All Quiet on the Western Front

Haven't posted in a while, which means things are going well. I met up with TJ on Sunday for lunch, which was nice. Had barbeque dinner at my parents' house on Monday for Memorial Day. On Tuesday, I went to work for a few hours, though I didn't have the stamina to put in a full day. The rest of the week has been without incident. I think from the whole ordeal, plus other "personal" matters, I've been a little emotionally drained. But overall, I guess I can't complain.

What can I say about LeBron James? I watched him beat the Pistons in double-overtime in Game 5 of their series, giving LeBron a 3-2 series lead. The guy was simply Jordan-esque tonight, and I don't see any way that he doesn't win Game 6 giving himself a 4-2 series win. (Notice I didn't mention his team anywhere. LeBron doesn't have teammates, and he doesn't need teammates. Seriously, he could win this series with me, Drew, Meals, and some random drunk guy playing the floor with him...) Detroit sucks. Cleveland sucks. LeBron rules.

Cleveland Sucks!

Felt much better today, though still nowhere near 100%. I was able to get out and go to my parents' house (twice), as well as stop by Dana's parents' house. Still pretty weak, but no headaches, and not lightheaded. I didn't need naps throughout the day, and was able to do a little bit of work, and play poker for a couple of hours.

I have however noticed some "areas of interest" in my mouth. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is sores in the mouth. I had a severe problem with canker sores in high school, but I stopped drinking soda, and that made the problem go away. Well, I still vividly remember the feeling in my mouth when the sores were starting to develop, and I have that feeling on the inside of my lower lip. I'm rinsing my mouth with water and baking soda, as well as with "Biotine", a medicated mouth rinse recommended by the chemotherapy nurse. Hopefully that will stem the tide.

In the evening, I flipped back and forth between the Pistons/Cavaliers game, and the Tigers/Indians game. Unfortunately, both the Pistons and the Tigers lost. LeBron James took over the game for the Cavaliers. The fadeaway three he made with two minutes left was just sick, and the jumper over Rip Hamilton with 16 seconds left was a dagger. LeBron and the Cavs remind me of Jordan and the Bulls in 1990. I expect the Pistons to win this series, but I'm going to predict that Cleveland wins the NBA Title in 2008. You heard it here first!

Same Story

I was still struggling today. The headaches were gone, but I was still very fatigued, and very lightheaded. I wanted to push myself to get out and do something productive, but it just didn't happen. I spent most of the day (again) lying on the couch watching TV, napping periodically. I felt like such a bum, but everytime I stood up, I felt even worse. I told myself that this was it, and regardless of how I feel tomorrow, I'm forcing myself out of this spiral and getting out and doing *something* productive. Tim called me in the afternoon, and TJ is in town for his grandfather's birthday, so I am going to make arrangements on Sunday to see him.

Zero Energy

Today was another rough one. I had zero energy, and was light-headed the entire day. Luckily, the pounding headaches from the day before were gone. Once again, I spent most of the day prone on the couch. I tried to do a little work in the afternoon, but my mind couldn't focus, and I caught myself making some silly mistakes. I was certainly emotionally drained, too. I found myself feeling a bit depressed, so I need to make sure to keep my emotional status in check.

Overall, I really shouldn't complain, though. My only side effects have been fatigue, nausea, and headaches. There are many worse side effects out there that I have not had (knock on wood!), and I should be thankful that I am at least not in too much discomfort. My mom has been spoiling me, which I of course love. I'll power my way through this, and be good and ready for hockey season in October.

Bummin' Around

Today was probably the worst day I've had since this whole ordeal began. I was absolutely exhausted and nauseous all day long. My back was killing me, and my head was pounding so much that I couldn't fall asleep. I felt like a bum spending all day laying on the couch, but I just didn't have the energy to get up and do anything. Luckily, my mom came over to make breakfast for me.

I got an early phone call from Erica Platt, seeing how I was doing. It was nice to hear from her, as we were able to relate on the NHL Playoffs. I'm still down from the Red Wings losing in the Western Conference Finals, while her Sabres were bumped out in the Eastern Finals by Ottawa.

