How It’s Been So Far
I never got stronger in 2012, although I loved our two
big road trips in March and May. I also
made it to Big Island; and I spent Friday of Labor Day weekend going from
swimming in the ocean by the Mauna Kea Hotel to watching the sun set and the
full BLUE moon rise
from somewhere above 10K' on Mauna Kea itself.
I could tell the decline in my strength as I swam and
snorkeled, and one day I barely succeeded in pulling myself out of the sea at
Two Steps. Argh! I ended up coming home in a wheelchair, and
had to walk with assistance thereafter.
Unknown to us, my body had started shutting
down. In September, digestion was
stopping. We noticed my singing voice
was weak in March, was totally not right in May, worked in October, and then .
. . went away completely. I have even
been unable to sing along with the radio.
Frustrating!
So not only did I not do as well as I'd have liked in
2012, 2013 was starting off TOUGH.
January's tests revealed cancer still in my brain and
spine, and by February my body was sliding into end stage. High heart rate and low BP, high tumor
markers, cachexia, choking, an inability to swallow or breathe properly, and so
forth. At one point, my legs and feet
were purple. I looked near death, and
everyone was so worried and stressed, especially during the lengthy episodes
where I couldn't breathe. It became
obvious my autonomic systems were not working properly. We’ve spent from February on dealing with
that.
By April, I could no longer walk far with my walker,
and we bought a wheelchair. I’ve had to
use it ever since, except for the short walk to the bathroom (for which my
walker suffices). So 2013 so far has
been spent on the sofa for me. It’s
boring; I’d rather be hiking.
And that's how it went when I wasn't here blogging!
