Bourbon saves the holidays
Now some of you are already saying, “Duh, tell me something
I don’t know.” This, however, is
actually a case of scheduling genius/luck.
It turns out the A&M v. Alabama bourbon game bought me more than a
week with my pals. More on that later.
This week was another infusion week. Infusion is the technical
term for chemo, much like “accessing the port” means they are going to stick a
needle in your shoulder and pump you full of fluid, some of it good, and some
not so good, but necessary. Monday was
also my wife’s birthday, dia de los muertos which is NOT celebrated at chemo
camp. Go figure. I’m starting to get the
hang of the routine and the faces and names are more and more familiar.
Oh, here is a tip, always buy stock in battery companies
before the holidays, they usually out-perform.
And this year, I may single handedly boost Imodium sales, so I’d keep an
eye on that company. I’m getting the hang of my timing and dosage. It does cause some headaches though. It made me think of a funny commercial. Not sure if my mind came up with it or if it
has already been done, but it would essentially be some guys standing around
talking about their symptoms but instead of listing the drug name, they rattle
off the side effects. Zoom in on two
guys talking about their symptoms and remedies.
“So Bill, how is that incontinence? Not bad Steve, I’m taking headaches,
bloody nose, and numbness in my extremities, bloating, dizziness, and suicidal
thoughts for it. Thanks for asking.”
The nausea was worse this time than the last time. I also developed some sores and thrush in my
mouth, but my trusty buddy/wrestling bro/dentist had a mouth rinse compound
made for me and it helped alleviate my mouth issues in a couple of days. The nausea has been controllable with the
meds, but the feeling doesn’t dissipate as easily this time. I’ve also developed quite an affinity for
Pedialyte. The results are I look like a frat boy being hazed when I’m by
myself, and a happy thespian when the kids are around. I have to keep reminding my mother to stop
looking at me with pity or sadness when my children are in the room. I’m working too hard on my appearance to give
it all away like that. I was warned that
there would be a cumulative effect to the chemo, so here we go.
Tuesday I woke up feeling better. Perhaps the Avastin has somewhat filtered out
or my body got somewhat acclimated to it.
I wonder if it’s like Wesley in the Princess
Bride and his tolerance to iocane powder, either way, I feel better. One thing that bothers me is I don’t feel
dangerous anymore. Now I’m not saying
that grown men should mix it up or get in fights and I can’t tell you the last
time I actually threw a punch at another human stranger. But I was always aware of my surroundings and
felt I could hold my own. Now I think I could still do most of what I could,
but am also very cognizant of the damage it could do to me. For example, I won’t clot as easily now. I even travel with a little “go bag” which
includes a puke bag, saltines, water, Imodium, anti-nausea meds, and field-grade
coagulant. Not that I was some über bad
ass, but I at least knew how to get a fight to the ground and take care of
business. In any case, I’m in “setting
example for my kids” mode and maybe walking away from trouble is a better
lesson than blowing up a d-bag. However,
if my wife or child are in danger…it’s go time.
I don’t care what happens to me, I’m on borrowed time anyway.
That being said, the aforementioned dentist has a son in
Connor’s grade. They love to play with
each other and they rough house plenty (which he and I think is great). I think
we’re going to either try to get some mat time, or just use my man cave and
teach them to wrestle properly. There are a lot of great lessons you learn on
the mat that carry you throughout your life. Plus it might be better for them
to work with guys in their own weight class instead of two dads torturing their
kids yelling for them to hook a leg, or get to your base, although Connor has always enjoyed wrestling and has never gotten upset even when I put a bunch of weight on him...my boy!
Josie decided she wanted to play baseball this spring and
Connor is still on the fence. So we’ll
see. That being on the table, I’m glad I
chose diarrhea and hair loss over neuropathy.
Speaking of which, as of Wednesday I still have hair. I’m sitting at a
crossroads here where my hair is getting a bit long and fro-ish, but do I wait
it out or go get a haircut? I also made
a deal with my daughter. She has been VERY concerned about my potential hair
loss. So since she’s really into art the deal I
made was if my hair goes,
she can draw on my head and use it as a canvass. So when I come to Kyle field
for the Aggie game in a week or so, I don’t want to hear any shit if there are
butterflies and flowers on my head. Or
if I still have hair why it’s out of control.
Wednesday addendum. While they
were removing my pump I asked about my hair, they said it would take a few more
weeks and it would gradually thin out, not fall out all at once like foghorn
leghorn (“I keep my feathers numbered for just such an occasion”). So I bit the bullet and got a haircut
Wednesday after my fluids.
I’m sure many of you are asking, “Marco, how is the
flatulence?” Well let me tell you. It’s not good. I’m not sure if it is a result of the surgery
where they removed 9” of colon and cleared a blockage, the chemo, the constant
barrage of anti-nausea meds stacked with Imodium, or the new diet. But whatever the culprit, I’ve cleared more
than one room. And it is fairly
constant. Further, sorry ladies, it has
gotten to the point where I can’t just excuse myself and leave the room, it has
become too frequent and I’m not training for a 10K. So there it is, this is my scent, know me.
In the intro I mentioned that bourbon and Aggie football
saved the holidays. Well lo and behold
by waiting that extra week the entire holiday schedule unfolded
beautifully. My chemo weeks do not
coincide with any holidays other than New Years. My off weeks include: Halloween, my children’s
birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the NCAA football playoffs (even
Valentine’s Day is straddled). How is
that for getting lucky? Who says God isn’t
watching over me?
This week was also my wife’s birthday. Unfortunately the actual day was my infusion
day and instead of lunch with her girlfriends she wanted to come sit with me…winning! Anyway, I asked a friend to deliver her
birthday present while we were away and she loved it. If you have time to read another blog, this
is why we have a big metal rooster on our front porch. http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/. In any case, it has been an inside joke
between us for years, it was the perfect gift this year, and the kids went
insane with joy. Our’s is not named Beyoncé
but rather “shiny chicken” courtesy of the kiddos. We had a nice dinner at home and some
cake. I wished we could have done more,
but maybe later and clearly everyone understands.
Our golf club has two main money game groups. Each group thinks they are better than the
other and there is a lot of smack talk.
So ten years ago the gauntlet was thrown down and we started a Ryder cup
style event with dinners, speeches, uniforms and everything. We call it the Dawg Bowl, and there is a
trophy and champagne at the end that the winners drink out of while the losers
watch. The dinner is funded by the loser
from the previous year. I’ve played in
all 9 previous events. Whether I was
sick, hurt, it didn’t matter. And I
always put up points for the team. Well
this year was the first time I’ve missed this event, but the gang at the club
still included me by giving me a group toast at the dinner held this week. I
cannot tell you how much all the love and support mean to me. I am getting it
from all directions and it is beyond humbling.
It also reminded me of a dawg bowl a few years back. I was 5 holes down at the turn and some guy
from the other team came and chirped at me about losing before we got to number
15 (our signature hole). Well that lit a
fire and I fought my way back to win 1-up on 18. Never give up, never surrender is part of my
character. I hope my kids pick it up and learn this lesson. If they do, then my time circling the sun
will not have been wasted. I have a
pretty good feeling and I hope you do too. I also just received a nice little note from Coach Kevin Sumlin on Thursday. To whomever set that up, thank you! It made my day.
New wristbands are on order with glow in the dark lettering
and youth sizes. If interested, let me
know. TeamMarco@austin.rr.com.
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