Passover begins

To all my friends and family, I would like to wish you all a chag sameach (happy holiday) from all of us.

Phil, How, Han and Luca (dog) drove down from New York to be with us. A bit of a nightmare drive. What should have been just over 3 hours took closer to 5 hours.

It was like a birthday for me. Presents galore. A very cool 1000 piece jungle puzzle which we are all helping with (phew). An amazing but simple remote control helicopter which I have proceeded to crash numerous times. But it's still intact!. Lastly Phil insisted on teaching me needle point. Yes, needle point. I feel I am in a comfortable enough place with my masculinity that I am actually trying it. Catching on quite well. I was thinking of showing a picture of me doing the needle point but sanity prevailed.

Diana, my mom and Phil did an amazing job preparing everything for the first night (seder) of Passover. It was wonderful all being together. The dinner was fantastic. Yes, I still have an appetite. Now eating Matzo for the next 8 days may pose a bit of a challenge. I don't think I need to elaborate!

Radiation Round 18

Today Rob came with me to radiation round 18. It was really important for her to see exactly what goes on everyday with me. She met Dr. Brenner and the xray techs gave her a really cool tour while I was having the treatment. It was quick and painless. It's just the cumulative effects on my swallowing that is still tough to deal with.

We then went over to the infusion center in the hospital. Again, she got to see where I go every week. She got to meet Mary and also Brittany (one of Dr. Erlich's PA's). All in all, I think it was a really good thing for her. I know it must be really tough on her being away from us at school.

Not to take anything away from Mike. But being at home with us and seeing me every day probably helps him a lot. I'm sure my incessant nagging shows him that I'm still the same Dad, in spite of all this.

Radiation Round 17

Round 17 went smoothly. I'm feeling quite well today. Maybe the new meds are kicking in.

My good friend Dean (fellow UPS pilot) visited with us today. It was cool to catch up about UPS stuff with him. Good to see him. Went for a forest walk with him and Max. Spring is definitely here.

Rob came back home from college for the weekend. It's always nice to have her home with us. We have a big game to watch this weekend with Man Utd. Yea, I know. Any game is a big game!

It's also the start of Passover this weekend. Phil, How, Han and Luca (the dog) are coming to visit from New York. Hopefully the nice weather will hold up.

Radiation Round 16 Chemo Round 4

What person in their right mind looks forward to Chemotherapy? Me.

Radiation round 16 was a bit slow today as they had to reboot the xray computer a couple of times. Must be Windows! I had a nice chat with this fellow radiation patient who has stage 4 lung cancer. Believe it or not, she has still not totally quit smoking. Wow!

I went to chemo about 20 minutes late today. You have no idea how much these two following things make such a positive difference to me. The fact that Mary was my nurse and the room/cubicle was the same one as last week was all I needed to see. The treatments went well and I came out of there feeling really good. We discussed the throat and swallowing issues with the nurses and I am now on a pain patch and some other meds to help with this. The weather is simply magnificent. It adds to the whole positive mixture.

My mom got to meet the whole medical team. All of them. She, like us, was totally blown away.

Radiation Round 15

Let me describe, if I may, how it feels to swallow right now. It's like eating really dry toast and getting it stuck half way down your gullet.

Round 15 went pretty quick today. I feel a little better today. It must be the fact that my mom arrives today. Yes, "Bobba Bear" (Jeanette/Bokkie, all the same person) arrives at lunch time today. She will stay a couple of weeks. We are all really looking forward to this visit. The last couple of days I have lost a few lbs. I'm sure between my mom and Diana they will try (and probably succeed) in fattening up this Thanksgiving turkey (me).

I'm off to yoga this morning at Hopewell House.

Radiation Round 14

Shit, my throat hurts. It's also just a little bit tough talking. I can see that being a problem for me. Ha ha. So if I can't talk too much on the phone then maybe email me. Had radiation round 14 this morning and then met with Dr. Brenner and Suki. The throat discomfort is very normal for this stage of the treatment. So none of this is unexpected. Oh well.

Went for a walk in the forest with Diana and Max. Had to try out the new camera. Simply amazing. I will post some pictures to bore the hell out of all of you.

For those who want an update on the situation in Zim this cartoon sums it all up.



Thanks Keith.

THANK YOU

I would just like to say thanks to all for keeping up with the blog. It really has been a wonderful outlet for me to keep a personal journal and to keep everyone else informed. It makes it very easy for Me, Diana and the rest of the family. My apologies if I have missed returning phone calls or emails. I know you all understand.

Looking forward to a big game this morning between Man Utd and Arsenal. Go Reds.

What a game. We won 2-1. Incredibly exciting. I honestly thought that Diana was going to come completely unglued during the game.

Diana and Mike came back from Bestbuy this afternoon with a brand spanking new really cool SLR digital camera for me. Can't wait to use it. Boy, what a guy has to do to get gifts around here.

Rob goes back to school tonight. She will be home again next weekend though.

Physically I am doing fine. My weight has remained constant and my appetite seems to still be ok.I had my usual brief afternoon nap. The fatigue is not too bad yet. However, the swallowing thing is tough. Not unexpected, but none the less uncomfortable. I will talk to Dr. Brenner tomorrow at radiation..

For all you Treekie fans (Star Trek), it feels like I have a communication device implanted in my left upper chest. A wee bit gross. I am talking about the Portacath.