Thursday, September 4, 2008

An Official Streak

I've been feeling "good" for about a week and half now. Besides fatigue all day and annoying nausea at night, I've been up off the couch and doing small projects around the house. I'm officially on a "feel good" streak!

I take Dramamine at night for the nausea (where the drowsiness actually works for me instead of against me) and make sure not to push myself during the day. I still have a hard time getting out of bed before 11 and take naps during the day.

My brothers came down to visit me over labor day weekend. It was awfully generous of them to make the long drive and wile away their long weekend with me just relaxing and talking. I really appreciated their company.

We've booked our flight and hotel for our trip to Portland to see Dr. Druker. The nurse coordinator from OHSU sent us a very large packet of papers to fill out. It also included recommendations for hotels that cater to visiting patients. It's amazing the discount you can get at the local hotels being a patient at OHSU. We've decided to make a weekend out of it. We'll fly up on a Wednesday, have the appointment on Thursday and fly home on Sunday. Hopefully there are some low key sites around Portland to enjoy.

In the meantime I'm almost finished reading "Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul". It was sent to us by one of Wendy's aunts. The stories are about people who have survived cancer or have someone close to them who has survived. They are written as uplifting and hopeful, but reading them is sometimes hard. A lot of the stories focus on cancer in a past tense. They gloss over all the time and energy it took to reach the "uplifting and hopeful" perspective they now have. I haven't quite turned that corner yet. I think I'm still stuck in the "uncertainty" and "unfair" mindset. It is nice to know though, that so many people can look back so positively on their experience.

1 comment:

Annie - Steven's mom said...

Hi Matt
I am thrilled that you are going to see Dr Druker and I hope you have an absolutely wonderful weekend there... Jennifer at the reception is awesome and Carolyn is amazing too! I just know that you will feel better after talking to him - to all of them.

It's a long hard slog to get to the 'cancer in the past tense' bit, and I don't believe it ever really gets there.... but it really does get easier - just accept one day at a time and don't rush or push it.

I hope you keep feeling better, and I am looking forward to reading all about your OHSU visit.

love and light
Annie
Steven's mom
http://livingwithcml..blogspot.com