well, another day in that bag and one closer to my next chemo treatment. it is like the countdown to doomsday. i try hard to not think about the next trip to the hospital but it is impossible. today was as unproductive as any. i slept most of the day while my wife and in-laws put the xmas decorations up. i felt really bad for not helping, but i just plain out didn't have the energy.

i did have a little drama earlier in the day. my dad stopped by to take a look at my broken ice maker. we had thought that maybe the water line that we had installed was stopped up or something. he went into the cellar to unscrew it and the threads stripped out on the connector. water was spewing everywhere. i hear his call for help and go into the cellar to find the water shutoff valve. we searched and could not find one. i ran out to the front of the house and opened up the water meter. we had to shut the water main to the house off while he ran to home depot to get a replacement part. upon more brainstorming we realized that the pipe could not have been stopped up because we were able to get drinking water out of the refrigerator dispenser. all of that mess would have been avoided if we had just given the problem more thought. we ended up calling sears repair to come fix it.

well, i guess i should start by catching up on what has happened so far. it has been about a week and a half since my first chemo treatment. i spent one night in the hospital and had two treatments of two different chemo drugs. when i came home from the hospital the hell began. the nausea and vomiting began to set in while i had no energy what-so-ever. my taste buds and sense of smell were all but destroyed along with my healthy appetite. the thought of eating was sickening. i found that i could only force feed myself a few things like diced peaches, applesauce, and some chicken noodle soup. after a few days my energy level started to rise and the sea-sick feelings gradually faded. by the end of week-one i was missing work and my friends pretty bad. the start of week-two brought more vomiting. just when i thought it was over... it makes a fierce comeback. i was determined to go to work, only if just for a few hours. i made it in for a few days and on wednesday i felt great. my appetite was back with a vengeance. after a week of drinking most of my food, i went overboard and ate too much spicy food. my stomach blew up from the garbage i fed it. thursday i was miserable. the home health nurse came to draw blood and test my white blood cell count. they told me that 10 days after my chemo treatment my count would be at its lowest. she called me later that day to confirm this and order me to stay confined to the house until at least monday! she said i was a sitting duck to sickness right now and i need to stay as far away from any germs as i can. i feel like i am under house arrest. the walls of my house slowly closing in....

i have had a decent day today. i have just been taking it easy cleaning out old email, watching tv, playing xbox, and working on my website. my appetite is not very active, but my energy level is not at an all-time low. i really felt like i could have gone to work today, but the nurse called again to check on me and said that i just can't afford to get out and risk exposure to germs. i feel like wearing a bio-suit and gas mask. at this point i would do that if the doctors told me it would make a big difference. i am at their mercy right now. speaking of doctors; i got a statement from the insurance company today stating that they did not intend to pay for the port-a-cath that i had put into a vein in my chest for chemo delivery. they claim it is not medically necessary. as far as i am concerned i really wasn't given any other options. all of the doctors i spoke with said it was by far the best method for chemo delivery. looks like i will be appealing this $1200 charge. i am not going to stress about something this small. i am beginning to feel a little hungry. i think i'll stop writing this blog for today and go try to round up some dinner.