Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Why I love xkcd
1 part old meme + 1 part CSI Miami = Pretty fucking cool. Seriously, the only thing he missed was a final panel that referenced this.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Never thought I'd say this but....
I gained weight and I'm happy about it! My appetite seemed to pick up a bit while I was on vacation, and I amassed an additional 1.5 pounds. I'm sure some of the gain can be attributed to beer/margaritas/etc. but I'll take it. It's better than looking at what felt like a precipitous drop every week.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
We're back
I'll probably blog more of the details later, but I think the high point was that my health held out for almost the whole trip.
Most of it was like this:
Some was like this:
Only the last two days were like this:
Most of it was like this:
Some was like this:
Only the last two days were like this:
Monday, December 22, 2008
Beunos Dias!
I´d post pictures, but we forgot to bring a card reader. Anyway, it´s another lovely day of 80 degree plus weather. Today, we´re going to skip the Mango Deck and it´s boozes and just snorkel all day. I am feeling great, and I have a spiffy new soccer jersey from team Chivas. There´s a story behind it, which I will tell later, but suffice to say I was strongly and repeatedly encourage NOT to wear my team CA shirt in Cabo.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Mr. Brightside
I hit 211 today. I am now 4 pounds lighter than Shannon said she would allow me to get when I first told her I was serious about losing weight. Not only am I defying Shannon, which is awesome, but I am very close to secret goal I had for myself. I had said that just once more before I die I'd to weigh under 200 pounds. It's been 25 years, and it looks like I just might make it. Of course, according to the BMI index I will still be overweight, like I am now. By the way have a mentioned that BMI is bullshit?
However, after this is all done and I heal from the operation I fully intend to eat everything. Seriously, everything.
However, after this is all done and I heal from the operation I fully intend to eat everything. Seriously, everything.
Update... or "Hey it could be worse"
Just got back from the surgeons. There were two types of tumors it could have been:
Sarcoma - Nasty and would require radiation
GIST - Still nasty, but no radition
I got the GIST, YAY!!!!!!
So here's the scoop:
A) Fuck it, I'm going to Mexico. The main effects on me so far have been decreased appetite and fatigue. I have grown tired of not being hungry and sleeping on my couch. I am going to go be not hungry and sleep on the beach.
B) Bowel cleansing on January 5th!!! Mark your calendars!!! I have to consume nothing but clear liquids (or jello) and take a SHIT TON of weird drugs at precise intervals all day. The purpose? If they need to cut and resect some bowel said bowel must be poo free.
C) Surgery January 6th. It's gonna be a big scar and I'm gonna be down for a while. Hospital stay is expected to be a week.
So.... The good news is that I get to celebrate new years and xmas. The bad news is that January is going to suck ass.
Sarcoma - Nasty and would require radiation
GIST - Still nasty, but no radition
I got the GIST, YAY!!!!!!
So here's the scoop:
A) Fuck it, I'm going to Mexico. The main effects on me so far have been decreased appetite and fatigue. I have grown tired of not being hungry and sleeping on my couch. I am going to go be not hungry and sleep on the beach.
B) Bowel cleansing on January 5th!!! Mark your calendars!!! I have to consume nothing but clear liquids (or jello) and take a SHIT TON of weird drugs at precise intervals all day. The purpose? If they need to cut and resect some bowel said bowel must be poo free.
C) Surgery January 6th. It's gonna be a big scar and I'm gonna be down for a while. Hospital stay is expected to be a week.
So.... The good news is that I get to celebrate new years and xmas. The bad news is that January is going to suck ass.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Quick update or THE TRIFECTA OF PLAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Things tend to come in threes. I got the last one Friday. Food poisoning. 24 hours of... Well, I'm not going to go into it too much. Let's just say there hasn't been much of a line at the entrance, but the exits have been SUPER busy.
In the last 48 hours I have managed to keep down 2 bites of chicken and 2 bites of mashed potatoes.
I am going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO slim.
In the last 48 hours I have managed to keep down 2 bites of chicken and 2 bites of mashed potatoes.
I am going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO slim.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Another update
A) Pancreatitis attack is repelled! Feeling much better now. Wow, did that ever suck.
