I'm contemplating chemo in the fall after summer to see if I can buy some time, one of the considerations is how chemo kills your immune response and leaves you wide open to, you guessed it, COVID. I'm with you, Shaman, hang tough.
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.
I'm contemplating chemo in the fall after summer to see if I can buy some time, one of the considerations is how chemo kills your immune response and leaves you wide open to, you guessed it, COVID. I'm with you, Shaman, hang tough.
Officially, I'm immuno-comprimised. However, I have to say that my body has shucked off this COVID thing about as fast as could be expected. The anti-viral they're giving me is the bomb. My bloodwork is all screwed up, but it seems to be getting me by. Another cancer and another chemo will be entirely different. I'm in with dozens of other patients, and nobody seems to be getting the same treatments.
I've been living about as isolated a life as I could since mid-March. The blood clots put me in the recliner for a month before I realized the cancer was there. I'll be living in the recliner until probably 1 August, when the last trip to Chemo Camp wears off. After that, I'll be still be pretty-well hogtied until I can get off the blood thinner. That's a minimum of 90 days. Right now, being in my treestand for the 12 November Rifle Opener seems to be a reasonable goal.
Don't let my experience guide your decisions. For one thing, Seminoma is a relatively rare cancer that grows fast and dies fast. It has no Stage 4. Second, I was in remarkably healthy condition when it showed up. Third, they got the jump on this a good two months ahead of schedule. If all had gone to plan, my regular checkups would have discovered the cancer some time last week-- about mid-way through my third round of Chemo. It was a fluke the right blood test was run.
Update: I had a half-way normal night with plenty of decent sleep. KYHillChick is progressing slower, but she doesn't have the anti-viral. They want me down to the hospital to check on my bloodwork today. I'll probably have to beg a ride in a wheelchair, because I have zero stamina. Fixing a cup of coffee and getting back to my office had me gassed.
Well, that was certainly an interesting turn of events.
I was sitting in my office chair and suddenly had a sinking feeling. I had indescribable weakness. I figured the only thing that might help was getting some food into me, but I still had meds to take. I summoned 'HillChick, and she guided me into the bathroom, and I stoked up on the most essential pills, and then made a sprawling dash for the recliner.
Normally, because I'm Diabetic, things like waffles are not good breakfast fare, but right now, it's an all-bets-are-off situation. I had her do up 3 Eggos with butter and syrup. While that was going on, I started flipping through Youtube. I found something interesting.
That was about the time things really went Cosmic. I started winking out and heard the Heavenly Host-- came to crying like a baby. This was a most unexpected turn of events. I'm back to normal-- as much as one is after an encounter like that.
For those who want to sing along:
Quote
104 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4 Who makes His angels spirits, His [a]ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who [b]laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 [c]They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. 13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart. 16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, 17 Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock[d] badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions— 25 This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. 26 There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan[e] Which You have [f]made to play there.
27 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works. 32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord. 35 May sinners be consumed from the earth, And the wicked be no more.
Thanks for sharing your journey through this - in the particular way that you have been doing. A unique and sober dose of another person's reality can be good for some of us.
A unique and sober dose of another person's reality can be good for some of us.
This next episode would probably be best taken with a good hit of scotch.
I write you all from the 5th floor of the hospital in Westchester. Things went south in a hurry. I was having trouble with dizziness and vision and . . . well, I finally pulled the emergency cord and called 911. It was getting scary. KYHillChick had to stay behind; she has COVID. I had to convince her I wasn't going to meet Jesus before she let me go.
My last ride in the meat wagon was in August 1958. Mom's dad was good golfing buddies with the funeral home director, and he threw in a ride home from the hospital in the ambulance as a birthday gift. I don't remember the ride. Both times, it really gave the neighbors a show.
Once they got me transported, I had 12 hours in ER while they figured out what was what. They're still not sure, but my blood work is all wonky. The dizziness, etc. have improved, but they're talking 2-3 days before I see home. Overall, I feel fairly good. The COVID symptoms are pretty well gone already thanks to the anti-viral.
To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.-Richard Henry Lee
Endowment Member NRA, Life Member SAF-GOA, Life-Board Member, West TN Director TFA
I just had a visit from the Nephrology team. Their idea is that this is all Kidney related. The Bug Juice is famous for hurting kidney function. You mix that with COVID, and it would explain all the hoo haw. It may be a few days before I get sprung, but that's the sanest theory I've had so far.