Finally, around 4:30 PM, I sucked it up and got myself off the couch to take a shower and clean myself up. I walked out to my mailbox to try and give myself an infusion of fresh air. My dad came over at 5:00 with dinner to watch the Pistons game 2 against Cleveland. Though they didn't play well, the Pistons won again, going up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Second Verse, Same as the First

Had my second session today. This one was in the afternoon. All went well, just as before. About halfway through, I started getting some really bad back spasms. Not quite sure what brought them on, but they lasted for about 15 minutes, then went away as quickly as they came on. Very strange...

Felt pretty good for most of the evening. Played some poker (not my best session ever) and did a little bit of work. About 8:30 PM I started feeling pretty crappy. I got very nauseous, and my head started pounding. I took some Phenergan for the nausea, and went to sleep around 9:30. All in all, though, I don't think I can complain about how the evening went.

GG Wings

Even though this is the eve of my next chemo session, this post has nothing to do with my health. Instead I want to reflect back on the Red Wings season. We lost game 6 of the series 4-3 to Anaheim, falling in the Western Conference Finals 4 games to 2. We certainly had a valiant effort, as we were down 4-1 with nine minutes to go in the game, and rallied, putting the Ducks back on their heels. We just simply ran out of time.

Way back in October, I went with Wooley and Drew to a Red Wings/Sharks game in San Jose. The Sharks dominated the game, winning 5-1 and dropping the Wings to 3-6-1 on the season. I commented to the boys that the Wings seemed to lack any continuity on offense, and reminded me of the Minnesota Wild - we'd win some games with our defense and goaltending, but likely wouldn't be able to score enough to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.

Well, the Wings got a little bit of a run going. They got the power play clicking, and the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom line started rolling. I still had my doubts, but we were playing well (especially at home) and I was enjoying the ride. Dom Hasek stayed healthy, and when we swept a home-and-home with Nashville in early March, I knew we could do something special. Part of me wanted us to finish second in the West, though, as I didn't want any piece of Calgary in the first round. Well, we won the West, and tied Buffalo for best record overall...and along with it a date with the Flames in the first round.

Even though we were the #1 seed, and Calgary the #8, our history of first round failures were weighing heavily on us, and the so-called "experts" were split on how the series would turn out, but we outplayed them in every game, and registered the most lopsided six-game series I'd ever seen. We followed that up with a hard-fought six-game series win over San Jose in another series the "experts" labeled us as underdogs. And though we fell short against Anaheim, we outplayed them in four of the six games, and would have won game 6 had there been three or four more minutes on the clock...

This season has been up and down, and I can't hide the disappointment in the loss tonight. That being said, after a few days of grieving, I will be able to look back and realize what a successful season this was. Sports Illustrated predicted us fifth in the west. ESPN sixth. TSN said we would be lucky to make the playoffs! I have been spoiled over the last 15 years, with all of the Stanley Cups, and President's Trophies. But as it stands, we get to raise another Division Championship Banner to the rafters of the Joe, and can say we were one of the last three teams standing after seven and a half grueling months. And with Datsyuk and Maltby re-signed, and Hasek saying he wants to come back for one more year, there's no reason not to expect to see the Wings playing into the Conference Finals again.

Lilja Must Die

Haven't posted in a while, so I figured I'd give an update, even though there isn't too much of an update to give. I felt great the entire week, and was able to put in 40-45 hours at work. I've run out of gas a little earlier than normal; I normally can stay up until midnight or 1 AM no problem, but nowadays I'm ready for bed by 9 PM. I really can't complain, though, as things certainly could be much much worse.

My next session is scheduled for this Wednesday in the afternoon. I am now much more prepared for what to expect, and certainly don't have the anxiety that I had in the days leading up to the first session.

Watched the Wings blow game 5 of their series against Anaheim. Andreas Lilja made an inexcusable turnover in front of our own net in overtime, which Teemu Selanne buried no problem. And of course the only reason we were even in overtime was a horrible penalty by Pavel Datsyuk in the last two minutes, which led to a fluky goal to tie it up. The Wings have dominated the last two games, and the only reason we lost them both was because of JS Giguere in net for Anaheim. He did it to us in 2003, and he's doing it again. That being said, I still have confidence we can win game 6 in Anaheim on Tuesday, and force a game 7 back at the Joe.

