March 19th - Huge improvement so Phil wrote the blog this week!

Update:  We saw Dr. Simon (we LOVE him) on Friday.  Weight is at 194 and BP is 135/80.

Phils cognition has improved so much that he wrote the blog this week. 

This week ushered in the first full week of chemo and radiation.  The chemo treatment is administred in pill form. This includes two rather large capsules which given my poor pill swallowing technique has mercifully proven to be fairly easy to choke down.  The timing of the pill consumption on radiation days is closely defined by the protocol of one hour prior to radiation, while the allowable food consumption window relative to pill intake which is two-three hours before and one hour after must be adhered to. Consequently even with a 1:00 pm daily radiation schedule, the majority of the morning becomes an exercise in clock watching, which is naturally accentuated for a rabid by-the book rule follower such as myself. The treatment itself has so far been uneventful, which has been somewhat of a relief. However, some of the effects are typically cumulative, so it is probably a little early to declare victory at a quarter of the way through.

Doctor wise, I had my regular Friday visit with Dr. Simon.  We spend most of the time discussing things other than my treatment.  I mentioned that a certain percentage of my right side motor skills seemed to have improved along with my handwriting and cognitive abilities.  He seemed happy that this was the case and put it down to a combination of treatment and my own attempts at rehabiliting those areas.  However, I think Carla and I both detected a mild sense of surprise when I told him I have not experienced any side effects so far.  Hopefully, the fairly strict Ketogenic diet that I am adhering to is having a beneficial effect.  At a bare minimum, I would hope that my current combination of diet, light exercise, meditation, incredible support from family and friends, prayer and adequate rest would provide a better than average chance of minimizing any issues.

Apart from the realities of the treatment schedule, it was a busy week with visitors.  Carla's brother Jimmy and his wife Stacy arrived, having driven all the way from Dallas, Texas with their adorable children Jackson and Sydney.  We spent an enjoyable few days with them even celebrating Syd's 13th birthday with a cook out at Tim and Leigh-Ann's.  Jimmy and Mike were nice enough to drag me out on a regular walking schedule which culminated in a couple of successful assaults on Sawtooth Mountain.  The day they headed back to Texas, Lee and Kelley arrived from Colorado.  This couple is Megans stepmom and dad.  (Megan is our sons GF).  Intending to relocate from Denver and stay with us until settled, John and Megan arrived in Atlanta the same day I was initially diagnosed.  Their cross country exodus was unexpectedly influenced by being thrown into this mess.  The both of them have been invaluable in dealing with the practicaltities of coming to grips with my 'new normal'.   As a thank you, Carla arranged to have Lee and Kelley fly in for a surprise visit.

On St. Patricks Day, everyone except me went to Avalon to enjoy the festivities. Later that evening, I rode with Big John and met up with everyone at Firebirds for a wonderful dinner.  This is the restaurant that Megan works at.

My spirits are up and there is a positive vibe in the Breakwell household.  Hopefully next week will prove to be as enjoyable as this one has been.

Carla and I want to give a special shout out to Jennifer Valiquett for the prayer blanket that was hand made from her church.  Jennifer is a co-worker and holding down the fort at Village Park until Carla returns to work. She is incredible!  Our neighbor Sue Jones is aware of the amount of visitors recently and graciously made an excellent dinner tonight for everyone!  This gave Carla a deserved break from cooking.  Thank you Sue!  It has been so heartwarming to see so many people sporting the Team Phil bracelets from California, Minnesota, Florida, England, and so many other places!  Thank you!!