Current Journal of a Leukemia survivor
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NEWS FLASH: See a real Big Year in progress! Just click here.
Jul 1-Jul 11: Home
Each day in July has been slightly better than any day in June. Still not able to work a full 8 hours without a nap. The sleep apnea is far worse than before. I have dreams of suffocating, drowning, and I wake up in sweat, gasping for air. This is probably the reason for my day-time fatigue.
Jun 18-Jun 30: Home
Visited oncologist. Good blood numbers: WBC=11.6; HGB=14.3; PLT=212. WBC was slightly elevated due to ear infection. Don't have to go back for 6 months! Got new synthetic antibiotic ($10/pill). Drug worked nicely. Infection gone. Still having rugged nights of sleep and lack of energy.
Jun 3-Jun 17: Home
Only able to put in 20 hrs at work last week. Too tired to do anything more. Although slightly improved this week, I'm still dealing with a bad cough, runny nose, ear ache, and lack of energy. I rescheduled my April appointment with my oncologist for June 21. I hate going there when I'm sick--with anything. Seems like they *like* to put me in the hospital. Aargh.
May 28-Jun 2: Home
Very sick. Spiking fevers, chills, sweats, congestion, runny nose, diarrhea, muscle aches, coughing, sore throat, and loss of voice. Went to doctor. Bad flu. Blood work proved OK. No cancer.
May 11-May 27: Home
Flew through May. Very busy at work. Full weekends of birding in Ohio. Decent migration in the state this year despite the cool, wet month.
Apr 19-May 10: Home
Wow. How time flies, even when you're not having fun. [grin] Add to a busy work schedule a smattering of local birding and SHAZAM, there are no updates to the blog. Feeling OK thankfully.
Enjoyed a great first annual Ohio Ornithological Society conference in Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio, April 29-May 1. It was fun meeting birders from around the state.
Apr 6-18: Home
Still swamped at work. Hectic schedule. Hey. That must mean I'm a normal, healthy camper! [grin] Bronchitis mostly cleared up. Sinuses off-and-on.
I'll be giving my Biy Year presentation this coming weekend for the Cleveland Metroparks.
North Coast Nature Festival at Rocky River Reservation
Saturday, April 23 - noon
Sunday, April 24 - noon
Apr 5: Home
Feeling Ok. Long day at work. Went to see the sapsucker again and get some more photos. Stayed up late uploading the 200+ photos. Photos can be viewed at My ShouldHaveBeenHere photo album.
Apr 4: Home
My uncle, Dr. Jim Miller found a bird that "looked like a Red-naped Sapsucker" late yesterday afternoon. I went to check it out this morning and low and behold, it *does* look like a genuine Red-naped Sapsucker! This not only would be a first state record, but the first record East of the Mississippi River (north of Louisiana). Even if it's a Red-naped x Yellow-breasted hybrid this represents an unbelievable find this far East. Got some photos online at www.ohiobirds.org.
Apr 3: Home
Not a good night. Feeling tired and blown out again. Slept all day.
Apr 2: Home
Best health day of the entire winter. Felt wonderful. Got lots of things done at home and running errands. Cruddy weather. I hate snow in April.
Mar 21-Apr 1: Home
Slammed at work. Improved health in TX--or was it just the birding? [grin] Returned to work and within 2 days was coughing, hacking, and feeling run-down again. Sigh. I'm allergic to winter in Ohio.
Mar 13-20: Texas!
Maybe not my best judgment on sickness and travel, but just too antsy to sit by and watch a record winter in South Texas for rarities. Drove down with 5 other intrepid Ohio birders and bagged White-throated Robin, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat as life birds. Also saw Elegant Trogon, Rufous-capped Warbler, and a couple of TX rarities: Mountain Plover & Cordilleran Flycatcher. Still tired after covering 4200 miles in the last week, but feeling mighty happy. Weather was fantastic with temps in the upper 70s and lower 80s most of the week.
Mar 2-12: Home
Still struggling with winter sickness--yeah, I think I'm allergic to winter in Ohio. [grin] More doctor visits. More antibiotics. More crud. Yuck.
Mar 1: Home
Very tired this morning. Up several hours last night. Fitful sleep. Will probably only work a partial day today. Quite a bit of snow overnight, tho not as much as anticipated. Will probably have to go back to the doctor sooner than scheduled.
I'll be giving a slide presentation about my Big Year (1998) in Medina County on March 3. Here are the details:
Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 7:00pm - WADSWORTH
Wolf Creek Environmental Center
6100 Ridge Rd
Sharon Center, OH 44274
Phone: (330) 239-4814
located North of Wadsworth, just North of the small town of Sharon Center on the West side of State Route 94.