I'll Help You Out

I have been emailed by a few people that some people aren’t sure how to post comments on this blog. It’s actually pretty easy. So easy that I can create a how-to guide in five easy steps:

1. At the bottom of each post is a link of the ilk “2 comments”. Click on this link.
2. On the right hand side is a section entitled “Leave Your Comment”. In that box, type in your comment.
3. Below that is a radio button marked “Other”. Click it.
4. Type your name in the “Name” box that appears.
5. Finally, click the button for “Publish Your Comment.”

That’s it! I definitely enjoy reading everyone’s comments, so I certainly encourage all to let me know what you think. Go Wings!!!

The Office? Still There!

I returned to work today, and the outpouring of support from my friends here at the office (and Rikki) was much appreciated. Surprisingly, the office did not burn down while I was away, which is certainly a good thing. Dana surprised my coworkers and me with some homemade treats, which everybody certainly enjoyed.

I was fatigued most of the day, but getting back to the normalcy of emails and phone calls and tariff changes and rate increases certainly helped my mental state of mind. I look forward to a long and productive week.

24 tonight! Next week is the season finale. Jack Bauer is my hero.

Halo 2

Today I was able to get out of the house and have some actual factual people interaction. I went to Brandon’s baseball game – they won again; they’ve only lost one game all season. Dana, Brandon, and I followed that up with a trip to Dairy Queen. After I stopped quickly by Walmart for a couple of things, we went back to Dana’s house where Brandon and I played some Halo 2 on Xbox. I’m awful at Halo 2. I mean really bad. Whatever happened to TimeSplitters on PS2? I was good at that!

Overall, I felt good today. A little fatigued, but still no nausea or headaches. I overheated a bit at the baseball game, but just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, some clouds blew in, and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. Somebody up there is watching me…

Just Plain Beat

Today was worse than yesterday, but still not bad. I was just extremely tired all the time, and I slept most of the day away. But no headaches, nausea, or anything else other than fatigue. I guess I can’t complain at all.

My mom and Dana came to visit, which lifted my spirits. Plus the Red Wings took down the Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, so that always makes me feel good.

Hopefully They'll All Be Like This

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good today. I felt lightheaded and tired most of the day, and for whatever reason I had to go to the bathroom like every 15 minutes. Otherwise, the day went well. Hopefully this is how I’ll react to every session! I did start to feel nauseous towards the end of the day, but I took some Kytril (which was the drug sample my mom picked up yesterday), and it made me feel better.

I basically lounged around most of the day. I worked a bit, played some poker, and watched the Pistons beat the Bulls to take a 3-0 lead in their series. All in all, it was a good day.

The Beginning of Treatment

So, chemotherapy session number one came and went today. I spent three hours at Columbia Basin Hematology and Oncology Center where I had by my count 8 different substances fed into the port in my chest via IV. After the treatment, I felt pretty good and went to Walmart with my mom to pick up my anti-nausea prescription (Zofran), as well as a few other things.

When we went to pay for the prescription, we got a shock, as the Zofran was over $500 for twenty pills! I talked to the pharmacist, Kyle, about any alternatives, and he said that Zofran is usually reserved for where other nausea medicines haven’t worked, and use it as a last resort. He called Dr. Sierra’s office to confer with one of the chemotherapy nurses, Cynthia. She said that something weaker would be fine, and changed the prescription to Phenergan, which was only $6.

While at Walmart, I ran into a woman named Kathy who overheard me talking to the pharmacist about my chemotherapy. She went through chemotherapy for breast cancer a couple of years ago. In addition, she volunteers in the Wellness Center at Columbia Basin Oncology. We chatted a bit about what I should expect, and some of the things it is important to do. Probably the biggest thing I took from it was advice to not push my friends and family away. I’ve already caught myself doing that several times, and I need to make a conscious effort to not do that. To anybody I’ve already tried to push away (especially Dana and mom), I apologize profusely, and I will make it my #1 priority to be there for you guys, as I know this is tough on you too.

After grabbing a sandwich from Subway, I went home, took an anti-nausea pill, and went to sleep. Unfortunately, the phone would not stop ringing. Some well-wishers, which I certainly appreciate, but mostly telemarketers, which really annoyed me.

