Guess Who Went to the Vet Today...

Bowie had quite a day today. He spent the day at the vet. He started off with a special bath for his mites that he's been battling. Then he went under anesthesia and had the following done:

• He was neutered.
  
• He received his rabies shot.
  
• He was micro-chipped.
  

He's still pretty disoriented due to the anesthesia but he's doing well. While he was there, he was kind enough to poop on the floor, so I scooped up the evidence and had them test it for Coccidia. To his benefit, it came out negative. So, he has now beat Giardia and Coccidia. All he has left is to beat his mites and to heal from being neutered. For now, he'll sleep well tonight and will have some pain meds tomorrow if he needs them.

Tuesday - Work Day

I'm feeling well and back to work today.

Feeling Better

I woke up with thoughts of work projects racing through my brain. I literally felt compelled to get up and start emailing a few things. It was such a nice change from the last 2 days of waking up feeling exhausted. It looks to be a nice day.

We went out last night and had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then saw the new Indiana Jones movie. Both were very enjoyable and both came courtesy of the wonderful staff at Wickman. Thank you. We really needed the outing and it was great to just grab gift cards to do it. Happy Memorial Day everyone. Don't forget to put those flags out...

Another Sleepy Friday

Friday was another sleepy day for me. I think that the Fridays where I have the fanny pack just tire me out. It's Saturday now and I'm feeling great--although still very tired. I think that the tiredness is similar to the day after doing a marathon (except without the black and blue toes!).

Thursday's Plans

Hi Everyone,

My plans for today are to go meet with a STRS retirement counsellor to inquire about the disability things that the offer. It sounds like if I'm disabled (or partially) for a year, I might quality for some disability benefits from them. Then afterwards, I'll be going to Open Enrollment. It's especially important for me this year because I'm going to change a couple of things and maintain my Kaiser. I want to make sure that all of the necessary T's are crossed and I's dotted. I'll be wearing my chemotherapy fanny pack and my iChemo t-shirt, doing chemo in style the whole time (by the way, in case anyone is confused, the picture isn't me--it's actually just the body double that I used for my professional wrestling career a few years ago).

I'm doing great today. I had chemo yesterday and then had a great dinner at my dad and Joanne's house. It was nice to just relax over there. As an added bonus, some of Joanne's family were there (John, Tom and Marcia, and Irene). It was really good to see them.
Have a good day.

Tim

No Gnews is Good Gnews and Bowie Beats Giardia

I spoke with Bowie's vet today. He has officially beat Giardia. He appears to be quite happy with the results. Also of news is that I completed a full work day today. I'm tired and am going to plant my bottom on the couch and watch some tv now, but it was really nice to have a full work day. I have chemo tomorrow. It should be business as usual:

1. Take Erica to school.
   
2. Arrive for chemo by 9 and start my benadryl IV by 9:30.
   
3. Asleep by 10 due to the benadryl. I'll have a nice nap.
   
4. Wake up by noon and work on my laptop.
   
5. Have lunch with my wife.
   
6. Finish by 5 and go pick up Erica.
   

I'm feeling good and have no changes to report. Like Gary Gnu used to say, "No Gnews Is Good Gnews."

MMMMM - Ice Cream

Since I often am unable to have cold foods, I took a trip to Cold Stone yesterday. Fortunately, I'm hoping to maintain my weight or even gain a few pounds, so I got to go with a nice big scoop. Yummy!

PS--I'm feeling very good. Still tired, but still not getting sick.

Beach Camping Photos

Our beach camping photos can be seen at http://web.mac.com/mr_rosenbloom/Tims_Site/Beach_Camping.html

Be sure to see the 3 movie clips on the page.

Bowie Having A Net Nap

Starting the Fire

Our Campsite at 6:30 a.m.

We're Here

We made it to the beach. Chemo went well and we're still setting up
camp. The spot is beautiful.

Tired and Going Camping

Since I'm feeling good (just a general tired feeling), we're going beach camping at Doheny today. Robin will leave after Erica gets out of school and I'll leave after chemo. This photo is a shot of our actual campsite. We can't wait to get away. This one was planned way back in January. We'll have our guard dog Bowie with us to protect us from aggressive seagulls and pelicans.

Rip Van Winkle

I must have had a very successful treatment this week. I say that because I was exhausted all day Friday. I literally spent all of yesterday resting on my couch. During my last doctor visit, he said that it's normal to be tired and said something about blood cells being sucked out of bone marrow (or something like that). I also read something early on that said that it's quite normal to be tired and just to recognize it as part of the process of the treatment. So, hopefully I'll have more energy today. If not, then I'll just relax and enjoy knowing that I'm tired because my body is busy killing cancer.

Ribbon Colors for Cancer

I was looking at some cancer shirts and found that a lot of them have ribbons on them. I did a little looking and found the following:

• Blue Ribbon is for Colon Cancer (this would be my color).
  
• Black Ribbon is for Melanoma (my dad's color).
  
• Pink Ribbon is for Breast Cancer (Irene beat this one!).
  

For a more detailed set of descriptions you can click here.

Invisible Cancer

The results of my PET scan are in. Just like the CAT scan, it shows no
cancer. There is also a blood test for cancer that I get weekly. Like
the other two tests, it shows no cancer. Unfortunately, this does not
mean that I don't have cancer. It just means that my cancer is very
hard to detect.

The results of the PET scan reinforce our previous plan of continuing
treatment and then having a small laproscopic surgery to literally
"look" for cancer. Until then we will assume that the treatment is
working well and that all of the thoughts and prayers are working
wonders.

Tim Rosenbloom
Work: tim_rosenbloom@chino.k12.ca.us
Personal: mr_rosenbloom@mac.com
(Sent from my phone)

How About Me?

I want to let everyone know that I'm doing great. Chemo is treating me well so far. Basically, I get a little more tired that usual. I have another big chemo treatment tomorrow. After the big treatments, I find that my fingers get a little tingly and I'm very sensitive to cold. Starting tomorrow I'll be avoiding cold things for about a week. In preparation for a week without cold things, I've been on a daily dietary regimen of eating ice cream and enjoying ice-cold beverages.

Sick as a Dog

Erica and I took Bowie to the vet yesterday. It turns out that he still has Giardia. He also has Coccidia and some sort of mite (not contagious to humans). Each ailment is relatively minor and none is life threatening. He's begun treatment for each one. He has a great personality and we like him so much that we've made the decision not to return him to the seller. So, like any other member of the family, he'll take his medicine and go to the doctor as needed. :)

Bowie Arrives

"Bowie" arrived today. Erica and I picked him up in San Diego this morning. He seems to be quite happy (I'm not sure why he wasn't smiling in the picture!). We took him to Petco and bought him lots of goodies. He appears to be very new to a leash and collar, so training started the moment I put the collar on him. He's adorable and has a wonderful personality.

UPDATE--He also seems to like to poop on the carpet. Hmmmm--we'll have to work on that!

GREAT Results Are In For 1st Genetic Tests

We just met with Dr. Ahmed (Genetics). He's awesome. He told us that
my HNPCC screening was negative, indicating that I don't have one form
of genetically sharable cancer. The other test they'll do now is an
FAP screening. It's the other form that can be passed genetically. A
negative result on that will indicate that there is no known genetic
link (to the extent of modern genetic scientific knowledge).

UPDATE--I almost forgot to explain the photo. It seems that the Genetics department moves around a bit. Last time we met with Dr. Ahmed, he was in the OB department. This time they had him stationed in Pediatrics. So, I got to watch part of a cartoon and then go into a hospital room that had a bed painted like a sleeping lion. :)