It has been more than a month since my last update. I feel obligated to update you all because I promoted my blog from day-1. Since many of my family members, friends and colleagues are really scattered all over the globe, it;s the best way to Keep In Touch (my blog's name!).
Business before pleasure (medical updates before my adventures update):
I get my chemotherapy treatments every Tuesday 7:30-12:00.I do it like a machine: get up early, drive to Boston, on the way there I pickup a cup of coffee, get the treatment while working and when it's over, quickly pack my laptop and drive home. At the slightest signs of hesitation to go, pity, doubt or tiredness from this drill, I quickly push the bad thoughts away. This allows me to do what I must do and as a trained soldier.
I have hard time to realize the fact that it has been over 8.5 months of weekly chemotherapy!
Ongelofelijk !!! (Unbelievable in Dutch, as Iris & David taught me).
It is hard to predict how much longer. My starting point was very bad and it was clear (maybe not to me) that it would take many months. However, being optimistic, I am willing to bet on 6 more months or less.A complete blood analysis is done every Tuesday, just before every treatment. Based on the results, the doctors decide how to proceed. Because I am in a clinical trial, the process has some very strict guidelines and the results must be within a lo/hi range. If one of the criteria isn't met, the treatment is interrupted in favor of taking care of the too high/low parameter.
A month ago my sodium got to a very low level and it was going down too close to the limit.
One of the nurses who was concerned simply asked me: "do you like V8?" (it's a tomato juice in a can with 40% sodium). I do like it and replied with a YES. To my surprise, V8 has by far the highest % of sodium than any other food or drink.
And so, 2 days before every treatment, I drink lots of V8 like there is no tomorrow. As a result, my sodium hasn't been that good in months!
To keep my body in shape I now have a personal trainer (Judy). She comes home once a week for yoga and stretching. While it looks simple, I can testify that I feel every muscle after one hour of exercise. Between yoga and the daily walks I should be fine.During last Tuesday's treatment I did some periodic tests which are done every 5 weeks.It is a mental process called expectation! The 24 hours between the test and the results can be as hard as the treatment itself.
My latest results indicate that the present medications don't work that well. The numbers are up. I have programmed myself to deal with setbacks and this is no exception.
The implication is that I will go on another clinical trial very soon (new medications) and hope for the best.
It is a disappointment and I would lie if it wasn't. Yet, I am not worried regarding the treatment. In my case I have no choice at all, but to continue and try a combination of medications that will finally work.
Now to the pleasure (adventures) part of this update:
My boss in Orbotech in the late 90's, Avi Koren, always told his staff "Just do it!".
While it sounds simple and naive, there a lot behind it. In Life like in work, things have got to be done. It is about doing what you believe is right, with passion, professionalism and sometimes against all odds.One of my latest acts of "Just do it" was to travel with Shoshy for a family visit to Europe.Since my time window is between Tuesdays, the trip could last only 6 days.
I have family in Holland and France and my situation could get worse before it gets better. Therefore I decided to take the full 6 days and go for it. At the time of booking my condition was not so well to say the least. I had all sort of issues. Somehow by setting a target and spending the money (expensive airfare), my condition slowly improved towards the travel day. Next week Shoshy and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. We are a rare breed with this kind of statistics. So, this was another good reason to go back to where we spent our honeymoon 30 years ago in to date. I have family in France whom I haven't seen in a long time, another opportunity to see Iris my sister and her family, Shoshy by my side and 6 full days to do it all. And so, on a Tuesday afternoon, right after treatment, we set off to France and Holland. For those of you who read my blog from Feb. 08, this was a familiar drill deja-vu. Needless to say, the nurses and doctors who OKed the trip, are still amazed. This time during the flight, although I was the only passenger with a face mask, it didn't draw a lot of attention as last time. The first part of the visit took us to Den-Haag, Holland, where My sister Iris lives with her family. On the day we arrived, we rented bicycles for me and Shoshy and together with Iris and David we cycled through a nature reserve with sand dunes and nice trails that led to the ocean. There, we played Matkot (go translate this to English...) and took a lot of pictures. My sister's apartment is right on the beach with a clear view to the ocean (see the pictures). Having dinner and watching a perfect sunset is absolutely breath taking. Holland is covered with orange flags because of the Euro Cup 2008 (soccer). On the day that we travelled to Paris, Holland beat France 4:1 and the French were in mourning. In the two days in Den-Haag we did more sight seeing but most important we stayed together, talked, updated each other and recharged. The train back to France took us in no time to Paris at 230 Km/h. Paris is the most beautiful city, hands on the table! Meeting with our Parisian family branch was really overdue. We got royal treatment from the get-go. Leslie (Pierre's mom) picked us from the train station, prepared a French dinner for us and then took us for a night walk under the lighted Eifel tower (she lives nearby).
Moishale my uncle made sure that we'll see all of Paris without walking too much.
Micky, my cousin, prepared a gourmet brunch for all the family in her apartment. We did some sight seeing on our own, by taking an open bus tour of Paris. In between, we had coffee in the Champs Elysees, tasty dinner in a very nice restaurant near the Opera, walked between the Trocadero to the Eifel at night, raided the flee market and much more. As Shoshy said "this was exhausting even for a healthy person".
On Monday noon we headed back home. On the plane I saw the movie Two Buckets. It's about two not so young guys who are terminally ill and decided to make a list of things to do before they die and Just Do It. What a coincidence, but with a small twist: I do have long term plans!
Going back to something I already mentioned to you in the past: out of every bad situation there is a possibility for a good outcome. I wanted to visit Israel this summer and negotiated with the doctors the terms. It was difficult because of the treatments on every Tuesday. Now that I have to move to a new clinical trial, a mandatory two weeks off is my ticket to Israel!
I plan to be in the Holy Land from 2 to 14 July!
And so my fellow blog-readers, this is it for this update.
Always optimistic,
Yours
Guy
Shoshy & Guy logo!, Paris, On bicycles in Holland
Playing MATKOT, Eating Herring!, Sunset from Iris's window
View from Iris's apartment, Paris, getting funny in Holland
