Danny Does Chemo Leaving for Oncologist[/caption].
Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. The picture, above, is my most recent picture. Taken this Wednesday as I prepared to head to my oncologist. This article is a diary of that journey, and the beginning of another journey that will last for the next eighteen weeks. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, My Dear Readers. Let’s take this one-step at a time, one day at a time, and one event at a time. First, let’s take the oncologist appointment that changed my life.
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The day, Wednesday, started out like any other day I have an appointment. I wake-up early to get bathed, dressed and ready for a long day of; crowded transit rides, sitting and waiting for drivers, and rushing from appointments that ran long to catch my ride home. Allen gets up and helps me out of bed and into the bathtub. I sit there, in the warm water, thinking of how my life will change in just the next few hours. Below is my video before I leave for my oncologist appointment.
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/2sL4RQdg_h4]
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You see, My Dear Readers, I have already talked with my Oncologist on the phone. Yes, I have a doctor that actually calls his patients with any and all ‘news’. It was late the previous Friday evening when Dr. Curti called me. It was imperative that we start chemotherapy just as soon as possible. This decision was based on information from my last scan, and discussions that he engaged in with oncologists at the ‘City of Hope’.
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So, My Dear Readers, I already know just what I am about to face, and hear, on this day. That I must start chemotherapy as soon as possible. Already, I understand that this means I will be dealing with the battle that is chemotherapy will trying to beat a deepening depression due to the upcoming ‘holidays’. You see, My Dear Readers, it (my depression) always takes a nose-dive around the ‘holidays’.
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Arival at the Oncologist's Office[/caption].
As with any ‘American Male’ I desperately want to give a nice Christmas to the person most important in my life. For the past several years I have taken to accepting no ‘gifts’ in lieu of making sure that Allen has the clothes, and personal items he needs to work comfortably. This will be true, this year, too. It is just that… well, I would give anything to actually have a ‘Nice Christmas’ and dealing with chemotherapy… too. Well, lets to dwell on just how dark it will be in the coming months. Let me focus on this visit.
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My Dear Readers, I had Allen take a video of me on the lift getting on to the OCTA transit bus. This is the first time that I have ever allowed this to happen. I really do not enjoy having my picture taken… in these situations. For me, it is kind of like having my picture taken while I am in the bath. Anyway, below is a short video of me being raised on a lift into the transit bus. This was the beginning of a very eventful day… and a journey that will span the next 18 weeks.
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/AFHk0ftJJzU]
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That, My Dear Readers, is me in my power chair getting on to an OCYA transit buss to ride to my oncologist appointment. That begins a day that will, by its end, change my life it ways that I never imagined. Then again, I guess at this point in my life… one would think that I would be used to my life ‘changing in ways I never imagined”. It just hasn’t happened… yet.
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So, once my power chair is fastened into place and I am belted to the floor. I sit in my chair and wait over an hour as the other people on the bus are taken to their appointments. My appointment is at 2PM, and we arrive at the medical center at 1:57PM. Allen and I rush to the elevator and up to my oncologist’s office. By the time I get to the office it is already after 2, and when they check me in… my heart rate is 90 bpm, and my blood pressure is 130 over 97. I usually have a heart rate of about 60 to 70 with a blood pressure of 120 over 80.
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Danny After his Oncologist's Appointment[/caption].
My Dear Readers, I do my very best to make all appointments on time. I do my very best to never complain, and to keep positive and remain a good example of patient facing adversity with grace and honor. That is how I was raised, and it is always my goal to make good on my upbringing. Some days… it is just much more difficult than others. Today, just happens to be one of those days. I sit in the room waiting for Dr. Curti to show up. Allen is with me… Allen… I lay awake nights praying that somehow… someday I can… show… reward him for all he has done for me… and all he is about to do.
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The next two hours I meet with; my oncologist, the chemotherapy nurse, their business manager, and my oncologist… again. It is now 4PM and my ride home is about to arrive downstairs. I am told that, for the next 18 weeks, I will be undergoing chemotherapy ever three weeks for a course of six treatments. After which they will run all their scans, again, and make the decision. I agree and the decision is made that I will undergo my chemotherapy not in the office but at the Infusion Center across the street.
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My Dear Readers, I leave the medical center in the same rush that I arrived. I al lifted into another OCTA bus, where I wait another hour and a half to everyone else to be left off and I am taken home. I, finally, arrive home at 4PM. One visit to one oncologist… takes me from 10AM until 4PM. What I wouldn’t give for my own transportation… and an once of dignity while I face my cancer. You see, My Dear Readers that was all I ever asked for… all I ever wanted.
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/bLqGRBmEK84]
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Today, I started this all news series here at The Other Shoe. I know that I have not been here as much or as often as in the past. My Dear Readers, this diagnosis… and, the following battle to get and obtain treatment for my Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has taken a toll on me. A toll unlike any previous in my lifetime. I am not a man that can see into the future. I do not know IF I will live to see the end of this treatment. I will do everything in my power to not only finish this treatment but to go on and beat/meet my goal of becoming a published writer.
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Until then, I will be HERE My Dear Readers, and I will take you along for the next 18 weeks. Be sure to come back, often, and tell all your fiends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances about my journey through cancer chemotherapy.
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Adieu!
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Thank you!
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Danny[/caption].
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Hanning Web Wurx and The Other Shoe
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