Back in the cancer trenches

Yesterday I felt great. Top of my game. Today, not so much.

Mom and Dad arrived yesterday afternoon. (Remember, Anna's been down in Toronto for a week now.) I had enough time to say 'hello' to them before I had to be off to North Bay. Had to pick up my car after some brake work (unexpected repairs, hefty bill). Then I went to Station 1 for a little workout:

Push Jerk 3-3-3-3-3 (55 lbs/95/115/125/135)

Last night was the monthly union meeting. I wanted to say a personal thank you to my union brothers for supporting me and my family with trade days, bank time, well wishes, and carrying the load when it became too much of a burden for me. Everyone who knows me knows that I am pretty independent and I like to do things myself. I don't like to ask for help. I guess a lot of firefighters are like that, so they recognized that in me and offered their assistance without me having to ask. So I wanted to say thanks. I also wanted to thank them for their generous donations to the Ride to Conquer Cancer. We set a target of $800. At last count, it was $795 with some money still to come in. That money will go a long way toward helping Lisa and Jodie meet their overall target of $5700. (I think they can surpass that, too.)

Made it home by 9:30ish, but didn't turn the lights out until after 11:00. Then I was up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Why is it that when your alarm goes off at 6:00, after tossing and turning for three hours, suddenly you pass out stone cold? Maybe next time I'll set my alarm for the middle of the night so I can get some good shut eye during the 'snooze'.

Prednisone pills, breakfast, then three of us piled into the car. Blood work was good (white blood cells could be a touch higher), and then I was comfy in my chemo chair for the next seven hours. Lynn was busy as always, juggling two of us in there for the day, two others for a half day, and other drop-ins getting ports flushed and the like. I keep telling her to wear a pedometre and tell me how many steps she does a day. Way over 10 thousand, I'm sure.

I napped through most of the day. The more chemos under my belt, the longer the naps become. Last time I napped for half the day, this time I had a good nap in the morning and a good one late in the day. You know, when you count up all the drugs that have gone into me today..... prednisone, tylenol, benedryl, rituximab, granisitron (sounds like one of the Transformers, not an anti-nauseant), vincristine, doxorubicin (the Red Devil), and cyclophosphamide..... Eight drugs, coursing through my veins. No wonder I feel toxic right now. I feel pale, green. I am sleepy. Time to brush my teeth and go to bed.

Not bad for someone who had absolutely no clue what I'd be writing when I sat down to this post.