Friday Fluids & Da Bears 🐻 🏈

I woke up really exhausted, the same heavy way I felt yesterday with the 5-FU pump still running. I know it is doing its work, but it is taking a real toll on my energy. I stayed in bed until 11 AM. Today will be the day it comes out and after about two hours in the infusion chair I will get my self injecting shot in my arm Saturday evening around 6pm.

Bobby left the house early for his baseball games and Angela came over, washed my dishes by hand, and grabbed me breakfast after she took the pups for their doggy daycare play date. When she came back over she noticed I didn’t touch the food so she made sure I got downstairs and actually took a few bites. I am learning on this journey that when I am hungry, I’d better eat, because when that switch flips off, it flips off hard, and even looking at food becomes unpleasant.

Leslie was my companion and driver today. She picked me up and took me to my appointment at Northwest Cancer Centers. My Aunt Tina also met me there with a bag full of gluten-free snacks and a cilantro plant we have been hunting for to add to my garden. 🪴 I make sure I tell everyone I love ❤️ and appreciate them, I can’t say it enough. One very sweet surprise: when I arrived at the infusion center, the Brown family had left me a little gift bag with a special sweatshirt that unzips so my port can be accessed. Sandi was an oncology nurse for a very long time, and it was just so thoughtful of her and Jerry to drop this off with a beautiful card. I read it in the chair and it made me tear up.

I mentioned Bobby had games in Kokomo/Indianapolis but has been driving back and forth to be here for me. He made it over to the infusion center to give me a ride home and tuck me in to my favorite spot on the couch. I have been napping ever since but I feel happy that it’s seven pm and I’m writing without fatigue at the moment. Today's magic infusion was a steroid, anti-nausea medicine, and a liter of fluids. Hopefully that bounces me into a better state tomorrow.

One thing I didn’t mention in last nights post was that my lead UofC GI Oncologist, Dr. Shergill, called me while I was at dinner with my family last and checked on me. We talked about scheduling the scan after my next session to see how we are progressing, and we talked about the things we would be considering in the next phases of treatment. For now we stay on track, and things will be dynamic as she analyzes my blood work and the overall impact of my systematic attack on the colon and liver tumors. She will be contacting Dr. Sidani and will also be bringing my case to her board for review over the course of the next four to six months. It is a long journey ahead of me and nothing that is going to be happening fast, which introduces a lot of concern and doubt in me about when my life will be normal again. I am doing my best just to manage the day to day, but I constantly think about when I can go back to work and focus on something other than this someday. Cancer will not define me for the rest of my life.

Part of me is contemplating a little road trip with Bobby down to Indianapolis, but I am not sure I can handle it. We will see how I feel tonight.

I continue to read every message that comes in, and it is the highlight of my day. Please keep them coming, including pictures and videos. The comments on each post make me feel engaged in a real conversation and not isolated, which cancer can magnify in a way that is hard to describe. If you made it to the end, you maybe be wondering about “Da Bears” note in the title and that I am wearing my Bears hat again when normally I would be cheering on the Cubs. Well, there is massive swirl around Chicago and Northwest Indiana and what is happening with the new stadium plans. Lots of excitement and passion in our communities in Illinois and Indiana.