Week 5 Update - Winding Down

Hello Family and Friends - Week 5 was better than the last two weeks and my/our spirits are also starting to pick up as I/we see the end of the tunnel just around one more bend in the tracks. While I didn't necessarily start off the week feeling that well (nausea and still no appetite), on Monday after my lab work and RT, we met with our medical oncologist, Dr. Hope Uronis (great name for a doctor huh - Hope). She decided it was time for me to experience a part of the 60's that I failed to take advantage of the first time around - she put me on pot!

Yep, I am now officially on medical marijuana. Unfortunately, it is in a small pill form and not a dobbie I could smoke. Oh well, better late than never I guess. Like my friend Jeff said - the steroids I was on will wipe out my sporting records, now I won't even be able to get a job with any place that does drug testing - guess I will have to stay retired. The pot is to help both my appetite (getting the munchies) and the nagging nausea. The first time I took it I took a nap in the afternoon and woke up with a craving for shrimp. We went to Red Lobster and I had both a shrimp cocktail and shrimp dinner.

On Tuesday, while enroute to the hospital, Dr. Uronis called me to say they had decided to delay my normal chemo infusion scheduled for that day until Thursday to let me get feeling a little better. I liked the decision and made the most of Tuesday and Wednesday to rest and also meet up in the evenings with Annette's sons families. We had dinner with Kelly's family one night in Burlington and then Wednesday night we met with David's family in Greensboro. We had a nice visit with them and the grandsons. They are all so special to us.

RT went OK all week but on Thursday when I did get chemo, later that evening I got nauseous again and lost my cookies once in the evening and once the next morning. We went in on Friday early for the RT so we can come home early but they checked the vitals and my BP was down again so they required me to have a bag of IV saline solution and one of an anti-nausea drug before turning us loose to go. It took about an extra 3.5 hours. Oh well, you do what you must and actually now I feel about as good as I have in a month, so obviously it helped me.

We will lay low again this weekend with just a short birthday party to attend for Annette's sister where we will see some of the family today. They have been so supportive throughout this whole ordeal. Tomorrow we may plant some flowers in the deck boxes but that is about it for plans. Rest and relax, watch some of the NCAA tournament and get ready for our FINAL week. Sounds good doesn't it? It does to us.

Take care and your thoughts and prayers are always welcomed.

Drew & Annette