December 1, 2001|
Sent Home Early
The shingles were at it again this past week. In addition to be a general nuisance causing itching, soreness and pain, they also got my chemo cancelled. I am definitely anti-shingles.
On Monday we rolled into NYC with plenty of time to spare on my PET Scan. Unfortunately, I was sent right to isolation, as not to infect anyone else. The shingles are contagious only to those with low immune systems. Think ANYONE who is at a cancer hospital. My PET Scan got bumbed to the last slot of the day, where afterwards there were big “DISINFECT” signs posted on all the rooms I graced. It was like being a leper.
Just when I thought the shingles had caused all the problems they could, then Tuesday it got good. “No chemo for you!” shouted the chemo-Nazi! To have done chemo would have weakened my immune system greatly, and therefore I would have NEVER gotten better from the shingles. So my Wednesday and Friday all day chemos were cancelled and I was sent back home to Ohio.
We did meet the bone marrow transplant doctor on Tuesday at MSKCC. Nice guy, knew his stuff. We are exploring our options to as where to do the BMT. Slaon Kettering, Cleveland Clinic, who knows? All that we know is that we will do it within the next month. The PET Scan showed that the cancer is regressed as much as we can get it.
Billy, my brother the donor, also came, to understand what his part would be. He also had to give some blood to be tested against mine. Amazingly they were able to get a half pint of blood out of the kid. I mean he weighs like 30 lbs wearing wet pajamas. I thought for sure they would miss his vein and hit his bone. Oh, the skillful nurses. As for being the donor, his job is pretty easy. He sits in a chair, reads the Sports Section of the USA Today and allows a few million stem cells to be taken out of him.
The Reunion: Drugged up and Scratching like a Fiend
Last Friday was my 5th year Class Reunion. As Class President, I have the honor of planning the reunions from now to eternity (another reason why I can’t let this cancer win). It was a blast, we had around 75 out of 208, not a bad yield for being so last minute. I was majorly drugged up on oxycontin, benedryl and hydromorpohone. Thank God for drugs; prescription drugs you sickie 🙂 I made it through the night without incident, but I did sleep much of Saturday. Some new pictures are up from the event in the photos section. The glasses were the key my friend. If you have good accessories, you can pull anything off. I was unrecognizeable with glasses. Let me tell you. I was the mysterious guy, the guy no one recognized…until I went over and hounded my classmates to pay up for food:) “There’s Art again, making us pay money- shoot!”
Confirmation: I am not Superman
This whole shingles event once again has taught me a valuable lesson: I am not Superman, like I tend to believe. Many times I get on this kick, that I can do anything I want. I am young, I am strong, I think postive, nothing can stop me. Ha! A simple bout of graduated chicken pox put me on my butt for a week. I didn’t do a thing last week, a thing! Didn’t read a book, didn’t watch TV, didn’t do e-mail, didn’t go out of the house. Basically I was a big mound of covers who occasionally coughed up an empty can of ensure for a whole week. I was so itchy, so sore, so tired. I couldn’t go down the stairs without getting winded. Geesh!
It’s amazing, sometimes I feel like I can take on the world. I feel like I can do it. Pride wells up. Then it takes something simple from the Lord to humble me. Send me begging for a little relief, a little help for a brother. My thinking/mentality has changed significantly from this episode. Maybe I won’t be ready for grad school next fall? Maybe I should just get better and relax all of 2002 (if the BMT works, granted)? Why rush life? Get 100%. Be humble. I hate those hard lessons 🙁 Gotta learn them somehow.