It's Saturday! What does one do on a Saturday? First of all I drove my wife to a yarn shop that was a quite a distance from home so that took several hours to accomplish. I didn't go into the store, I just sat in a chair outside. But the change of scenery was really nice.
And after dinner, with my new found dietary rules, we went for ice cream at an outside ice cream place. We kind of stood in line but away from people and then ate the ice cream in the car. It feels great to be able to get some normalcy back into my life. And, with summer almost here, I would hate to just be having my transplant now and be forced to spend the entire 100 days with those dietary restrictions. This is another example of what seems to be perfect timing(thank you God)! Just as the weather really starts to make an up tick, I can take advantage of some of the things that summer has to offer.
Another day of feeling great, but today offered a mental component as well as the standard physical one.
Tomorrow is my first real outing as I said before to my brother and sister-in-law's house. I'll be outside all the time making a conscious effort not to have much physical contact with people. We are very much opting on the side of being conservative. Any infection can be very dangerous and I don't wish to see the inside of a hospital again! In fact, our scheduled company for tonight cancelled out because one of them has a cold. I really appreciate people being so concerned and it removes the burden from my wife and me to be judging the status of people's health when they plan to visit.
So much for today as we approach the last day in May. Where has the time gone...
Bob
May 29, 2009 10:50 PM
Well, no more countdown. As I mentioned yesterday, not much in the way of celebration was going to happen. And, sure enough, it was basically the same kind of day that I have had over the past three months.
It's other things that are worth celebrating - such as being able to take a shower without the need for assistance. My catheter had to be protected from the water so that I would not run the risk of getting an infection. In order to cover it properly, you needed to have at least three hands(which, unfortunately, I still don't have). Now that it's been over a week since I had it removed, it is healing real well(what else would you expect!) and I can simply step into the shower on my own. No more stinky Bob.
The weather was still lousy today for the 4th straight day so there was no real opportunity to step outside. Given the option of having good health or having good weather, I think that the former wins out rather handily.
As usual, for the 206th day in a row, I feel fine. That's probably not a record, but that's the number of days that I have been in the game so it's a nice streak to maintain.
My thoughts at this point are that I am grateful to have the 100 days behind me. But, there is still a long way to go before full recovery is at hand and it's hard to imagine that it will continue to be like this for the duration. But, then again, all the rough stuff is over and it's only a question of waiting it out until the end as my medications continue to diminish. I cannot honestly conceive of going through this entire journey of approximate a year and a half and having no problems! It just doesn't seem possible. Believe me when I say that I am not looking for trouble. But, to me, that would truly be a miracle of monumental proportions. I'LL TAKE IT!!!!
I thank you all for your continued support and truly believe that God is answering your prayers relative to my progress.
All for now...
Bob
It's other things that are worth celebrating - such as being able to take a shower without the need for assistance. My catheter had to be protected from the water so that I would not run the risk of getting an infection. In order to cover it properly, you needed to have at least three hands(which, unfortunately, I still don't have). Now that it's been over a week since I had it removed, it is healing real well(what else would you expect!) and I can simply step into the shower on my own. No more stinky Bob.
The weather was still lousy today for the 4th straight day so there was no real opportunity to step outside. Given the option of having good health or having good weather, I think that the former wins out rather handily.
As usual, for the 206th day in a row, I feel fine. That's probably not a record, but that's the number of days that I have been in the game so it's a nice streak to maintain.
My thoughts at this point are that I am grateful to have the 100 days behind me. But, there is still a long way to go before full recovery is at hand and it's hard to imagine that it will continue to be like this for the duration. But, then again, all the rough stuff is over and it's only a question of waiting it out until the end as my medications continue to diminish. I cannot honestly conceive of going through this entire journey of approximate a year and a half and having no problems! It just doesn't seem possible. Believe me when I say that I am not looking for trouble. But, to me, that would truly be a miracle of monumental proportions. I'LL TAKE IT!!!!
I thank you all for your continued support and truly believe that God is answering your prayers relative to my progress.
All for now...
Bob
May 28, 2009 10:35 PM 0 days to go
Done! Finished! Completed! Ended! Through! Finis! Over! Concluded!
Choose whatever word you like, the countdown is now completed! It seemed like so far in the future when we learned in January that the 100 days would end May 28th. But, so soon it's over - thank God. And I also thank God that it has concluded without a hitch. So much could have gone wrong during this time and yet nothing did. Why? What does it all mean for me! Where to next? These questions and others plague me from time to time as I try to make sense as to why everything has gone so well for me.
