Friday, August 5, 2011

Healing

So, I'm at that stage of recovery from the procedure where I'm . . . getting antsy to get back to my life.

I'm really missing the pool. I need to get back in the water for a host of reasons. I have a great community over there, and it would be nice to think about something other than cancer. Plus, my body really needs some exercise.

Don't you hate it when what they tell you is right? Exercise my friends. Exercise hard. It does the mind and body wonders.

They symptoms haven't really eased much, but I'm less tired now, and the nausea is slowly slipping away. Those are good things.

So, back to the pool for me on Monday. I'll be doing light workouts for a bit, but I'm sure I'll be back to my pruney self in no time.

Hey, it's a look.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Two Weeks In

Two weeks ago today I had the procedure.

I suppose it was naive of me to think that I could skate through this unscathed. But that's human. We have to do what we need to do to get through the day.

It's not terrible, but I'm certainly feeling the effects of the radiation. I'm experiencing quite a bit of fatigue, especially in the early afternoon. I'm queasy as hell a good bit of the time. That's always a fun combination. And, unfortunately, I'm also experiencing some urinary problems.

I had a friend ask me what it felt like. I told him imagine sitting on a grapefruit. Now add a pretty good Urinary Tract Infection on top of that and you'll get the idea. Except that when you go to pee, you can't.

The hell of brachytherapy is that I haven't really hit the toxicity mark quite yet. I could have these side effects for the next 18 months, or they could go away tomorrow.

I vote for tomorrow. :)

I'm sure I'll feel better once I can get back in the water. I don't think it will happen this week as I still have a couple open wounds. Pool water and wounds. That's not a good combo.

I also had my first true 'cancer moment' this weekend.

We went to Spokane to see relatives. It probably was a little early for that much traveling, but both Suz and I needed the trip.

So, I'm sitting in Spokane in the parking lot of a supermarket with my brother-in-law, while Suz and her sister ran inside to get some ingredients for dinner when the nausea kicked into high gear. I fought it for as long as I could but the hand writing was on the wall. Had to have my bro (Thank you Jahn!!) drive me over to the edge of the black top. As sick as I was I was still being considerate. No one wants to watch a bald man yak in the middle of a Safeway parking lot.

The whole damn episode was just weird.

I'm crossing my fingers that those days are going to be behind me very soon.

I'm also in the 'whiny' stage of recovery. One of Suzanne's favorites. :)

That's where I am. I'll keep you posted.