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BlackBerry singing in the dead of night

Blogging Tunes: Sportcenter / Masters coverage

I am no longer cell-phone-less.  yeP!  Blackberry Bold for me.  OS6 is very slick.  Major changes from 4.5. (which was the highest OS my old phone would run.) Crazy how essential the smart phone is for communication.  If anyone sent me texts over the last week, please resend.

OK, onto the update.  Today  is day +8 and I'm approaching rock bottom (in terms of counts.)  In fact, we started the Neupogen shots yesterday, so hopefully my counts will start coming up on Monday or so.

I am feeling extreme discomfort in my mouth :(  It's not individual sores like last time, it's more like my whole mouth (inside of cheeks, under the tongue, areas where wisdom teeth used to be) are all sore.  Apparently, it's the result of oral mucositis -- which while extremely annoying is totally expected.

A side effect of this is that it's really hard to open my mouth (yeah, yeah, hard to believe, right?)  Well, eating has become very challenging event.  I need to take very small bites and chew only in the middle of my mouth.  It's harder than it sounds.  Try taking a normal bite of food and chew it up without using your molars or the sides of your mouth.  Betcha can't do it.  Other painful events: yawning; sneezing.  Oy.

Also, the fatigue has really set in.  I'm extremely tired all the time.  Someway I'll find a way to do some laps later -- maybe after a nap.  But with the Phils and the ESPN Masters coverage starting at 12:00p PT, it's gonna  be hard to drag my sorry ass out of bed.

Lastly, since we're about 14 days from when I started the pre-BMT chemo, I've noticed some hair starting to fall out.  At this point it's unclear how much I'll lose, but I'm guessing a significant amount.

On a comforting note, Heather's mom's friends "Greg and Nancy" sent me this hand sewn Afghan blanket.  This pic doesn't really do it justice -- it's much brighter with vibrant colors:


Thanks, Greg & Nancy.  Awesome blankie!

I'll keep y'all posted on the counts and what we learn about the engraftment (sp?)  Right now we don't know very much, but a week from now, we should.

Thanks for the continued love and support.

I will kick its ass,

-jg

Comments

  1. Hey buddy, looks like you're in the thick of it. Love you and wish this all could be easier. Just keep your eye on the prize(s), mainly your Monkey, your Trucker, and O Man. And of course all of us in your secondary family who are standing by your side. You WKIA!

    ejsphilly, Tracy, Hope & Ruby

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  2. It's good to get these updates, John. As someone who suffers from canker sores, I can only imagine how bad it is to have an entire mouthful. :-( I usually get wiped out with three or four! But ...OUCH!!

    Good that you're hitting bottom. Almost on the way back up. Amazing!

    Keep kicking ass (and getting rest). :-)

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