Health Status #26……….For those of you who have been following along……As you can see it has been 26 weeks since I began posting these Health Status (or statuses), or in other words, a half year ago. I decided it would be easier to post something on the News Feed about my health when I started chemotherapy rather than to try to keep up with all the Facebook e-mails and e-mails to my private account. Well, its been over a month now since Ive had my last chemotherapy and while Im thankful to have been given this reprieve, I cant say that Ive completely recovered from the side effects of this treatment while I wait to learn whether I will have further treatments (which I realistically expect will happen fairly soon). Yesterday was Groundhog Day and its the perfect metaphor for how my life has been playing out lately. I wake up with a little bit of energy, take a shower, get some breakfast, post some things on Facebook and by about 9:00 am, Im ready to take my morning nap….the first of many naps during the day. I would guess that I sleep at least 12-15 hours during every 24 hour day. The swelling in my feet and ankles, right hand and arm, has gone down now that my old oncologist doubled my Furosemide (lasik) tablets from 20 to 40 mg, but there is still some swelling present and my feet and toes feel like theyre petrified. I have re-gained some strength since my chemo has ended, but not endurance. So far I have not heard back from my new oncologist, but I expect that his office will be calling me this week with an appointment now that he has received my medical records and has assessed where I am in my treatments. I expect that hell begin ordering CT and PET scans, x-rays, etc….so that hell be better able to assess where I go from here. I went to the proctologist this past Friday. He checked the state of my fistula and said that it seemed to be draining okay for now, but that I was to watch for any signs of pressure and pain and buildup of pus, blood and infection. He said he would be writing notes to my primary care physician and oncologist to consult with them. He would like to do a fistula surgery, but the recent chemo treatments and possible chemo treatments in the future prevent him from doing a surgery to remove the fistula. If another abscess should occur, he has promised to arrange for a procedure at my hospitals operating room to put a seton in the fistula to drain the infected material out (much like a child whose ears often become infected has a drain put in his/her ears). So, for now, my life is a series of long naps….trying to stay warm under blankets….interrupted now and then by taking care of some bodily function, meals, taking meds, going to an occasional doctors appointments, etc……each day seems indistinguishable from the day before. At this point I feel like a hamster in a cage on a very, very slow treadmill…..like Im not getting anywhere….fast. I am so thankful to the friars here who have been taking me to my appointments or picking up prescriptions: Br. Kip Ledger, Fr. Francis Russo, Br. Jonathan Ulrick, Br. Reynaldo Frias-Santana (aka Capuchin Rey Franciscan), Br. Michael Meza Ofm Cap and Br. Andrew McCarty. Id also like to thank Br. Rafael Anguiano (aka as Fraile Rafael Anguiano) for faithfully doing my laundry every week. I also want to thank my sister, Sandy Meyer, for sending me several long-sleeved tee shirts and some snack mix. Also, thank you, my Facebook Friends for sending all your wonderful thoughts, comments, and prayers. They truly help to keep me going every week more than you will know!
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:36:54 +0000
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