Lots of news...

Well, the hair is gone. It was falling out in sort of a reverse bozo the clown look so it had to go. My night nurse came in at like 11:00pm and suggested shaving my hair and before I new it I was in a chair covered in towels and half of my hair was gone. So that was quickly settled. There are still a few random hairs left and some areas are cut but still look similar to crop circles. I can't really blame the nurses, they went to nursing school not beautician school.

Also some good news, I was released from the hospital on 9-1-2008 (opening day of dove season). Although it will be a long time before I get to do any hunting, it is nice just being away from the hospital. I'm back at the Hope Lodge and yesterday I spent most of the day doing "rehab". Nick and I played rockband for about 5 hours!! Of course I played the drums and I have never been so tired in all my life but don't tell my mom because I'm not supposed to get worn out. Shhhh, she'll never know. I think it'll be a while before I do 5 hours of rockband again, at least 5 hours of drums.

I wanted to add an FYI... Everyone knows a cancer patient goes through a lot. Physical and mental stresses related to trying to get better and worrying about getting proper, safe care. This by itself is very stressful and can consume your mind but there are many other things that add to your mental stress. I in no way feel sorry for myself or pity myself but I want to let people know what is possible in their life. During a very involved and demanding procedure like a bone marrow transplant your life is temporally postponed. You can't work but you have overwhelming bills to pay, you can't go to school, you fight to keep relationships intact, you worry about adverse side effects of chemotherapy, you think about getting your old life back and many other things are running through your mind. As if the physical strain is not enough there are lots of mental stresses that can be overwhelming. There are many support groups and organizations that help with these types of things but nothing is better than a good support group of family and friends. I try to stay positive all the time and keep telling jokes but sometimes you just can't and I need to just feel bad for a little while.