When the system works well it is rather awesome. I had a CT scan and my chemo scheduled for today. I was supposed to do chemo and then later this evening go in for a CT scan. I was not too keen on that and tried to see if I could go in earlier with them using my port. I was able to go in earlier to use the port as it is much simplier and does not require them to stick an IV in me for a contrast. I registered and then had a special port installed so that CT could use it. This required some coordination between the teams to know that I was coming and to be prepared to use the port. The Cancer team had some difficulty finding where the appropriate needle for the procedure was but they managed to find it. It takes some time for the pharmacy to prepare my drugs so while they were preparing my drugs I ran up to CT to get the scan done and I managed to register and get back down in probably under 30 minutes. It was quite efficient. When I got back to the Cancer center my drugs were not ready yet and we had to wait probably another 30 minutes or so. Some of the drugs take 1 hr to prepare and there is only one fumehood available to mix the drugs so it may end of delaying things. When I was in treatment today I was far more tired then I remember ever being. I am fatigued now in the evening and was quite fatigued during the day and afternoon. This morning I forgot my cell phone at home while I was grabbing treats for the staff. Once a month I like to bring in treats for the staff since they have to put up with me constantly harassing them and making fun of them. The neuropathy started while I was in the chair receiving treatment and it has slowly gotten worse over the day where it reached a peak and then kind of reaches a comfortable statis. If my hands get cold there is a lot of tingling followed by pain. If I can manage to keep my hands warm then it is fine and it is not much of an issue. Eating seems to be fine, there is a bit of the jaw issue today but it goes away quickly. My mind is a bit foggy and I can tell that I can not think as quickly as I normally can. It takes a bit more effort for complex tasks and when I am done I feel fatigued.
The ice at RHP should be in soon and the hockey team can practice again and Xavier will be on the ice a couple of times a week. I have been invited to go check it out several times, but I have not had the opportunity to go as of yet. We had ordered Xaviers new pads and they are not scheduled to arrive until September. It takes 8 to 12 weeks which we knew about, we were just being a bit slow about it. He has a goalie camp at the beginning of August, so we were hoping that he potentially had them then. The rest of the summer hockey gear should be arriving this week or early next week and I will put the package together for them to take with them to the tournaments. There have been some changes to the tournaments which benefit us significantly so we will see what happens.
While in elementary school Rick Hansen as doing his “Wheels in Motion” tour across the world and he came to Sudbury. Our school had prepared something and a lot of the local schools and community got together to go and see him give a talk at the Sudbury arena. I do not remember exactly what happened there if we got to meet him on stage or shake his hand, but my best friend and I were involved in that some how. We had a lot of special treatment in school. Once we reached grade 6, the teacher was one of my friends dads and was a great teacher. He used our names in tests and he used my name which is hilarious because 10 years later kids would see a test with some random Asian name and some kids knew who I was, but others would ask who that was. The class of grade 6 was responsible for setting up and maintaining the hockey rink outside. This teacher had set up a program where you would play soccer, baseball and hockey during the season. The grade 6 kids would pick kids from the lower levels and coach them, while the grade 5 and 6 also had their own leagues. The younger kids would play during recess, while the older kids would play during lunch. It was quite a lot of fun and it started to teach us some leadership and coaching skills. I remember one of the teams that my best friend and I coached. I picked my sister and another sister of a friend. They were horrible as they did not really want to play, so we told both of them to play goalie in soccer and they would stand there. I do not remember how well we did or anything but it was a lot of fun. I was one of the better athletes in the school and would often be one of the earlier picks. During the creation of hockey the son of the teacher had first pick and he picked me and to the dismay of my best friend he could not choose me. We had a very strong team while his team was not very strong as he had one of the later picks for players. When we played hockey on the ice it was without skates and it was just boots, so moving was hard. I played goalie and was pretty good. My friend had a weak team and he tried to carry the team as best as he could and ended up playing all of the positions depending on the situation. That school was probably one of my favorite schools that I attended. We could walk home for lunch while some kids ate at school. When I ate at school I would have food delivered to me, either from the restaurant or from Burger King. I was kind of spoiled like that. Growing up there was a Burger King that was relatively close by and we could walk to it. It was not too expensive and me and my friends would eat there frequently. My mother also likes it, and even now, her and my dad will often go get Whoppers on Wednesdays with coupons. I am not sure if they still do it now, but they were for quite some time. Mel’s cousin also likes it there and him and I would get two chicken sandwiches and 2 whoppers and fries when they use to have the 2 for $5 deal. It was fantastic as we could get a meal for under $15. He still asks me now everyone once in a while if I want it, but alas those days are gone. I can only eat half of each of those sandwiches at the moment. Mel and her family do not like Burger King as they had grown up eating McDonald’s. McDonald’s is more consistent, but if you get a good burger from Burger King I think it is superior, but a crappy burger is pretty bad. I will relay more stories about Grade 6 and burger king later.
Q