Month 16

Hi there….I’m back! I hope everyone is well…I’m doing just fine.

Since the weeks are now so numerous, let’s just call this Month 16, which would be 16 months since the first posting on July 1, 2017, shortly after my cancer diagnosis.  And there’s not enough going on to warrant weekly postings….so I’ll try to do this once a month and see how that goes.

The ordeal of surgery was one year ago, on September 27, 2017.  My goodness, that seems like a long time ago, and my memory of the particulars is quite blurry.  I remember several days in ICU, tethered to all kinds of wires and tubes, going for walks in and around the ICU area with my rolling IV stand, and waking up at all hours for another round of meds.  That was quite a time.

And now, my one-year PET scan last month showed no cancer (except of course the prostate), so that’s very good!  I believe I will be getting these PET scans every six months for the next couple of years, so here’s hoping (and praying) that the cancer stays away!

I’m about two-thirds of the way through my prostate cancer radiation treatment (it ends on October 17th), and so far it hasn’t affected me too much.  My urination routine has changed some, with a little more urgency to it, and often I’m not able to completely empty my bladder.  And I’m pooping a lot more frequently, four or five times a day.  That’s not all bad, though, as it gives me more quiet reading time.  Otherwise, not much is different.

I have a consult appointment next week with a gastro-intestinal doctor, to determine whether I should have another endoscopy.  I was having some serious problems shortly after Labor Day, with fluids in my throat near my windpipe that kept me awake for two nights, and weird noises that my throat made when I needed to swallow.  Anyhow, it was all quite discomforting, and I called both my primary care doctor and my oncologist to tell them of the problems.  Also, the PET scan showed a lot of fluid in my ‘esophagus-reconstructed stomach’ pipeline, and there was also a grey spot on one lung that the doctor thought could be a fluid buildup.  And about that time I was coughing up a bunch of fluid, presumably from my lungs.  As a result of all this, the GI consult was arranged.  Now, of course, the problems seemed to have dissipated.  But still it will be good to chat with the doctor about what might be going on, and whether to do an endoscopy.

That’s about all the excitement on the health front.  Weight-wise, it’s been bouncing around between 137 and  133.  Today I was 135.3 lbs.

We were up in Grants Pass a couple weeks ago to check on Elyra.  She’s doing wonderfully, as are her parents, and grandparents!

Me and Elyra!

So that’s about it from here.  I hope to see you next month!

In the meantime, here’s an ode to a former passenger on the Woodland Care Car.

Ode to a Passenger

Ninety plus, and wobbly,

Her walker led the way.

Frail, frowning,

She climbed aboard the van,

Our monthly Tuesday rendezvous.

 

Matted hair, long slept upon,

To be fixed at the Flair today,

Five years of monthly Tuesday trips

To the hairdresser.

 

Taciturn at first, we slowly connected

Ten minutes at a time, once a month

A snippet here, a question there,

A wry humor emerged,

And we caught random glimpses

Of her life.

 

Years on Guam,

Deserted by her husband on Hawaii

For another woman.

A daughter nearby to help out now,

Perhaps reluctantly.

Pictures of her 90th birthday.

 

We looked forward to

Our monthly ten minutes

And maybe a little joke

Or another tidbit of her life.

 

One day her name was missing from the schedule.

Like that, she was swallowed up

Gone, irretrievable, she slipped away

With no farewells,

Never to return

Except in quiet memory

Goodbye, Elizabeth Borland, wherever you are.