Perspective

Lana, my nurse, arrived very promptly yesterday afternoon and disconnected the chemo pump from my mediport. While this was very liberating both physically and mentally it also served to complete what has been a whirlwind 7 days. The past week has definitely given me a new perspective for what I'll be experiencing over the next several months.

It was just one week ago today that I was in St. Peter’s for my mediport. I’m now truly on the downhill side of treatment #1 but, most importantly, I now have a more realistic view of what the treatment process will be like. I have experienced how chemo affects every aspect of your body, top to bottom, inside and out. As someone that has handled physical challenges with competitive running and 100-mile cycling events I guess it was natural for me to expect to be able to handle chemo in stride. But I now know how truly naïve I was. Hopefully I’m now better prepared.

So… is this going to be easy? Not at all.
Will I be able to deal with this? No question.
I’m now more focused in reality, and as many of you have told me, this is going to be one more slow grind up the 9-mile climb to Spooner summit (sorry, couldn’t help but to slip in a Lake Tahoe reference).

I’m beginning my two-week recovery period and with each passing hour I seem to be feeling a bit better. Lana told me that these next two days may reach new heights of fatigue and so far that’s only close to true. Unfortunately I’m still a bit more focused on some other side affects. LOL. I visit Dr. Richards tomorrow for a white blood cell boost and possibly also for some IV fluids to re-hydrate.

Lastly, and I know that I’ve become a bit repetitious on this, but the outpouring of support for the LiveStrong Mintz’s Mentschen effort has been nothing short of incredible. Watching the TEAM continue to grow on a daily basis has been a lot of fun. Of course, the real magic is the fundraising dollars and it’s been exciting to see some of those numbers changing from zeroes to “crooked numbers”. I have read some of your personalized fundraising web pages and please know that I feel the love and support. I’ve absolutely run out of words to express my heartfelt thanks. For those of you training in the NY/NJ area I'll best be able to say thank-you with a smorgasbord of sag support.