Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It's been a while since the last entry in this journal of mine but to tell it like it is I've really haven't done a whole lot after I escaped from the hospital on August 7th!

The first couple of days I sat around and recouped and tried to gain some of my lost weight back! I mean I REALLY want it back so I can put my new store bought teeth in and attack the first steak I can find! I don't care how bad my taste is! Then maybe a great pulled pork BBQ sandwich with a bowl of Brunswick stew beside it! Then it's on to sea food and I mean if I "sea food" I'm eatin it! I've been catching my self totally wrapped up in the Food Network! I can actually SMELL them all cooking and I'm especially wanting to lick the front of the TV it all looks so good, ESPECIALLY Paula Dean's! She cooks just like my mom did! I just want real food! This canned crap is terrible!
I did get some things done around the house in the past few weeks.
I completely removed the front screen and main door and stripped them completely, primmered them and repainted them while they were on saw horses! They look so much better after removing about 5 coats of paint! I even stripped the step and then after a good sanding I varnished it the old way and after 7 coats it looks great! Now I'm working on the bottom panels of the French doors that always get wet and are peeking like crazy.
There are also a couple of flower gardens that needed weeding and the roses do so much better when dead headed! I always seem to have a lot of them on these 2 bushes! The Snap Dragon, Buckeyes Susan's and the Daises are also standing up about 4" and should hopefully flower before the first frost but doubtful and if they don't come up in early spring I now know how much acreage a 1oz bag of seeds will cover! Note to self: ½ Oz of Snap Dragon seeds!
The yard is a mess! I have the best collection of weeds in Missouri! And I'm still trying to figure out why when I washed and removed all the storm windows that the only places I laid one flat on the grass the grass died in about an hour! Was it because the sun made it to hot under the glass? But I have these wonderful rectangular dead spots in the yard! No Moles, just killer glass! But I did get all of the windows clean and even repaired one where the screws just pulled right out.
Then I've been getting my packing done to get ready to roll out to work next week. I don't plan to put it all back just the most needed! Not even a TV this trip as I normally use this laptop while parked and catch up on the news and I can always look up something here to watch or put a DVD in. Coffee isn't in my future until the last chemos then look out! I'll have my first coffee someplace where I can get a Baileys Irish Crème added! I actually drool when I smell Barbs on a Saturday morning like yesterday! COFFEE! Please!
And the thing that really chaps my butt is I found out that the punk who broke into our cat the other week stole my prescription sunglasses for the car and truck! Just at $400 for them! I was going to use them for my next upgrade on my prescription as my eye site is changing again! Oh, I need to go to the garage and get riding the glasses out of bag! The guy is still working the area and is even stealing the metal ribbing used for all the politician's posters! He's pulling the things out of the ground and then keeping the metal ribbing! Yep and leaving the posters! The ribbing costs more than the plastic banners! LOL!
I went in on the 28th to see Dr. Kim and he was really happy to see the way the tumors are shrinking nicely. I weighed in at 136 pounds up from Monday where I was 133! I think I have an MRI or Cat coming up soon and it might be just before my next chemo. I'd like to see them also! Then on the 29th or Friday I went in for this months chemo and this is so sweet as I didn't have to stay in the hospital for the next 4 days! I go into the Center and get hooked to my CT port and get my labs done, and then do the usual hurry up and wait so well known at most hospitals! I get back and see Dr. Holden and he's pretty good with my progress also. My weight was 139 and I was the happy one! I've been pouring at least 2100 calories a day in through this piddling little ¼ dia. tube! But still that is so great for me meaning I'll be fitting my chompers in all the sooner and the getting the tube OUT! But I came out of the center with a new toy! A small IV pump that fits in some thing about the size of those belly and fanny packs every one used to wear all the time. It's pretty quiet and small so most people don't even look at it! It's just a pain in my side when it's time to shower, go to the potty and other things requiring movement! At least I get to ride the bike, an always enjoyable time.
Which reminds me that I had to go get a DOT physical and an OSHA type of physical on the correct way to pick up heavy boxes. The tech got a kick out of me asking where the lumpers were I was going to pay to pick up that 50 pound box! I'm getting older and some times even smarter! Why do I want to pick up something that's going to come back in the morning when I go to crawl out of the bunk and the muscles in the back will scream at my stupid ass all day long! No I pay them and send the receipts in to the company! Any way, I get there and hey have to do their touchy feelie thing and my BP was the lowest I've ever seen it 98/69! Oh the guy was just beside himself! I think I broke the lowest BP level they had! But I told him lets see what it'll be after this little test! I picked up his boxes for him but I learned to just pick it up and you're young and your back is strong! These people need to see me now! But the BP was still really good after exercise 127/70!
Speaking of the feeding tube. I designed a wonderful thing to hold my feeding tube to the body and all of the nurses who saw it asked the same thing. They all asked if I was going to patent it. I asked them if it was really worth it or if there were a lot of feeding tubes being used. They all said "YES" to a lot of feeding tubes out there! So the last couple of days I borrowed a sewing machine and redid a couple of the guides and made another holder and it's working like a charm! Taking pictures and I've been compiling and getting ready to file a patent and I'm thinking and 'hoping' of getting the American Cancer Society to help as they have the people and know how at this sort of thing and my idea is to let them do the work for a very generous deal where they pay off all my debts and then I get a small percentage of proceeds for a few years then they take full custody of all future sales for the ACS coffers. They just need to keep the patents going. I think it's a really fair deal! Do you?
I was thinking I was going to be ok with this round of chemo but it's starting to put that gaggy taste back in the back of my throat. Just fantastic! That will be with me till after this is all over as it's been over a month since my last chemo and I had gotten the taste out! Well there goes "Mr. Taste" back a while! Two steps forward and one back but it's getting there!
Well when I stop here it's back to finishing up on this diary and get it ready to be wrapped up! I'll come in hopefully once a week to repost some more rambling about how I'm coping with being back on the road again after 3 months off sitting on my butt! Hey I'll still be sitting on my butt! How awesome is that!