Monday, September 27, 2010

Dear Diary,

My days are beginning to settle into a smoother, more hum-drum regularity. To the reader, that probably sounds a bit regretful, but in my case it is a welcome respite. Our morning visits to the hospital, once scheduled for each day, are now less frequent. Stomach upsets and digestion issues have become less common. I am now merely dog-tired, rather than thoroughly incapacitated.

Improvement cannot be measured in days, for my condition each morning seems the same as it did the night before. But when viewed across the weeks, healing has definitely commenced. It can't come too soon.

Not all goes as wished. For starters, there is tremendous pain in my feet, like each of them had been slashed multiple times by a razor. This has definitely limited my ability to walk for exercise or do light chores. It even hurts me at night and keeps me awake. Tylenol doesn't touch the discomfort. Nurses tell me that this pain is the result of "neuropathy", nerve damage caused by this affliction and treatment. I'm sure my high sugar numbers a few weeks ago haven't helped. I have been placed on high doses of vitamins and supplements to combat this problem, including B6, B12, folic acid, vitamin E, and acetyl L-carnitine. So far, no improvement, but this approach must be given time.

Another drawback is the decline in my eyesight. Both close viewing and distance have been affected. This has made reading and TV viewing a challenge, and I am doing less of both because of it. As with my feet, the nurses tell me that this, too, is the result of my situation. I'm told that my vision will improve with time. I should not see an eye doctor for corrective lenses for at least six months. Oh, well.

Friends and family continue to be incredibly supportive. Get well cards arrive daily, and tasty donated meals and desserts have still come our way in recent weeks. Many thanks to my daughter, Therese, Sister Kate, to Matt and Jen, and to Scott, Marsha, Beth, Colleen, Paul, Bob, Regina, Ann, and Sandy. Indeed, it's almost as if these people conferred with one another so that their donations are spread out rather than arriving all at once. What's more, they have inspired Donna to crack the cookbooks, and create some tasty concoctions of her own.

All these folks and more have ensured that my myeloma has not become a weight-loss regimen.