Day 29 Buckle In

 

As we buckle in and get ready for another couple of weeks on this ride, I can see more of what's to come. MDA promised it, and they are delivering.

Let's see. David's nose is very full of crusty's from the radiation zapping it. He sinus rinses a minimum of several times a day to keep it clean, moist and as clear as possible. He's finding less air moves through his nose, which means it's harder to sleep, and ends up sleeping with his mouth open. Sleeping with your mouth open dries the mouth, creates more of a sore throat, and irritates the already dry mucous membranes of the mouth. It also irritates the hot spots in his mouth. The radiation is burning his skin on his face and neck now to the point of making sores on his face and neck. Kind of like you've been in the sun too long, and then someone places you on a deserted island with no sunscreen, coverage or hat. The hot spots are apparent, and he keeps the steroid and oncology creams on it 24/7. His nausea from last Tuesday's chemo started to wear off late Saturday (usually), the Sunday may even be a day he does not have to take any Zofran. It's a slow process for the chemo to wear off, and Sunday is the day he feels "the best" out of all the days of the week. Sunday's are his day to himself, feeling better than usual. He uses it to rest up for upcoming week of treatments, preparing himself physically and mentally.

I can see clearly now

Good news! The ophthalmologist said his eyes looked good, and that was a blessing. David's eyesight has straightened out for the time being. He has dug into his second anti-nausea medication this past week (besides the Zofran) and that helped some. The teas and oils are nice, and David considers their effects subtle, but is willing to try whatever he can to fight the fight. The constipation has taken up residence, and he's been instructed on what to do about that. The drying power of not only the radiation, but the chemo at the same time is wrecking havoc on his colon. We are staying the course, and try our best to keep him feeling as good as is possible. 

Watch Yourself

Speaking of keeping him moving, not only are we trying to encourage those bowels to move, but also himself, when possible. This past Saturday afternoon, he said he was ready to get out-and-about so we decided to make a Target Run and Done. The nausea was at bay, and he has 2 days to recoup before going back into the trenches on Monday. We thought it would be relaxing, but the pan-handlers in the Target parking lot ('car-park' according to the GPS) caused us to move quickly in Target. You know when you're getting out of your car to go inside the store and the person in the car next to you places "The Club" on their steering wheel just to go inside Target - you know you better hustle your bustle inside. I didn't see them putting on the "Hurbo" wheel tire clamp, too, but you never know who was on the other side of their car securing it for a safe trip into Target. We hurried, and it was not relaxing to shop there. But it did feel good to go.

Our attempt at Barnes and Noble next, was much better. We strolled around, enjoying the smell of the books and coffee (well, I did) and felt a wave of peace come over us. This is what we needed. Then, back home jiggity jig.

Hello, Fresh

Food is tricky these days. Without smell or taste (only glimmers of smell here and there), David has moved past raiding the grocery store and hoarding food at the apartment. He's now settling into the next phase of what feels good for him to eat and drink, and what satisfies his appetite. His newest favorite is creamy smoothies, usually strawberry with bananas (as he feels like he can just smell the banana). But really what he wants is meat. BBQ. Hot dogs. Onion Rings. French Fries with lots of salt. He's actually become fond of Chick-fa-la, esp their waffle fries. And as he's tried many things, he's found Papa's BBQ here in Houston a fav. He likes their ribs and brisket, although unable to smell tor taste them, he can smell the "smoke" about them. Don't worry, Sugar and Maybe smell all those smells for him in the mean time. I think we may actually get that each day for him, until he gets tired of it, but we'll see. The fact that he can eat that amazes me, as his "will" to eat that overpowers any irritated mouth and/or sore throat.  Go You!

