Well, it seems like this website (and Pete Rainford) are reconnecting me to old friends, old mentors (the Youngs), and a whole bunch of new friends. Since you could spend hours looking through my journal before you found anything, I've decided to put up a brief summary of my life since April 27th 2003.
First time the word Cancer was used to describe me - April 27th 2003
First night in the hospital ever - April 27th 2003
Estimated blood tests since my diagnosis - 200 (I guess about 1.2 litres of blood in total)
Number of Bone marrow biopsies - 5
Total days in the hospital due to cancer - 40
Number of doctors I know because of my cancer - 7
Estimated cost to the Alberta taxpayer and my insurance company - close to $400,000 dollars (thanks by the way)
Number of holes drilled into my bone marrow donor's hips and thighs - close to 200
Number of times I've vomited due to cancer - I've lost count. I would guess close to 1000 times since November 2004
Number of times I brutally choked on dead pieces of my esophagus - 6
Pounds lost since Nov 2004 - 40
Number of medications I've been on since April 2003 - about 30, not all at once though (daily max was about 12 at a time)
Number of times I thought I would die - 0
Those are just some of the things that I can remember that have happened to me in the last 2 years. I consider myself lucky since I know people who are in much worse shape than I'm in right now.
Getting back to the present day, I'm still fighting my head cold, but I think I might be getting better. Last night I don't remember waking up from choking on my own mucus so I consider that to be a step in the right direction. Caity is being an absolute wonder by letting me sleep as long as I want to, so I owe her bigtime when I get better. I've been feeling a bit stronger as of late, and I think that's due to the fact that I'm eating normally again. I've decided to lay off milk for another couple of months since every time I have a glass I don't feel well. My doctors at the Tom Baker say that a lot of people get Lactose intolerant after what I've went through, but they say it's usually temporary. I love milk, but I love not puking even more, so we're drinking lemonade, and taking calcium supplements for a while longer.
Caity and I went for a long walk at the dog park yesterday. Normally I'm wiped out by the end of a walk, but lately I seem to be feeling better and better after walking. I'm avoiding going for a hike in the mountains for a while since flat ground is still a challenge for me, but I'm trying to take very small baby steps, and I'm also trying to be proud of what I've accomplished, rather than disappointed about what I can't do yet.
That's it for today, talk to you later.
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