He's
baaaaccckkk....
Okay, I have an update and since we all need something to take our minds off of
yesterday's Canadian Junior meltdown here we go.
Saw the doctor on Wednesday and here is what we found out. The CT scan
shows that the tumor is smaller. How much smaller you ask? Great
question. I asked the same thing and was told... smaller. They did
not measure it so they do not know how much smaller.
Why do I get a picture in my head of the doctor holding the scan further and
further from his face and saying... "looks like the tumor is getting
smaller to me". If he gets someone to hold the scan on the other
side of the room, the tumor might practically be gone.
Regardless, the smaller size is a plus. Now is this due to the
radiation? Or due to the Shaman (healer, quack or other term you
prefer)? I have to say that giving any credence to the success of the
shrinkage to the Shaman went over like a tonne of bricks down at PMH.
Man, a lot of Western doctors do not have a sense of humor about this stuff.
The Shaman is, of course, ecstatic as he had stated prior to the scan that the
tumor had shrunk and now he has proof. The Shaman has stepped up his
healing/energy transfer and almost made me pass out. I must be storing a
lot of bad energy because it seriously is taking a lot out of me. He was
doing something to the kidneys and I could feel the heat transfer and then
boom, I got seriously light headed. Take that tumor!
I also got my Hickman line put in yesterday. Good times, good
times. Sure the 4 hour wait for my minor surgery was annoying but it did
allow me to play a lot of Plants vs Zombies. If I am the Plants and the
tumor is the Zombies, the tumor is getting its ass kicked. I am way
better at this game than I am at Angry Birds or Cut the Rope.
Anyway, back to the Hickman line - this is a line that they put into your chest
(and into an atrium in your heart) so that they can put in the
chemo/intravenous and take out blood etc. I have about a foot of tubes
hanging out of my chest and apparently about the same inside my chest (in a
vein). Unfortunately it does not look anywhere near as cool as the CT
biopsy needle to the chest looked (which looked like the sword coming out of
some guy's chest in Braveheart) so I am less inclined to take a picture of it
and make it my Facebook profile photo.
Having the Hickman line means that I could end up in the hospital at
anytime. Chances are I will be in early next week. It will be one
day of fluids, two days of chemo, a couple days of recovery and then stem cell
transfer. First week will probably not be pleasant. Two weeks of
recovery and then home for further recovery. Healthy visitors are welcome
anytime but note that they are big on hand washing so expect that this will be
mandatory. I will be at PMH, probably on the 15th floor.
Last thing - I had a great surprise tonight. My buddy Ross from Ballarat Australia
showed up at my door tonight in the snowstorm. He and his family are
taking an extended vacation in Europe and he
flew over from Salzberg to spend a few days with us in T.O. Really nice
unexpected surprise. Especially since he brought some Aussie Footy
paraphernalia for me from my team, Collingwood, which had just won the recent
championship. To put this in perspective, it was like a Leafs fan buying
a Habs fan a championship jersey just after the Habs won the cup.
Ouch. I know that had to hurt Ross (and Matty too, who shopped with him)
so thanks a bunch!
If anyone has any suggestions for something really fun to do in Toronto for the next
couple of days, feel free to drop me a line.
Otherwise, I will let you know when I am in the hospital and where I am, when I
know.
One final thought - can someone explain to me why when the latest round of
chemo caused a lot of hair to fall out and to stop growing, the white hairs
were the first to recover? I get sporadic facial hairs in my beard and
they are ALL white. Not only is it weird, it is annoying as I have to
shave every few days just to cut these 25-30 white hairs that keep popping up.
All the best,
Rob
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