November 6, 2008 5:55

OK, let’s start again.

The battle is now joined. Last night at 10:00, the chemo therapy began. This begins the regimen of 7 days for the IV chemo drug and 3 days for the “push” chemo drug. The latter requires about 10-15 minutes of a nurses time to push it into your system. Sounds kinda gross but its really not. Then comes the real fun. With all that liquid being put into you - it has to come out. So you spend half the night urinating and, since you are now awake, the other half thinking. Believe me when I say that the former accomplishes something while the latter does not. Needless to say, I felt some level of fear and trepidation before it began as this whole process is new to me - the need for chemo therapy, unfortunately, only befalls other people - never on us.

At present, I feel fine. This is completely normal as it takes several days for the effects of the drugs to take over. At that time, with my cell counts being low, any of a number of things could happen. But since each of us is a unique individual, no one can predict how it will play out. The nurses say that it can run the gamut from only being tired to having to undergo an extensive battle to fight off some kind of ailment. I should also state that before the process began, I received an anti-nausea drug which appears to be working fine. I have eaten both breakfast and lunch today with no problems.

Now for a bit of good news. I was talking with one of my doctors this morning about my blood count numbers. To a large extent they are normal with a few obvious exceptions caused by the leukemia. I asked him if there was any significance to that and he stated that it implied that I had a “light” case of leukemia. I hope this is not like being a “little bit” pregnant. In any case, because of this situation, he felt that my chances of achieving a full recovery are enhanced. As I had mentioned before, since the rest of my body was in “perfect” health(who needs a gym?), the doctors have the luxury of not holding back in my treatment which, once again, increases my chances for a full recovery. All of this was music to my ears. It’s a tune that I want to hear but it is the only music that I will be listening to for quite a while. It brings home the fact that I do miss the enjoyment of singing in my church choir. I love the camaraderie and it has always served as a great way to put the cares of everyday life aside for a while and just do something for the sheer fun of it.

The rest of this entry is going to be a mixed bag of things that have happened since yesterday’s entry and things that I have neglected to mention. So let’s start with some of the mundane. I am not allowed to brush my teeth. Pretty skeevy, eh? However, they give me a pill to dissolve in my mouth 4 times a day and a mouthwash to swish around twice a day. Even better, I am not allowed to shower for the next 7 days. So, if any of you are so inclined to want to visit me - it would appear that the sooner the better would be a good approach to take. I am sure that next week, even I would not like to visit me. Also, on the advice of several people, I decided to get a buzz cut on Monday prior to my entering the hospital on Tuesday. Everyone tells me how much younger it makes me look - no one tells me how much more handsome it makes me look. I’m bummed!

Bob Johnson the living, breathing person no longer exists! That’s right. I have been reduced to nothing but a bunch of numbers - height, weight, blood pressure, oxygen %, heart rate, temperature, and a set of blood counts. Thankfully, none of the numbers is zero but some of them are going to get pretty close. I’m counting on heart not being one of them!
As most of you know, a bone marrow transplant is also a part of my recovery program. At present, the only person of interest(to use a police term) is my sister. She, of course, is willing to help in any way possible - but, according to the doctors, the odds are only 1 in 4 of a match. Strangely, if you have 4 or more siblings, the odds do go up somewhat that you will find a match - but no where near 100%. Should my sister not be a match, the next step is a bone marrow bank. The doctors say that with my ethnicity, there should be an excellent chance that a match will be found. Still, until a true match is found, there is an element of doubt.

To further assist in the hunt, one of my daughters is starting a bone marrow drive that is to occur on December 13th, at Hampshire Hills in Milford, NH. More details will become available as the particulars are ironed out. The process as I understand it to be is a simple one - all that is required is a mouth swab. The likelihood of anyone on that day being a direct match for me is very slim. But the chance that anyone who participates can help someone else is not slim and people helping people is what life is all about.

So, what’s the major activity of my day? Boredom! However, the doctor says that I should be extremely grateful that that is the case. And, you know, he is right! Because boredom means that things are going along fine. Of course, my wife Nancy is always at my side. She is up everyday before 5 and here by 7. She cannot continue to maintain this pace as it will ultimately wear her down. Life has to go on for the healthy. I keep telling her to take a day off now and then but she won’t hear of it. I think that she is in need of a hearing aid.

I want to thank Ann Foster for the wonderful dinner basket that she brought to the house and I want to thank all of my co-workers at Nortel for their thoughtful food basket gift - flowers and plants are verboten! I also want to thank all of you who have taken the time to send me cards and e-mail. This whole experience has been a very humbling one for me. I’m just an average guy who happened to contract a not-so-average ailment. I do not know the significance or purpose of this adventure. But I do know that I cannot possibly come out at the end without being changed in some way. How will that outcome affect my life and that of others I do not know. It’s in God’s hands and He works in mysterious ways……

As a final note, given the fact that I will more than likely become more tired as the week progresses, it is my thought that the best way to contact me is via this blog or my e-mail. This allows me the luxury to respond to you when I am at my best.

Thanks,
Bob