I am a member of a cancer forum that I joined when I first found out I had cancer. I get daily email about people posting and when I first joined there were a couple of other people who had stomach cancer as well. I have not participated on it much lately but the others have disappeared completely when they were going through treatment. It is a great community where everyone provides supports for each other. When I was on the forums today I was reading up on some people checking in on each other and there were numerous posts about people saying that they would help but then the friends and family all disappear when it actually came to helping. I am lucky because I do not have that issue. Talking to a friend today they had said that they are private and would have a hard time asking for help. I rarely ask for help. If I did I am pretty sure I would not get myself in most of the situations I have. Friends and family just help. They just know and even if it is just a word of support, it helps. It makes me a bit sad when I read the experiences of others. One person ended up getting divorced because their partner could not deal with all of the extra pressures and work. What Mel does is not nearly appreciated enough. There were times I flat out told her that I could not deal with her worries and it was tough going through some stuff and I did not have the capacity to help her out. I am sure that was hard to hear, but she figured it out and managed. Some people would not be able to do that and issues arise. In the case of the forum they ended up getting divorced and since they were going through cancer treatment and they had a child together they lost custody of the child because of parent alienation. Going through the treatment, it is tough and I can understand how easy something like that could happen. If I sent an email asking for help, I have no doubt that I would not have an issue getting help. I have a support system that a lot of people would be envious of. We are close to both sides of the family and everyone helps out how they can. Throughout this journey so many unexpected things came up. There were times that were tough, and every time things were tough someone said something or did something that made things easier. I do not think people realize how a kind word here or there is so impactful. Going through this by yourself would be tough.
Last night I removed the bandaging around my head. I did not realize that I had 10 staples and it explain the soreness on my head. I have a fantastic haircut right now and this morning the kids saw the staples. It freaked out Olivier and he said it looks creepy. He said I look like Frankenstein or something. I called to make an appointment for a hair cut to fix it for Christmas. I am pretty sure I am going to get it shaved all the way around.
The one thing I regret is that I am going to be missing the tournament next weekend. The doctor said I could go to the tournament but he advised that I do not just in case there is a medical incident. I am going to listen to him because I get exhausted and need to take several naps during the day. Who would have thought that the surgery would be so tiring. I figured I would go back to work on Monday. I do not think I can for a bit. Later this week I will slowly start to ease into it. Things are much back to normal as it is easier to write now and to think.
Quoc Hao