Go ahead and count them...

Hello world! I've missed you all dearly. Settling back into a semi normal routine has been a good distraction from this whole cancer mess, but it has also distracted me from keeping you all up-to-date on my progress.

Change occurs on a daily basis. The changes are small, but they add up quickly. The most recent development is the return of my taste buds. That's right! My taste is returning. It isn't what I would consider "normal" by any stretch, but I am getting enough taste sensation that food is no longer unbearably. In fact, I spend much of my day looking for new foods to try. It's like a game of Russian Roulette - where food takes the place of bullets. Some foods taste good, where others... not so much. I've learned that my mouth is a lot like an infants again. There are some flavors that cause me pain and discomfort, like spicy and sour foods. Remember being a kid and thinking your parents toothpaste was spicy? Well, as adults, we've gotten use to those strong, minty flavors, but as children, then burn and cause irritation. That is what I am now dealing with. It is as if my mouth has never been exposed to spicy or sour foods. Even my toothpaste burns like no other.

If you look at your tongue in the mirror, you will see thousands of little taste buds covering your mouth. There are so many, there would be no way to count each and every one. In my mouth... I can "literally" count each and ever one. They are popping up one at a time, and not just in one area. They are spread out enough, and few enough that I can actually count how many taste buds I have. The good news is, the number of taste buds grow by the day.

It's funny... my radiation oncologist was right about how each taste sensation would return. The ones you desire least come first, and the ones you anxiously await are dead last. Sweet is the taste I desire most. Right now, I can taste a very faint hint of sweet. Bitter was first, which I was more than okay with since beer and coffee fall into that category. Savory seems to be making a huge comeback as well. I had a bag of Gardetto's today, which were AMAZING! The crunchy crackers were a little touch on my delicate mouth, but I didn't care. They tasted just as they should... just not as bold.

Speaking of my mouth. I had a dental appointment on Friday. It was my first dental exam since this whole debacle first started. My exam was at the same clinic that initiated the biopsy of my tongue tumor. When I got there, I was sad to hear that many of the dentists that helped me out when I was in pain had since left. This did not stop all the new dentists from wanting to check-out my new tongue. I gladly put myself on display for anyone wanting to be nosy.

I asked the dentist about the fluoride treatments I might need to prevent having brittle teeth. As if it were his idea, he immediately began lecturing me about the long-term effects radiation has on the mouth and how important it will be that I apply fluoride to my teeth daily. I just let him ramble on... nodding my head as if I had never heard any of this information before. I know I'm not a doctor... or in this case dentist, but I think there is some level of credit due for being a subject matter expert in a disease I happened to have had. 

Anyways... I now have cool new toothpaste I must use every night. The key to this stuff is that I cannot eat, drink, or rinse my mouth for at least 30 minutes. I just brush my teeth right before bed... that way I don't have to worry about it. I also like that this toothpaste isn't "spicy."

Oh... that reminds me of a funny story. I went to lunch with some co-workers. It was on Friday, a couple hours before my dental appointment. We went to Panda Express, which was cool with me because I got to taste everyones food... since most people ordered different things. They laughed at me, but I didn't care. So... I was telling them I needed to stop at a store to get a toothbrush and toothpaste because I wanted to brush-up before my dental appointment. For the sake of conversation, I also shared with them the "spicy" toothpaste issue. Well, when we stopped at the store, one of the guys insisted I buy the matching Spongebob toothbrush and paste. I now have non-spicy fruity bubblegum toothpaste. The world is good!

Well, I have two appointment coming up in the near future. I have an appointment with my primary care doctor on Friday and a follow-up appointment with my ENT doc next week. I'm hoping to learn more about the medical evaluation process the military will soon initiate on me. Other than that... I don't know what else to expect other than kudos on my healing. Regardless... I will provide you all with an update.

Before I leave.. I am happy to report that I will be teaching two resiliency classes on Friday. Teaching is something I love to do, and loosing the ability to do so was a huge fear of mine going into this cancer nonsense. One of the classes I am teaching is about how gratitude can help us become more resilient. I'm super excited to use my blogging experience as an example of how I was able to apply the lesson principles to my life. You might remember me pointing out that sometimes we need to focus on the small wins in order to get by each day. I'm super stoked!

Well... I hope you all had a wonderful Hump Day. Tomorrow is Thursday... so let's all hope for the best.

See you next time!