Ramping up some more!
We just got home from visiting friends and having dinner at their house. These are long time friends and we had not been to their house in over a year! It's great to continue to be on the road to recovery and be able to gradually do more and more. I am certainly not initially jumping into the deep end of the pool - just slowly advancing my way there.
It was another nice day weatherwise and healthwise and I continue to be extremely grateful for the way that I am progressing through this. At times it seems so surrealistic to me. These good things happen to other people - they don't happen to me!
I want to thank all of you who continue to follow my progress. I realize that for some it is becoming a spot effort and that is understandable when I only have hard facts to report once a month instead of on a weekly basis. As a reminder, this month it will be the 29th.
Another good day comes to an end...
Bob
July 17, 2009 11:40 PM
Sorry for the late posting but I was watching a movie!
It was a good day as my wife and I went to a late lunch with her mother to celebrate our wedding anniversary. For sure, our anniversary was back on June 22nd, but she wanted to take us out to dinner which is really not very easy for me to do. So we compromised and went to a restaurant about 1:30 this afternoon when there were few people there. In fact, when we left, there was only one other occupied table. Next year we'll do it the right way with a champagne toast! This year, lemonade had to serve the purpose.
After last night's posting, I was cruising(surfing?) the web and, for a number of reasons, was looking at leukemia sites. I tell you, the news was not good! The survival rate with my kind of leukemia(AML), as specified on some of the sites, dipped to as low as 5-10%. If you are younger, the rate goes up. That would really have been very discouraging if I had read all of that before my treatment began. That's one reason why I refused to look at statistics when I was going through the active treatment period because I was not going to fall victim to a set of numbers!
It was even more disconcerting when my mother-in-law told us the story of a young woman diagnosed with leukemia who went through the initial chemo treatment and it didn't work! How horrible! Now she is just drinking and partying and waiting for the end to arrive. It's a sad story.
On the plus side, friends have told me of miracle stories as well and I personally know of one miracle case involving a young boy. All these things make me wonder why I have been chosen to be on the plus side! What is my future to be? I have to give back.
I'm sure that God will open the right doors at the right time...
Bob
It was a good day as my wife and I went to a late lunch with her mother to celebrate our wedding anniversary. For sure, our anniversary was back on June 22nd, but she wanted to take us out to dinner which is really not very easy for me to do. So we compromised and went to a restaurant about 1:30 this afternoon when there were few people there. In fact, when we left, there was only one other occupied table. Next year we'll do it the right way with a champagne toast! This year, lemonade had to serve the purpose.
After last night's posting, I was cruising(surfing?) the web and, for a number of reasons, was looking at leukemia sites. I tell you, the news was not good! The survival rate with my kind of leukemia(AML), as specified on some of the sites, dipped to as low as 5-10%. If you are younger, the rate goes up. That would really have been very discouraging if I had read all of that before my treatment began. That's one reason why I refused to look at statistics when I was going through the active treatment period because I was not going to fall victim to a set of numbers!
It was even more disconcerting when my mother-in-law told us the story of a young woman diagnosed with leukemia who went through the initial chemo treatment and it didn't work! How horrible! Now she is just drinking and partying and waiting for the end to arrive. It's a sad story.
On the plus side, friends have told me of miracle stories as well and I personally know of one miracle case involving a young boy. All these things make me wonder why I have been chosen to be on the plus side! What is my future to be? I have to give back.
I'm sure that God will open the right doors at the right time...
Bob
July 16, 2009 10:55 PM
Success!
My prescription arrived today as promised on their web site. Now, when I get the second one that I ordered a few days ago, I'll be set for a while. This will greatly benefit my blood pressure.
Another quiet but good day. Good health is the most important thing and I feel that I have that at this time. I know that I'm not out of the woods yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - to mix my metaphors here!
Everything is going well and your prayers are keeping it that way.
I can't ask for more...
Bob
My prescription arrived today as promised on their web site. Now, when I get the second one that I ordered a few days ago, I'll be set for a while. This will greatly benefit my blood pressure.
Another quiet but good day. Good health is the most important thing and I feel that I have that at this time. I know that I'm not out of the woods yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - to mix my metaphors here!
