This was a week to take stock of all of the changes that have gone on in the last six weeks.
Gym on Monday with Fit4Surgery felt good, something to do with blue skies and sun ... starting to push the numbers up, although these trips will be short lived when chemo starts. The key is to do the groundwork so that I can continue at home during the subsequent cycles (initially 3 months).
Last week I posted my update on Saturday morning, and lingered on Facebook for a while. Reading the first few comments that were left had me in floods of tears for most of the morning ... Thank you so much for all of the positive messages and love that has been shown ... it is helping to lift my spirits in some very dark times!
Operation Debris has finished ... I managed to nurse a pint for a whole hour Saturday of last week, and midweek I managed to get an hour and a half into Mission Impossible before a pit stop (Right in the middle of the Fiat 500 car chase!
One of my cameras has gone to a new home - with my wedding/gig work having to stop for now, I don't need so many back up cameras, and a chance conversation has seen it go to an exciting new home!
A lot of research this week: I was recommended "The Emperor of all Maladies" by siddhartha mukherjee. In a nutshell it is the biography of Cancer! Actually quite interesting.
A talk with "Phil". Through a friend I had the chance to chat with someone who has already walked the journey that I have merely started. He is 5 years cancer free, and we actually share similar chemo/surgical team.
So all of this sounds positive, well don't be fooled there have been some dark moments too! Mid week I had a good long think about the end-game! What if something goes wrong! The team around me have been honest and up front, there are big risks, the chemo is nasty, life will change, and the operation is a massive one! It wasn't a sad thought process, in fact it was almost without emotion - like everything I have done in life, you just get on with it! I have few regrets, and embraced some amazing opportunities along the way. I have made massive mistakes and bounced back; had a great career; and strived to be the best Dad I could be!
Pending News: Next week Chemo starts ... GemCarbo. 4 cycles of 21 days. I have a dedicated 24/7 support line, a red "Alert Card" and threats that Neutropenic Sepsis is a medical emergency. I will be isolating as I will be immune compromised while my white blood cells go into hiding!
The picture: One of the few guilty sins I have left is on a Friday evening I normally nip down to the German Kebab shop. Well this week when I got home this little note was hiding underneath it
