Playing the Cards I'm Dealt

We typically get up pretty early in the morning around here. For example, this morning I got up around 2:30 a.m.

We go to bed pretty early, typically between 8 and 9 p.m. It's a habit we got into when I was on the chemotherapy pill Nexavar. I had to take my first dose of the day, everyday, at 5 a.m. And after 14-months of doing that, it's become a routine that is hard to break.

One thing I've learned about life on chemo, is that with your body so broken down, everything seems to go better in small portions more often.

For example, it's tough for me to eat big portions in one sitting. But my body doesn't have any problems with four or five smaller meals throughout the day rather than three regular size portions.

Sleep seems to work the same way. I can sleep for six or seven hours with a one or two hour afternoon nap. But it's difficult to get a good eight or nine hour sleep in.

I just have to go with the flow. When I'm hungry I have to eat. When I'm tired I have to sleep. And when I'm awake and energized I have to get stuff done.

So this morning I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and felt completely wide awake. So I tip toed downstairs, trying not to wake Barb up, and I went to work on a brochure for a client.

I got the brochure done by 6:30 a.m., shortly after Barb came down for a cup of coffee I brewed for her. I was out of the shower by 7 a.m. and on my way to the medical center for bloodwork. By 8 a.m. I was in the pharmacy to pick-up some medicine. Then by 8:15 a.m. I was sitting in the drive-through of the bank.

I was home by 8:30 a.m. and thinking, "Wow. I got pretty much done."

After a roast beef sub from the deli across the street, it was time for a two-hour power nap.

It can make it tough for me to schedule things sometime, or to keep up with what's considered a normal life. But I'm learning how to live with cancer. It's like the ocean, just go with the flow.