Greetings, whoever-reads-this!
It's been an eventful couple of months. My visit to the ER on March 2nd(see previous blog) set the tone for the whole month. I had to wear a Catheter for all of March and much of April. 8 weeks in all.. Much of the time, I wasn't aware of it, but there were moments where I was very aware of the medical contraption hooked onto my johnson. And feeling like I might have to wear it forever…
They operated on me on April 3rd. Removed my left kidney. several lymph nodes, and part of my Colon. Five days in the hospital. I've never had to stay even overnight, but it wasn't bad. Actually it was kinda peaceful, for the most part. I wouldn't recommend hospital food though…
So I got a more-or-less clean bill of health, but I have some follow-up treatments. Every three weeks for the next year. It's called Immunotherapy, and is supposed to be much less debilitating than chemo. No hair or weight loss. There is more maintenance now that I'm down to one kidney. Changing my diet, and making sure to stay hydrated.
I sorta had a relapse, and went back into the hospital for another 5 days. Learned my lesson as far as sticking to the program.
There's only one item left in this busy-ass year to take care of, and that's Dentures. There are four parts to the process, the first two by an Oral Surgeon, and the last two back at my Dentist's office. The first thing they do is to yank out most of your teeth. so I've got roughly a quarter of it done.
No pain to speak of, but some hellacious side effects. For two days, my face was swollen. I looked like a Chipmunk with my cheeks all puffed out. Then I had discoloration on my face- a bright yellow/orange. My color is back to normal now, thank God. I go in Friday for a follow-up, and we take it from there.
Eventually, I'll have a new set of choppers. I had some missing teeth already, virtually nothing in front, so eating was already compromised. It's a real challenge right now with even fewer teeth, but I'm discovering a few more foods that don't involve chewing. Rolling with the punches. And then another adjustment getting used to these new teeth.
With all the punches I've rolled with, I'm practically invertebrate.
As things begin to settle, I'm hoping to get back on the guitar. Some practicing here and there, but not a full-fledged effort. Yet. Music is one of the few things that makes sense in this nutty world.
Well that's my news for now. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading all this drivel. One thing I'm thankful for in this life is my friends. I got a call from one of them today, just to check and see how I was doing, with all this health hubbub. Made my day.
Again, thanks for stopping in and wading through all this. Much love to you! More later.
