Week 8

Dear friends and family,

I’m a bit late with my blog this week.  Because I’ve lost weight my pants don’t fit anymore. So on Tuesday I treated myself to two new outfits, which are colorful, casual, and stretch.

On Wednesday I shared a room with the man who – the week before – had to sit on a regular chair because the good chairs were all occupied. Later on he was moved to another room where a chair became available. This room only had beds, which no one likes because it feels like you’re sick. But I got used to it quickly. Fortunately the back of the bed could be placed upright, kind of like lying on the couch.  The man next to me was very talkative, and he enjoyed talking with Victor. He is a local architect who lives and works in Laren, but he knew all about Eemnes.

Just after I arrived, the hospital dietician came by to see me. I had asked for some dietary advice to regain some weight, since I now weigh 49 kilos, having lost 3 kilos since July 23rd. Her colleague had called me a few days before and gone through some of the options, and now she was here to talk with me about my eating habits and ways to gain weight. Basically, my eating habits are relatively healthy, but don’t give me enough calories. So I have to eat more food that is high in calories, cream, ice cream, candy bars, more cheese, anything to increase the calories in my daily intake. It’s actually quite a challenge for me to change my eating habits. The architect next to me told me that all cancer patients have the same problem. He had lost 18 kilos and was actually proud of his new six pack when he got the news that he had cancer. He ate 4-6 candy bars a day to try to gain some weight. Like me, he and his wife ate vegetarian, so he recommended making pasta with mushrooms and cheese. This time the lunch cart came by while the dietician was still with me, so I decided to eat some food: a slice of bread with two slices of cheese and fruit yoghurt.

Carina – a nurse who has helped me before and who is very good – took care of the IV and after an hour and twenty minutes I was done.

That night I had a fever again. And every day this past week, usually around 38.3; not high enough to call the hospital. Usually I sleep it off, which means I’ve been sleeping three hours extra during the day. The rest of the day I do very little, I read a book, I watch a movie, and most days a friend or a neighbor stops by to see how I’m doing. Yesterday, Victor heard from the hospital. They found an infection in my urine; an infection of the urinary tract. He picked up the medication from the pharmacy.

Today I had a fever again, so I went to sleep at 10 even though I had just gotten up. A very strange schedule. Right now I’m anxious about next week. On Tuesday I have the CT scan and on thursday we will hear the results from my oncologist. Wednesday is the last chemo of this 9 week schedule. So next week on Thursday I hope to have good news! Take care and till next week!