Domestic Goddess-ness

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the recent radio silence.  It would seem that having a cold whilst undergoing chemotherapy isn't ideal - and probably not recommended.  It's been a tough week, but here I am on the other side - and ready to shout to the world that I am a Domestic Goddess.  Curious?  I knew you would be.  I hope you're sitting down for this, 'cause it's good.  Today - I hung washing out.  Yes, I hung washing out.  I am a Domestic Goddess.  I can appreciate that the significance of performing this menial task may be lost on you, but given that over the past 7 days I've hardly been able to eat, shower or walk down the stairs without needing to sleep for hours afterwards it was a pretty big deal for me.  And it made me feel like a Domestic Goddess.  Having not only the desire to do it (lethargy is a bummer!) but also the energy to do something as mundane as hang washing out was a pretty big deal for me.  So I did it.  And for approximately 11 minutes on this fine Wednesday morning, I was a Domestic Goddess.

They say the second time is easier

Well, as an observer I'd have to disagree with that statement. Whether it's a by product of the cold that was on its way out when this round started, or whether it's just a very different experience, it's certainly not been easier this time around.

Today is the first day Lee has managed to stay awake for longer than three hours at a time. I'd guess she's been sleeping a minimum of 18 hours a day. Vegetarian tendencies haven't been as strong but then again, she's not had an appetite at all. Next step would have been force feeding her but thankfully, she's felt up to dinner tonight.

All being well, the next post will be riddled with humorous tales.

A shell of my former self.....

Today was round 2 of chemo, and so far so good.  I won't bore you with the details, because it really is boring.  And I have confession to make.  One thing that has worried me from the outset of this attention-seeking exercise is that the chemo and surgery would knock me around so much that I would become a shell of my former self.  I consider myself to be a reasonably proactive person, so I took steps to ensure this would not happen.  I allocated 'entertainment portfolios' to my friends.  Let me explain.


I was warned that chemo could take me to the depths of despair, and that being in hospital following surgery would literally suck the life out of me.  So all in all I was preparing for a soul destroying experience.  Not really something I was looking forward to. I formed an action plan, and slowly began implementing it.  One by one I assigned entertainment portfolios to my friends, and gave them the low down on what's expected of them.  The conversation/s went something like this..."If you want to come and visit me in hospital or at home after surgery then you need to entertain me.  I don't want you sitting at my bedsite looking at me all pitiful and sad.  That is unacceptable. You need to make me think of something other than how sucky this all is. So, if you're going to come and visit me then you need to entertain me.  You are now Minister in charge of............."  So far I have friends who have accepted the portfolios of teaching me to play backgammon (Craig), playing cards (Greig), jigsaws (Bridget Roper), crosswords (Matt), trashy mags (Rosemary), and manicures (Tina).  


I'm unsure whether I'm confessing to being worried about becoming hollow, or about selflessly using to my friends to keep me real.  I'll let you decide, but irrespective, I'm mildly comforted by the fact that even if I do become a shell of my former self I will still serve a very important purpose..........if you hold me up to your ear you might just be able to hear the ocean.     

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.