Wednesday, last day at CCNW

Today I'm getting my last treatment and Cancer Care Northwest in Spokane.  They are closed for the next two days so I will get my last 2 infusions at Sacred Heart Medical Center.  Its sort of bitter sweet because the staff at CCNW is really great and are very friendly.  Not that I will miss sitting in their "Chemotherapy Suite."  Cancer sure does hit anyone and everyone.  I look around and the room and see healthy and strong looking people, young and old.  I've also heard some interesting stories and met some interesting people.  I wish them all well but hope I never have to see any of them again. 

At the moment I'm on 4 different types of anti-nausea medications and while they stop the physical vomitting, they do nothing to make me feel less like I want to vomit.  Really loving this feeling.  Unfortunately my parents are on their way to visit and help out over Christmas but I really don't think I'll be leaving the bed too much over the next 5-6 days.  Hopefully they understand and can enjoy the time with Brynnley and Noelle, I know they will. 

It's so nice to know that I'll have a few weeks recovery while my body cycle the remaining drugs out of my system and then I can get back to normal.  I can't wait to start playing basketball again.  I haven't touched a bball since July.  Then, before we know it we'll get to try our hand on the boat with 2 little ones!  I'm super excited, I think Brynnley will be getting a new wetsuit for her birthday so she can do some more surfing with me.  I don't remember if we ever posted these pictures on Noelle's blog but by the time the water/air was warm enough last year in late July/early August this was the only good opportunity we had to try and she loved it.  I'm definately looking forward to a lot more this next year. 

Lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to at this point.  I feel a little bad because Noelle's pregnancy has been pushed to the side because of my little mess.  We haven't taken nearly enough pictures of her big beautiful belly to track the growth of this baby girl like we were able to with Brynnley.  But make no mistake I am so excited for this little girl to get here.  The end of a sad, messy time in our life starts over with something as beautiful as a new baby girl.  How cool is that!  She should get here right around the 21st of January if everything goes according to plan.  Just a few more days of hell and we can move forward.  I can't wait!

Cycle #4

Well, this is it, the last week of chemotherapy!!!  I honestly can't believe it is already here.  After the 1st cycle I didn't think I could make it through but now that I'm almost done it feels like it has gone by so fast.  I'm definatly grateful for that.  I know this week is going to be brutal but I'm not worried because my outlook now is so completely different from what it was in the beginning.  I'm so grateful for good friends that help keep me distracted, a loving wife who is always by my side, a great job that I am so looking forward to going back to and the most supportive family in the world (at least from my perspective) !!! 

I know I've been terrible at writing on the blog and I've kept a lot of people in the dark for a few weeks.  My good friend Rob hit the nail on the head in his comment on my last post, I've been feeling good and have been so busy that I've almost forgotten about writing.  My wife sort of scolded me a little bit last night.  She said she's sure people would enjoy reading that I'm doing well and enjoying myself so I should be writing on my good weeks as well as my bad weeks.  I feel bad for not writing but we have been busy getting ready for Christmas and spending time with my girls so I don't feel too bad. 

Over the last 2 weeks I've been trying to enjoy some good family time and have been trying to eat as much yummy food as I can.  For anyone who can go, I'd definatly recommend 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.  We just got one in Spokane and its right across the road from Noelle's work on the South Hill.  Brynnley and I met her there for lunch one day.  Yummy yummy!  I've also been spending a lot of time in my "Man Cave" playing with my Christmas presents.  Building shelves, calibrating speakers, painting and moving furniture around...  It's such a man thing but boy has it been fun. 

Since I will be out of commission this weekend, we decided that Santa was going to come early to our house.  He came yesterday and it was awesome to watch Brynnley get so excited.  She's at a stage where she is starting to really grasp the meanings of some things so we've tried to teach her some of the true meaning of Christmas.  It's pretty cool when she remembers that we are celebrating Christ's birthday before she remembers that Santa is coming to bring her presents.  But, boy did that girl get a lot of new toys!  So much so that she had a little toy meltdown by mid-morning and needed a break.  It was a lot of fun watching her tear through wrapping paper and get excited about everything.  The steak and king crab we had for dinner on our Christmas Eve was a really nice treat as well!

As far as chemotherapy goes, my body is getting sick and tired of these drugs.  While I've felt good overall, I get knocked back to reality when I go in to have my blood checked.  I was in having it checked 3-4 times in the last 2 weeks and I've also had 5 neupogen shots.  I'm borderline neutropenic.  In addition, I've been anemic and my platelets have been low.  It's super fun to walk up the stairs and be so winded that I have to sit down.  The doctors say my bone marrow is tired and taking longer to recover from each treatment.  It also means that I feel the effects of the neupogen even more.  The last two shots where effective in boosting my numbers but holy crap were they miserable.  The hip/back and joint pain was ridiculous and they made me slightly nauseated.  It was not very fun few days.  I've been extremely lucky to not catch a cold or any type of infection so far.  I think even a common cold might land me in the hospital at this point.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Thursday 12/2

When I woke up this morning I knew today was going to be one crappy day.  I've been sleeping well but the nausea is starting to catch up to me.  During my chemo session they dose me up with Adovan which allows me to sleep for 2 hours or so and then its time to go home.  I try to stay awake but end up napping in the afternoon as well.  By Thursday, today, its 7pm and I'm ready for bed.  A little more Adovan to help with nausea and let me relax and I'm outty.  Thankfully this week has been better than the previous 2 cycles so it has been tolerable. 

Plus, Christmas came early for me this year!  I've spent almost 2 years planning out and building my home theater room in our basement.  I finished the basement with a bedroom, bathroom and storage room and a perfect spot for an awesome home theater.  This also means that I've had my eye on a specific set of speakers, a subwoofer, a new A/V receiver, projector, blu-ray player, PS3, blah blah blah.... All the man toys that I can handle.  As you can imagine, finishing the basement was no small feat (and it's still not completely finished) and was no small cost.  Then, for me to add all my "man toys" is just begging for a fight with my wifey.  She knows how hard I've worked and how much I wanted this stuff so when Black Friday/Cyber Monday rolled around, she consented to let me get a few things.  Last night I was greeted by the lovely FedEx man AND who some might call Brown Santa (Mr. UPS).  So between last night and this afternoon, I've been trying to stay distracted by setting up my speakers and new A/V receiver.  Man toys are so much fun!!!!  Even if only temporarily, it gives me something to do and keeps my mind occupied.  Yes, its a little frivolous and I know I could do without, but whats the point if you can't live a little.  I'll state it here and now, I'm a dork and I like electronics, yes I'm a geek.  LOL!  My wife and mother-in-law probably think I'm nuts but I think the speakers sound phenomenal and I couldn't be happier so far.  Awe the little joys in life.  Anyways, I can feel the Adovan creeping in so I'm going up to bed.  I can't believe Thanksgiving is past and Christmas is only 3 weeks away.  I could have sworn it was just September.....