Tuesday 10-10-2006

Tuesday morning I hung out at the apartment and tried to clean up a bit but mostly took it easy. for the last week or so I have been having some pretty bad cramps in my calves during the night. It is a little interesting as both the muscle on the back of my leg and the muscle in the front of the leg are balling up. It is really hard to find that one balanced spot between them where neither will tense up. I am turning into quite a whiner these days. Oh-well. My weight is still steady at a bit under 165 in the morning and a bit over in the evenings. The rash is still going strong though there are locations on my face where it is healing a bit so that is a good sign. I am always pleased when I see that my body can still heal itself fairly well. Still gassy but it is not as bad as it was last week. I also have had diarrhea the last couple nights but it continues to be only once a day and it is not all that bad. I wonder if one of these days I am going to fall asleep on the pot. I have gotten pretty close a couple times.

I actually got a break from the chemo this week and I think I was ready for it. Everything has been going really well and I think I could have handled another round but it is really nice getting a week off. I have also been off the Xeloda (pill 5Fu) for the last week or so and I will resume taking that on Thursday which will kick off my fourth cycle (though the first was only a half cycle with the platelet issues). It seems like there is no clearly defined cycle for me. The last cycle followed the "well, he looks OK and his counts are good, lets go another round" protocol. I had initially wanted to go somewhere or do something wild and make the most of the infusion free days but taking it easy ended up being much more appealing. I am a bit fatigued these days and really can only handle so much activity. I will need to rest up for the upcoming weeks and I am sure my dad and I will find something to do for his day off tomorrow.

In the afternoon, I went down to my Grandmother's house to visit. Her "boyfriend" Harry was over and another friend, George, brought over chicken sandwiches from Jack in the Box for dinner. It was a really fun meal. George and Grandma kept going back and forth telling stories about the old days which were actually pretty fascinating. Harry and I would occasionally chime in but once you get my Gram going, there is no stopping her "I remember when you could go to the movies and see a double feature and a cartoon for a nickel, and they would give you something to eat, to boot." I have read about the great depression and the war (WWII) but no school book can ever drive home what it was like to experience those times like hearing stories from people who lived it first hand. George relayed a story about courting a young lady. He had been out on a couple dates with her and on their usual route home they would pass this malt shop. He had offered to buy her a malt on both previous dates and she had declined for one reason or another. Well, he felt pretty sure that she would decline on their third date and it would be a good thing, too, as he only had about 2 cents in his pocket, a far cry away from the dime needed for one of those malts. Well, wouldn't you know she had just about gotten comfortable with him and took him up on his offer. He had something of a stupefied look on his face and had to explain that they would not be getting malts that night. Yeah, that relationship did not really work out. One of my favorite lines from my Grandmother was "We were poor, but we didn't know it." What an idea. Today everyone pretty much knows just exactly where they are and every material item that is out there. I can only hope to attain the level of contentedness that my Grandmother alludes to though I am very entrenched in this capitalistic system of ours (I do like my toys).

Anyways, my Grandmother seems to be getting along pretty well. She has had a little cough which ended up being bronchitis but she should get over it shortly. Harry has been coming over more which is good to kind of get her back to her old routine. She is asking me a lot of questions, too which is very much like her old self. Hopefully she will get some confidence back and start going out as much as she used to though she is doing just fine for a 93 year old. She says she breaks cameras but mine is still working after this shot.

After Grams's I went back to SP and had a late dinner with the folks. Mmmm...steak. Yeah, that was my third dinner of the night (I had picked up McDonalds on my way to Grams). I guess my appetite is doing OK. Again it is really encouraging how well I am eating and that I have put on weight. My body can still store fat. Way to go digestive tract! We like to celebrate the little victories in my family. I caught up on the last couple days with my parents and then stayed up too late playing with the Tivo I just got onto the home network.
-TN