Hair Today........Gone Tomorrow

A witty post about my new bald head is lurking somewhere in my mind - but as I sit here nibbling on my cupcake I'm struggling to find it in the dark recesses of my intellect.  Wit is the enemy of those who have none - and wit has always been a close friend of mine.  I would rather take insomnia than the loss of wit.  I will even take the loss of my hair, which I have to admit I'm coping fairly well with.  Wit is one of my coping mechanisms - so it's been called on a fair bit lately.  Maybe it's taking a holiday - with my hair, as they've both abandoned me on this quiet Thursday evening.  The hair loss was expected - and has been dealt with accordingly thanks to my new wig.  Today was the unveiling of said wig, and I have to confess it was easier than expected.  The temporary absence of my wit, however, was not.  Writers block?  Maybe.  What if I accidentally sucked my wit out of my brain when I shaved my hair off?  Yes - you read correctly.  I shaved my hair off.  Last night actually.  I was sick of it coming out in fist fulls, so I took control and shaved it off.  No-one told me that your wit was attached to your hair follicles.  I know lots of bald people who are witty, and an equal amount of people with enormous amounts of hair and zilch wit.  Right then, maybe wit didn't disappear with my hair.  Maybe it's the cupcake I'm eating.  Too much sugar = no wit.  Hardly likely.  It's a good cupcake though.  I'd sacrifice it for my wit though.  Maybe it's simply a case of gone today, here tomorrow.........

Lee x

A day of Awesomeness

Greetings from Team Henderson.  So much has happened today that I thought it only fair to update you on it all - and inevitably leave you feeling envious for the awesomeness that is 'my life'!

I'll start at the beginning.....which was at 3.30am.  The insomnia hasn't been as bad these past 2 nights, but 3.30am is still a little too early for my liking.  Anyway, I digress - back to my awesome day. For ease of reading I think I'll bullet point them for you (you may thank me later);

• A cup of tea for breakfast.  No, this is not a typo.  A highlight of my day was having, and more importantly ENJOYING a cup of tea.  The chemo left a strong metallic taste in my mouth, meaning my taste buds have been beaten up a little, and a casualty of this has been water and any drink made with water.  Which is tea.  Green and normal.  And I love tea.  Green and normal.  So it has been heart breaking over the past week and a half to not be able to stomach the taste of tea.  Until this morning!  And it tasted gooooooooooood. Happy days people.
• I now have a wig.  I was a little (okay - a lot!) apprehensive about this, but the wig lady (herein referred to as Leigh) was wonderful, and fitted me with a wig that doesn't look half bad.  It will take some getting used to as it is a full thick head of hair, and I've got fine hair and not much of it.  It also has a fringe (apparently all good wigs do) and I've never had a fringe.  It's going to feel weird for a while, but hey - it's only hair!
• Pea and Ham Soup courtesy of Mother Doyle.  This stuff is worthy of medals.  Philippa (affectionately referred to as 'Mother Doyle) is a dear friend of mine from work, and came and visited me this afternoon.  We had tea (yay!) and afghans, and gossiped for several hours which was fabulous.  Her company was wonderful - the soup was a bonus!
• I left the house.  Yes, for the first time in over a week I actually left the house and went out where there were other human beings!  I have been suffering from cabin fever these past few days, so I decided that Elliott was taking Em and I to the mall for dinner.  This leads to probably what some will deem the most excellent part of my day.....
• A Lamb Curry for dinner.  Meat.  And it was good.  I have been on the receiving end of some criticism since El's post about my newly established vegetarian tendencies.  One of my esteemed colleagues in Auckland (hi John!) felt so strongly about it that he emailed me and advised me to "desist immediately".  My best friend in the UK emailed me to remind me that if God didn't want us to eat meat he wouldn't have invented bbq's.  It's logic I simply can't argue with.  So I had a lamb curry, and it was good.
• No naps.  Today has been the first day that I've gone the entire day without having to retreat to bed for an hour or two to recharge my batteries.  Hopefully this means I will have a deep and long sleep tonight........but I'll let you know tomorrow.

So today has been full of action and adventure.  I am awesome.  You are allowed to be envious.

xxx

Insomnia [in-som-nee-uh]

Defined as '–noun inability to obtain sufficient sleep, esp. when chronic; difficulty in falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness.' Yes, welcome to the land of sleeplessness.  It should be redefined as 'being bored out of your mind between the hours of midnight and 5.00am.'  That's assuming I'll be tired at 5.00am.  Chances are not looking good at this stage given it's only 9 minutes away.  So I tried all the relaxation techniques I've ever been taught, including the one where you lie perfectly still and let your body relax starting at your toes and working your way up your body, so that relaxation and peacefulness slowly envelope you like a blanket.  What a crock.  Money back refund on that one please.  All it made me do was need to go to the toilet.  Anyhoo - if insomnia is the worst thing that happens to me today then I'll take it.  Maybe I should look for that list that Elliott started writing......


