First Day Back at Work

Today I went to work! It was really nice to feel "normal." I drove myself and had a great day catching up with my co-workers and outlining the next couple of weeks.

Integra has really been great to me, allowing me to keep my job (even though I'm still in my probationary period) and working with my treatment schedule. For the next couple of weeks they've allowed me to work in half-day increments, depending on my strength, and allowed me to work from home when commuting is overwhelming.

In the corporate world we live in it's great to know there's still heart and compassion at its foundation.

Chinatown and Movies

On Saturday Night the girls and I went to New Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown. We ate like kings and then went to the movies.

I really like going to the movie theaters. I think the introduction video for AMC movies truly epitomizes why people go to the movies. It's a scene where vines grow around someone sitting in a movie theater seat and then the seat is lifted off the ground and thrown into a wonderland of disbelief and fantasy.

During the movie I forgot about everything: about the cancer, about the pains in my legs, about walking with a cane and giving myself daily shots. The movie was great too - The Karate Kid.

Dog Park, Walking 1 Mile

I've been sticking to the plan: walking further everyday, focusing on my physical therapy and getting healthier. Today we went for a big walk to the dog park in the Common then walked home via Charles Street, roughly 1 mile. It felt good to walk and, though I think I overdid it, walking a full mile was reassuring!

My mom left and she passed the baton to my sisters which has really been a treat. We've been having fun making puzzles and hanging out. The picture posted above is from the dog park in the Common.

Thanks to everyone who sent me advice on hemorrhoids. However, in my last posting I was actually asking for suggestions on how to take pain medication. I think only Zac (aka zBlikes) got the joke, and yes.. you're supposed to bump them; that's what the addicts do.

Going for another walk!

Couch-bound and Sedated

Of late, I've been spending a lot of my time couch-bound. I lie on my back, my wonderful wife and mother attend to my every need, and I can feel my body getting weak. Tonight I made a pledge to get up everyday and go for a walk so that one day I will be strong enough to go on a trip, wheelchair and cane free. (Though waking up the puppy will break my heart!)

I'm also so over pain killers. My stomach kills, my belly gurgles, I can't poop and when I do it's loose. I can't believe people get hooked on this shit! If only they knew! Maybe I'm doing this wrong.. any suggestions? Today I sent my mom to buy Preparation H.

Port Pictures & Banana Milkshakes

On Monday we took off the steri-strips from my port incisions. That felt great! For a week now it had felt like someone was pushing their thumb into the right side of the neck. You can imagine this feeling getting old pretty fast.

The incision seems to have healed nicely and now I have a cool scar to show off during the summer. If you look carefully at the picture below you can see the catheter which extends from the port starting in the center of the scar, traversing vertically over my collar bone and into my neck. At this point the catheter enters my jugular vein and curves downward until it terminates in the superior vena cava, just upstream of the right atrium of my heart. Pretty cool!

The past couple days have been filled with waves of clarity countered by waves of nausea / dizziness. I liken the feeling to a manic pendulum. I wake up in the morning and feel like running three miles and then I stand up and lie back down. I sit at my desk and shuffle paperwork and then I get really lightheaded and have to retire. Even so, everyday is getting a little bit better and everyday I'm getting a little bit stronger.

My appetite has changed. I really like plain foods, nothing too complicated. My mom has been keeping me going on banana milkshakes. Tea and chicken broth makes my mouth salivate. I've lost 10 pounds already so I'm at half my goal... haha.

Independence Day

On the Forth of July, in addition to an afternoon surprise visit from David Spiegel, my parents, Autumn, Benson and I rolled down Revere Street to watch the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (what a name!). We found a little piece of grass along the Charles River and listened to the concert on the radio while we watched the synchronized spectacular.

It was really beautiful and we found primo seats, despite not having to tailgate at 4 am. The show was amazing and my dad took some great pictures (see above). Afterwards my dad rolled me up Beacon Hill (it's about a 25° grade) with Autumn and my Mom helping by pushing his back. I wish I had a picture of that!

It was nice to go out on the Fourth of July. This year was the first year in several that I can remember actually going out to see fireworks. In past years I was either moving or at somebody's house party, but not on the lawn watching fireworks.

One year in San Diego, Autumn and I were unloading my car and bringing the various items that cars tend collect back to my apartment: bike, groceries, dry cleaning. We got into the elevator with very full hands to start the journey up 2 flights to my home. As the door closed, it bumped Autumn's hand, already turning red from carrying heavy dry cleaning hangars, and knocked my apartment keys out of her grip. In slow motion the keys fell to the ground, balanced in the gap between the elevator and the floor, then fell through into the elevator shaft.

Appropriately armed with wire hangars, along with a very inebriated army cadet (San Diego remember), we fished the keys off the elevator shaft floor and saved the day. The cadet was so excited he yelled, "Let's go Celebrate! Mother F*#ker," ran out the door and Autumn and I could hear fireworks chasing his path.

ChemoCuts and Costco

Today I was feeling a bit better so we went out on a little family outing. First we cruised by SuperCuts for my ChemoCut and then we went to Costco; what else would I do with my parents?

The haircut felt great, but, really more than the haircut, the shower after the haircut was amazing. I've been very fatigued lately and even the act of rinsing shampoo through my "once long" hair was an arduous task. I feel better prepared for this fight with my new cut.

At Costco I was given an electric cart to shop around; though I must admit the electric carts are vastly more entertaining when inappropriately obtained. Regardless it was much better than hobbling around with my cane or being pushed around in my wheelchair, the other modes of transportation.

Samples didn't taste the same and I soon ended up retiring back to car.

It was still nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Today was a better day than yesterday!