The Streak Continues

Jon and Alissa and Rebecca have been doing the NYT crossword puzzle together (tag teaming by phone) for years -- they have an unbroken streak of about 2000 days. The record is unofficial because Jon got a new phone and the Times lost track of them, but it doesn't matter. They know they have not missed a day. Which is one demonstration of maintaining your priorities, come what may.

Jon's priorities are clear, and we have already talked about them on this blog. While he may have cancer, he definitely doesn't want to be a sick person, or to identify as one. He wants to get out of this chair, get rid of this bag, resume his life of solving problems and fixing stuff.

His pro-active ranting yesterday did yield some results. He has an appointment tomorrow with a nutritionist. He finally got a long email from his oncologist -- she said she is on medical leave (!) for the next few weeks and she is leaving him in the care of a different (unnamed) Kaiser oncologist. When his platelets get up to 50, he will start on a new chemotherapy, not the old one.

I came back from picking greens at 10:00 to take Jon to Kaiser so he could get his dressing changed, and then we went to the bank and shopping on the way home. Jon stayed in the car and I did the errands that he usually does. I do not think I have gone shopping at a grocery store by myself since we were in Baltimore about 16 months ago. Luckily I had a list and I just did what I was told.

Then a physical therapist came to see Jon and apparently he was here for about 5 minutes. He saw that Jon could stand on one leg, put one leg out to the side, stand on his toes, then on his heels, pick up something off of the floor, and walk. He had nothing else he wanted to see, so that was that. He will not be back. 

Jon's philosophy is: if I can do something, then I should. He carries that pole even when it is heavy (it gets lighter as the day goes on). He made dinner again tonight. He eats, dutifully, even if things still do not taste like anything.

Because he has never counted a calorie in his life, when the nutritionist tells him what he needs to do, this will be a whole new ball game. The rest of us are sort of amazed at how little he knows about how calories work. He has never thought about his weight like most of the rest of us. Now he has to figure out how to gain weight by eating. Most of us have not had that luxury/challenge.