Done with chemo/future

Well it's been a really long time since I checked in last on the blog. I finished my third and final round of chemo a few weeks ago. I actually skipped my last two bleo shots because of the results of my pulmonary test (lung capacity) weren't good and bleo can do long term damage to your lungs.

The day I found out I was done with chemo I also got some bad news. I was having pain in my neck, arm and arm pit and they found blod clots in those three places. The good news is blood clots in your the upper part of your body are not as dangerous as the ones in your legs because they don't move around. The bad news is I have to take blood thinners for six weeks, which are daily injections in the stomach. The medical port in my shoulder likely caused the clots so I had that removed on Tuesday.

Other than that the road to recovery is underway. My doctor said most people say it takes as long as you did chemo (me 9 weeks) to feel normal again. I am definitely feeling better and even have seen my hair grow a little so each day I expect to get closer to 100 percent.

I have a doctor appointment in two weeks and will do another CT scan to make sure the chemo took care of everything. Fingers crossed no more surgeries for me this year. I could use some good news for once this year haha.

Sorry packed a lot in one post but a lot has happened since my last blog post. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and kind words you have passed my way over the last few weeks. If I didn't get back to you don't think I didn't appreciate your support. Just been sick and not up to returning calls, emails, texts, facebook messages etc. Hopefully I will be back to 100 percent soon. I know I miss doing normal things like working, playing basketball and simple things like that. Thanks for reading. I'll try to have an update after my next doctor appointment.

Staring round 3/some good news

I know I’ve been slacking with the blogging, but the second round was really tough. The third week I started to feel better, but the first two, especially the first week was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to to do.

The good news is I made it through. I started my third and final round today.

They gave me a patch to wear (Sancuso) this time that is supposed to help with the nausea and anxiety. We will see how it goes.

I also got some really good news today. I did a CT scan last week and the nurses were nice enough to print it for me. It says the lymph node that was enlarged before has gotten smaller and there are no other abnormalities, which means the chemo is doing it’s job.

It was a huge relief to see I’m not doing all this for nothing. Hopefully I can get through this third round and just put all this stuff behind me.

I know this third round won’t be easy, but I’m taking the attitude of let’s get this over with and move on.

I’m not sure how long it will take me to feel completely normal again after this third round, but I’m looking forward to it.

Well that’s all for today, thanks for reading.

Still around

It’s been a while since my last blog, but let’s just say round two really kicked my ass. Basically from Tuesday last week until Sunday morning all I did was go back and forth to treatment and either sleep, get sick or try to eat. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I got through it and I’m slowly getting better.

I have a meeting with my doctor tomorrow and am hoping to get more help with my anxiety. So far the Zoloft they have gave me has not done much to calm me down. I have week off before I have to go get my next Bleo shot. (I got one yesterday). I just want to be more prepared from my final long week when I start my third round Labor Day week.

I knew chemotherapy was going to be tough, but you’re never truly prepared for it. I never feel “normal” but I’m able to keep some food down and I’m drinking more so I’m getting better. We will see how the next couple weeks go. I’m hoping I start to feel better the closer I get to round 3. Thanks for reading and sorry for not updating in a while.

I also want to to say thanks to my wife and my mom for taking care of me while I was so sick. My wife was a saint as always and my mom took the entire week off work to take me to treatment and help take care of me. I can never really repay them, but just wanted to say thanks. And I of course can’t forget my mother-in-law Mirzeta who is taking such good care of my two beautiful babies so Dina can take care of the big baby (me). I love you all  so much and appreciate your support.

Haircut time

Decided to go for it and shave my head yesterday. My best friend Jeff Fuller decided to do it with me. With the help of the lovely Brooke Zielke I think it came out pretty good. Who knows I might keep the bald look for a little while after this is all over.

P.S. We did shoot some video, will try to upload some later.

Hair update

Forgot to mention in my last post, nearly all my hair fell out while I was in Chicago. It doesn't look horrible, but going to shave the rest off today. Going to try to shoot video of it so hopefully that will work out. Here is a pic from Friday

Start of Round 2

Well I’m back to the grind after a little break. I completed Round 1 and I’m currently sitting at the doctor with Round 2 already started. It’s going to be a long week full of treatment, but I’m ready to get it over with and get closer to moving on with my life.

The last post was long and was really hard for me to put all that out there, thanks to everyone who responded and let me know that I’m not alone dealing with anxiety.

Just going to briefly talk about what happened since my last post.

I had a reaction to a steroid they gave me last week, which led to a funny day with my wife. The reaction caused me to feel like I was on speed and I was talking a mile a minute. I just couldn’t stop talking, which anybody that knows me knows I am usually the opposite.

I couldn’t stop at night either. I kept waking up my poor wife and ended up talking her ear off until 4:30 in the morning. I’m pretty sure she asked for and I gave her the complete run down of every girl I’ve kissed in my whole life. Thankfully I’ve always been honest with her so I had nothing to hide.

The rest of the week went smooth. I decided to go to Chicago for the weekend and Comic Con after getting the OK from Dr. Seid. I made sure to sanitize my hands like crazy and had a great time.

I met wrestlers John Cena (great guy), CM Punk (only rude guy I met), Booker T (great), the Bella Twins (super friendly and talkative) and Maryse (friendly).

Got my pic taken along with my friend Mary Beth with Norman Reedus who plays Daryl on The Walking Dead (he was also in Boondock Saints) and Jon Bernthal who played Shane on The Walking Dead. We couldn’t get near Reedus for an autograph due to all the VIP Boondock Saints and Walking Dead people, but Mary Beth did get Bernthal’s autograph and we talked to him for a few minutes. Found out he was leaving there to go to New York to play a part in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. He was a great guy.

Had fun the rest of the weekend with my wife, Sean, Lindsey, Fuller and Mary Beth. Haven’t been to Chicago in a long time and enjoyed the trip.

I came home to a huge surprise. A few of my friends got together and got me a package full of goodies. Just to name a few things it included the brand new The Rock shirt, a CM Punk shirt, iTUnes gift card, two packs of wrestling trading cards and a vintage David Robinson cup and for the @Dadboner fans out there, there was a Timehouse, the Kate Upton GQ and a Chilis gift card. Hope I’m not forgetting anything as I’m at treatment and don’t have the stuff with me today.

So to everyone involved in the package, Jake, TRV, Biggs, Steil and Joel thanks from the bottom of my heart. I knew we were friends but never thought you guys would take the time, money and effort to put something like this together for me. I really appreciate it and it really helped pick me up heading into this long week of treatment.

I’ll update more this week since I’ll be here all week long. Thanks for reading.

Hair report

Haven't shaved or got a hair cut in 3 weeks. Pretty sure it stopped growing, but not falling out yet. I know some of you are really looking forward to bald Dave, but going to have to keep waiting for now ...