Upp(er)s and Down(er)s

Before I start this week’s post, I wanted to provide you with my horoscope from the paper last Friday. Not only was it the day of my surprise party but it was also a Friday the 13th. Oooo! Certainly was not unlucky for me!

This week has had its ups and downs. On the up side, the gala dinner on Saturday was, once again, amazing! Gord, Dot and their crew did a great job with the meal and the presentation. The meal started as we arrived with the traditional champagne and strawberries. I chose to have water and raspberry. The dinner started with an heirloom tomato soup. It was followed up with a strawberry and black pepper sorbet as a palette cleanser. The main course was a veal tenderloin with hints of citrus and a deglaissing with a side of mashed potatoes infused with ricotta and black olives. A kale and strawberry salad was served to close this session of the meal. It also included tomatoes and radish. I have to admit, it was one of the few ways to get me to eat kale! The fifth and final course was, of course, dessert and there were lots to choose from. There was the traditional lemon tart. New this year was a coffee creme brule, Guinness beer based chocolate cake and a bumbleberry mousse. The highlight of the night, as always, is the selection of the scotch whiskey that will be served. I guess I was the guest of honour as, not only was my name on the menu, but I was chosen to pick this night’s spirit. I was escorted downstairs to the newly decorated manroom and bar. Here, I was presented with 5 options that I wish I could remember all their names (Gord, if you are reading this, feel free to post a comment with each of the whiskeys presented, please :)). They all ranged in age, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25 years. It was a really hard decision especially since they were not already open so I could not try them to see which one I wanted. I was on the fence between the youngest and the oldest. The reason for these two was that they had the least smokiness to them. In the end, I chose the 10 year old one. It was very nice and, more importantly, Gord said it was a good choice though it was hard to make a bad one given the options presented. The party lasted late and we were home after 12:30 AM.

I spent Sunday relaxing to try to recover from the busy weekend I had but also to be able to go to band practice that night. It went well and it was good to see them though we had an impromptu practice on Friday as well. I had a lot of good comments from those still left at the party to hear the band play. Monday was a rest day and was pretty much uneventful with one exception. I had an appointment with my cardiologist. I started seeing him when Marc found out he was on the verge of a heart attack and needed stints put it. This was around the same time that Mom had her quadruple bypass. I figured that my heart must not be in the best of shapes so I should ensure that I get it checked out. I am happy to say that after a few years of review and testing, my heart is in good shape and I will not need to see the cardiologist again, anymore. One less specialist I need to see is always good news for me! I spent the rest the day watching tv, for the most part. Mary Ann and I did get a chance to play a board game with Cassandra that night though.

I’m not sure if the busy weekend had any impact on how I felt on Tuesday. It was chemo day, session #3. The day started with hockey. I played well but, again did not score but I had some really good chances this time around. Afterwards, I rushed home so that I could eat and get my damn Prednisone in. I really do not like this drug as it acts as an upper and keeps me wired all day. The chemo session was scheduled for 11:00 but I needed to get some blood work done at the hospital prior to this to check my blood levels to see if I am anemic. The good news is I am not anemic (yet) so no transfusion is needed. After the blood test, I headed upstairs for my chemo treatment. I did not have to wait too long this time and they had my results from my blood test from the previous day. Both blood work results looked good and when I told the nurse that I had played hockey that morning, she said that I definitely did not need a transfusion. The nurse gently inserted the needle into my arm to setup the IV but the first try missed so she had to put a lot of pressure to minimize the chance of a bruise. (Sorry it did not help. I have a nasty bruise on the inside of my right arm!) So, rather than try again, she had a more senior nurse do it who I lovingly called Olga. I do not know what her real name was but see was one of those ladies you picture in Russia who is strong and takes no shit. She came in, found an artery on the outside of my right arm and jabbed me and got the IV started. It was not pleasant but was effective. With the IV now started, the chemo treatments began. Some time during the course of the first drug infusion, the one that takes the longest to flow, I got nauseous. Might be because I was still tired from the long weekend but, in any event, they needed to stop the treatment and run a different drug to help with the nausea. Once that ran, we could then restart the treatment. This caused at least a 30 min delay. Though it helped, it did not get rid of it completely. I was able to get through the rest of the treatment and went home. Thankfully, I was able to nap for a few hours once I got home.

Then, I did not get a good night’s sleep that night. I was awake until at least 3:30-4:00AM and was up again at 8:00AM. It was a rough day as I could not rest all day but I was so exhausted and had some nausea. Luckily, we had a full ice cream cake in the freezer that was left over from the party so that helped “cure” my ails. At this point, I reached my tipping point and decided that I needed something to help me sleep. I had received a prescription for Ativan, an anti-anxiety, downer, pill. I took one on Wednesday and, oh my god, this is my new friend. I slept so well that night. I was in bed by 10:00PM and slept until 9:00AM. I had tons of energy on Thursday as well. I was able to finish the deck stairs that were started by Richard on Saturday. The only thing left to put up are the railings. And later that night, I played a great game of hockey and scored a goal and had chances to score more. All this was done without any naps all day! Today though, I am a bit more tired. I will take it easier today to rest. Amazing what a tiny 2mg pill can do!

As this is a long weekend coming, the traditional plan would be to go to North Bay. Given how the week has gone, I will not be making it unfortunately. I am not strong enough yet to withstand not only the 3.5h drive but it would probably be a busy weekend as I would want to visit everyone while I am there. Also, Gen is leaving on Tuesday to go to Knoxville, TN, so she needs some time to prepare and rest for her trip. Also, Cassy has a bunch of soccer stuff this weekend. So, with a sad heart, I decided to stay home. Too bad, as it would have been good to see everyone there but, at this point, I have to think about what is best for me.

I am now at the half way point. 3 treatments done, 3 more to do. I know that they have made a difference but I do not know yet by how much officially. I have not had any abdominal pain in the last few weeks. I have done 2 weeks of wings with no pain, Yay!!!! I will not know how I have progressed until all the treatments are done and I get retested. So far, so good. I will continue to stay positive and rely on my huge support team. I now realize how much love I have around me, especially after all that came to my party last Friday. I now know that many more wished could come but were not able. Though you were missed, I appreciate the efforts you made to try to come. I know you were there in spirit, given all the spirits that were left over from the party! Too bad I am not drinking now otherwise I think I could be drunk all week. It would also make for a great May 2-4 weekend! Any one want to come help me get through all this stash?