Sid Bacon

Laura finished her taxes yesterday afternoon, so she was able to come out and celebrate that accomplishment.  We had fun … we had dinner and watched a basketball game together.  She had nursing duties as well: last night she put a new dressing at the site of my drainage tube, and this morning she put new pain patches on my back.  It was great to have her help! She is a great nurse.
 

I went on a nice walk in the desert this morning.  The weather was perfect. I felt that my pace was pretty good.  I like getting out and walking.  I don’t have any great ambition to run again, although you certainly get in better cardio shape by running.  So … we’ll see.
 

I am looking forward to having lunch with a friend/colleague today.  I haven’t seen Larry for some time, so it will be good to get caught up. It is important to stay in touch with friends, and I am grateful that he suggested that we have lunch together.
 

I am also looking forward to picking up Cathy at the airport (shortly after lunch); this makes for a terrific day.  I have missed her a great deal, but I’m glad she has spent this time with her mom, who is in hospice care in San Luis Obispo, CA.  Cathy’s mom is doing quite well, resting peacefully at Mary and Kevin’s house. The hospice nurse doesn’t expect Cathy’s mom to live that much longer, but she is hanging in there thus far. I guess you never can tell …
 

I have heard a great deal of coverage of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.  What a tragic event!  I am grateful that this did not happen several years ago when Cathy ran the Boston Marathon. I would greatly prefer not to go through something like that. Nor would I want to see firsthand others going through such an event.  I certainly hope there are no other fatalities from yesterday’s bombings.  Three is more than enough.
 

I am grateful for all that I have (well, except the cancer …). I have a very loving family and so much love and support from the many friends that comprise Team Bacon.  I couldn’t have a better support group. Your love and support means a great deal to Cathy and me.  Thank you so much for all you are doing for us.  We are truly grateful.

It is a very breezy day today.  The temperature will only reach the mid-70s. Cathy and I had a nice walk this morning, but it was almost chilly with all the wind … we’ve long ago lost the tolerance to cold we had when we lived in Minneapolis. Yes, we are wimps.
 

Tomorrow we have a couple appointments.  The first is for a blood draw at Piper.  The only purpose of that appointment is to make sure my platelets are increasing; they will be.  The second is with the physician who is a pain specialist.  His office is close to Piper, but not associated with it. We will talk about various approaches to dealing with my pain, including another nerve block procedure. I don’t know exactly what to make of this appointment, but it will be good to get his perspective on my situation.
 

Although it was wonderful that Cathy could be with her mom, sister and brother-in-law in CA, it is great to have her back home. We had a nice evening last night. We enjoyed sitting in the back yard up until sunset (it was getting pretty cool about that time …), at which time we came inside for dinner and some TV.  We’ve been watching “West Wing” on Netflix.  Although we watched some of the show when it was broadcast, we didn’t watch all the episodes (or else we have forgotten them). The president sure lives a busy life …
 

I had a great lunch yesterday with my friend, Larry.  We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day.  It was so nice to get caught up with him.  I was glad he could eat and linger after lunch so we could have plenty of time to visit.  And the timing was perfect; I left lunch and drove right to pick up Cathy at the designated curb at the airport. It is certainly important to maintain friendships in whatever way possible … I definitely need to do a better job of that.
 

I am so lucky to have good friends and loving family members.  The fight we are in is a formidable one, for sure.  But it is one that I know we can win, despite the poor odds.  I may be a wimp when it comes to cooler temperatures, but I’m not a wimp when it comes to this fight. I’m in it for the long haul.  Thank you for helping me in this difficult journey!

I am certainly thankful for the cooler weather (although it was almost too cold this morning, with temperatures in the upper 40s/low 50s), as I know that much warmer weather is on the way.  The desert was beautiful this morning … it made for a great walk.  Unfortunately, Cathy had to leave early for a conference that is in town, so it was a solo walk for me.
 

I am also grateful for the student group in the department … they are signed up as Team Bacon for the Relay for Life event that starts Friday night.  They have set a goal of raising $1,000 for cancer research; they currently have raised $600.  If you would like to donate to their cause, you may do so online at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/ASUTeamBacon.  Cathy and I will be at the relay, at least for the beginning (I don’t think we could possibly go all night with the students).  Last year the cancer survivors and their family members walked around the track once to begin the event.  I suspect we’ll do the same this year.  I always hesitate to include myself as a “survivor”, although I always do.  After all, I am surviving and that has enabled me to survive to this point, so I guess I am a survivor …
 

I am thankful that I am surviving this awful disease.  And for the most part I am feeling pretty good.  I do have back pain, but I no longer have nausea and thus I am able to eat.  Perhaps the pain specialists will be able to reduce my back pain.  We’ll get a sense of the probability of them doing that when we meet with them today.
 

Cathy and I are so grateful for all the love and support we receive from all of you.  Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated, as are your many words of encouragement.  This terrible disease has enabled me to see and feel the love of so many; for that I am grateful.  It is the mixed blessing of having this disease. 
 

Thank you for all you do. 

Congratulations … we made it to the end of another week!  I am very thankful for that … one day at a time, one week at a time ...
 

Cathy had to leave early today for her conference, so we didn’t have the opportunity to walk together. I went on a walk after she left.  The weather was nearly perfect.  The air had a coolness to it, with a bit of a breeze, although the sun – shining through the cloudless sky – offset any coolness and made for an ideal temperature.  
 

My blood work yesterday at Piper was encouraging. I just found out that my platelet count was 262.  That is off the charts for me.  It means that there will be no question about starting chemo next Wednesday.  It should also give me a nice buffer for having chemo the following week.  The big question is whether I can get a third treatment in.  I’ll worry about that later … although there is no reason to worry about it, as there is nothing I can do about my platelet count and worrying will certainly not help. Instead, I’ll just say that we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
 

We spent quite a while at the pain specialist’s office (mostly waiting).  They have some ideas for how to treat my pain.  We’ll see if we try any of them. They wanted to do an MRI of my spine, although I am not supposed to have an MRI done because of the metal stent that is in my stomach.  I don’t know if a CT scan would suffice.  In the meantime, I will take oxycodone to deal with the back pain that I have that is not managed by my pain patches.  It is disappointing to have this pain; I’m trying hard to ignore it, although it is sufficiently intense that it is hard to ignore.  Bummer.
 

Tonight Cathy and I walk the survivor’s lap at the Relay for Life.  I’m going to pick her up at her conference (she got a ride there with a colleague) and then we are going out to eat before going to the Relay event.  I am really proud of the students, and humbled by their efforts to raise money for cancer research in the Team Bacon name. It is especially humbling given that they don’t know me personally.  They do know Cathy, and I believe this is as much or more about supporting Cathy as it is about supporting me.  That is fitting, as Cathy and I are a team, with Cathy being the best support person you could imagine having.
 

On Saturday night we are going to a party with people who participated in the Ragnor relay (the 202-mile relay race, with 12 members to a team). The 12-member team was called Team Bacon.  The support is overwhelming. The party should be fun.
 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Thanks so much for all your love and support.

In yesterday’s blog I forgot to mention that Cathy’s mom passed away peacefully Thursday evening.  She had been in hospice care for about two weeks, living at Mary and Kevin’s house in California.  Throughout that time she rested peacefully.  She lived a long and wonderful life. We miss her.  We look forward to celebrating her life next weekend in Phoenix with all her children and grandchildren.  Memories are being shared at www.forevermissed.com/patricia-sanvik-kittelson.