The Final Stand - Day 23

Well hello! It's nice to see you again. Thanks to you and many other friends and family members, my blog has been visited over 10,000 times. I know this is a long way from the millions of views some YouTubers get for a single video, but it means a lot to me. Your willingness to take this ride with me lifts my spirit!

Today was hectic! We had to start our day early due to a temporary change in my radiation schedule. Normally my radiation appointment is slotted for 12:20, but for today only, I was asked to come in at 9:20. This meant I had to drag my sorry sack out of bed, get washed-up, and dressed much sooner than I normally would have. On a good note... I was feeling great this morning. I had the typical sore throat, mouth sores, and neck stiffness, but I was filled with an energy that I had missed over the last couple weeks. I think it has a lot to do with it being a week since my last chemotherapy session. If that is the case... then today will change all that.

Due to us anticipating being gone for most of the day, Jess and I decided Jacee would tag along with us. Our first stop was the Radiation Oncology clinic. It was both interesting and annoying having to go in so early. It was interesting because I was able to meet new people - to include a fellow head and neck warrior. He wasn't as cool as Doug, but he was enjoyable to talk to. I was annoyed because the clinic was obviously backed-up. My appointment was scheduled for 9:20, but I didn't get zapped until close to 10:00. Luckily Jacee was being sweet this morning; it must have been the chocolate doughnut she had for breakfast.

We had two and a half hours to kill between appointments, so we decided to run a couple errands. First, we attempted to pick-up some school pictures from JCPenny's, but the photo studio is closed on Tuesdays. Our next stop was Sport Clips for some haircuts. Jacee had been wanting a haircut and Jess convinced her to cut it short, so we got her into a chain. I also wanted to get a haircut to fix the back of my head. I got a close fade which worked in hiding the bottom two inches of missing hair. It is a little closer than I normally would like it, but it looks decent enough. Plus, it is so hot right now that having less hair is a plus.

I knew the girls would be getting hungry around lunch time so I recommended to Jess that we stop for lunch. She insisted that they would be okay, but I knew she was only trying to be sensitive to my current condition. I insisted they eat, which was met with the recommendation of a buffet... an idea I may have inspired. I told Jess that many recovering head and neck cancer survivors like eating at buffets because they can sample a large variety of food until they find something they like. So, for lunch we ate at the Golden Corral.

I walked around Golden Coral placing small samples of food I thought might be palatable on my plate. I got a couple funny looks as I grabbed these ridiculously small sample sizes. but I knew if I got too much of something, I would be forced to eat it out of guilt. Anyways.... what I deducted from this trip is that the only foods from Golden Coral I can tolerate are poached eggs and chocolate. Everything else was repulsive... at best. I've decided that today's lunch experience will be the last time I attempt to eat solid foods until I expect my taste to return. I fear I will inadvertently change my perception towards foods I currently like, for the worse.

After lunch, we had to make our way back towards the college for my chemotherapy appointment. We reached the clinic with ten minutes to spare. I had four appointments scheduled today: labs, check-up with the oncologist, chemo infusion, and nutritionist.

My labs went quick... a it always does. A simple stick to the top of my hand and its done within minutes. What is really impressive is how quickly they can take the blood samples, run the diagnostic tests they need, and return the results to the doctor. We're talking within a matter of twenty minutes... maybe less.

My medical check-up went well. I continue to impress the doctors and nurses by how resilient my body is against the effects of chemo. My white blood-cell count is still relatively high. The nurse practitioner explained to us that the blood test indicates how many old and young white blood-cells exist. In my case, both my old and young cell count was higher than normal. I can only assume this means my blood cells are resilient... capable of producing new cells despite the poison flowing in my veins.

The tinnitus I've been experiencing is a concern. The doctors are concerned that the tinnitus could be a sign of possible hearing loss... a known side-effect of Cisplatin. They would like me to schedule a hearing exam with the base audiology department. Since I have never had a hearing exam at the University's hospital, the only way to determine hearing loss is for the military to conduct the test and compare it to my last annual exam.

I had my chemo infusion immediately following my check-up. We were hoping to bring Jacee with us, but no children under the age of twelve are allowed in the infusion rooms. I can understand why...
 So, while I received my treatment, Jess and Jacee headed off to Walmart and then a playground.

My treatment went well. In fact, I fell asleep for the first half hour, only to wake-up needing to use the restroom. While away, the nutritionist had shown-up for my fourth appointment.

The nutritionist and I met for the last forty-five minutes of my chemo infusion. She informed me that we were very close to knowing whether or not I could expect Tricare to fund my Liquid Hope. She seemed very confident that all would go our way, but I'll hold off from celebrating until I see a package delivered to my front door. I informed her that I was now tube feeding on a more regular basis. I also addressed a couple concerns I had with the tube itself, which she was able to provide me the tools I needed to fix the problem.

It was 5:15 by the time I was done at the cancer clinic. By the time I found the girls and loaded-up in the truck, it was 5:30. It was a long day, but we had one more stop to make before we could head home.

I was informed by my fire chief that one of my fellow Master Sergeants was having a going away/retirement dinner at Dave and Busters. It was on the way home, so we decided to stop for a couple minutes. Jacee had not been there before, so we bought her some time on the games while I caught-up with the guys from work. Jess didn't want to eat there, so we left just as food was starting to arrive.

I'm home now. I've had my tube dinner and now I'm filling all of you in on my adventure. Jess and the kids are watching Pirates of the Caribbean, so I think I will join them.

Have a good night!