However, one of the phone calls was from Kyle the pharmacist. He said that Cynthia from the Cancer Center called him back, and I shouldn’t take the Phenergan, and he would exchange the prescription to Kytril. He said I should call Dr. Sierra’s office to confirm this was okay. Of course, I panicked, as I had already taken one of the pills. I called Cynthia, and she said that the Phenergan should be okay. I asked why she called them and told them to switch, and she said that she was concerned that the Phenergan wouldn’t be strong enough. She does have some drug rep samples back at the office of a stronger anti-nausea drug that I could pick up, though I can’t remember the name of the drug. My mom said she would head over to the office and pick them up for me. After all this, I went back to sleep.

After waking up from my nap, I sat down and played a little poker. I played some $50 NL on FullTilt, and though I certainly didn’t have my A-game, I was able to double my buyin in an hour. Unfortunately, my head started pounding, and I started getting nauseous, so I had to call it a night from the game. I decided to relax and watch some TV before heading to bed. My mind was racing over what tomorrow will bring.

Heading Home

(Sorry to edit this post – I accidentally deleted it.) My last session with the fertility clinic went as expected, and I had a safe and happy drive home. I came home to a clean and sanitized house. On Thursday my mom and Kim (my sister Crystal's husband Nate's mom) sanitized every surface of my house in preparation for my chemotherapy next week. I appreciate everything they have done for me.

Very Goodly Ice Cream Sandwich

So, the clear film over my incision from my port fell off overnight, and it took most of the scabbing with it. My incision now looks very similar to the incision from the biopsy, once Dr. Cordero took the strips off. This is a good thing (I think). I simply plan to keep it dry, and apply the iodine solution to it, and all should be good. If it still doesn’t look good come Monday, then I will call Dr. Kasthuri.

I drove the couple hours up to Bellingham to see TJ. He just had a chemotherapy session yesterday, but seems to be doing well. The blisters on his face and arms are doing better, and he seemed to have a good amount of energy. We chatted for a few hours over various topics, from lymphoma to the Tri-Cities to movies. We had some Schwan’s Ice Cream Sandwiches. That might have been the single best ice cream sandwich I have ever had in my life. As TJ's roommate Jordan put it, "Schwan's makes ice cream sandwiches very goodly."

His outlook on the whole situation was wonderful. It seems like we are on the same page with the whole thing, which makes me feel better, as I had been feeling a little weird in that I’m not as concerned about the whole situation as I felt I should be. While Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is very serious, it has a very “off the shelf” treatment with an extremely high success rate. (Parallel: for a cold, you know what to do: Vitamin C, lots of fluids, lots of rest, chicken noodle soup, etc. For Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: ABVD. Strangely enough, it’s that simple.)

I’m feeling better after talking to him. I felt like I was looking at myself 4-6 weeks from now, and I see that TJ is doing well. This gives me confidence that I should be able to keep my life as normal as possible this spring and summer.

Phone Tag

I had session #2 at the Fertility Clinic. Once again, everything went smoothly.

After an allday game of phone tag, I talked to Suzie, Dr. Sierra’s chemotherapy nurse, about the incision where my port was installed. She said I should contact Dr. Kasthuri about my concerns over the incision. I plan to call his office on Thursday.

Suzie moved my appointment for my first chemotherapy session on May 9 from 1:00 PM to 9:00 AM. It really didn’t matter to me, so I obliged to her wishes.

I watched the Wings thrilling comeback in Game 4 against San Jose. Restored my faith in them just a bit. My oh my, Game 5 is going to be epic on Saturday...

Closing the Roof

I spent most of the day working from the hotel room. The internet service was spotty at best, but I guess you get what you pay for.

I went out to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners/White Sox game. I had a great time, and the Mariners actually won a game. They closed the roof midway through the game, which I was very excited about. This was the seventh or eighth time I’ve been to Safeco Field, and the first time I’ve seen them close the roof.

My incision from the insertion of the port is not doing very well. It is really scabby, and looks to have a small area of infection. In addition, when they inserted the port, they slipped it down below the incision. Well, the port has somehow slid up in my chest, and is actually right behind the incision. I plan to call Dr. Sierra’s office tomorrow to see what he thinks about that. I hope this doesn’t delay my treatment.