On the upswing

Woo, that last round was a doozy!  Just by using the word doozy y'all should know I'm feeling more myself.

This must be the new normal; while in previous rounds I felt mostly myself three to four days later, this round took a whole seven days to feel mostly normal.  In that long recovery, mostly fatigue had me not feeling myself.  I wasn't tired enough to sleep, or awake enough to do more than a load of laundry, or wash a few dishes before needing to sit down and rest again.  Not enough focus to watch TV and surf the web or play a game at the same time.  Since I'm not a medical professional I can only assume the fatigue I was feeling was a lack of white and red blood cells.  Just showering, digesting or using the restroom used all of my available energy.  The cold snap here in northern California was also fighting against me, nightly temperatures have been below freezing for about six night straight.

This week, I'm feeling great.  We are now above freezing at night.  I've also been lucky enough to enjoy many walks with wonderful friends over the past week.  Walking in my neighborhood has been a staple of my feel better routine, luckily my friend Caitlin lives about three blocks over and has regularly been taking me for walks on Tuesdays.  Often joining us is our friend Gayle who is due to give birth to 'Peanut' any day now.  As the weather and my stamina have improved, my buddy Mr. Chris and I went for a hike at one of my favorite places Rancho San Antonio- we visited the goats and Luna the cow at Deer Hollow Farm.  Today, Maria and I ventured around Vasona reservoir.  I've gotten cards and visits from many of my old students after school this week too, which has been awesome since it is a bad time of year to visit any school campus.

One of the most amazing things that happened this week was a visit from my professors Sandy and Joseph.  As they were coming down from Oregon to see some student works in the east bay, they realized crossing a bridge to see me wasn't too much further.  Though I wasn't quite feeling my best, sharing time and tea with those who acted as my surrogate parents for four years reminded me how important the bonds students make with their teachers are, and the bonds teachers make with their students.  They braved the biggest snow storm Eugene has seen in 20 years to get here, and I am thankful for it.

I've cooked and cleaned and am looking forward to crafting before I head back into the hospital on Monday for round five, the last round of 2013.