Everything is going well and your prayers are keeping it that way.
I can't ask for more...
Bob
July 15, 2009 10:45 PM
I must give credit where credit is due!
The individual at my on-line prescription company to whom I spoke with last Friday night saw to it that my prescription was to be express shipped. Absolutely amazing considering the treatment that I had received beforehand. At least someone there seems to have the customer's interests at heart. Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that it arrives - we'll see.
The prescription that I renewed yesterday has been shipped as well. But instead of being shipped via UPS, I get the usual US Postal Service treatment. This means that the dogsleds will be bringing it sometime before winter sets in! It's not really necessary to get this one as quickly as the other one.
I received a phone call from a friend today which was nice and, of course, we had our company come later afternoon. So it was a nice social day.
By the way, it seems that I have activated a Comcast function that I didn't think I had activated or necessarily desired. Since we have Comcast as our internet, telephone, and cable provider, if you are watching television, when the telephone rings the caller ID information is flashed on the television screen! It's pretty cool!
So, I look forward to ending my prescription odyssey tomorrow. I feel somewhat like a kid at Christmas...
Bob
The individual at my on-line prescription company to whom I spoke with last Friday night saw to it that my prescription was to be express shipped. Absolutely amazing considering the treatment that I had received beforehand. At least someone there seems to have the customer's interests at heart. Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that it arrives - we'll see.
The prescription that I renewed yesterday has been shipped as well. But instead of being shipped via UPS, I get the usual US Postal Service treatment. This means that the dogsleds will be bringing it sometime before winter sets in! It's not really necessary to get this one as quickly as the other one.
I received a phone call from a friend today which was nice and, of course, we had our company come later afternoon. So it was a nice social day.
By the way, it seems that I have activated a Comcast function that I didn't think I had activated or necessarily desired. Since we have Comcast as our internet, telephone, and cable provider, if you are watching television, when the telephone rings the caller ID information is flashed on the television screen! It's pretty cool!
So, I look forward to ending my prescription odyssey tomorrow. I feel somewhat like a kid at Christmas...
Bob
July 14, 2009 10:55 PM
Will miracles never cease?
My prescription provider upped my ship date from Thursday to today! I also had to renew another one which they will ship on Thursday. I think I am in shock over this newfound efficiency on their part!
While I was out running a quick errand this morning(not many people out on a Tuesday morning), I saw an acquaintance out in the yard and stopped and had a pleasant conversation. She was pleased that I was out and about a bit and that I was looking(and felling) as well as I do.
It's been a good day. I got to see a couple of my grandchildren today - always a pleasure - and I did a small job around the house. I have to keep busy. Tomorrow we have some friends coming for dinner so that will be nice as well.
As usual, I am doing fine...
Bob
My prescription provider upped my ship date from Thursday to today! I also had to renew another one which they will ship on Thursday. I think I am in shock over this newfound efficiency on their part!
While I was out running a quick errand this morning(not many people out on a Tuesday morning), I saw an acquaintance out in the yard and stopped and had a pleasant conversation. She was pleased that I was out and about a bit and that I was looking(and felling) as well as I do.
It's been a good day. I got to see a couple of my grandchildren today - always a pleasure - and I did a small job around the house. I have to keep busy. Tomorrow we have some friends coming for dinner so that will be nice as well.
As usual, I am doing fine...
Bob
July 13, 2009 10:50 PM
Another momentous milestone has been reached! Tonight is my 250th blog entry! It seems like only yesterday I was saying that it was the 200th entry and it doesn't seem much before that that I started this whole effort.
When I did start this blog I stated that I would continue regardless of how things were going. But I never thought that I would be able to make an entry every day! Things just aren't supposed to work that way! When I was initially in the hospital I was really tired near the end of the chemo treatment and I thought that I would be unable to make an entry on those days. But, they gave me a couple of transfusions and I sprang(!) back to life again and had no problem. To be able to get to this point so quickly is testimony to your thoughts and prayers - it truly has been a miraculous ride.
Now all I need are my medications to keep this ride going. I did look on the web today and, wonder of wonders, they are supposed to ship my prescription on the 16th. Why do we have to battle so? Even though I feel well, I know that I could be tempting fate if I don't keep up with my medications as the doctor has ordered. It gets very frustrating at times and I get on edge which, I am sure, is not necessarily good for me.
