currently: @962 (2:06pm) on thursday 1.8.09 | 139 hours since last post
No, I will not fix your computer.
So, so sorry for the extended time since the last update.
So much has happened since my last post, I hardly know where to begin. How about here:
A day or two after my last post, I was admitted to the hospital again for what we thought might be pneumonia or some other lung infection. Scans and another bronchioscopy revealed not only no infection, but more tumors in my left lung that weren't there 10 days before. Great news, right? My prognosis is therefore much less optimistic, but whatever. The chance of me getting this shit in the first place was infinitesimal, so the odds mean nothing to me. I mean to continue living every day as if it were the last.
I was in the hospital for about a week, and during that time started radiation treatments - daily blasts of toxic particles through my chest. Those lasted 20 sessions and ended two days ago on my birthday. During radiation, Dr. Winter changed my chemotherapy drugs to some new ones that work synergistically with the radiation, given weekly. Just had my last one of those yesterday. In a couple of weeks I'll start yet another different set of chemo drugs, apparently about 10 hours worth. One of these, Alimta, is a brand new one that's just been approved for use and is supposed to do a lot of good.
I started receiving acupuncture treatments for my fatigue, nausea, and appetite a few weeks ago as well. These sessions are really a highlight of my week; Dr. Lin relaxes me with his very presence, I can feel the treatment working, I always come out of there feeling better than when I went in, and the effects seem to be increasing with each session. So that's the news on the treatment front.
As far as the Pasha front... Physically, I have my good days and my bad days. Fatigue seems to strike suddenly, last a few days and slowly dissipate. I'm coughing very little, but it's still irritating when it happens. I have what feels like a sunburn in my esophagus from the radiation, so sometimes it hurts to swallow food. I'm told that should go away in a week or so. My inactivity for the last 4 months has resulted in weight loss of about 50 pounds total now, but my weight has held steady for a few weeks now and my appetite is good.
I had a great birthday thanks to my girls and to everyone who came down to the beach to help us celebrate it. It wasn't as much of a fishbowl feeling as I feared it might have been, though the present-opening part, with 50 people standing in a circle looking at me, was a tad uncomfortable. I got some great presents though; Timm & Sandra's Orange Box Rickroll was the highlight, so much thought went into that. I got a great kite from Maddie, remote-control helicopters for indoor use, great books, many other cool things. Pretty awesome.
Today being the 4th, I'll be heading back down to the beach in a couple hours. Debbie and the girls are already down there but I doubt I could stand staying out there all day, even with Richard's Comfy Chair reserved for me.
So I'll try to do better with posting in the future. I know this is the only direct source of Pasha news and contact for some of you and I sincerely apologize again for the time since the last update.
More later, I promise. Love you guys.
6 comments | trackback
