Friday, August 29, 2008

Friday and Rob's off to school

In the morning Diana and I drove Rob to school. Boy, what a change from her freshman year. She has 2 roommates (good friends) and a really nice room. They have there own bath/shower/toilet, fridge and sink. How cool is that? She was thrilled and I guess somewhat glad to be back at school with all her friends. We felt really good dropping her off this time after a good lunch together at Noodles and Company.

In the afternoon Lil and I watched Man U loose to Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1. It was for some cup! Who the hell knows. Just great to watch Football again.

In the evening we were invited to some friends of our good friends from Boca, Ilan and Robin. They came into Baltimore for the weekend to visit with Robin's schoolmate. Geez, we just saw these guys at my birthday bash in Boca! It was a really nice dinner with good company. I am starting to eat well now and my appetite is coming back. I'm thrilled. Fat? Not yet.

Carpe Diem.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Homeward bound

It has been pretty hard topping every day with something better. But we seemed to have managed. I feel the trip for me is at it's highlight now so I will be heading back to Baltimore today early afternoon and getting home around 10PM. Oh, by the way, another massage scheduled for this morning before I leave.

It has been an incredibly positive change of scenery for me particularly after 7 weeks of radiation therapy in conjunction with 15 weeks of chemotherapy. And boy, Las Vegas is impressive. It worked out to be some really good R & R for me. I did decide to forgo the facial, manicure and pedicure though. See, I'm still the rugged out doors type with the rugged voice and the lung cancer to prove it. I'm really a mans man!!! Maybe even, dare I say, A Lumberjack!

Thanks M.

On a more domestic level, I need to be back home to help Diana move Robyn back to school on Friday. Our little girl is going back to second year college.

Carpe Diem.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Still here

Got up kind of early West coast time and resumed my metro-sexual lifestyle with a really good breakfast with Phil and Han. Lil was still sawing logs. After breakfast, back for another incredible hot stone massage. That was followed by a brief black jack stint with Martin. Phil won, I broke even.

Then, while the girls went shopping, I went back to the spa for an incredible shave and haircut. If I may say so, I do look quite good. Heads were turning at the pool. Not!!! Another brief stint at the cabana with a huge lunch, followed by a trivia session in the shade with Lil and Han where I taught them US geography. Han got an F, Lil was a B, but then we moved on to medical stuff and Lil excelled. Too damn hot to sit down there for too long, back to the room for a siesta.

In the evening we went to see another Cirque Du Soleil show called "O". Quite similar to "Mystere" in all it's acid tripping weirdness but, none the less, really good. The main difference being "O" was water based. To coin a phrase from a good friend..........These shows were are real "mind F%#k".

After the show we went to a really good Chinese Restaurant in the hotel that overlooked the front lake of the hotel where they had the choreographed to music water fountain displays every fifteen minute. We had a very good view and equally as impressive show.

No gambling tonight. Too tired. Or maybe that's a better strategy! Off to bed.

Carpe Diem.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Where in the world is Carmen "Adrian" Sandiego

In Las Vegas of course! At the Bellagio where I met Phil, Han, Lil and cousin Martin. What a magnificent hotel. Talk about being pampered and spoiled rotten. I have definitely discovered my "metro-sexual" side.

We sat at the cabana and sweat like stuck pigs. Really hot. We ate well and then we all went for the most fantastic massages. A nice shower and then off to see Cirque du Soleil's Mystere. Excellent show. It was like being on an amazing acid trip, with weird costumes, music, and dancing, and a bit of comedy thrown in. And that's not even mentioning the grown man dressed as a baby walking around on the stage in a diaper. Back to the hotel for an amazing dinner: Kobe beef, Dover sole, filet mignon, mushrooms, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomato soup, and so on. I have no idea how I stayed up so late and ate so much. I must have put on half a pound!!! Lil wanted me to stay up and teach me craps, but I couldn't. She did really well losing her money in seven minutes though.

Carpe Diem

Monday, August 25, 2008

More about Chemo 3 (Round 3)

Wow, wow. That was my wife's first post. What an incredible post. Thanks XXX.

My last chemo (optimistically) went just fine except for one minor hitch. The infusion was supposed to take about 2 hours and ended up taking about 4 1/2 hours. My blood work came back just fine except that my potassium was low. I'm not going to explain what that means suffice to say my doctor was not "alarmed". They did however, give me IV potassium which took 2 hours. I'm also on a potassium supplement until my next blood work in mid September.

I will be meeting with Dr. Erlich on September 2nd and after he reviews my blood work and EKG (ECG) he will be starting me on the one a day oral medication called Sutent. Hopefully all will go well.

In the mean time, as Diana so aptly put it, I'm (we are) grateful for every day as a truly wonderful gift.

From now on I will be signing each post with the phrase "Carpe Diem" (seize the day).

Chemo 3 (Round 3)

This is the wife (Diana/Lil).

Now that we've reached yet another milestone (albeit a favourable one), it's time for me to write. Well, it finally came - the last round of chemo. A 5 month odyssey that will forever be etched in our minds. One that I hope no one else will have to endure, yet undoubtedly, one too many will.

I can vividly remember Ade's first session. There we were, the 3 of us (me,Ade,Russy) - neophytes - alternating bursts of laughter with tears of fear and apprehension. We quickly grew accustomed to the routine of being "hooked up", as our many dear friends and family accompanied us to the seemingly endless chemo sessions. To be honest, there have not been many "up" sides to this journey. Only 2 come to mind: the eradication of the tumor, and, learning the true colours of people - especially my 2 sisters-in-laws. How can I ever repay them for the care, concern and love they showered me with? Me, not Adrian - their out-law! To my transatlantic flying, and Amtrak commuting, sisters - I love you both. To the MATMMISH boys, flying friends, relatives, and anyone else reading the blog, thank you for all your love, prayers and support.

Ade, you're a lucky man to be surrounded by so many people who love you. I guess they see in you what I first saw 26 years ago. Who knows what the future holds for any of us? If there's one thing I've learned, it's that each day is a gift.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Sunday and going home

On Sunday, the weather was fantastic, so we decided to go to the beach in the morning. We all had a great swim in the ocean, including my mom. The water was calm but a little murky (and green). We still had lots of fun. Back to the pool for a swim and off to the mall for some last minute shopping and Jamba-Juicing.

The flight back to Baltimore was relatively easy, on time, and had no weather problems.