Deja Poo

Clem, here. There's not a whole lot to report, but I'll go ahead and write a few lines about what's going on anyway.

My medical life these days consists of "week on, week off" chemo treatments and re-training my colon to do right. During my "chemo week" I'm pretty tired, so I sleep most all day Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday I feel a bit better. Enough so that I want to do things, but not enough that I'm actually able to. I find myself sitting down a lot and resting, wondering where all that energy I used to have got away to. By Friday I'm back to a functional level, but I still get tired easily. On the weekend life is pretty good, and during the "non-chemo week" I try to push it a bit and get really active. Today is the first day of "non-chemo" week, which is why I have the energy to write a bit. Over the last weekend we were pretty busy, with a short canoe day-trip on Georgia's Conasauga River in Murray county. Then a friend and I competed in a match, where I did respectably well. He also did well, but more importantly we both had a good time. Next weekend (my peak before the next treatment) we're planning an overnight canoe trip with my daughter Kara on Alabama's Sipsey River. She got a new (to her) canoe for her birthday and is eager as a beaver to try it out on a river.

Meanwhile, I'm learning how to control my new and improved colon. The surgeon said that I might have to go again and again in "clusters", and sure enough--he was right. The other night I went to the bathroom just before sleep. Then again an hour later. And again, as soon as I'd washed my hands. And again just as I made it back to bed. And so on, through the night. I got to where I wouldn't even turn on the light or wake up. Maybe it's not medically correct, but in my mind this happens because the new section of bowel is used to "passing it on" instead of holding it for a convenient time. He said it would get better and better over a period of months. I suppose it is getting better, and I'd sure rather be dealing with making progress this way instead of managing an ostomy.

Today's lab visit was an easy one: just a quick finger stick. The report, however, was disappointing. Platelets (for blood clotting) were low (65, where the normal minimum is 150) , and white blood cells (for fighting infections) were really low (2.1, where the normal minimum is 4.5.) As they reduced the dosage of chemo last week I was expecting higher numbers. I'm trying to avoid getting an infection or cutting myself, but I don't know what else to do to boost these numbers.

That's my life, and will continue to be for the next couple of months. Next week I'll begin chemo session #4, with three more left in the countdown. (I count backwards because it makes the numbers seem smaller and the end goal appear closer.) After that it should be a one-way trip back to normal health and strength. That will certainly feel good! It gets very old working my way back to a good feeling only to be kicked down again. Still, if that's what it takes to get better, then that's what I'll do, and I'll be glad of the opportunity.