Saturday, November 15, 2008

Down Day

Recovery has been going really well lately. I've felt better every day and gotten stronger. Today I woke up just feeling down, tired and yucky. As the day goes by I am feeling better tho'. It has been a huge week. I started driving on Wednesday and did my first solo trip into town on Thursday. I met Patrick for lunch at the fresh mex taqueria. It was great. So good to fly solo.
I went to see my Kaiser oncologist on Wednesday. It was a good meeting, I got my pic line removed. That is the little set of tubes that allow me to hooked up to an I.V. or have blood drawn without a needle. So now my body is free of medical devices.
While we were visiting the doc, the CH asked if it was OK for me to drive. At first the doc said, "yes, whatever you feel you can do is OK." Then the CH asked, "what about the pain meds he's on?" Then the doc completely changed his mind and said no way, too dangerous, impaired reaction time blah, blah, blah. As he was talking I felt my blood begin to boil. The thing that gets me the most angry right now is when someone else argues for my limitations. I feel too lucid and 'with it" now to have someone else tell me what I can and cannot do. I've been through months of people making decisions for me, necessarily and now I want to make my own decisions.
At the end of the conversation the doc gave away his bias by saying that people should not talk on the cell phone while driving. That made me take everything he was saying with a big grain of salt. Later that day the CH talked to the pharmacist who said that driving with the amount of MS contin I am taking is no problem. Bottom line, I am driving. Not far, not fast, just driving. As far as my limitations, I will take your opinion into consideration and make the decision for myself.
The CH took Thursday and Friday off and spent the night at Harbin Hot Springs . Great for her! She needs more and more of that sort of pampering after what this cancer has put her through. I flew solo with the kids with the help of Bill and Katie. We took them to the end of the season soccer pizza party on Thursday night and then they helped me get them ready for bed. It was a bit of tap on my reserves but it went really well all in all. I am really glad that the CH got out.
That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fly like the wind, Spence!
and tho I think you decide if you are safe on the road, based on my experience, I agree with the doc on the cell phone thing.
Love ya!

Anonymous said...

Yo vecino!
If the DMV let's the 90yr old Neighbour drive.......
Big hug and don't forget to soak in the beautifull sun.
pantani

Anonymous said...

Yo vecino!
If the DMV let's the 90yr old Neighbour drive.......
Big hug and don't forget to soak in the beautifull sun.
pantani

Anonymous said...

Just do some short drives at first and work up to bigger drives to get your confidence back. Make sure you go when traffic is light. Night driving might be tough. By next week you should be able to hang out with Matt Dawson at Willow Springs Raceway.
Mike D
PS Can I ride shotgun? I will bring my helmet:)

bikesgonewild said...

...pantani's comment(s) are like a vision exam for your driving ability test...

"ok spencer, how many comments by pantani do you see ???...now cover yer right eye & how many do you see now ???...left eye ???...oh, yer good to go, mister...no problem about that"...

...glad to 'see' you're embracing new/old freedoms once again...at liberty from the evil clutches you've endured...

...stay strong, get stronger & keep kicking ass, bud...
...just WIN, spencer...

Anonymous said...

Hey Spencee-
Glad to see you have the will and energy to fight for your freedom!

Glad to hear you sounding like yourself again.

Glad you are able to be there for your daughters.

Look forward to seeing you soon.
xoxo
Adrienne

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear you are feeling human again!
I think driving is fine - you are being cautious, more than most people.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me PedalDork, but just exactly what Capital Gains are you refering to?? I am looking at Capital Losses these days. Maybe you would argue that we should cut the Capital Losses tax credit too? That would be a novel way of increasing taxes while not increasing taxes. And would only really tax the poor idiots who actually have other jobs and cannot monitor their portfolios all the time or who are not adept market readers. That would be the Republican american way. Stick it to the little guy.
KT

Anonymous said...

Excuse me PedalDork, but just exactly what Capital Gains are you refering to?? I am looking at Capital Losses these days. Maybe you would argue that we should cut the Capital Losses tax credit too? That would be a novel way of increasing taxes while not increasing taxes. And would only really tax the poor idiots who actually have other jobs and cannot monitor their portfolios all the time or who are not adept market readers. That would be the Republican american way. Stick it to the little guy.
KT

Anonymous said...

Take it easy bikesgonwild,
just some cheap italian humor....
pantani
ps love u spence and can't wait for the beer and sausage fest

Anonymous said...

Sausage fest?

Anonymous said...

Sausage fest?

bikesgonewild said...

...pantani...you one 'a the velo loco guys cominin' down for the cyclo-cross race on the 30th in sf's golden gate park ???...

...if so, i'm thinkin' perhaps you should kidnap 'the spence', old sorelegs hisself & bring 'im on down for the day...

...& hey, i was just riffin' on the double post as a visual thingy...

...anyway, my best to all in the lotus & coloma valleys...i'll be back for a visit when the time is right...i met a lotta folks when i was up there for the work party & after everything you guys have done to allow sarah & spencer to take care of their situation, well i'd just like to shake some hands...fel the energy firsthand again..

...i know spencer so little in comparison but he, sarah & family & the loco care group had a real affect on me...you guys are serious stuff...

Anonymous said...

Spencer,
I just heard from Jeff what you have been going through for the past year. He turned me on to your blog....I stayed up much of the night reading,crying, laughing. The rest of the night I dreamed of you, Sarah(who I can now only think of as C/H)and brother Billy. I am both stunned and deeply moved by your experience and the sharing of it.
Would you be open to sharing your e-mail so I could write to you personally? I am not particularly computer saavy so I'm not sure if my e-mail shows up here or not. If not here it is rclinkerbell@gmail.com
You are in my thoughts and prayers,hope we can be in touch.
Much love, Colleen