On a broader note things are doing well.  My meds are down to 3 steroids in the morning, which inevitably means I'm hungry for the rest of the day and can't stop eating.  Thankfully my 3 besties have hooked me up with the best food so I'm sorted.  Saturday night was Cannelloni a la Bridget Roper - a divine vegetarian dish that I would eat over any meat dish any day (sorry husband!). That and the incredible vegie soup are slowly turning me to the dark side of the vege.  Sunday was Fish Pie a la Nicky Milne - and while there should have been a large portion of left overs there wasn't (I had to refrain El from licking the pie dish).  Monday was Lasagne a la Jade Pedersen - the woman is a domestic goddess, and knows that her lasagne is the cause of marital disharmony in my home due to why my lasagne doesn't taste anywhere near as good!  Jade was also the bearer of Chocolate Afghans which are taunting me as I type.  Words rarely fail me, but the love and support shown by our friends, family and colleagues has made the start of this journey so much easier to deal with.  So, our house is clean thanks to my amazing Mum and her working vacuum cleaner and dusting cloth, and our bellies are full thanks to my god-sent friends - which only leaves us to get on with kicking this cancer in the nads.  And so far we seem to be doing pretty well - even at 5:06am.................


Lee xxxx

Bad luck comes in 3's

Well, we've had to put up with a lot over the past 9 months but the latest finding is almost enough to break the camels back. Lee has now started exhibiting vegetarian tendencies and quite frankly, I'm just not ready to lose my wife to the way of the vegetable......sorry Jill, Bridget and any other vegetarians out there - I still love you.

In other news, Lee has only napped for less than an hour today so looks like the tiredness is on the way out, just in time for low  / nil immune system.

Day 4

Well, the tiredness is still there but each day is getting a little better. A phone call from the community nurse has tweaked the meds a little and has helped with the tiredness. And the nurse is delighted with how Lee's doing. Expected her to be more sick than she is given the strength of the chemo.

Next round of chemo is 2nd March.

The day after

Not much to report today. Other than some sickness this morning before she had a chance to take the anti nausea medication, it's been an uneventful day and Lee has spent most of the day resting and sleeping. The anticipated energy rush from the steroids has been strangely absent so I'll need to take care of the list myself - bugger!

The district nurse did pop in to check on her and was happy with how Lee was feeling. Told Lee the chemo drugs administered yesterday should have cleared her system by end of tomorrow.

Treatment day 1

Well, it was a long day today but I'm happy to report that Lee is now home and other than feeling a little tired from sitting in a chair for 10 hours, is doing remarkably well.

The good news is that one of the many different pills she'll have to take over the next few days has a side effect giving her huge amounts of energy (and possibly insomnia along with it). So, I'm making a list to keep her occupied.

Next round of chemo will be three weeks today assuming her blood levels have returned to normal.

Over and out.

The First Step.........

Hi team


Tappity tap tap.  That's the sound of my fingers on the keyboard of my laptop as I struggle to think of how to start this post.  It's one of the few habits that I have that Elliott doesn't like - tapping my fingernails.  I do it when I'm nervous/anxious, or thoughtful.  In this instance I am all of these things.


Tappity tap tap.  Not known for often being stuck for words, I find myself in the unfamiliar position of being at a loss for what to say.  Maybe I'll get straight to the point.


Tappity tap tap.  I start chemo on Tuesday.  There - I said it.  Chemo.  Yuk.  Cancer.  Double yuk.  


Tappity tap tap.  Our lovely oncologist (here on referred to 'Anne') called us last night (Monday night) and gave us the low down.  The cardio surgeons have confirmed that they can operate, which is good news.  They have also advised that this is a one-time only opportunity, so they need to do it once and do it well.  Before they dig in, they'd like to try and reduce the size of it to have a better chance of getting it all.  'It all' being the thymus.  Liver removal, if the chest surgery is entirely successful, will follow 6-8 weeks later.  So chemo is the first step in the hope that it will reduce the size of the tumours, therefore making removal easier.  


Tappity tap tap.   Chemo on Tuesday.  6 weeks of it - but only 2 cycles in that 6 weeks.  If you liked my hair, tell me and I'll take a photo to send to you, because in 3 weeks it will become a casualty of the chemo.  Yuk.  I will be bald.  Cool.  Not.  The NZ Government generously pays for me to have a wig.  Again, if you're interested I'll send you a photo.  This may only appeal to people with a hair fetish.  So once the 6 weeks of chemo is done they will rescan my chest to see if the tumour has shrunk in size, and assess the situation from there.  The tricky part is that they're not too sure exactly what kind of cancer it is, so they're making an educated guess with the type of chemo - and will be crossing their fingers and toes that it's the right kind - therefore effective.  Here's hoping!


Tappity tap tap.  My habit is now starting to annoy me.  I don't think that's a good thing.  I will be in hospital next Tuesday and Wednesday - so if you're in the neighbourhood then toot as you drive past.  


I have nothing further to add.  Except the tapping of my fingernails - which is eventually going to earn me so harsh looks from husband.  I love him, so will stop tapping.  For now.


Lee xxxx