What cha watchin

Darrell is a co-worker/friend at David's work who has been on a similar journey as ourselves. He also has had Head and Neck Cancer, although more at the base of his tongue rather than in his sinuses. Darrell said while going through his treatment, he spent many waking hours late night/early mornings watching QVC all while trying hard not to buy all the things. That was his time-passing show of choice. While here in Houston, we have quite the selection of guilty pleasure options on the TV with Sling, Lifetime, Netflix and much more, and David's guilty pleasure of choice is Marrying Millions on Lifetime. He's a big gameshow guy, too, but right now, he's really into Marrying Millions. 

It all started the other day with him reviewing each of the characters in the reality show IN DETAIL. He discussed in detail whether or not he liked (the people in the show 😏) and many other details that I was unsure if that was really David talking, or if he'd been bit by the Reality Show Zombie. I'd actually seen this show on the TV in passing, but he's also known to channel surf, so I didn't realize how much he was really watching that particular show. This docu-series follows relationships in which one partner is incredibly wealthy and the other is not. There's 5 or 6 couples they follow, and shows how this dynamic affects their life. So, as Saturday night arrived this past weekend, we binged together watching it, catching up and getting through Season 1 by Sunday afternoon (off and on binging). I rarely watch TV, but will tell you, I got caught up in it, too. We watched, often times horrified as if we were watching a train wreck from which we could not look away. It's valuable time in my life I'll never get back, but wow, that was crazy. 

Monday Monday

Our Monday started off a little different this week, as David's radiation schedule has been moved up to starting at 7:20 am every day this week. (The next week it goes back to 8:25 am). I'm not sure why it's like that, but we are going with the flow. He'll have his usual oncology doctor visits and chemo this week as well. This past Friday, Dr Lu, his chemo oncologist said that if David was feeling "too" sick, they could talk about skipping a week to give him a break. David said as tempting as that is, he declined and said he'd try and finish out as planned. David really wants to give this cancer the best chance at NOT coming back, so he's investing this time and energy in hopes that he can bypass this in the future, if that's possible. There's no promise of that, and they've warned us that it's likely to reoccur, but David is determined to do everything MDA says to give him his best chance in life. 

Side note: He received an A+ today at his radiation oncology appt (after his radiation appt today, as this appt is usually on Tuesdays). What made it so successful? His wallet in his pocket, 2 shirts and "heavy" clothes he wore so it would not appear as he was losing weight. I know, that's just not right. And I didn't know he'd actually planned that either. Gotta keep a closer eye on him. It worked though, his weight was right on. 

I should start packing

Not us, actually, it's not time yet. It is moving weekend for Lauren and Ryan this coming weekend though.

Are we packed, mom?

Lucky for me, I'm only in charge of baby duty. David and I talked about it, and I'll head back to Dallas on Friday to pick up little Brooks and Tula to watch them while Lauren and Ryan get moved. I've moved more than my fair share in life, and now it's other people's turns. Yes, we will be moving from Houston back to Gunter in a few weeks, but I'm happy to report everything we brought will fit our truck. Whew!

I'm really looking forward to watching Brooks while they get settled in their new place in Fort Worth. I'm also looking forward to checking things on the farm and saying HI to all the animals! Angela and Paul have things well under control there, and since I stayed in Houston this past weekend, it was so nice to know they were there. Thank you, Angela and Paul!!! 

V-Day

Valentine's Day is coming up in exactly one week, but what's more exciting ? It's our 30th Anniversary! We eloped to the courthouse 30 years ago on Valentine's Day. It was probably one of the best decisions we ever made. We'll be spending our anniversary a little differently this year, but I assure you, it'll be a celebration here. That's the exact day of David's last chemo, and with only radiations left for that week, it's a joyous time for us. David is so positive through this journey, and knows he'll get feeling better over time. He's all-in right now. He's showing me how this is done. I'll commemorate a little early with this.......

That’s exactly what David’s hair looked like when he was 18 years old. And maybe he could roller skate like that, too. 

I love jib jab

No matter what, we sure had fun making that video 😉! Happy 30th, you!!

Pre-marriage, actually 

Digging deep over here,

Cyndi