Life continues to be quiet for me and has been decidedly so over the past few days as it has been cold and rainy - no outside time was possible. However, now I can start to think about a little more variety in my life as I contemplate ordering pizza, Chinese food, subs, and what have you once in a while as a change of pace.
I did forget to mention yesterday that I had success with my Long Term Disability provider about getting direct deposit. The e-mailed me a form to fill out (you know that that is the only time in and out mean exactly the same thing - fill (in/out) the form) and mail back. Another thing taken care of!
I know that everyone expected me to have a wild celebration when the 100 days elapsed but it's just another step on the road to a full recovery. When that is achieved - then the party can begin! But it does feel good to have it all behind me now.
I suppose that I could now start another countdown to February 17th next year(265 days away) when my calendar year has been completed - but I think that I will forgo that.
We'll just keep this blog going until at least that time. With a number of people making it a required part of their daily living, I know that I will feel guilty when the time comes to finally call it quits. But that's another day that is quite far in the future - so let's not worry about it for now.
Maybe at that point you could all start writing to me...
Bob
Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I am doing so well that I wish to keep on riding this horse.
Choose whatever word you like, the countdown is now completed! It seemed like so far in the future when we learned in January that the 100 days would end May 28th. But, so soon it's over - thank God. And I also thank God that it has concluded without a hitch. So much could have gone wrong during this time and yet nothing did. Why? What does it all mean for me! Where to next? These questions and others plague me from time to time as I try to make sense as to why everything has gone so well for me.
Life continues to be quiet for me and has been decidedly so over the past few days as it has been cold and rainy - no outside time was possible. However, now I can start to think about a little more variety in my life as I contemplate ordering pizza, Chinese food, subs, and what have you once in a while as a change of pace.
I did forget to mention yesterday that I had success with my Long Term Disability provider about getting direct deposit. The e-mailed me a form to fill out (you know that that is the only time in and out mean exactly the same thing - fill (in/out) the form) and mail back. Another thing taken care of!
I know that everyone expected me to have a wild celebration when the 100 days elapsed but it's just another step on the road to a full recovery. When that is achieved - then the party can begin! But it does feel good to have it all behind me now.
I suppose that I could now start another countdown to February 17th next year(265 days away) when my calendar year has been completed - but I think that I will forgo that.
We'll just keep this blog going until at least that time. With a number of people making it a required part of their daily living, I know that I will feel guilty when the time comes to finally call it quits. But that's another day that is quite far in the future - so let's not worry about it for now.
Maybe at that point you could all start writing to me...
Bob
Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I am doing so well that I wish to keep on riding this horse.
May 27, 2009 10:30 PM 1 day to go
A number of things to talk about today as it was a clinic day - the last of the weeklies. Next appointment - June 24th! However, as the doctor noted, the downside of this is that my social life has now decreased by 75%!
First of all it was the first time since October that I had my blood drawn by needle and she managed to apply a little pain - not just the expected pinprick. Maybe my pain threshold is rather low given the long layoff. Other than that, there were no other problems - just a lot of tubes.
The doctor's visit went well, my counts are starting to climb - with hematocrit and hemoglobin being the highest that they have been in a long, long time. This indicates that the transplant is really starting to take hold. However, these counts have a ways to go before they get back to normal. But everything is right where it should be or better.
The doctor officially ended the 100 days today - even though the real count ends tomorrow. This relaxes the dietary constraints though he recommended that I lay off fresh deli meat cuts for a while. Also, as expected, no glass of wine until I am off the immuno-suppressants. I haven't really missed it up to this point so I don't foresee any issues here.
One medical item of note is that they were concerned about my glucose and cholesterol levels because an increase in these is an expected side effect of the immuno-suppressants. And, sure enough, when we got home from the hospital there was a phone message from the doctor saying that my cholesterol level had skyrocketed. Before the transplant it was 153(which is very good) and has now risen to 270(which is not very good). So, he has prescribed Lipitor until I am weaned off the immuno-suppressants and the level returns to normal(for me)!
So, it will be a month now before there will be another doctor's visit and a medical update. But that's alright, I can fill you in on all the food that I am consuming from outside the house. I am sure that all of you will be greatly interested in that!
That's about it for the day. Not that I can think of anything else to say right now anyway...
