He's Human... Again

I just got off the phone with Bad Dog who wanted to touch base with the outside world. Since he's in a strange world of isolation and is starting to feel more normal, he wanted to check in to make sure everyone else is doing alright.

He took the time to describe to me the weirdness that goes with undergoing such a violent chemical assault on the disease that is leukemia. The cocktail of drugs administered to him in double doses can sure take a toll on one's body and mind. It is commonly called "Red Devil" and it will kick your ass and make even the strongest beg for mercy. It kicked Bad Dog down too. Right now, he is without an immune system and is obviously and understandably quite a bit weak. However, the team of medical professionals have been hovering around him to make sure this chemo they have been pumping into him is not having too many adverse reactions.

There is a kidney doctor, a cardiologist, a pulmonary doctor, a blood doctor, an endocrinologist, an oncologist and more watching very closely his slow re-building of his immune system.

I asked him what he meant by "feeling human again" and he told me that the general feeling of hell has passed and that for the first time in weeks he's starting to have some normal functioning of everything else. In other words, specifically his words, he's not hurting.

This morning, on the air, he related to how the chemo therapy has affected the way foods taste. He related the experience of having a bit of breakfast yesterday consisting of toast, scrambled eggs and a bit of bacon tasting like paper mache. He decided that butter was not necessary since there was a simple fear that it would taste of wallpaper paste. The bottom line is he is eating.

His spirits remain high and despite the planned and executed crushing blow to his system to get this disease, he is feeling just a bit stronger everyday. These are all real good signs.

When I asked him about blood counts, he said there is nothing to count and in fact, at that moment we were talking, they were giving him some fresh blood. So, all in all, he's feeling... well, human again. Which is the ultimate goal. Judging from the way he was talking a bit ago, I would actually call it Superhuman.

Herculean fortitude aside, I think we can all expect things to go as the professionals have planned out. A couple of weeks of isolated recovery, another round of chemo (this one being significantly lighter than the first), a bit of recovery and then it's out of the hospital. That is not so much optimism speaking as it is the plain facts as they are... so far.

In the meantime, continue to say your prayers and think positive thoughts that this too, like all other things, shall pass.

Stay Tuned...