What They DON'T Tell You

(Written by Dave)

I know the emotions my beautiful baby girl wrote about in her last post (of COURSE, since we're connected at the heart).  And I'd be lying if I said I didn't suffer from them as well from time to time.  But the triggers are different for me.  As much as they tell you about this disease, there are many things they DON'T tell you; and discovering them, one-by-one when you're seeking SOME sort of normalcy (perhaps even feeling good) is the tough part.

They don't tell you you'll have to change your bed sheets almost every morning because of the incredible night sweats - at least until you find SOME sort of solution.  For us, that means I sleep on a thick, heavy towel - EVERY night.

They don't tell you how to discern if the pain you feel is from cancer - or just because you slept in a wierd position.

They don't tell you no matter how you "man up," you BETTER get that Vicodin in time.

They don't tell you that if anything goes wrong (like a clogged port) the cure will knock you off your feet for two days (when you were feeling great).

They don't tell you that, on top of adjusting to chemo, you're going to have to get used to seeing blood in the Kleenex every single time you blow your nose for 2 1/2 weeks.

I hardly ever rant on this special blog, but I guess it was my turn.  There are far more good days than bad right now (thank you, Jesus); last week the past few days have been rough though.

Dear Mouse,

Do you remember our nightly ritual of "around the table," or just what you see in the photos?  We both LOVED that special time, where either you or I (or BOTH of us) wore hats (or in my case a hooded sweatshirt as "The Screature"), you climbed on my back while I was on all fours, and we went around the table at different speeds and degrees of silliness as you got more and more tired.  Nobody TOLD me about that game, it just grew from our love.  Maybe there's something else they didn't tell us that will be as deliciously wonderful as that?

Love, Daddy  xxOx