12,13,14 ....

This coming Tuesday will be two weeks since I have been discharged from the hospital.  It is hard for me to believe this has been only two weeks.  I feel like it has been so much longer for me.  Today (day 12) was my second trip to church in the two weeks. 

This past week Leah and I went on a few walks.  A couple of the later ones were 3 miles.  Not bad considering I haven't done much in the line of exercise since last May.  My goal is to get back to the point to where I can ride the 36 mile route on the Holland Hundred.  It may not happen this summer but I'm looking forward to getting to that point by the summer after next.

Day 14 is Tuesday and the one benchmark I have been waiting for is the ability to Drive.  The last time I drove was Wednesday February 20th.  I like driving so I am kind of excited to get back behind the wheel again. Leah is ecstatic for me to start driving again. Imagine that!!

After Tuesday I have two benchmarks left to get to.  The first of those is to return to a regular diet.  Since Sunday after surgery in the hospital I have been on a soft foods diet.  A soft food is defined by anything you can cut with a fork only.  Meats are chicken or ground Beef.  Almost no veggies or fruits due to either seeds or skins.  Seeds in fruits also knock out many other things (yogurt is one example).  Definite no no's are chips, Nuts and anything difficult to digest.  I was given a list when I was discharged and told to use it as a guideline.  Believe me I cheated a little but only in moderation and then if something is questionable I chew it so long it may as well have been in the blender.

The last benchmark is to return to work.  I am barred from returning to work until I get a written notice from my surgeon.  His staff put April 22 on the form however I feel as if I will be able to return earlier than that.  Last surgery I returned after 4 weeks which was probably a week or two to early.  I meet with my surgeons the week after next and so I can discuss this with each of them at my appointments.

I have appointments with my Liver surgeon and Oncologist two days in a row.  I will then find out what the decision on my future treatment schedule.  My Oncologist has talked about 4 treatments of Chemo to "take care" of any left over cancer cells left behind.  He also has mentioned since my tumor in my colon had not been growing nor shrinking due to treatment he thought maybe to not continue any treatment at this time until necessary.  After hearing his final decision I will be inquisitive to find out what the next 6 months, year, and so on are going to look like.  It is possible he tosses me right into my first treatment after our meeting. In this case I'm not going to feel like going to my next appointment.  I meet with my Colo-rectal surgeon the following Tuesday. 

I hope they will wave off the chemo for this point and put it back on the books after we see concrete evidence to do so.  I assume I will be on a 3 month "watch" schedule from that point forward for a while.  I'll have Pet-ct scans and Colonoscopy's thrown in the pipe for a while.

Here's to the near and distant future.

--Kent