It Might Get Messy

Huge progress this week. I went back on my basic dietary supplements—a vitamin tablet and an aspirin a day. In fact, it was my increasing ability to swallow effectively that got me thinking about this, but when Dr. N pointed out that my throat was still swollen and inflamed, I figured, hell, that’s what aspirin is all about. So I’m back on ‘em, after a year and a half off. And maybe it’s just psychosomatic, but I swear I feel more energetic and less painfully-throated. Hell, if I could get my voice back and get into some semblance of decent physical condition, I’d be what you’d have to call “recovered”. 


Somewhat spookily, my voice seems to be getting better. There are times during the day when I realize I sound like my pre-cancer self. Somehow the big chunk of missing tissue on the lower left has been compensated, and just once in a while, I articulate a sentence just like I used to. When this happens, I get all hopeful, because speaking clearly and effectively was, as we’ve discussed repeatedly over the past year, one of my only actual skills. Of course, these moments of clear enunciation are spotty, and they come between long bouts of tiring and slurry speech. But they sound damned good to me. At least it’s a target to shoot at.


Which is also how I’ve started to try to get some physical condition back. Without kids to swim, our pool membership lapsed, so I’m not doing laps this summer. Have started working regularly at 50 meters with the crossbow, though. At 35 bolts a session, that’s 35 dead lifts of 200 pounds *, I believe, 0.5 for the folded draw rope so 100 pounds per. Plus hauling the 40 pound target a couple hundred meters up and down range, hiking back and forth to retrieve arrows, etc. It’s a workout. If I start to alternate that with some increasing lunchtime jogging, I may get there yet. Although I do sort of miss the swimming. I’ll have to look into that as well.


Finally, my throat continues to accumulate gunk—clearly my epiglottis remains missing in action. Still, my swallowing is improving. When I was in the Philippines, I could manage to get a breakfast pancake soaked in syrup down, but it took a struggle and a lot of liquid. Tonight I ate one almost straight away, and it only used half a mug of instant breakfast/Nestle’s Quick to get it done. My weight’s back up to 210 pounds—now I gotta start watching that it doesn’t go too high! 


That’s a problem I’m much more familiar with than having it fall too low. Let’s recap here at the start of the summer—I’m feeling better, I can travel without hurting myself, my weight’s up, I’m exercising, I’m not in pain, and the only “serious” problem at the moment appears to be the ongoing lymphedema in my mandible and throat.


I can live with this situation. In fact, I can be damned grateful for it! Thanks for being here, everyone. New stuff going up over at http://docviper.livejournal.com/, should be some new professional blogging this week at http://aehsfoundation.org/ this week as well. Thanks again!