by Shawn | Sep 11, 2018 | Reflections
What were you doing?
September 11, 2001, started like any other day. I woke up, showered, had breakfast, and went to school. At this point I hadn’t realized what had happened. When several teachers were scurrying about the hallway, all trying to find a TV to bring into their classrooms, I learned what had transpired. I wanted to hear more news as information was relayed to the country, but only got enough information to know that 2 planes had hit the World Trade Center buildings, it was chaos, and there were supposedly more planes with targets.« Read the rest
by Shawn | Jun 30, 2018 | Reflections
Many years ago I received a message from my sister asking if she could have an essay she wrote about me published. If my sister writes something that someone wants to publish, of course I’ll agree to it, but I also wanted to read it, so she sent me a copy of it. I have since republished it a few times, because she writes well and I’m proud of her.« Read the rest
by Shawn | Jun 29, 2018 | Reflections
It’s remarkable how personal experiences in life change the way you reflect on things. A year ago cancer was a thing that happened to people, but it wasn’t dramatically impacting my life. It’s not a thing I really knew how to respond to. I’d give a “that’s really unfortunate” kind of response, help how I could, but largely move on with life. Now I’m sitting on the other side of that equation. People generally don’t know how to respond. It’s a terrible thing to go through, but people don’t understand what it’s like, and I really don’t know how to explain it.« Read the rest
by Shawn | Jun 12, 2018 | Cancer
We have begun Round 3. This seventh week marks the beginning of what we expect to be the last half of treatments for cancer. Reviewing the blood work yesterday, our doctors have noted that everything continues to look great! The key cancer indicators continue to drop, and while the white cell count was a bit low again, it isn’t stopping us from charging ahead. Chemo side effects continue to be minimal, although I have a new appreciation for those with tinnitus.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 31, 2018 | Cancer
Do You Have Kids?
“Do you have kids?” asked Dr. Wos. “We don’t,” I replied, which led to his explanation that the chemo process is not kind to a guys ability to create sperm. He was up front that our options were limited, that infertility might already be our reality, but I know an option you don’t pursue isn’t really an option at all, and I had no hesitation telling him we would want to visit the fertility clinic. This led to a quick trip to Fargo, which included a visit to my sister, and some stories from my brother-in-law you can’t help but laugh at.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 25, 2018 | Cancer
Bills
One thing that should come as a surprise to no one is cancer is expensive. I haven’t looked at things in as much detail as Tiah, but she tells me each chemo treatment is thousands of dollars. Thank goodness for insurance! Nevertheless, even with insurance picking up most of the expenses, there will still be thousands of dollars for us to pay before this is all over with. Along with that comes shifts in priorities and timelines with our finances.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 21, 2018 | Cancer
Back Pain
This weekend was a little miserable for me. Over the course of last week a pain started to grow in my mid-back. Right as the weekend hit the pain jumped up to a new level, which made simply existing a lousy thing. On Saturday my massager arrived, which is nice and helped with the pain, but it was only a band-aid on something that seemed to be a larger issue. So first thing this morning we drug ourselves out of bed to visit Chuppe Chiropractic as soon as they opened.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 20, 2018 | Cancer
Today I would like to give a shout out to Chelsea Berler. I came to know Chelsea via Twitter around 10 years ago, back when it was geeks and early adopters and still a place of conversation. We share the bond of being small town North Dakota kids, specifically, southwest North Dakota. I’ve been able to watch from afar as Chelsea has built her business, the Solamar Agency, into a well regarded house of creativity. Chelsea was also diagnosed with breast cancer, and has been battling it for some time.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 18, 2018 | Cancer
Quarter Done
As we wrap up week three of this process, it signifies what we hope to be the quarter done mark. Four rounds of three weeks is the goal, and I hope that visits with the doctor next week come with indications that things are progressing well, that the chemo is working as intended. The side effects have not yet been as bad as expected, but I can definitely tell my immune system is worn down, and I am noticeably tired for much of the day.« Read the rest
by Shawn | May 15, 2018 | Cancer
The Blur
On April 12 I had a surgery to remove a mass from my right testicle. Our focus immediately following that was of recovering from that surgery, but that soon enough turned into a mad dash. On the day it was confirmed to be cancer, it launched us into a barrage of pre-chemo checkups, notifying family and close friends, and preparing ourselves as best we could with our jobs, volunteer activities, and side hustles. This carried over into the first week of chemo, getting to the hospital first thing every morning, and trying to have some semblance of normal in the evening.« Read the rest
Recent Comments