10 February 2024
Wow! I’m still recovering from yesterday. I’m dragging through my Saturday morning chores: change bed linen, empty garbage bins, clean the bathroom, vacuum, and mop. Then it’s two loads of clothes to wash and then dry and then fold and then put away. The Boy Scouts trained me well!
That got me to thinking how much my routine has changed over the past year or two. I used to hop in and out of the shower, shave, get dressed and out the door in minutes. That’s out the window. When I shower now, I have to remember if it is a day for an infusion at the cancer center and if it is, make sure I use Ivory soap (very little scent). That’s all while maneuvering in the shower while holding on to the grab bars. Hey, at least I can lift my legs over the edge of my pink tub still!
Shaving is different also. My beard has returned but even coarser than before. Yet my skin on my face is still a little thin and I have to be more careful of cuts. Then, if it is a cancer center day, no cologne and no aftershave. Of course, I produce hair in places now that never used to have it (and no longer have it where I once did – talking to you, testicles). When I do shave (not too frequently these days – too lazy) I also have to trim nose and ear hair. My eyebrows are getting bushy again to the point I have more hair there than on top of my head. Maybe I should start gluing the clippings up there.
Getting up in the morning is also different. I used to just hop out of bed and head to the bathroom, pee, then turn the computer on and go the kitchen. Now, I throw my legs over the bed and wait until the vertigo goes away and ease myself onto the floor. I remove the wrist braces and store them, take two Gabapentin for pain, pee while holding on to the towel racks so I don’t fall into the toilet, go turn on the computer, go back to the bedroom and pull on my compression socks before I dress, then dress. As I work my way to the kitchen, there are the morning pills to down. I think I get a day’s worth of exercise just getting to the kitchen.
I’ve timed making my coffee and preparing my bowl of fruit and yogurt with taking my blood pressure, determining my dissolved oxygen, and checking my temperature. Oh yeah, don’t forget the insulin injection every morning. Oh, and the gel I use for arthritis on my fingers. Then there’s the Metamucil. Fortunately, I’m usually awake enough not to use the Metamucil as sugar, although I have been known to sugar the coffee grounds before brewing. I’ve also forgotten to brew the coffee grounds and put them directly into my coffee cup.
Sometime around 3 or 3:30 pm it’s time for another Gabapentin for pain.
Bedtime means waiting until as late as I can to take two more Gabapentins, an Allegra to keep me from itching all night, and a Temazapam to help me sleep. After reading at bed time, I put TheraTears in my eyes, don my wrist braces and arrange the pillow between my legs before dozing off. I sleep pretty well and usually get at least 7 hours a night but that’s only after everything is arranged perfectly.
I take 8 pills in the morning and 6 in the evening in addition to those mentioned above. What’s strange is even though I take a multivitamin, various doctors have asked me to take three other vitamins: B6, B12, and D. I’m sure I’m excreting the excess through my urine all the time. Either that or I’m fertilizing the hair in my nose and ears.
Every 14 days I have to peel a continuous glucose monitor off and stick a new one on. There’s an app for that. It warns me there are “x” number of days left on my monitor and then the app starts screaming when it’s time to change. Good thing, that. Otherwise, without apps on my iPhone I would constantly forget medications and glucose monitors.
Walking continues to be painful, even if it is just around the house. I think the compression socks help a little. Because of the neuropathy in my hands, I have a real problem manipulating small objects. It’s still hilarious to trim my fingernails. I approach it like a great lab experiment and cry “Eureka!” when I successfully complete the task. You take you victories where you can.
I think what I’m getting at is my life is anything but boring. Who has time to be bored when an app on your phone is going to start ringing that it’s time to do something else? It gives new meaning to the saying “Better living through chemistry.” You gotta laugh a little at life.
Stay tuned!