Well that didn't go according to plan...

I went back in to MSKCC today to start round 3 of my chemo treatments...until I couldn't start round 3 of my chemo treatments. Turns out my white cell count had dropped too low for them to safely administer the drugs to me, and therefore sent me home with a antibiotic prescription, a blood prescription, and a new schedule for next week. This, of course, screws up everything planned for the next couple of MONTHS, but I guess we'll have to make do of it.

Second round done...and it's no less comforting!

Ok...so you all probably know I went to do play-by-play in mid week down at Rutgers...yes, in the middle of my chemo treatments! Felt fine doing it, everything seemed to be cool.

And then Thursday hit!

From Thursday morning on I've been hit pretty hard. My energy level took a beating this week (though the nausea hasn't been as bad this time around). But I'm still fighting through things here. I know it's an ongoing process. And I know my energy level will pick up soon enough. Just at this moment, I'm very much weakened.

And it just doesn't make it any more fun, that's for sure!

Day 22 - or Round 2, Day 1...

I haven't blogged in a while, so here's my latest entry:

Since I last blogged, I went through a serious case of 'roid rage, had Adina go out of town for 4 days (in which I did have plenty of company), and broadcast a Sky Blue FC game.

Now I'm back at MSKCC for round 2 of my chemo treatments. And one of my concerns is that I can't come off of the steroids that they're giving me to combat nausea. They may try to reduce the dosage, but as of right now I can't completely come off of it. This concerns me b/c if I start raging again...well, that really scares me! I have to now be very cognizant of my feelings, emotions, and surroundings just to make sure nothing triggers me off. I've already done damage to one door...I'd much rather not have to go through that again. Something tells me I'll be going to some therapy sessions with Adina in the coming weeks.

So it's now 2 am...so I guess it's Day 23? But I've been in and out of sleep and nauseousness all day. I'm hoping to sleep well in the next couple of days so I can be rested for the SBFC game on Wednesday! Oh well...I'll just watch Poker After Dark and hope this discomfort passes me by!

I love progress!

Stomach wasn't too happy with me overnight...should have stayed away from the french fries at the ballpark! Too oily to try fried food yet! Otherwise, all is going real well! Went in for my checkup and all tests went well. And Dr. Xiao has come up with a game plan for combating the constipation and nausea issues going forward to the next round of chemo treatments.

So on the way back, I did a little food shopping. A necessary trip because Adina and I HAVE to start eating healthier. We keep talking about it, but as most people do we fall back into that rut of bad habits. So lots of good foods...fruits and veggies, I'm actually a big fan of whole grain bread, some watermelon may be knocked down by me later...heck, I MIGHT even try a piece of kiwi at some point!

Which brings me to my weight! For those that may not have known, at this time last year I weighed 240 lbs! That's not a typo! 240!!! But then, between coaching the girls at Pingry, coaching the girls with the Wings, and playing on the Nighthawks, I was getting a TON of ice time. And my body responded. By seasons end, I had shed 30 pounds down to 210. Gradually, those bad eating habits got me back up to 220, but now with chemo I'm down again to 210.

I say this because either today or tomorrow I'm going to go to Paramus and finally load up my stationary bike from there. I plan on keeping myself in some kind of shape so that when I've been told that my cancer is in remission (or gone altogether), I can at least be somewhat ready to play hockey!

So for the rest of the day...I'm gonna get the dishes done, try to tidy up some other things, and then maybe get to Paramus before I head off to meet up with some of my teammates tonight in their summer league game.

It's a process, for sure...

Somewhere along the line, I figured that the discomfort would go away and I'd be back to normal, doing things around the house and running out and doing some errands. Ah, but I should know not to just assume these things! The last couple of days have been physically painful, if not frustrating! In the past 36 hours, I've had to take some acetaminophen tablets to subside the pain. No, it wasn't nausea...it was legit pain in my stomach! There still is some pain there, but today it's not as bad as it was yesterday. Slowly, progress is made!

Unfortunately Adina though I was mad at her! I wasn't in much of a talkative mood because I was trying to manage my pain both physically and mentally...not an easy task! But no, I wasn't mad at her at all!

And as the finish for the day...went with Adina, Jason, Joanne, and Luc to a Skyhawks game! Luc's first game was a fun one! Fireworks night! From the Skyhawks themselves, as they scored 12 runs. From the Worcester manager...he got tossed in the 6th! And of course, the fireworks themselves! I ate as I normally would at the game and felt relatively fine! Hopefully I have a week and a half of normalcy before round 2 starts!

Ooof last night was a bit tough...

My stomach was not helping me last night. Had to call MSKCC a couple of times to figure out what to do about the pain I was experiencing. Finally, after a couple of pain tablets and the usual round of meds, I'm feeling a bit better now. Temperature stays down, which is good. Wondering what to do for breakfast this morning...either a Fiber One bar, or a bowl of cereal, or maybe english muffins. But any way you cut it, I'm going to try and keep it simple!

Comical moment of the day: Adina was getting ready to take Luc back to Denville (she watches him during the day for the summer). Luc wanted to helped Auntie D with her car keys...and pressed the blue panic button on the home alarm remote! D punched in the code, we figured all would be fine from there...and not too long ago, a Vernon Police Officer showed up! I explained what had happened and apologized, but next time Auntie D has to keep the keys out of Luc's reach!!!

It's been a week...

Didn't sleep too well last night...stomach acted up, alarms going off, texts coming in, phone calls, etc. But...I gotta drink my fluids and make sure I'm recovering nicely!

My energy level seems to go in waves...and as I type this, I'm in a lull actually! But m biggest concern will still be my stomach...I'm not nauseous but as I told one of the MSKCC nurses who called this morning, it feels like there's something sitting in my stomach. It's probably me not having enough in there, and my stomach reacting accordingly! Oh well...we'll see how the day plays out for me! I'm sensing another bologna sandwich later on!