Bob
First of all it was the first time since October that I had my blood drawn by needle and she managed to apply a little pain - not just the expected pinprick. Maybe my pain threshold is rather low given the long layoff. Other than that, there were no other problems - just a lot of tubes.
The doctor's visit went well, my counts are starting to climb - with hematocrit and hemoglobin being the highest that they have been in a long, long time. This indicates that the transplant is really starting to take hold. However, these counts have a ways to go before they get back to normal. But everything is right where it should be or better.
The doctor officially ended the 100 days today - even though the real count ends tomorrow. This relaxes the dietary constraints though he recommended that I lay off fresh deli meat cuts for a while. Also, as expected, no glass of wine until I am off the immuno-suppressants. I haven't really missed it up to this point so I don't foresee any issues here.
One medical item of note is that they were concerned about my glucose and cholesterol levels because an increase in these is an expected side effect of the immuno-suppressants. And, sure enough, when we got home from the hospital there was a phone message from the doctor saying that my cholesterol level had skyrocketed. Before the transplant it was 153(which is very good) and has now risen to 270(which is not very good). So, he has prescribed Lipitor until I am weaned off the immuno-suppressants and the level returns to normal(for me)!
So, it will be a month now before there will be another doctor's visit and a medical update. But that's alright, I can fill you in on all the food that I am consuming from outside the house. I am sure that all of you will be greatly interested in that!
That's about it for the day. Not that I can think of anything else to say right now anyway...
Bob
May 26, 2009 10:40 PM 2 days to go
Well, tomorrow is the last of the weekly Wednesday clinic visits and it can't happen soon enough! It'll be a real pleasure to get up at 5 AM only once a month from now on. Of course, since they are looking to do glucose and cholesterol tests tomorrow, I'll have to forgo eating until after my blood is drawn.
I had a visit from a long time friend today. In this case - long time is long time as I have known him for 58 years! What's more amazing is that I am not even 58 years old - just kidding!!
Other than that, a real quiet day with no issues of any kind. Life marches on for me and the count is now down to 2 days - where has the time gone. I have to admit that in the beginning 100 days seemed like an eternity to me and before you know it, it's almost over.
I got my first Long Term Disability check today. It's a pain in the neck getting paid once a month and it's compounded by the fact that it's a check which means you have to drive to the bank to deposit it and then you have to wait for 5 business days before it clears. Tomorrow's job is to bring the insurance company into the modern era and campaign for direct deposit - we'll see how it goes.
I'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow as I fully expect a real short visit.
Get my blood drawn, see the doctor, go home...
Bob
I had a visit from a long time friend today. In this case - long time is long time as I have known him for 58 years! What's more amazing is that I am not even 58 years old - just kidding!!
Other than that, a real quiet day with no issues of any kind. Life marches on for me and the count is now down to 2 days - where has the time gone. I have to admit that in the beginning 100 days seemed like an eternity to me and before you know it, it's almost over.
I got my first Long Term Disability check today. It's a pain in the neck getting paid once a month and it's compounded by the fact that it's a check which means you have to drive to the bank to deposit it and then you have to wait for 5 business days before it clears. Tomorrow's job is to bring the insurance company into the modern era and campaign for direct deposit - we'll see how it goes.
I'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow as I fully expect a real short visit.
Get my blood drawn, see the doctor, go home...
Bob
May 25, 2009 11:10 PM 3 days to go
As each evening approaches, I start to think about what to say for the daily entry...
Some nights it's relatively easy as I address trials and tribulations with insurance companies, discuss doctor's comments, etc.
Some nights it's a little tougher because nothing of substance seems to come to mind. Tonight is in this category.
All I can say is that I am going to be a stickler about following the rules until the very end. But, believe me when I say that I am certainly going to take advantage of the relaxed dietary restrictions come Friday.
On Saturday, friends will be coming over and we'll order out - what a treat! But, decisions, decisions, what do I order first! On Sunday, I am going to a graduation party for my niece at my sister and brother-in-laws house. Everything has been set up so that I can stay outside. Even to the point of having a tent so that I can stay out of the sun and/or rain depending upon the weather for the day. It will be my first real outing in almost 4 months. I hope that I haven't forgotten how to conduct myself at such events!
Wednesday is the last of the weekly visits and the first wherein I will have my blood drawn the old-fashioned way - by needle. It's been almost 7 months since that has been done to me and I haven't missed it a bit. During that time I think that I've had enough tubes of blood drawn to feed a vampire for life.
