Hello everyone. I saw Dr. Kelley on Tuesday so it’s time for an update so I don’t get harassed by some of you. Harassing a cancer patient, for shame. 

This popped up in one of my support groups and it is a decent approximation so I thought I’d share: What is it like to go through cancer treatment? It’s something like this: one day, you’re minding your own business, you open the fridge to get some breakfast, and OH MY GOD THERE’S A MOUNTAIN LION IN YOUR FRIDGE! Wait, what? How? Why Is there a mountain lion in your fridge? NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! RUN! THE MOUNTAIN LION WILL KILL YOU UNLESS YOU FIND SOMETHING MORE FEROCIOUS TO KILL IT FIRST!

And so on. But, hey, here I am over two years later and still running and so far staying ahead of the dang mountain lion (thanks to all the love and support from my wife, family, and all of you, and Crossfit). And, bonus, it didn’t eat too much of my sherbet while it was in there.

Let’s see, nothing much to report on the cancer front as of now. No scan this time and my labs look good (other than my stubborn platelets staying a bit low). So this month’s visit was mostly me complaining to Dr. Kelley about the side effects. You’ve heard all this whining before so I’ll spare you. I’ll just say they continue on and are still a drag but also remain preferable to the alternative.

I did go to the podiatrist as sometimes my toenails are painful and I really don’t want them flaring up while I’m out of the country (ooooooh, teaser!). She looked at them and then basically did what I’ve been too chicken to do for the past few weeks and, with her assortment of industrial grade pruners, grinders, and bonesaws, made them much more manageable. So that’s nice.

The weather is much nicer nowadays so I’ve switched from keeping my bare head warm to making sure it doesn’t fry in the sun. I gotta say, it is kind of nice to just slather sunscreen over my whole head and face and neck with abandon. No finesse required to avoid the hair or beard, etc. Just cover the whole dang thing and get on my way. 

Good thing too because I’m gonna need it where we’re going. In just a few short weeks (ohmygod there’s so much to do still) we leave for a 4 week international trip. Dubai, Kenya (13 day safari), and Zanzibar. We booked this trip like 14 months ago as a positive-thinking, WTF let’s just do it (and buy trip insurance) thing. And now here we are and it looks like it’s gonna happen. Pretty stoked. So yeah, lots of applying for visas (your picture is too large, take a new one with no glasses, blah blah blah), getting shots (so many shots), and making sure the pets are cared for.

That includes buying snake food. Did you all know Lily got a snake? Did I say that already? I’m too lazy to go back and look. It’s an 18 month or so old (2.5 to 3 ft long I’d guess) ball python named Banana. She is a rescue and was pretty stressed out when we got her so we haven’t been able to pick her up yet. But she’s eating now (she wasn’t for a long time) and seems to be settling in. Lily and I are both psyched. Luke thinks she’s interesting and cool. Christen is putting up with it as long as we know where the snake is at all times. So yeah, dogsitting and snake food (use your imagination) and all the rest of the preparations for a 4 week international trip. 

It would be nice if my vision weren’t so wonky. All this staring at the computer screen reading immigration requirements and international wire transfer instructions really borks my eyes and gives me a headache. Turns out many banks find large internationally-destined wire transfers hecka sus and make you jump through all sorts of hoops to make supremely sure you’re not wiring it all to that one Nigerian prince. Poor guy. Hopefully he manages to get his rightful inheritance some day.

Anything else? Kids are just about done with school for the year. Lily’s got an 8th grade dance and promotion ceremony etc and Luke is finishing up 3rd grade on Thursday. Then it’s full throttle on Africa prep.

Next scans and eye exams are right before we leave (early June) so I’ll update you then just before we head off.

Take care all. Hope you’re all well. Thanks for your continued support and good vibes. They are really helping me continue to outrun that mountain lion.