Sick Again

I am sick again. It started Thursday evening – my throat started to feel tight. Later in the evening Holly said I felt hot. I took my temp, and sure enough, it was 100.4. It was just a slight fever, but enough to tell me something was up. I started popping Cold-Eeze and took Nyquil to make sure I got a good rest. I took all of the weekend easy and didn’t do anything to overstress myself. In fact, Holly was out Sat afternoon and I happened across Cinemax which happened to be showing all six episodes of Star Wars back to back to back all day long. So, I watched all six of them in glorious high definition and surround sound. What a great way to spend a sick Saturday.

I’ve had a hard time finding time to blog with Holly’s mom in town last week and just a bunch of stuff going on. I have quite a few cancer related items to share with you that I’ll touch on in the following days. Some good… some not so good. For me – I’m doing well. Besides getting a cold again (just over a month after my last one – I guess my immune system is a little shot) I’m feeling extremely well. My hair really is growing in well. I’m letting it grow, but the rectangle on top has very thin light brown hair. If I let it grow out long, there is a pretty significant contrast, so I keep my hair pretty short these days, but I’m not worried about it. Physically, I feel great! In fact, I decided to run on the treadmill last Monday. I started slow but gradually worked up to a pretty quick pace: an 8:30 mile! I held that for about five minutes and gradually worked back down. At the end of 30 mins I had run almost three miles! But boy, did I pay for it the rest of the week. I was pretty sore but I’m not anymore. I tried running on the ground again, but it is just too hard since my right foot still comes down hard. The treadmill platform gives just a bit and is easy on my leg. I’ll run more and more on the treadmill and maybe my ankle and foot will get stronger.

So, here’s some not to good news… one of Holly’s co-workers, Randolph, has a son, Randolph Jr, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after I began radiation. He had surgery and was doing fairly well until he had a seizure while he was in radiation one day. He fell into a coma for a few weeks. He started coming out of the coma and started receiving treatments again. Two weeks ago I went over to Holly’s work after I was done at work and we walked over to Randolph’s office to ask how his son was doing. He said he was doing very well and that they were going to move him to a Rehab center (much like the one I was at) very soon. That very next Sunday (one week ago today – Nov 5) Randolph Jr’s three kids came to visit him at the hospital. They started to administer his Chemo treatment and he again fell into a coma. Details are sparse, but they tried to revive him – eventually, he passed away (obit here.)

Holly and I attended Randolph Jr’s funeral this past Thursday. He leaves a wife and three boys, age 6 and twins age 4. The “Homegoing” ceremony, as they called it, was very uplifting to me. His family seemed happy with his passing – and it is an occasion to be happy about. Randolph Jr was a believer and gave his life to Christ at a young age. He’s in a better, pain free place now. But I can’t help to feel somewhat guilty for something. Holly and I talked about visiting him at the hospital. When we thought about it, we asked his dad how he was doing, and he said he was doing better. We always got good news about him, so we never made it to the hospital. I never once got to talk to this young man. Would a visit from little old me have made a difference? Maybe. But I think my life would have been touched by visiting him. The only time I ever got to actually see his face was during the viewing. I’m never going to make that mistake again. If someone is sick – go see them. If they end up in the hospital, visit with them. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Make the effort to see someone if you are moved to do so. I was so moved – and never acted. Thanks for the lesson… may he rest in peace.