I thought I'd start a new thread for updates on my cancer treatments and whatever else is going on, since the bad news thread title is misleading now.
My last treatment went better than the previous two and my chest wound is still closed up, which is a good thing. My arm is getting slightly stronger and I hope to resume lifting dumbbells next week. I need to build up my strength again, because I am going back to Denmark in May and I am extremely pumped about that! I'd like to be able to schlepp my own checked bag and not have someone else lifting it for me.
It's going to be a fabulous trip, 6 weeks and a couple of days for me. My brother is going along as well as my friends Chipp and Rod. Chipp is staying close to 3 weeks and has not gone with me over there since 2006 so he is also very pumped to be going. It will be Rod's first trip and he will be there for 2 weeks. I will get to be a tour guide. Also, I am throwing a party in my favorite pub of all, the wonderful, ever-magnificent Irish House in Aalborg on May 7th. The owner and I are friends and he will give me a little discount. We'll have Irish stew and brews in the cellar and I hope to have around 25 family and friends there. I might bill it as the "Fu** Cancer Party." A few months back, I was not sure I'd ever be able to go over to Denmark again or if I'd even be alive, but the cancer hasn't gotten me yet. I'm doing a number on it, instead.
Some other cool things I plan to do when I am back in my ancestral lands include a wine tasting in a castle, touring another castle and the northernmost manor home in the country, and visiting Skagen, the top of Denmark, where you can stand on a little patch of beach and have one foot in one sea and one in another. They also have a brewpub up there I am wanting to check out. I will start and end my trip in Aalborg and spend 5 weeks in an apartment I rent that is very close to the beach. I can hardly wait for May 4th to roll around! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
Thank you very much; I appreciate it!
I finally caught a break today. They put me on blood thinner pills so I won't be giving myself those painful injections in my gut. I'd have ended up making an entire ring around my belly button with those shots. *shudder* And, I am back home getting ready to watch The Blacklist and then Vikings. Ahhh, I feel so much better now.
Atta boy, Ed. Glad you're home. Enjoy your evening!!!
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I gave myself a shot. It was pitiful. I would get the needle close to the spot and stop, wipe sweat from my brow and dry my palms, then repeat. After 10 minutes or so, I finally managed to plunge the needle into my skin and inject the blood thinner, which is what hurt the most. That stuff stings! It kept stinging for over 2 minutes, so as I knew, I am not good at giving shots. The nurses said they were proud of me, but I just thought, "Yeah, yeah, sure." Pitiful.
Pshaw. Any man who can grab a needle and push it into their gut is a MOTHER FUCKING BEAST.
I'm a 40 year old man who's had about 100 stitches in my right arm, open heart surgery, and a pacemaker and there's not a cold chance in hell I'm sticking myself with a needle. Shit, I can't even look at them when they stick me or take blood. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I gave myself a shot. It was pitiful. I would get the needle close to the spot and stop, wipe sweat from my brow and dry my palms, then repeat. After 10 minutes or so, I finally managed to plunge the needle into my skin and inject the blood thinner, which is what hurt the most. That stuff stings! It kept stinging for over 2 minutes, so as I knew, I am not good at giving shots. The nurses said they were proud of me, but I just thought, "Yeah, yeah, sure." Pitiful.
Glad you're on the pills man.
Needles aren't so bad. I used to give myself allergy injections. I got decent at it. In fact, As long as it isn't a vein, I'd rather do it than some jackass nurse. [Reply]
Originally Posted by J Diddy:
Pshaw. Any man who can grab a needle and push it into their gut is a MOTHER ****ING BEAST.
I'm a 40 year old man who's had about 100 stitches in my right arm, open heart surgery, and a pacemaker and there's not a cold chance in hell I'm sticking myself with a needle. Shit, I can't even look at them when they stick me or take blood.
Believe me, I am no iron man! I was sweating and my feet were twitching. I told the nurses, "See, I'm trying to run away!" [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
You're enduring more than most here could handle, there are no fancy words left at my disposal... just keep fighting like hell.
God is keeping you around for a damn good reason, pass the test.
And you, my good friend, are a big part of why I am still here fighting away. [Reply]
I am of the belief that if you fight something like this it helps heal or inspire people in ways you can't really tell. You never know who you inspire or help by just being alive. [Reply]
I am at the cancer center for my treatment. I looked at the nurses who jab the needle in my chest and do the blood draws and all had green on. Damn, I was looking forward to some payback! We all had a good laugh over that. My vitals are good this morning and I am waiting to meet with the main nurse, then I will head upstairs and wait in the lobby of the treatment area. With a little luck, nurse Amanda will take care of me today. No Guinness tonight since I will have chemo stuff in me, but I made a nice pot of oxtail stew yesterday, so I can participate in the holiday a bit. Happy St. Patrick's to ye all, ye dirty wee bastards! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed:
I am at the cancer center for my treatment. I looked at the nurses who jab the needle in my chest and do the blood draws and all had green on. Damn, I was looking forward to some payback! We all had a good laugh over that. My vitals are good this morning and I am waiting to meet with the main nurse, then I will head upstairs and wait in the lobby of the treatment area. With a little luck, nurse Amanda will take care of me today. No Guinness tonight since I will have chemo stuff in me, but I made a nice pot of oxtail stew yesterday, so I can participate in the holiday a bit. Happy St. Patrick's to ye all, ye dirty wee bastards!
My doc fussed me good today for using the chainsaw. Well, you all told me to resume normal activities... She asked why I was sawing up firewood since it isn't cold out anymore. Well, the green stuff needs to be cut up and put in the barn to cure for next season, and I like to have the dried stuff ready before it gets cold out. City folk, they just don't understand. I was careful with the chainsaw BEFORE I ever got on blood thinners. I'd bleed like hell with or without them if I hacked into myself with a chainsaw. Firewood doesn't saw itself! [Reply]
