A Welcome Friday

Wow, this week was a long one. I guess it may have been, in part, due to the surgery....but it sure was the closest to an ass-kicking that I have received so far. I flew into Flint via Wings of Mercy where I met my Pal (Suydam) and proceeded to tour his "new" house, stack fire wood, and houl with his neighbor Jerry. We stayed up late and then woke up early to get me delivered to the hospital for the first full day of festivities including IV line placements into my port, blood draws, and, of course the obligatory poking and prodding of my doctor during our periodic pre-chemo check up. My Pal picked me up that evening and we went to a favorite italian resturaunt of his for a very good tasting mung sandwich. Of course the evening would not have been complete without a viewing of Tombstone, which went late into the evening and making Tuesday's awakening somewhat of a challenge. No Mercy Percy joined the tag team and picked me up that afternoon for a trip to his home in Troy. We had a great chance to catch up with each other as well as a mutual friend, Becky, who I had not seen since the late '80s. It was fun to try and remember all of the early nonsense from Welcome Week through about 1984....and the pictures, man time has flown! After chemo that day, we found some very good pasta at a place called Noodles, however, I think my post serving spices hung things up for myself and created a major disturbance in my stomach for the rest of the week. Andy picked me up after chemo on Wednesday and shuttled me to the motel. In true form, we took a side trip to look at some sheet metal for his Ford 8N tractor and found another dreamer hoping to retrieve an unrealistic quantity from his money pit. By the time we were headed back to the motel, I was all but cooked. I think I had a milkshake that day, my stomach was (and is) a mess. Barb and the kids arrived after Andy's departure at about 9:00 pm, with the sound of Allen's fussing and forced crying proceeding them as they navigated the hallway. Regardless, it was nice to have the family close to me, even if I do feel like crap. Yesterday's tally was a blueberry muffin and a milk shake and a very yucky stomach. This round is presenting more of a challenge with regard to eating and stomach issues. I feel like I could easily yak if it were an option, however, that would probably delay things and there is no way in hell I am going to do anything that draws this process out any further.

So I will be set free for two weeks in about three hours, headed west to Kalamazoo for a big anniversery celebration. I have three more cycles to go, two in October and the final one during the third week in November. God willing, that will be the end of this nightmare (except for the associated periodic imaging and waiting for results). Thanks for all of your support, it is working.