B) Actually ate breakfast for the first time in days. Mistake. Banana + oatmeal + shrunken stomach + generally f'd up guts = hours and hours of BUUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPP. First couple? Funny. After that, not so much.
C) Shannon sent me this. It's kind of funny. The sound is NWS so use your headphones.
B) Actually ate breakfast for the first time in days. Mistake. Banana + oatmeal + shrunken stomach + generally f'd up guts = hours and hours of BUUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPP. First couple? Funny. After that, not so much.
C) Shannon sent me this. It's kind of funny. The sound is NWS so use your headphones.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Update or Holy Sh*t where did that come from?!
Well the biopsy went well and I thought I was out of the woods, at least until the test results came in.
Boy was I wrong.
I don't know if the tumor moved because of the odd and painful angle I was in and pinch my guts more, or if the pizza and beer (1.5 slices and 2 beers) I got myself as a reward was a bad idea, or some combination, or something else, but last night was NO DAMN FUN and today is not super great either.
I've had attacks of what I self diagnosed as pancreatitis before. This felt like the worst of them. Pain in the middle of my torso radiating to both sides and so bad that I needed help to leave the couch or to move from lying to sitting. Even with help pretty much every more illicted something ranging from a uncomfortable grunt to a mild scream. The thing that made it seem like maybe it wasn't pancreatitis was the fact that my whole belly was noticeably distended. Not just the top, where the tumor keeps trying to push my stomach out, but everything from the top to just about the undiscovered country. I finally made it to bed around midnight and found that rolling over to the right was a VERY bad idea. The left was OKish though so I went with that. Finally around 3 it died down enough for me to get some sleep.
It's still there today, but not as bad. I have to walk slow, as any jarring hurts. The belly is still puffy and tender but not as bad. Solid food is out of the question. I don't want to tempt fate, and I've felt a bit nauseous through this hole thing. It's almost lunch time and I'm half way through a bottle of orange juice. For dinner, I may try to make use of the smoothy kit that the hella-cool McMillers brought over (that was VERY, VERY nice. Thank you.). Yay!
If it doesn't feel significantly better tomorrow, I'll go back to Dr. Szeto and see what's up.
Boy was I wrong.
I don't know if the tumor moved because of the odd and painful angle I was in and pinch my guts more, or if the pizza and beer (1.5 slices and 2 beers) I got myself as a reward was a bad idea, or some combination, or something else, but last night was NO DAMN FUN and today is not super great either.
I've had attacks of what I self diagnosed as pancreatitis before. This felt like the worst of them. Pain in the middle of my torso radiating to both sides and so bad that I needed help to leave the couch or to move from lying to sitting. Even with help pretty much every more illicted something ranging from a uncomfortable grunt to a mild scream. The thing that made it seem like maybe it wasn't pancreatitis was the fact that my whole belly was noticeably distended. Not just the top, where the tumor keeps trying to push my stomach out, but everything from the top to just about the undiscovered country. I finally made it to bed around midnight and found that rolling over to the right was a VERY bad idea. The left was OKish though so I went with that. Finally around 3 it died down enough for me to get some sleep.
It's still there today, but not as bad. I have to walk slow, as any jarring hurts. The belly is still puffy and tender but not as bad. Solid food is out of the question. I don't want to tempt fate, and I've felt a bit nauseous through this hole thing. It's almost lunch time and I'm half way through a bottle of orange juice. For dinner, I may try to make use of the smoothy kit that the hella-cool McMillers brought over (that was VERY, VERY nice. Thank you.). Yay!
If it doesn't feel significantly better tomorrow, I'll go back to Dr. Szeto and see what's up.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Another update
Biopsy is done. It was actually a piece of cake. The only hard part was lying still on my back for that long. The tumor is big enough that many sitting/lying/standing positions are uncomfortable because they exert pressure on organs or muscles. Today's lesson? Flat on my back with my arms held above my head for 30 minutes is extraordinarily painful. I never even felt any of the needly goodness.
Now for the waiting. I get to sweat it out until Monday. Yay.
