I also notice an arm in a cast pointing in strange directions.

All is quiet for hours.

Then a nurse comes in and says "Hey, you can't do that!"

There is conversation in English. The patient is a guy. His obese girlfriend had been laying on him, like a hen on a nest, in an effort to provide comfort to him....for hours! This is in a single hospital bed! I couldn't even see him except for his broken arm! Anyway, the girlfriend went home. I'm glad the guy was knocked out with morphine!

So, I didn't need a wig and lipstick after all.

My roommate, it turns out is a roofer who fell off a roof three stories up that morning. He is lucky to be alive, but broke his arm badly and did some damage to his pelvis. He was waiting for surgery. He waited three days before a surgeon showed up to tell him that he was scheduled for surgey next Monday!. He had no advocate. He hardly spoke English. He had dozens of visitors, but they all just hung around with their heads down saying almost nothing.

At 4:00 pm my normal heart rhythm returned spontaneously. The medical people saw it as a miracle because the medication doesn't work that fast.

So, everyone, thanks for your prayers, meditations and the good vibes you sent into my universe!

Even though I went back and forth from normal to abnormal heart rhythm the rest of the time in the hospital, everyone relaxed and felt that I could get this under control with some medication and attention.