The Final Stand - Day 24

Greetings and Happy Hump-Day!

Today was the first day following chemo so naturally I had some moment of fatigue. But, we'll get there in a minute...

I woke-up this morning feeling okay. I had my usually post-chemo headache, but I was able to resolve it relatively quickly. In addition to the headache, I had my usual dry mouth and sore throat. Today was unique in that the mucus build-up in my throat was nearly choking me. It took a hot shower and some crafty coughing to dislodge all the overnight build-up, but by the end of it, I felt like my usual self.

I had more energy this morning than I would have expected following chemo. It could have been due to some lingering steroids, but I have no way of telling for sure. Jess and I had to get ready earlier than usual because I had an appointment with the lymphedema specialist at 10:00. To ensure we made it there in time, we had to be out of the house by 9:15.

The lymphedema appointment went well. My headache was still lingering, so the therapist was kind enough to have me lay down for most of my treatment. She praised our (Jess') message efforts over the past week. The therapist could tell that my scar tissue had softened-up quite a bit since my last appointment. I wish I could take credit for this but, doing so would be robbing Jess of her accomplishments. My appointment was scheduled for an hour, but since the appointment following mine cancelled, I received an extra 45 minutes of treatment. The therapist is amazed at how well I've thwarted-off the usual skin burns. She is no spring chicken, and in her many years of treating patients undergoing the same treatments me, she has never seen anyone as far into treatment, not show the burning one would expect at this point. I told her I was receiving similar comments at the cancer center in regard to my miracle blood cells. The whole discussion had me wondering if I might get through this entire ordeal relatively easy. We'll see... lets not get our hopes up.

We had just enough time to get from one appointment to another. We arrived to my radiation treatment a couple minutes before my scheduled time. By the looks of the waiting room, there was no way I was getting in early, so no harm done. Boy was I right. Today ended-up being one of the longest waits we've had. Luckily we had some nice people surrounding us that were able to carry on good conversations. One man was there supporting his younger brother who was fighting the same cancer as me - I think I mentioned him yesterday. If I had to guess, I would say both gentlemen are in their sixties. The brother with cancer is seven treatments behind me, so being able to provide someone else tips for once felt kinda nice.

The other patron in the waiting area was a gal my age. She was there supporting her 76 year old uncle and aunt whom both found out they had cancer within a week of one-another. Her uncle has lung cancer. He was a miner for many years and does not want to undergo any treatments. Her aunt was diagnosed with lymphoma and insists that if she fights, he fights. His cancer getting the best of him quick. In fact, the gal I was speaking with was confident he would be admitted due to his current condition. By the sound of it... he could use some extra prayers if any of you have the time.

By the time my radiation treatment was over, I could feel the chemo really kicking in. I was suddenly drained and looked forward to heading home.

Once at home, I tube fed then crashed for what ended up being nearly 4 hours. I woke-up just before 6:00, feeling hungry again. I decided I would try using one of my new gravity feed bags instead of pumping. It was easy to set-up and a lot less messy than using the syringe. It was also nice to lounge back in my recliner while the gravity bag did all the work.

So, today was the first day I went without eating anything in the tradition sense. Everything was tubed in. All three meals were Liquid Hope... which reminds me. I got the call today that I would be receiving scheduled deliveries of both Liquid Hope and medical supplies for tube feeding. By the sounds of it... Tricare is going to pick-up the tab! I am extremely grateful for this. I truly believe this Liquid Hope formula will provide me the healthy balance of calories, fiber, protein, and nutrients I need to maintain my fighting stance. I just hope this doesn't turn into a six month ordeal like I know if has for some people. Lets hope my taste-buds recover quickly!

May peace be with all of us! Goodnight.