The Weekend - Recovery and rest

There is no treatment on weekends. I was thankful for this. The headache that started yesterday had still not gone away. More Panadol still wasn't helping at all. I was hoping the two day break from treatment would allow my body to recuperate somewhat, and it might go away.

The rash on my face, neck and upper torso was worse and was quite sore now. It felt like a constant state of sunburn. I wear reading glasses and despite them being very light, my nose gets quite sore after a short time wearing them thanks to the rash. I'm forever taking them off and on. I felt like the antibiotic medicine was having an effect but it was still mighty uncomfortable. I was applying Sorbalene cream liberally as instructed but I wasn't sure this was beneficial.

I slept ok but like last night had an extremely dry mouth and lips. I got out of bed around 6.30 and made breakfast, my homemade muesli with full cream milk. I've got to keep my calcium and fat intake up. Calcium to help protect my teeth and fat levels to maintain body weight, so switching from my normal skim milk to full cream is a simple adjustment.

I didn't want to go outside in the sun during the day. I wasn't feeling well at all, with the constant headache and just a general feeling of nausea. I was still eating a lot but not feeling full, which is a surprise given the medical staff at the hospital have been most worried about weight loss. I ate the left over pizza from last night for morning tea at around 10.30am, rested in the lounge. I would normally take our son to his basketball game on Saturday afternoon, but I didn't really want to go anywhere. Vicki liked to watch him play as well so she took him, but before she did I asked her for some advice in helping to ease my headache. She suggested combining Panadol with Nurefin. I had these after I had eaten a couple of sandwiches for lunch at 12.30. I did my normal M&T Routine and then laid down in the lounge. I fell asleep again.

I think I woke up around 2.30 and we had visitors. Happily, my headache had disappeared and I felt pretty good again. Vicki's sister and her family had come over for a swim. With her family and our family in the pool, there was a fair crowd splashing around. Our pool sits in direct sunlight during the day so I decided to wait until later in the afternoon when the trees that line the pool provided some shade. By then everyone was out of the pool as well, which made it a bit more relaxing for me.

Even though the wind was very warm, it was reasonably pleasant after my swim, so I sat outside with everyone just to chat. Feeling better now, it was a good to feel normal, if only for a short time.

Our visitors left around 4.30, so Vicki and I went in to watch more Outlander episodes. I'm still not really getting into it, but I am curious as to the outcome. Given there is another series being produced, I guess I'm in for the long haul. I hate to say it, but the story is written by a female and the men in the show seem to me to be a lady's ideal man, not what I'd expect to see in Scotland, France and England in the 1700s. Maybe my view has been tainted somewhat by Game of Thrones.

I started to feel unwell again later and had some more Panadol and Nurefin around 9pm. I figured this would get me through until I went to bed. It did.

After a dinner of chicken and chips, I did my normal M&T Routine and went back to watch more telly. I had to pick our son up from a party at 10pm, so jumped in the car around 9.50. It was just around the corner, so it didn't take long to collect him and get home. I didn't need to get out of the car, which was good because I would be very self-conscious about the rash on my face. It has gradually gotten more unsightly and painful.

I went to bed pretty much as soon as I got home.

Sunday was pretty much a replica of Saturday, except that I felt a little better given I was now taking Panadol and Nurefin together when I got up in the morning. I spent the day lying down mostly, eating anything I could get my hands on and completing my M&T Routine.

I haven't had a chance to get down to the beach for a swim yet, but the advice given to me by the Radiation Therapist that swimming in the ocean is good because of the salt, got me thinking. The rash on my face was terrible. I had blisters and redness everywhere and it was quite sore. I had been applying Sorbalene as advised, and been taking the antibiotic meds, but it didn't seem to be having any effect. I decided instead to put some salt into some boiled water and dab it on the rash. The result was almost instant. It stung like heck, but immediately the rash appeared better and once the stinging had subsided, it wasn't quite as sore. I applied the salt solution twice more today as it seemed to me to be helping.

At least I had time to simply rest. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow (Monday) as the whole treatment process begins again. I didn't think I would feel this unwell and tired so soon.