Shampoo is for suckers...

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Well, actually, it's just my hair
that's falling. As you can see from the special section accessible
from the Main page and the pictures in the scrapbook, I chopped off my hair.
That is to say, Brad chopped off my hair. No point in having long follicles if I'm
wearing a hat every day. Besides, hair was getting everywhere. Now it's short
but growing back rather quickly.

I'm now 1/3 done with my treatments! Yippee!

This was quite an exciting week. My dear friends had their 4th baby, other friends
(with 3 kids) visited from out of town, I had my birthday, and I moved up
to using a cane instead of a walker (although the walker is still around if I
need it).

Chemo on Monday, as usual. It hit me really hard Monday night. I had a bad
fever the entire night and felt completely crappy the next day. Brad
stayed with me the entire time and really helped me feel better.

After that, the week went pretty well. No more fevers and I wasn't too tired. I'm
still eating like a pig, hovering at around 145 pounds (I was over 160 before
this started).

I finished the Lance Armstrong book last week. When I started it a few weeks
ago (sitting in my chemo chair), I was in tears by page 3. It can be some scary
stuff to read while it's happening to you. By the end of the book, I was inspired
by what he accomplished. He went through treatment much harsher than mine
and survived it in ways that... well, in ways that he shouldn't have. He had, as
he eventually found out, almost zero odds of surviving, yet he did. It was all
determination and the inability to accept defeat. And of course his comeback
into racing is unbelievable in itself.

One of the fascinating things that happened to him was that his physical body
changed during his treatment and he went from a sprint cyclist to a stage
cyclist (meaning he could go long distances over many, many days). He
probably couldn't have won the Tour de France before his cancer. Yet with the
way his body and muscles grew after treatment, he was an ideal racer for
the harshest, longest race in cycling.

I'm going to make that happen to me. No, I'm not going to win the Tour de France,
although I have already had several offers to enter. I'm going to become stronger
after cancer and grow in ways that allow me to take on the hardest portions of
life. Cancer will strengthen me. Sounds a bit ironic, I know. But it will happen.
Just watch.

More Armstrong anecdotes in later journals.

Many of you had trouble watching the Quicktime movie of me walking around,
so I redid the way it's presented. Let me know if you're having trouble seeing
it in this week's scrapbook.

My birthday was so much fun:

• Brad and I first shopped for canes and I picked out one that should
  work well. Brad even put biker's tape on the handle, so it's
  now really soft.
• We then met others for lunch at a very yummy Cajun restaurant
  in town called The Palace Cafe. It's a great place to get stuffed (on food).
• Brad and I then headed to GeekTownUSA to purchase web cameras.
  I can't attend my youngest brother's wedding at the end of this month
  due to health reasons -- did I mention I have cancer? -- so we're going
  to make me available over the internet and a video phone. We're still
  working out the details, but we think it will work. I'm so excited about
  being able to "attend" portions of it. I'm very disappointed about not being
  there in person.
• We met some friends for dinner (again, see the scrapbook). It was a
  surprise (more or less) and very fun. I ate well that day.
• I received many, many incredible gifts and cards from everyone. Thank
  you so much!!! I now have all of the Harry Potter books and about 15
  other given or loaned by others. Between that and the many books on
  tape given to me, I'll be reading/listening until June.

My youngest brother, Stuart (the one getting married), sent me the most wonderful
gift this week. Stu is a school teacher for 2nd graders in Colorado Springs. His
class is called "the Rhodes Runners" (I gave him the name -- no I didn't -- stop
lying Matt!). He sent me a video showing each (or most) of his students reading
me letters they wrote, encouraging me to fight this fight. It's unbelievably touching
and funny at the same time. He also sent me the letters they wrote and a big card
they made for me.

Each day I'm more astonished at the ability of people to care for each other.

Of course, Stu would have expelled them had they not done his bidding.

Brad leaves at the end of this week. My true hero through this. I'll miss him, but
look forward to seeing him in the new year after Stu's wedding.

I hope everyone has a wondertastic week. Keep the prayers coming.

m