Day 3 - aka Day - 4 (that's Day 'minus' 4)

Well, here we are on Day 3 since admitting to the UW. Here they refer to it as Day - 4. Which, I think I've mentioned this somewhere before, means that after four more days you will receive your stored stem-cells back. That day becomes Day 0 and you count forward from then on. For the next few days I will have the same routine, it's really exciting - wake up around 7:30 am, chemo from 8-11 am, shower, walk, lunch, sit in chair to read (or whatever), walk some more, sit in chair or take nap, dinner, chemo from 8-11 pm, sleeping pill, bed, labwork at 1 am, and then a vital sign check at 5 am. Oh, and there's some oral medications thrown in around the mealtimes. Not quite a Hawaiian vacation, but not as bad as I'd expected, at least not yet.

Three things are making this experience actually pretty good so far. First, I have not been nauseated or thrown up yet. They can't quite understand this, but for now, I'm just glad I'm one of the lucky ones. The first days chemo was called Carmustine, and it's notorious for nausea and vomiting. I had a cheesburger and pasta w/ cheesecake for dinner that night. We'll see how long I stay 'nausea free.' The second thing is that I have an awesome nurse. And, I mean awesome. She is so smart, friendly, and educational. The thing I was thinking about today with her, name is Barb, is that I hope my patients think I'm as good a nurse as her. But, she works 3-12 hours shifts on Sat, Sun, and Mon, so she'll be off all week. Maybe I'll get as lucky again. And, thirdly, having Casey visit last night was great. We ate dinner, chatted, watched football, and went for a walk around the triangle. The floor I'm on is shaped like a triangle and if you're wondering, 15 laps is a mile.

Since there's the potential to do a lot of @ss sitting and watching TV around here, I decided that I would give myself a goal each day. You know, something to strive for, kind of like a challenge for myself. I spent all Saturday and Sunday watching football and basketball (and I mean ALL day), so I thought, not a good habit to get into. Since the chemo kind of makes your head go a little fuzzy (so I've been told) for a few months, I figure there's no sense in accelerating the effect by watching TV all day. So, I decided after my weekend of chemo and all day sports, I would set my goal for Day - 4 as, "No TV until Monday Night Football at 5:30." This seemed like an admirable goal, and I have to say, one which noone else around here probably did. Well, it's almost 5 pm and I am proud to say that I have not watched TV today. Only enjoyed my above mentioned schedule, along with some nice classical music, a TIME magazine (every page of it) and a book on the National Parks (me and Diane's favorite book). So, like G.W. said, "Mission Accomplished." I guess my goal for tonight will be to think of a goal for tomorrow.

Anyway, it's just after 5:00, so I should order my dinner and get ready for Monday Night Football. I'm with Dale, go Arizona Cardinals. Since the Seahawks are so bad, I've decided that it is my duty to at least jump on the bandwagon of another team in our division. Have a good night everyone.

In the news: I don't really have any 'in the news,' since I didn't watch TV or read a paper today, but I would like to make a political statement about something (hopefully I won't offend anyone from Connecticut). What is wrong with Joe Lieberman. Do you know that this numbskull did an interview with the Connecticut Post newspaper in September and he had an idea - he suggested giving people 55 and older "An option to buy into Medicare early if they were laid off or couldn't otherwise get affordable coverage." He said this, look it up, but now he's worried about the increased spending and "Just can't with a clear conscience allow this to happen." WHAT!? This guy is the poster boy for non-partisan inefficiency. If Connecticut re-elects him, I will think so little of the state, that I will re-think my desire to go there and view the fall colors someday.

Take care everyone, Mike