3/25/09 To taste is human to swallow divine

Before having head and neck cancer I often took for granted all the complicated processes that happen in your mouth. How the salivary glands keep everything moist and help to protect your teeth, how your taste buds give you a good idea of the food you are about to eat and how swallowing, which is a complicated function using many muscles is something we just do. Well whatever shape I am in after these treatments I will never take any of these great gifts for granted! I am in the middle of week three of treatment and on a positive note my energy level has picked up a little bit and I have been able to walk with Peg and Zeus {our lab, border collie mix } a few times around the back field each day, and truly loving it! Unfortunately the radiation has started to catch up with me and my throat has become really sore with swallowing being quite difficult.I was given a prescription for some liquid that numbs my throat and that has helped a little bit, but it will only be a short term fix. Food has begun to taste really strange,and especially the after taste. My goal is to be able to keep eating all I can this week and then begin to use the peg tube next week.I was aware of all this going in, but when it starts to happen it certainly is a different story all together! I think we are going to take the juicer and the blender for quite a ride.

On Monday we went to see a naturopath who is part of Clifton Springs hospital. He is a really nice guy and will help me to have a total body healing approach once the treatments are done and we need to put things back together.I think it will be a big help as we go through this entire process. Monday is the second Chemo treatment and I hope we’ll be able to soften some of the side effects with the knowledge of how my body reacted to the first treatment. Time will tell. But right now I am trying my best to take one day at a time, and pull the best from each day we can !! Today was near 60 and there really was not a chill in the air at all. The farmers up the road are tilling the fields and the sweet smell of good soil is everywhere !!

I continue to be so humbled by the graciousness and concern from so many of you. I can’t tell you how much it lifts us up and helps us to get thru another day. This circle of hope as I like to call it is truly a gift that continues to surprise us day in and day out. I can’t thank you all enough and when this process is done I will never forget how kind and caring so many of you have been. Speaking of amazing, my wonderful wife Peggy has been great through all of this and I really don’t know how I would do this without her. My sadness is how stressful this is for her, but I am constantly amazed at how gracefully she has been able to juggle this, teaching and performing. In so many ways I feel so fortunate. I do hope to see some of you at the labyrinth walk in Oswego on Saturday. If not I’ll look for you at seven! On Friday we’ll have three weeks down and four to go! Oh and humor me, the next time you eat a really nice meal, give thought to the entire process that makes that possible, it really is amazing.