UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE:
See www.wbpdt.com and www.wbpdt.com/bbs  !!!

It’s now been about three weeks since I had my chemo treatment in Florida. Many people have been asking how I’m doing since the recovery period is estimated to be about four weeks. Here is a blow-by-blow account of what’s been happening.

On April 1st Georgia, David, and I flew to the Gainesville Florida VA Hospital so that I could participate in a clinical trial. There were two parts to this treatment. On Monday I was injected with a chemical agent that would make my whole body and extremely sensitive to light. According to warnings even a few minutes in direct sunlight could cause blistering and severe burns. This sensitivity could last 31 days or more. On Wednesday, April 4, a laser was put inside my bladder to burn off the inside surface.

We flew home on April 5th. By that evening the effects of the treatment had become quite severe. I would describe the first week after treatment as horrible miserable excruciating constant pain. Even though I took the strongest pain medications that I could tolerate I was very, very miserable. I didn’t eat a morsel of food that entire first week but I did drink several gallons of Gatorade. The second week was horrible miserable intermittent pain. I left off the word excruciating and stopped taking the strong pain medications which made me ill.

By the beginning of the third week I was just starting to feel like I was becoming normal again. Since I still need to use a bathroom about every 20 to 30 minutes I can only tolerate a short trip out if necessary.

Technical stuff that you can ignore if you don’t find it interesting:

While working as a software engineer, I often had to figure out how to quantify data in a new, completely unexplored way. That just means that I had to figure out what data meant in terms that could be consistently and accurately measured. It was one of the more enjoyable things that I did.

Well, I figured out a way to quantify my recovery from WBPDT. Normal for me is a number greater than 300. This is according to doctor’s notes that I obtained. An average range is, I think, between 200 and 300, maybe even narrowed to 250-300.

The first week I measured between 1-5. The second week, 15-30. The third week I didn’t measure as consistently but I think that my range averaged 50-75 during the week. This forth week I am currently at 100 and it doesn’t seem to be increasing as I would hope. (As I write this section I am at the end of my 4th week.) If it is my goal of achieving “low-normal” measurement of 200 then I’m half-way there after 4 weeks and the growth is painstakingly slow.

If you would like to know what the data is that I used to quantify my recovery then you can ask me personally via email, phone call, or in person.

But I am getting out these days but only for short periods of time.

Which pretty much brings us up to date. Tomorrow will begin my fourth week of recovery. I’m feeling all a lot better than I did a few weeks ago. But to be honest I’m still not feeling all that good. My appetite is better but I still only eat one small meal a day and a few snacks. I only go out when I have to and I need to be near a bathroom since I still need to go about every 20 or 30 minutes. And I’m still photosensitive.

The good news is that I’m beginning to get a few things done here. I help pay bills, I made a few phone calls, and I’ll probably tinker with the church website today. Throughout all of this time I kept up with my morning and evening devotions. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to maintain this discipline in one’s life. If my relationship with God was weak then I don’t think that I could have coped with all I’ve been through. I screamed at the top of my lungs as they tried to do a spinal nerve block during that first week. I was in the emergency room twice during that first week.

I’ve been disabled for seven years now. The first time that I noticed any muscle weakness was about a year ago. I work very hard at maintaining my health the very best that I can even with all that I have to deal with. But for the first time in this past year I’ve noticed that I can be come very weary of my constant pain. Pain causes fatigue. So I decided to do something to fight these new problems. I picked a particular verse of scripture to meditate on.

Now, on a regular basis, I will pick a portion of scripture to meditate on for a time. It may be for a few days or even a few weeks. But I have never picked out a scripture that I plan to meditate on for a year. So in addition to the other scriptures that I meditate on, I now have a 2007 Scripture meditation plan. I particularly liked Hebrews 12:3 which says, “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you do not grow weary and lose hope.” I do not want to grow weary and I deftly do not want to lose hope. So to try to keep this verse in context, my Scripture meditation for this year is Hebrews 12:1-3.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “run with perseverance the race marked out for you.” Since I acknowledge God in all things, I recognize that this new life of disability and pain is the race marked out for me. What I didn’t know was that the Greek word for “race” is “agon” which means “difficulty.” In fact, it is the word from which we get our word “agony.” Could the literal translation of this verse be “run with perseverance the agony marked out for you”? Boy oh boy. That says it all for me.

I find these verses extremely encouraging. I will run with perseverance this agony marked out for me. I will consider the Lord Jesus so that I don’t grow weary or lose hope. God is good and I will worship him. I will praise him in the assembly.

Please don’t think that I am anyone special. God has lovingly led me to this place. I am simply exercising faith I have in Him. I have my weaknesses and my sin. It is my desire to trust and obey God fully. It is a process of sanctification that occurs as I yield to God’s Holy Spirit within me. I have my will and my pride but these must die so that God’s life in me will yield fruit. I must decrease: He must increase.

Thank you for asking about me. Forgive me that I am writing essentially a form letter. I am simply not able to answer everyone directly.

UPDATE: See www.wbpdt.com and www.wbpdt.com/bbs  !!!