Will I get to 500 entries? I don't know. But, from here, 400 is looking pretty good...
Bob
When I did start this blog I stated that I would continue regardless of how things were going. But I never thought that I would be able to make an entry every day! Things just aren't supposed to work that way! When I was initially in the hospital I was really tired near the end of the chemo treatment and I thought that I would be unable to make an entry on those days. But, they gave me a couple of transfusions and I sprang(!) back to life again and had no problem. To be able to get to this point so quickly is testimony to your thoughts and prayers - it truly has been a miraculous ride.
Now all I need are my medications to keep this ride going. I did look on the web today and, wonder of wonders, they are supposed to ship my prescription on the 16th. Why do we have to battle so? Even though I feel well, I know that I could be tempting fate if I don't keep up with my medications as the doctor has ordered. It gets very frustrating at times and I get on edge which, I am sure, is not necessarily good for me.
Will I get to 500 entries? I don't know. But, from here, 400 is looking pretty good...
Bob
July 12, 2009 11:00 PM
Back to the usual time tonight!
I was quite right in figuring that it would be a late night last night. When you visit a friend's house for the first time in 6 months you have a lot to catch up on. It was a great night and we had a lot of laughs along with the card playing. It's another step back to normalcy as we ended the night by scheduling our date for next month as we had been doing for the past 20 years. It reaolly was quite a boost. Now if I can get back to church and singing in the choir it will really give me a big push forward!
The other day, I did go and replace my obsoleted cable box with Comcast's latest and greatest model. This morning, I wanted to see the difference between the new box and the one on our other TV that my wife uses to record just about everything. The quick answer is - not much. The hard disk is bigger but not enough to make a huge difference. But the real reason for the story is that along the way I uncovered a web site that described a way to program your remote to make played back recordings jump ahead at 30 second intervals. What a boon to allow you to quickly skip over the commercials! She tried it and it worked perfectly. Now she loves me even more as most of what she watches are pre-recorded programs.
It was a beautiful day weatherwise and healthwise. Maybe we will have some summer after all! Tomorrow I get back into the prescription fray and I am sure it will lead to totally unexpected results. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down as my current prescription is beginning to run low. It's going to get curiouser and curiouser as they say in "Alice in Wonderland".
I know that tomorrow is back to work for a lot of you and, believe it or not, I kind of miss all that. Not that my work defined me but it does give you another purpose in life. Maybe, once I get back on my feet and can get into doing things, I won't miss working when that day finally arrives that I decide to pack it in.
Thoughts to ponder...
Bob
I was quite right in figuring that it would be a late night last night. When you visit a friend's house for the first time in 6 months you have a lot to catch up on. It was a great night and we had a lot of laughs along with the card playing. It's another step back to normalcy as we ended the night by scheduling our date for next month as we had been doing for the past 20 years. It reaolly was quite a boost. Now if I can get back to church and singing in the choir it will really give me a big push forward!
The other day, I did go and replace my obsoleted cable box with Comcast's latest and greatest model. This morning, I wanted to see the difference between the new box and the one on our other TV that my wife uses to record just about everything. The quick answer is - not much. The hard disk is bigger but not enough to make a huge difference. But the real reason for the story is that along the way I uncovered a web site that described a way to program your remote to make played back recordings jump ahead at 30 second intervals. What a boon to allow you to quickly skip over the commercials! She tried it and it worked perfectly. Now she loves me even more as most of what she watches are pre-recorded programs.
It was a beautiful day weatherwise and healthwise. Maybe we will have some summer after all! Tomorrow I get back into the prescription fray and I am sure it will lead to totally unexpected results. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down as my current prescription is beginning to run low. It's going to get curiouser and curiouser as they say in "Alice in Wonderland".
I know that tomorrow is back to work for a lot of you and, believe it or not, I kind of miss all that. Not that my work defined me but it does give you another purpose in life. Maybe, once I get back on my feet and can get into doing things, I won't miss working when that day finally arrives that I decide to pack it in.
Thoughts to ponder...
Bob
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