It's now been a week since I've been done with radiation treatments. It's great not to have to make that daily trip to Portland anymore. The doctor said to go back to my activities and we'll wait until June to see what's happened. Kath and I had been running for a week and a half when the knees revolted. My kids all reminded me (Michael said "Dad, I'm going to tell you what you would tell me..." and Tory reminded me of the importance of stretching....which I have never done)that I need to ease into it so I am waiting for about a week before I start up again. The body wasn't ready for any type of activity after half a year off. Everything is going great except for the sleep. The doctor is still managing sleep medication in an effort to find one that is going to help me sleep through the night. The doctor said the radiation could continue to work for up to six weeks. My lower back feels numb and if I sit too long, I can feel the tightness, but that is the only ill effects of my treatment. It is still difficult for me to carry on a conversation on the phone for any length of time. Hopefully, that will improve. I am working to concentrate on the positive and it is difficult to do sometimes. One of the things that was difficult in Portland was listening to people talk about their illness and ask me how I was doing. Although I appreciated them asking, I am not the kind of person that needs to be reminded that something is wrong. Our doctors told us that we need to talk openly about the situation so that we can deal with it. It definitely does not work for me. We told them that it did not work and that we would not deny it, but we were not going to dwell on it. And so we choose not to talk about it. Kath and I have always been positive and we will continue to look forward. I guess I don't understand those patients who want to talk about it, all it does is just bring me down.
On another note, Kath and I have sold the house and made an offer on one four miles from where we live now. It is in a new development and the house will be completed in another two to three weeks. We both figure it is about time that we treat ourselves to a newly built house that has not been lived in before. It will be nice having a small yard and 1960 square feet instead of 3700 square feet. The closing date is set for May 29th if all goes well. Kath is packing now. I'm glad I went through our storage room last year and got rid of lots of stuff we did not use. It's nice to be going back to some of the old routines such as our constant trips to Costco, Great Harvest, having lunch with Carl, and doing numerous activities with our kids. Kath and I are planning to head to Black Butte next week, and I am in the process of planning a June bike trip with Carl. It's nice to look forward to things, and it's always nice to know we have so many caring friends out there. I love you all (in a manly way, of course).