2 Months Post Surgery

​Today on December 21st Willie is 2 months post surgery.  It is also the first day of winter and the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Western Hemisphere. 

Feeding tube removed on December 5th and so he’s on his own to eat now.  When the j-tube was in he would eat 300-700 calories and drink some fluids on top of the 1500-2000 calories through the tube.  Now the responsibility of eating while trying to figure out his new anatomy is totally up to him and it’s a full on battle.  He is trying but it’s still a challenge and as a result he’s losing weight again. He can only eat very small portions or he gets sick and has to lay down.  He has to be careful about what he eats and how much he eats.  But if he doesn’t eat much he has low energy and doesn’t feel well.  It will just take time to adjust.  Additionally, he’s on round 6 of chemo that started last Thursday, so there is an additional layer of discomfort in that he has lost his taste, has dry mouth, a lot of nausea this time, soon mouth sores, and a plethora of other dumb side effects that make life miserable right now.  

Not to be all negative, only 2 more rounds of chemo to go! Then he can start to recover again.  As we know it happens pretty quickly after stopping the chemo.  Most side effects don’t linger long after stopping chemo. 

Yesterday he shaved his head again. Having it fall out is not ideal and messy.  It had been 3 1/2 months since his last round of chemo on August 30 and his hairs had come back about 3/4 inch long. Sad to see them go again, but nice to know they will be back.



Today he went in for third (one per day for 3 days after chemo), and last for this round, of Zarxio.  This shot helps to keep his white blood counts up which will help to fight infection and disease.  His WBC count during the first few rounds dropped dangerously low and this wonder drug is a good fix for that.  

Next appointment is Dec. 29th for labs and December 30th for chemo again. So we will transition from round 6 to round 7 …. 6..7. LOL 😝 

Round 8 is January 14th.  Counting the days … and holidays in between.  There are just 24 days until the end of treatment. 

Putting this picture in of the pump he brings home after each round of chemo.  He has to keep this on for 24 hours and go back next day to get it removed from the port.  He hates carrying around all the attachments.  It’s annoying and inconvenient. 

Six months from now, on the summer solstice 2026, longest day of the year 6/21/2026, we should be able to celebrate 🎉 success, recovery, and look back at this day as a fleeting memory. 


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