Standing Shoulder to Shoulder

Considering the post I wrote yesterday and the whole "kick-ass" thing we were expecting more from our first day of chemotherapy. To use one of my favorite quasi-medical words, we were both underwhelmed. The terrible tales we've probably all heard about endless nausea and vomiting haven't happened to Phil at all (and likely won't thanks to advances in medicine).

As for side effects, he had a bit of stomach rumbling early on which was easily fixed with some Protonix. The worst he had to deal with yesterday was a sky-rocketing blood sugar of over 500 due to the Decadron (a powerful steroid which completely messes with diabetic control). For those of you who know Phil and his diabetes that did not sit well. While he was prepared for this eventuality by Dr. Kossman, Phil has long taken pride in having excellent management of his diabetes. This is just one more area where he will have to let go of control (or the sense of control).

As we prepared for this chemo regimen we told ourselves that Phil will get worse before he gets better. No doubt, we haven't seen the worst of it as all the meds have yet to been given for this cycle. Today is the spinal tap and the intrathecal meds (given directly into the spinal fluid) followed by 4-5 hours of lying flat on his bed. Yee-haw!! Hopefully we'll know the results of this test before he leaves the hospital. We'll round out the week with the Adriamycin (the red devil) because it is red, makes you pee red and makes your hair fall out. Can't even wait for that one. As you can see, Phil has already trimmed his hair in preparation for that.

Overalll, yesterday went well and the only other issue was what to do with all the spare time. Boredom set in kinda early and there were only so many naps we could sneak in between vital sign checks, oncology education nurses stopping by, medication pump alarms going off, and so on. Reading is nice and so is TV but nothing beats the comfort of family, friends and conversation. My sister Terry came by in the afternoon to snap a few photos for the blog and share a few good laughs which always helps.

SO, on that note. Many of you have been writing and asking about coming to visit and the answer is YES YES YES. Having said that, I have some specific wishes for Phil during this time:

Each time Phil is in the hospital he is mostly sitting around for 4 days. I would love for him to have someone with him during each of these cycles keeping him company, smoking and joking, reliving the old days, sharing in this journey with him, praying with him, whatever you men do together...

There are plenty of opportunities and while we don't have a schedule set in stone yet it will be an every 3 week rotation from here on out until he is in remission. If you are interested in joining the phalanx and standing shoulder to shoulder with Phil in the battle please contact me by email @ socalconrads@gmail.com and let me know when you want to come and LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!