Feb 24-Feb 28: Home
Book signings were fun and went well in Cincinnati and Dayton. Went birding for a couple hours Friday morning with author Mark Obmascik. Drove nearly 600 miles this weekend. Very tired. Cold still hanging on with nagging cough, sinus headaches, and loss of sleep.
Feb 22-Feb 23: Home
Feeling a little better this morning, tho still tired. Blood numbers from Monday were OK, save for the higher-than-normal white blood count (this is also where a recurrence of leukemia could show up). WBC=11.8; HGB=15.8; PLT=212. I have to call the lab this morning. Thankfully, they left a message saying it was *not* urgent.
Feb 15-Feb 21: Home
Health improving, but still lacking stamina. Spoke at Columbus Audubon this past Wednesday night. Had good turnout. Physically shot by weekend. Spent most of weekend in bed, sleeping. Still tired this morning. Have blood work in Columbus today.
I will meet author Mark Obmascik for book signings this Thursday & Friday in Cincinnati & Dayton. These book signings are open to the public. All are welcome.
Thursday, February 24 at 7:00pm - CINCINNATI
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45208-1321
Phone: (513) 396-8960
website
map
Friday, February 25 at 7:00pm - DAYTON
Books & Co
350 E Stroop Rd
Dayton, OH 45429-2828
Phone: (937) 297-6358
website
map
The Big Year made the Best Books of 2004 lists at USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Rocky Mountain News, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Salt Lake Tribune, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Guardian (London, UK), New Zealand Herald, Amazon.com and Salon.com.
Feb 13-Feb 14: Home
Haven't had a fever now in two days. Hope I'm over this. Will call Dr. today about blood samples. Should Have Been Here Birding Adventures is going the way of the dinosaur. It will be extinct in March. The site is still averaging about 50 hits/day even though it hasn't been updated now for months, thanks to my busy computer work schedule...
Feb 8-Feb 12: Home
Still struggling with fevers. Visited local Dr. on 2/9. Awaiting bloodwork. Working on trimming healthcare costs (up >20% in last 1.5 yrs).
Jan 30-Feb 7: Home
Another week wooshes by... Mild fevers becoming more of a struggle with a couple episodes very near the GTTH (Go To The Hospital) level (100.4). Sleep is eratic with sinusitus and sleep apnea. Toenail looking better finally as it's starting to grow back. Right elbow still painful. Feeling quite drained of energy this morning. Going back to Sick Bay today (ahhh, that's work) after a restful weekend at home.
Jan 24-Jan 29: Home
Still fighting sinus/ear infections. (I'd probably heal faster without 50-hr work weeks...DUH.) Blood pressure great at 110/68. Still really tired. Toenail starting to come in...looking a little better. Tennis elbow improving, but still messed up. Still have to do most everything left-handed. AARGH.
Jan 16-Jan 23: Home
Been fighting sinus infection and ear infection over the last week. I've been really tired and run-down. Visited family doc this week and got antibiotics for infections. Right toenail is not healing well (still oozing and sore). Torn tendon in elbow is still very sore. Some days I go to work and it hurts to type and click a mouse button. To top off the whole deal, I did battle with a bathtub this week. Score: bathtub=1; me=0. Fortunately, all I ended up with was an egg-sized bump on my left shin. Boy, do I feel banged up or what...
Jan 11-Jan 15: Home
Visited the oncologist on Monday. Blood numbers OK, but white blood cells abnormally high. WBC=12.1; HGB=14.6; PLT=229. Blood pressure was at 166/110 (very high for me). Work has been weighing pretty heavily on me. Visited my family doctor on Thursday. Right big toenail finally starting to come back (stubbed and removed in Dec.), but a "hole" is still seeping blood. Ugh. Yeah. It's still quite tender. Pain in right arm is "Tennis Elbow"--it's actually in pretty bad shape, thanks to my attempt to lift more than I could lift at the airport last month. Ear infection in right ear and sinusitus. No fever, thankfully. Only worked 2 hrs yesterday and slept all day long. Only one hr at work today. Still pretty blitzed.
Dec 26-Jan 10: Home
Busy holidays and absolutely inundated at work. Starting out the year with a cold again. Fortunately, I'm not as sick as last January (pneumonia).
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LINKS
Blood Counts
The Prayer Page: Immediate & Ongoing Concerns
Read about ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL)
The 12 Days of Chemo
Chemo Haiku
Quote from a sticky note from a product called MiraLax:
Once-a-day MiraLax sure does the trick,
It makes a normal bowel movement out of a brick.
It bulks up and softens and works on the stool,
It's gentle, It's tasteless, It's easy, It's cool.