No updates since April???

Wow! I've really let this thing slide. Naturally, I'm traveling on business again. It hasn't been constant — I didn't travel at all during May and June. Eldest graduated from high school, and was appropriately feted. She's going to Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. I'm hoping to see her take college a little more seriously than she did her high school classes. She took school very seriously as far as student council and prom planning went. But those pesky classes... Now that she's starting out life in debt, she's beginning to get a glimmer of why we nagged and bitched at her so much when she was slacking in her freshman and sophomore classes.

The deal is that we've financed the first year. It's now up to her. Scholarships and her own work and credit. Actually, I think she'll be a better college student. She's certainly smart. And she either has us totally snowed (always a possibility) or she's a very straight arrow. I went around the block far enough to know what being drunk, stoned, or otherwise altered looks like. I've never seen it in any of my kids. And yes, I look for it.

Anyway, here's where I am with the bug. I'll be dropping off a blood sample as soon as I get home on Friday for my would-have-been six month PCR. I had a liver panel and CBC a couple of weeks ago. The doc had not ordered a PCR. I nearly circled the PCR on the lab order form. Called the doc from the lab, but didn't hear back from him until the next day. "Yes, it'd be a good idea to get that...." Brilliant. Anyway, all the rest of the bloodwork looked good, so I'm pretty hopeful. I've even allowed myself the occasional beer. I even had one this evening — along with sushi! I'm totally out of control. I think that's like four since May.

Back in February I ran down my list of sides. Here's an update for the record.

• The Itch

What itch? I'm still taking Claritin, but that's for a constant "harumph" and sneezing. I've always had a touch of allergies, although they seem worse now than they were years ago. But that's common for Phoenix residents. Recovery: 100%


• Hair

My hair is much darker and definitely thicker. Oddly, it's now straight. When I it puberty it curled up and stayed that way. Not curly like a Black person's hair, but definitely wavy. Recovery: 80%


• Nails

My nails are far stronger, but they do tend to crack more than they did. Recovery: 90%


• Brain Fog

I've been amazed at what I had trouble doing before treatment. I work in the computer industry and in my business, if you aren't on the front end of a learning curve in some aspect of your job, you are going to get passed by. I'm reading books again (e.g. Shirer's tome Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, something I've tried unsuccessfully to wade through in the past). In retrospect, the cognitive effects were the worst. I'd revise my previous assessment. I was about 60% then. Recovery: 90%


• Fatigue

I really think this one has gone. I feel good. I don't have that overwhelming "blah" feeling. Recovery 100%


• Mood

I'd now describe myself as a happy person. Frankly, I have few excuses not to be. My friend Bob, who rode through this thing with me described himself as less willing to tolerate bullshit. I'm not so much intolerant as willing to laugh things off. Recovery: 100+%


• Sleep

I sleep well. I still stay up late. I'm far less able to fake it than I was, but that isn't an entirely bad thing. If I get less than seven hours of sleep, I pay for it. But at least I can sleep, and the sleep refreshes me. Recovery: 100%


• Diet and Appetite

I think I'm recovered here. In fact, I'm having to dial it back. I want to drop about five pounds. Recovery: 100%


• Exercise

Still not enough! I have a year's worth of sitting on my (widening) ass. I need to make some lifestyle changes and schedule time for exercise and do it. On this trip I've been off and on. Need to get back on. I'm certainly not limited by anything physical. Recovery: 100%


• Aches and pains

Done with this one. The aches and pains I have these days are pretty identifiable (often traceable to people I work with). Recovery: 100%

Summary: I'm not in bad shape for the shape I'm in. I turned 50 two weeks ago. There was a time that I thought 50 was pretty old. I've seen 50-year-olds who certainly looked and acted older than I feel. I just need to continue in that vein. I'm hopeful about the PCR test, and not terribly anxious. If it's back, I evaluate. I don't think it is though.

If you're reading this from the depths of treatment, there is an end to it. The recovery, while not instantaneous, does come. Hang in there.