Now for the waiting. I get to sweat it out until Monday. Yay.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Quick Update
Hit 217 on Saturday. W00t! It's been years since I was that light.
I'm feeling pretty good, just really tired a lot of the time. I'm sure it's mostly due to the food thing but it's really a pain. It's like I have 2 hours a day where I'm up to the task, whatever the task may be. The rest of the time, I'm fighting the urge to crawl off somewhere and take a nap. Also, I get edgy when I'm tired. For someone who isn't known for his even temper, this is not a good thing. It's kind of a struggle to be patient and understanding, especially with people who need me to repeat things or explain them slowly. Who knows, maybe I'll get better at it?
Little bit of pain from the squished kidney, but nothing too bad. As long as I drink lots of water and don't get my heart rate up for too long it's fine. Even when it does hurt, a couple ibuprofen and I'm all set.
Biopsy is Tuesday. Basically, I lay in the scanner while a dude sticks my belly with a long needle. I don't know about you, but I can smell the awesome in the air now! Then I get to wait a week to find out what's next. I'm sure that week will just FLY by!
I'm feeling pretty good, just really tired a lot of the time. I'm sure it's mostly due to the food thing but it's really a pain. It's like I have 2 hours a day where I'm up to the task, whatever the task may be. The rest of the time, I'm fighting the urge to crawl off somewhere and take a nap. Also, I get edgy when I'm tired. For someone who isn't known for his even temper, this is not a good thing. It's kind of a struggle to be patient and understanding, especially with people who need me to repeat things or explain them slowly. Who knows, maybe I'll get better at it?
Little bit of pain from the squished kidney, but nothing too bad. As long as I drink lots of water and don't get my heart rate up for too long it's fine. Even when it does hurt, a couple ibuprofen and I'm all set.
Biopsy is Tuesday. Basically, I lay in the scanner while a dude sticks my belly with a long needle. I don't know about you, but I can smell the awesome in the air now! Then I get to wait a week to find out what's next. I'm sure that week will just FLY by!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Staying positive
I think this process is going to be about finding small rays of light in a dark sky and focusing on them until the sun comes up (wow, that's flowery).
The tumor is large enough that it's acting in much the same way as a gastric band right now, among other things. This morning, I ate a little container of yogurt not because I was hungry but because I knew I should. A little later, I ate a bagel for the same reason. I now feel a little over full, and eating lunch is kind of out of the question. With luck, I'll have room for a small salad and/or a couple handfuls of cashews tonight, which I will try to eat not out of hunger but out of realizing that you can't keep a guy my size going long on a bagel and yogurt. Oh and water. Trying to drink lots of water, but that's not as easy as it was before either.
The ray of light? Operation skinny John has been given a boost. Though Shannon wont like it, I'd probably be a little healthier 20 or so pounds lighter than now... Now being the lightest I have been in years (my "fat" scale read 220.5 today). Losing that last 10-20 should be a cinch. Hell, the tumor itself should be a couple. As a celebration, I walked down to the shoe repair place by Pioneer Square and had them put two new holes in my belt. One for now (I needed it) and one for later. Who knows? I just might splurge and by a whole new belt!
The tumor is large enough that it's acting in much the same way as a gastric band right now, among other things. This morning, I ate a little container of yogurt not because I was hungry but because I knew I should. A little later, I ate a bagel for the same reason. I now feel a little over full, and eating lunch is kind of out of the question. With luck, I'll have room for a small salad and/or a couple handfuls of cashews tonight, which I will try to eat not out of hunger but out of realizing that you can't keep a guy my size going long on a bagel and yogurt. Oh and water. Trying to drink lots of water, but that's not as easy as it was before either.
The ray of light? Operation skinny John has been given a boost. Though Shannon wont like it, I'd probably be a little healthier 20 or so pounds lighter than now... Now being the lightest I have been in years (my "fat" scale read 220.5 today). Losing that last 10-20 should be a cinch. Hell, the tumor itself should be a couple. As a celebration, I walked down to the shoe repair place by Pioneer Square and had them put two new holes in my belt. One for now (I needed it) and one for later. Who knows? I just might splurge and by a whole new belt!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
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