So I spent the weekend in Milwaukee with some friends and caught up with relatives. As some of you out there know I am very close to my grandma. We had a pretty serious talk and it was great boost. She is in all honesty the wisest person I have ever met.
Also every year for the Saturday game in the Brewers vs. Twins series in Milwaukee my friends and I get together and party in the parking lot and then in the seats. My friends come from Minneapolis and Eau Claire just for this game. It was something that had amazing timing for me because in all honesty I was starting to get a little down on myself. Mainly in the sense of why me and why do I have to go through this again type stuff. My friends really helped me get that shit out of my head and get back to the mindset I need to be in. Not only was it good for myself I felt it was good for my folks to get out there with us and have a good time and for them to see that I do have a strong support system in my friends. Not to mention that there isn't a lot that is much better than watching a good ol Brewers game at Miller Park.
I had my first chemo treatment on Friday afternoon. There haven't been many side effects until recently. Saturday morning I woke up with a pretty upset stomach that took a while to go away. Sunday morning was the same thing but I don't know if that was the booze talking back to me. As of right now I feel terrible. Upset stomach, fever, aches, that just names a few of the side effects I am trying to deal with. Which is leading me to a whole other subject I am working on. I am trying to clean up my eating habits and life style a lot. I pretty much told everyone that I know that this past weekend would be the last weekend for me drinking until I beat this thing. I am also changing my diet completely. I am going to be eating my greens, teas, V8 juice in large doses, and cutting out most meats except for chicken and fish. I have to get more oxygen in my blood to help fight. Also when/if I head back up to Minnesota my friends Chris, Brian, and I are going to be working out together trying to get in shape and healthier. I have to do what I have to do and I am glad my friends are there to help me out. Monday morning I am going to try to get up and go to work. It will be interesting since the nausea medication the ran into my system seems to be running out and the mornings have sucked since I had my treatment. Just another thing I have to deal with. I am hoping when I have time at work I can look for sarcoma specialists and hospitals that specialize in it. I have copies of all of my doctors notes, CT scans, and PET scans. When I find the doctors I want to work with it will be a quick transition to their locations. I am still trying to find one in Minnesota so I can also work with my previous surgeon and oncologist. I am still concerned that they might have misdiagnosed me the first time. Either way I beat it the first time and I will beat it this time. When I think back about moments and little things from my first battle everything seems the same. It is just weird. I don't think they did but it is in the back of my mind. There were a dozen or so oncologist and specialist including Lance Armstrong's oncologist who is one of the best in the germ cell field. Before I stop writing this I wanted people to know that I do read all messages sent to me via e-mail or posts. The encouragement and concerns are overly flattering and important and I must say to everyone out there....THANK YOU!
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2 comments:
Justin-
I'm not much of a religious guy, but you are in my prayers. You don't deserve all the things you've been going through, but now that it's happening, I know a guy like you with a strong personality and will can beat this.
As the great philosophers Journey once said, "Don't stop believing."
I think that this has happened to you because God (literally) knows that you are the type of person who will take this challenge and turn it into something good. You, for example, already started the "Rock Cancer Out" concerts. I think that you will only make that grow. You're taking this awful thing and making it a blessing to all of the people that you help. That is a huge thing.
You also go out of your way to support others. For example, you let me know about Jacob. I, alone, went ahead and told all kinds of people about him and got him a hat from ODU... because of you, hundreds to thousands of people were praying for that boy (at least one of my friends put him on prayer lists at their church). That helps. No matter where people stand on faith, it can't be denied that awareness was raised with all of those people. That was a butterfly effect from something that YOU did. That's very powerful. YOU are very powerful.
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