I didn't know I was holding my breath�

2004-03-17

Dad had the big blast yesterday. I called him around 6:00 pm. He sounded good. I hadn�t realized that I was holding my breath. After we finished talking, I took a deep breath. It seemed like the first time in days.

Chemo can be hell in the form of endless retching. I was so afraid he�d feel like crap. So far he�s his own normal self. He was setting up e-mail lists on his laptop when I got there.

His docs tell him that the worst is yet to come. Mouth sores. I know from experience that that is much more painful than it sounds. It�s a very sensitive area. But they�ve promised him every kind of pain relief, up to and including morphine.

Still, if that�s the worst he has to look forward to, he�ll get through it. �Twon�t be easy. But it might, perhaps, be do-able.

Dad said to me, that he thought, when first diagnosed, that there wasn�t much hope for him. And the doctor didn�t encourage him.

But all of his treatments since then, have had good outcomes. I�m hoping for a good outcome, overall.

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