Of course, I'll end with the obligatory "I'm feeling fine" and hope that everything on Wednesday proves that to be true.
Once again, a few things have come to mind and what I thought might have been a short entry has not been.
But, I am running out of thoughts for the day. So, until tomorrow...
Bob
Some nights it's relatively easy as I address trials and tribulations with insurance companies, discuss doctor's comments, etc.
Some nights it's a little tougher because nothing of substance seems to come to mind. Tonight is in this category.
All I can say is that I am going to be a stickler about following the rules until the very end. But, believe me when I say that I am certainly going to take advantage of the relaxed dietary restrictions come Friday.
On Saturday, friends will be coming over and we'll order out - what a treat! But, decisions, decisions, what do I order first! On Sunday, I am going to a graduation party for my niece at my sister and brother-in-laws house. Everything has been set up so that I can stay outside. Even to the point of having a tent so that I can stay out of the sun and/or rain depending upon the weather for the day. It will be my first real outing in almost 4 months. I hope that I haven't forgotten how to conduct myself at such events!
Wednesday is the last of the weekly visits and the first wherein I will have my blood drawn the old-fashioned way - by needle. It's been almost 7 months since that has been done to me and I haven't missed it a bit. During that time I think that I've had enough tubes of blood drawn to feed a vampire for life.
Of course, I'll end with the obligatory "I'm feeling fine" and hope that everything on Wednesday proves that to be true.
Once again, a few things have come to mind and what I thought might have been a short entry has not been.
But, I am running out of thoughts for the day. So, until tomorrow...
Bob
May 24, 2009 11:10 PM 4 days to go
It's hard to believe, but my last weekend of the 100 days is over. Of course, you could argue that it's a holiday weekend and that it won't be over until tomorrow night. Ever the traditionalist, I'm sticking with Sunday night as the end.
Tonight also marks another milestone, it's the 200th posting that I've made to this blog. It seems hard to believe that for 200 nights I could find something of interest to write about even if I'm the only one who might be interested in it.
And tonight is no exception...
I guess that I'll concentrate on 2 things. The first being that the removal of my catheter now allows me to wear more form fitting clothing as there is now nothing to show through. Beforehand, pull over jerseys would reveal it's existence and I know that for some people it can be a little disconcerting. There were those who thought that the catheter might have bothered me. But, in truth, you never even knew that it was there except for those few times that it might dig into you. This really only occurred at night when I tried to sleep on my stomach. Other than that you never knew that it was there other than to flush it every day. I don't miss not doing that.
The second item is the fact that I have lost enough weight throughout this whole time that those form fitting jerseys actually don't look too bad on me now. As I've said many times, I don't recommend the chemo diet for anyone but I can attest to the positive results that it generates.
By the way, I might have mentioned this in the past that my taste buds have been affected somewhat during this time which kind of took away some of the joy and desire to eat. This, I am sure, helped to contribute to the overall weight loss as well. But, thank God, it seems to be disappearing even though nothing of significance has happened recently that I could reasonably attribute to causing the problem.
Still, I press on, having no problems...
Bob
Tonight also marks another milestone, it's the 200th posting that I've made to this blog. It seems hard to believe that for 200 nights I could find something of interest to write about even if I'm the only one who might be interested in it.
And tonight is no exception...
I guess that I'll concentrate on 2 things. The first being that the removal of my catheter now allows me to wear more form fitting clothing as there is now nothing to show through. Beforehand, pull over jerseys would reveal it's existence and I know that for some people it can be a little disconcerting. There were those who thought that the catheter might have bothered me. But, in truth, you never even knew that it was there except for those few times that it might dig into you. This really only occurred at night when I tried to sleep on my stomach. Other than that you never knew that it was there other than to flush it every day. I don't miss not doing that.
The second item is the fact that I have lost enough weight throughout this whole time that those form fitting jerseys actually don't look too bad on me now. As I've said many times, I don't recommend the chemo diet for anyone but I can attest to the positive results that it generates.
By the way, I might have mentioned this in the past that my taste buds have been affected somewhat during this time which kind of took away some of the joy and desire to eat. This, I am sure, helped to contribute to the overall weight loss as well. But, thank God, it seems to be disappearing even though nothing of significance has happened recently that I could reasonably attribute to causing the problem.
Still, I press on, having no problems...
Bob
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