10/02/07 - Update

I'm still on a "drug holiday" until October 30th. In case you didn't see it in an earlier post, my doctors suggested that I don't receive any chemotherapy until my next scheduled chemo visit on the 30th. Of course, I will see them, have a blood test, and an MRI of my head the week before on the 23rd. Then they will decide how to proceed on the 30th. I'd imagine that I'll get back into more chemo...

So, my health has been fine, which is good. It's the main reason I haven't updated since it has been "status quo" for a while. My blood counts have came back up, which was the main reason for the drug vacation. It seems that different parts of your body that regenerate blood cells can be permanently damaged by the chemo, and they often need a break to recover, hence the "vacation."

The question I get asked the most is,"What do you do with all your time?" Well, I wish I could do a lot more, but most everything is slow, or difficult, or impossible. I can't complain, though. At least I can still do enough things to keep me busy.

For example, I made a "To do" list on August 26th that ended up being very ambitious. I guess I didn't want to forget about anything, so I committed what I could remember to paper. Well, I have no shortage of things to do, and I am far from bored. I am just looking at the list now, and it has 26 items - some items have sub-tasks - and I've hand-written additions to the list. I've only completed a few of the tasks, and the list is on-going... Oh, well...

Beside the list of "projects," I do other things I enjoy. Riding my tricycle is one. It sounds funny to say,"tricycle," but that's what it is. I don't post every time I take it out, plus it must be weather-permitting outside. It usually is, but just last week, I had to ride about a mile through a down-pour. Needless to say I was soaked, as well as the bike. I didn't think the dark clouds were moving that fast...

I've also been watching a lot of football, both collegiate and NFL. Laura and I have been active members of the local Penn State Alumni Club, so we've watched all the games with other members at a local bar. We also watch University of South Florida when we can, because they are local and that's where I had my operation done (Moffitt). As far as the NFL goes, we tend to watch any game that's on. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles are our home teams (although they're not usually broadcast very often). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are our adopted team.

Earlier, I mentioned somethings were impossible. I admit that "impossible" is a strong word, and I should have put something like, "not very likely." An example of this is driving a nail. Imagine trying to hit something held by one hand with a heavy object (the hammer in the right-hand), I either hit the nail too light, or I hit my left-hand. Yes, I've tried swapping hands, and although my left-hand has come far, it doesn't do that job good.

Most things are "slow." It takes me a long time to write (print) something, and all parties would be better off if it is short. For example, who knew that the credit card machines you have to sign at most registers "time-out" if you write too slow. Now you know...