Round 2

Strange. This is supposed to be my blog documenting my journey with my noma and I haven't typed anything in a while. That may be in part because Anna is so efficient that she seems to blog at 2 to 3 times the rate I do and steals all the good topics. And she is even working full time. Nonetheless, she keeps telling me my "fans" want to hear from me. Not really sure about that, but here is an entry anyway.

I have come across a couple of topics that I can write about. I apologize in advance if they seem kind of random. I am actually sitting in the waiting room right now at MD Anderson waiting for my visit with the doc so that he can clear me for my next round of chemo. Anna and I drove down early yesterday morning so that I could get in another round of acupuncture and experiment in some of the other alternative treatments that they offer. That is a whole other topic for a separate blog that I will write soon.

Anyway, after my class got out at 3pm Anna and I headed to do some shopping for Katelyn's upcoming birthday since I am not going to feel much like shopping after the chemo. Then we went to dinner with my dad, my little brother and my nephew at Outback Steakhouse. To cap off the evening, Anna and I went to see the movie Date Night with popcorn and a Coke. I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but since the discovery of my noma, I have drastically altered my diet. A lot of fruits and vegetables are in and a lot of the sugars and highly processed foods are out. However, every once in a while I do let myself enjoy an occasional Coke or bowl of Cap'n Crunch. And I do enjoy my sweets! It was a good day. Nothing like spending the day with your best friend doing things you enjoy.

Anna has said repeatedly that she likes the "happy Josh" much more than the Josh that emerges after a round of chemo. And she can tell when I am either in pain or not feeling well because of the way I act. Well, after yesterday being such a good day she noticed a change in my disposition this morning. Part of that was probably because I discovered that one of the medications that I have to start taking the day before chemo was causing a mild instance of the worst side effects that I felt after having the first round of chemo. Also, driving down to MD Anderson I started thinking about the fact that I am about to have a bunch of poison pumped into my bloodstream voluntarily and it is going to make me feel like crap for the next 4-6 days. Now I know it is for a good reason, but it is easy to see why something like that might affect one's mood. Another tangible piece of evidence about my state of health from one day to the next. My blood pressure came in at 115/59 the day before chemo - the lowest I have ever seen it been. Ever. Today, the day of chemo, sitting in the doc's office, it came in at 147/70. Lots on my mind today.

Back to the point about the medicine I took yesterday causing some distasteful side effects. After the first round of chemo I basically had 6-7 days of nastiness. "Chemo-head", stomach problems, nausea, dizziness, etc. If one were to have asked me on one of those days if I wanted to continue with the chemo I would have honestly said no. And that "no" answer for me means death. Then on the seventh day (sounds biblical) it all seem to clear up. The clouds parted and the sun came out. I took joy in seeing the effects of spring on my yard, movies were funnier, and food tasted better. Much better. Ask me the same question about the chemo and my response would have been "bring it on!" It is amazing how quickly the human mind can forget the negative memories. I had a great two weeks before this round of chemo and in that time I completely forgot about how ill I felt. This is probably a similar situation to a mother giving birth. During labor she might swear off any more children for the rest of her natural life. However, for some, just a short time later after holding that wonderful creation, they would gladly go through the whole process again in a heartbeat.

I think I am going to stop here because I have been finishing up the second half of the blog with the chemo IV in my arm. Earlier the nurse actually interrupted me by getting me back to the exam room for my appointment on time. The doc was late, but the appointment started on time. Oh well, can't get everything I want.