Good day to you. Thank you for taking the time to drop into my Blog area for a few minutes. I appreciate that you are interested in what we are doing and that you find my ramblings entertaining enough to return. I find it more difficult to get to the tasks these days as, for some reason, I do not have the drive that I once had. I was eager to get the day’s list of things to do and spent pretty much all day doing small or large jobs to get them off the “ToDo” List. None-the-less today I decided I would sit down and update you on some things that I have been thinking about.
As with everyone else in the world, I have opinions and new findings due to the Covid-19 trials we find ourselves. Unlike some others, I will not use my blog to expound on this subject as there is far too much information and dis-information in social media these days to satisfy anyone’s desire for insights. I will restrict my input today to matters of health and happiness in the Rodier compound.
In my last update I mentioned that I had an appointment to see (or in this case talk to over the phone) my Dr. to get my results from my CT Scan of March 27. The appt was intended to be an update on my results of my scan and then to set the stage for the next period without Chemo. The call came at the scheduled time and we chatted about current affairs for a couple of minutes. His reality is quite different being a front-line worker with many of his patients being prime targets for the current virus that is plaguing those who are operating with compromised immune systems. But he seems to be adapting well to the changes and he seemed well based on our conversation. I have had a unique relationship with Dr Jonker over the years and I always ask him about how he is doing before he gets a chance to ask me that question. He did get his turn and he asked me how I was doing to which I responded that I was doing very well and appreciating the time away from Chemo. I explained how all systems seem to have regulated again and my lifestyle and wellness were on track. He was happy to hear that but had to get to the results of the test before he commented on my enthusiastic response.
He explained to me that my results were worrisome and then he went through the points one by one.
My lungs were not of concern or were “unremarkable” in the language of the technician. The liver masses were the concern area of this CT Scan. There were substantial growth indicators in the tests and in some cases up to 60% growth from my last scan. He mumbled through the statistics which I listened to but did not retain as I knew where we were heading. He asked me what I thought when he was finished talking numbers and technical talk. I paused for a minute and then said that I was unhappy to get a result like that. In addition, I told him that I knew that we were heading back to the Cancer Centre to re-start Chemo. But to satisfy my curiosity, I asked him what he thought would be the situation if we waited 3 months before we returned to Chemo. His estimation was that there was a 25% chance that I would be having some difficulties with liver and bile duct functions if I delayed Chemo for another 6 months. That told me that the issue was important but not critical at this time. We chatted some more, and his words once again indicated that decision either way was a decision about “lifestyle vs survival”. Hmmm we have been here before. When put in those terms I usually feel confident enough to pick lifestyle and move on as before. However, this time I decided to re-start Chemo treatments. We talked about schedules and I am now scheduled to return to QCH for treatment on April 21 and every three weeks thereafter. We finished our call and I started to think about where we were heading. I was unhappy as I have been enjoying the freedom to eat and drink what I want when I want. I have also been enjoying the good solid sleep I have been having over the last few weeks. Most of all I have been enjoying the freedom and ability to do whatever I felt like doing as I have few limitations due to my physical state. That freedom was an uplift for my mental state, and I have been quite happy with all things in general. I was not feeling the same way after my call with Dr Jonker. Within 24 hours of the call my body demonstrated its response to the situation as my bowel took on a life of its own like the reaction I have with Chemo. I found that weird and annoying, and within 24 hours the reaction went away. I found this physical reaction to be a simple psychosomatic reaction and happily it was over before it became too serious. Today I am resigned to the Chemo schedule and will see where it takes me. I am hoping that I will be able to minimize the side-effects of the Chemo and hope that the internal effects of the Chemo show some improvement in late June when I have my next CT Scan.
In the real world, we are experiencing a slow spring transition. The lake is trying to “ice out” but the cooler temperatures at night seem to be winning as the ice is thinning but certainly not giving way to open water. I am Ok with that as I need to float my assembled floating docks in front of my shore dock frame which is made of aluminum and is currently touching the water due to the increase in water height this spring. The force of the ice from the windward area will likely cause some damage and I do not need that type of stress right now. With the floaters protecting the aluminum I may be able to protect its integrity. However, each day we are faced with high westerly winds. These winds compound the difficulty of doing what I need to do with the floaters, and I am hoping that I will be able to find a window to get this done before the ice disappears. There is lots of movement of the ice mass on the last days of being in the lake. It is that brief period that causes damage as the ice mass is very heavy and “convincing” when it decides to move things. Aluminum does not do well against the ice.
We have been doing well in isolation as we have supplies, food ideas, BBQ gas, and lots of things to do to keep us busy. However, I find that we spend quite some time reading, watching movies, and sleeping. This is very much like a vacation but at home.
I do hope you and yours are well and happy and that we will soon find some relief of the current situation.
Be well ….. and thank you for dropping in.
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