Hey Gang

Well:
To be honest I’m feeling pretty well today. I was doing really well until autumn when I threw my back out aka muscle spasms, and then I tore a muscle in my abdomen that I thought was a hernia and PCM did too, but my surgeon told me to go away and that I needed to exercise in an age appropriate manner. So what if I was benching 250 and I’m 44? Okay I’m 55, but that shouldn’t matter.

Last week I started a new routine.  I got to the landing on the stairwell of third floor of my office building do ten pushups (they’re tough to do right now), walk through the myriad of hallways  to the back stairs, walk to the landing on the first floor, do some kind twist and bounce exercise, disrupt that floors working by wandering through their hallways, go the front stairwell, and back up to the third floor and do another set of pushups. I do that ten times.

That is a real butt kicker too.

Went up to the cancer ward last week it was kind of weird, but I’m glad I did it, One has to face anxiety some time. I love those folks. I’m going to sneak up early one morning -- before 0500 and share some bad pastries and coffee with them.  I’m going before 0500 because the shift change is at 0700 and it can get hectic for them. Anyway, I ma told they love to see the results of their work up and walking about as opposed to ...

Starting Again

For a lot of reasons I’ve been slow about getting back to this blog. Firstly I wasn’t sure I had a whole lot to say anymore, but I think I do. I also think I was afraid to become too cancer focused. I’m not sure what exactly that means, but it was a worry.
I have made a lot of progress and I think it might be valuable to la it out there in case people are curious. I recently had somebody comment on my old blog about something I had written and how it helped then.
So I think I’ll start this up again.

Sniper Moose From Bennington Vt. 

Peace.

REsults from yesterday

Well it’s 0545 and I’m getting ready to go to Philly for another big meeting with the feds. It’s been a busy few weeks at work – busier than I remember it ever being, but that may just be because I have an attitude of wanting to be on vacation all the time (by the way this isn’t a dangling modifier or a sentence with parallel construction; I did it on purpose). Regardless, everything turned out okay at the docs yesterday. My blood is still improving – with my platelets up to 86 from 80.  Red blood cells a little low, but that’s okay.

I’m a bit overweight, but so is the rest of America so I’m not alone. I’m attributing much of that to an increase in muscle mass (actually it is a lie, but that’s what I am telling myself). My strength is up, my energy is up, and I am able to do everything. So that’s good too. My goal now is to drop ten pounds before January 20^th – my next big oncology appointment.

More to follow.

Love to all,

Bill

1 year chemo end appointment

Hey Guys:

Well today is a big day. I have a big oncology (or is it hematology) appointment today at 1000. They always freak me out. In fact as I’m writing this I feel like crying. I can’t explain why, I just do. Probably some kind of post-stress thing, I guess.

Anyway I’ll go in at about 0930, get my blood drawn and at about 1030 I’ll go to the examining room and cool my heels for a while until the nurse practitioner comes in, feels me up, leaves. Then the doctor will come in he’ll give me the same exact examination and we’ll chat.

This is where it gets dicey. I have walked into the office feeling fine and ended up in the hospital. Other days I’ve walked in feeling poorly and was sent home. So who knows?

I’m sure I’ll be okay. I feel pretty good although my skin seems awfully delicate and I suspect that’s from low platelets. I suspect my platelets will be fewer than 70,000 (normal is about 150,000 or better). As long as they stay above 50,000 I’m okay and can still do the thing I love.

Anyway, I’ve been working hard since January to recover. I benched press 205 last week (up from zero last October), I do Pilates, I ran 3 miles without stopping the other day, and I walk for 45 minutes most lunch times. So that’s all good right?

So why do these follow up appointments freak me out so much. I get so crazy on these days I take the whole day off just to unwind from it. Geez. I guess that’s a small price to pay.

That’s it I guess. 

Pilates II

Good morning sunshines:

Well things are going pretty well.  I did another Pilate’s session yesterday and I’m only kind of miserable today.

There were about six of us yesterday lying on the floor in one of the department’s classrooms -- this one unused at lunch. The lights were off and not sure if it’s to avoid seeing me in all my middle-aged glory or if it was to set an ironic relaxing tone. There were orange and purple mats arrange in a semi-circle around the grand inquisitor (actually she is a very nice lady who takes time out to teach us this stuff; I just like being a victim).

So anyway the dispenser of pain or pleasure in chief, tells us to to stand up.  We each have a small nine inch schoolyard ball that is available at any grocery store for about $2. Mine’s pink because of my overt masculinity and the testosterone oozing from every pore; actually the were sold out of Dora the Explorer balls and I had to settle.

I am wandering.

This wonderful lady (I better say nice things in case she reads this) puts us through different exercise, but the long and the short of is you are supposed squeeze the ball, breath a certain way, and control your abdominal muscles as you go through each movement. If done with gusto,  this stuff ain’t easy. And me if I am nothing else I am full of gusto.

When I squeeze that ball my goal is to pop it. My arms quiver, my belly aches, and I can am winded from the inhaling and exhaling.

I guess that’s it.

See ya!

Bill

workout news (language warning)

Hey guys:

Well a little old lady with gray hair worn in a bun kicked my ass. I must outweigh her by  80 lbs, and more than a foot taller, and I bet I can bench press three of her. All she needed to equalize things was a little red nine inch ball you can buy at the grocery store.
Did she tie me up and pummel me like I was in a middle-school dodge ball hell? No it was even more sinister.
She clothed the whole torture in an exercise program -- Pilates (or some kind of sadistic derivative). I think it is on the CIA list of banned interrogation techniques -- somewhere between water boarding and cigarette burns. It was hideous I tell you.

I had no idea a little red ball could result in so much pain. I’ve been summoned to her hideout on Wednesday. I’m thinking about giving up my ATM pin for mercy.

That’s it for now

Peace.

Posts and courage

I was going to post something about work, then thought better of it. Suffice it to say returning to work after cancer is a very strange deal. I will keep the piece for a future post.

People get fired all the time for work posts and I don’t want to join them yet.

This a picture of a tranquil future state.