06/30/2011

I woke up around 6:30 to go to the bathroom, and then checked my phone for messages which there was none.  My father gave me some apple juice as he was up and about to head out for his normal Saturday morning routine of cleaning out my Grandmother’s house.  I went back to sleep and woke up again around 9:45.  My wife was going off with my mother for repairs to my wife’s car.  I got up and ate a egg/potato omelet that my Aunt Estella had brought over Thursday night.  My sister then came home and talked about a few things, and then she insisted that we play some chess.  My father got my chess set out from the backroom that hadn’t been touched in over 15 years.  I beat my sister in 2 rounds of chess and then played and beat my dad in two rounds of chess which was the end of the chess for today.  I then sat back in the lazy-boy and watched some History Channel on WWII.  I also checked my phone for emails and messages which I had none.  My wife then came home and fixed me a tuna salad sandwich and a chicken salad sandwich.  Both of which were very food, again food is always good 🙂  I then opened up the chess set again and started to teach my wife how to play chess.  We played two games and then my parents called and wanted to go out to eat.  We have been eating out a lot more lately ever since my situation was brought to light.  We headed over to Smilie’s and I had Augie’s Special Salad.  It was a great spinach salad with shrimp and chicken.  I have been eating a lot more healthier lately as well.  I would normally be eating steaks, hamburger’s, red meat, all cooked medium rare.  Now I am mainly eating greens, chicken and fish.  Good food taste great too!  We returned home and my mother and my wife went to pick up her car that was being worked on at Aunt Estella’s house by a friend of hers.  My dad and I set up the chess board and played 3 additional games of chess.  I won the first one, and then he won the second one.  My wife came home during the third one and distracted me, but I still lose fair and square.  I then went to my bedroom and evaluated what had to be done to change the layout of the room to make it easier for me to get in and out of bed during my chemo treatments.  Right now I can get to my bed with no issues but it is a little bit of a tight squeeze.  Once chemo starts I am going to want to have no issues getting in and out of bed to get to the bathroom as needed and help managing the side effects of the chemo treatment.  I took the measurements of the room and the furniture and put it all on paper and discussed the new arrangement with my wife.  I then drew out the new arrangement on paper and discussed that we would put it together next weekend after my stitches were out and I would have no issues moving furniture around.  I would also hang a shelf to hang more of my M&M collectibles characters that I have next weekend to get them out of boxes where they have been sitting since I redid the bedroom paint and floors.  I then watched some TV and did some additional research on the treatment and what to expect when the chemotherapy started.  While I don’t have any problems really with anxiety, reading all can take a toll on a person and add up.  I took my blood pressure and it was 140/80 with a pulse of 89.  I took my medications and then sat down to complete this blog.  I will be taking a bath soon after wrapping this up to relax and not get my stitches wet, but also I read that warm bath’s can also help lower blood pressure overnight.  Again too much research and time on my hands, but I think too much and want to know what to expect in jumping into fight my Lymphoma.