Chapter 7

Chapter 8


June 2, 2008 Monday


Today I finally found out when this ride really gets under way! That date is June 16th! On a calendar I’ll be making up for the occasion it will be Day 1! At 9am I’ll be sitting in the chemotherapy room at St. Johns Hospital Cancer Center hooked up to an IV of Cisblatin that’s actually going to be inserted in my new port! WHOO WHOO! The bad thing about it is that I’ll be there almost all day! I start Chemo in the morning and then after 4 hours I’ll walk half the building north and ride the elevator down stairs to the Radiation Department! I get to receive 2 shots of Amifostine and then get mounted to a table for the radiation! I will receive Chemo on days 1, 22 & 43 then the 3 extra after the radiation is over.

My part in this besides bringing a few billion cancer cells to the party is to be sure I have drunk? drank? drinked? 2 full liters, MINIUMN, of WATER a day! That’s more water than I would drink in a year! I usually get my liquids in coffee or at times beer and maybe wine if at my sisters or even a Jack Daniels and coke! But water? That’s for bathing in right? When did we start drinking it?

All joking aside the water is crucial for the Amifostine to work properly to protect my salvia glands and taste buds from the effects of the radiation. It’s supposed to be a wonder drug that will also have the side effects of lowering my blood pressure and making me want to throw up! As if the Chemo and Radiation isn’t enough! I’m going to have to look up that Jeff Foxworthy skit about the effects of drugs! I remember that as a great funny!

Barbara and I got back home and I get a call from Dave the Dispatcher asking if I wanted to work a little today and of course I did! I moved a few trailers around and then go home knowing I have to be back in the morning at 7am to take a load to St. Louis and return! Money$$Money$$Money$$$$$$MOOONEY$ Money!


06/03/2008 Tuesday

Just an average day in a trucker’s life! I loaded here in town and then went to St Louis to a place that makes soap bases and other chemicals and unloaded and reloaded to go straight back to where I loaded this morning! I got back about 7 pm due to me needing to stop and take my afternoon “old man” nap! That was about an hour after I had stopped at Wendy’s and got a LARGE Vanilla Bean Frosty Shake! HMMMM 410 wonderful calories! 1 hour later I’m out like a light! And that’s why I can’t eat during the day and try to drive any great distances! Besides I need to rest up for my upcoming trials! LOL!

I also need to eat as much as I can and put away as many calories as possible to gain a few pounds before we start dosing me up with things God never intended to go into the human body! I know that I’ll loose some weight and both Doctors Kim and Holden say I should or should loose about 25 to 35 pounds. That’s about two or three pants sizes and could be expensive buying new jeans! I think I’ll just get some suspenders to hold them up till I can put the weight back on!