"Monthly" Update!!

Wow, I didn't realise until typing this latest post that it's been 5 weeks since I'd completed my last chemotherapy treatment. My how time flies by!

Not much has changed since my departure from Hotel Nepean.  Here's a quick recap of where I'm at 5 weeks on....

• My taste buds are still AWOL and nowhere to be seen. 
• Tenderness in the mouth is still present and thus, I have to be careful what I eat. No mouth ulcers to contend with thankfully
• No appetite
• Weight has yet to begin increasing, tipping the scales today at 54kgs
• Body demands a lot of sleep still, averaging between 9-11 hours
• Saliva glands haven't returned and are 99% most likely to never return. I'm learning to cope with sipping water whilst I eat to lubricate my mouth and throat. I also have a constant companion in that a water bottle is always nearby.
• My sinuses are still completely blocked.  Can you imagine not being able to breath through your nose for over 9 weeks? I look like one of those carnival clowns when I sleep with my mouth wide open.
• My veins are still hard, sore and look like a road map due to the chemotherapy drugs,  although they have improved slightly.
• Hair at the base / back of my head hasn't started to grow as yet
• Circulation is not as good as it should be.  My fingers are constantly cold and thermal wear is part of my daily uniform
• The stomach feeding tube was removed two weeks after I had finished the chemotherapy treatments, which is testimony to my stubbornness to persevere with eating via the mouth.
• I still have tinnitus in my ears, so that constant ringing sound has been going on for over 2 months now. ACDC wrote a song about this condition years ago.......Hells Bells  :)

I have managed to get out and ride my bike now on 3 occasions which was wonderful. Oh how I've missed exercising and riding in  the mountains. I struggle along on the rides and certainly don't have the legs that I used to but hopefully within a few months,  they'll start to feel somewhat normal again.
After each ride, I surprisingly manage to record my massive sleep times of 11+ hours. Not sure why that is but it is an amazing amount of time to sleep considering that prior to cancer, I'd struggle to sleep more that 7 hours a day no matter what I did.

So, I'm still travelling on the road to recovery, a journey which has quite a few kilometres yet to go before I reach my destination of being back to full strength / health / fitness. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I'm on the road littered with potholes and not stuck in some ditch although I wish that I was travelling in a Bugatti Veyron, reaching my destination in record time. But, the mini Minor will get me there, slow and steady will win the race.

Ciao for now....