By the Numbers

45 – Days we’ve known that I have cancer.

2 – Rounds of chemo down, 6 more to go. For the statistically challenged, that means I’m 25% finished.

13 – Pill bottles in my pill bottle basket

18 – Pills I take every day.

14 – Neupogen shots I’ve gotten in my belly.

3 – CT Scans after next Wednesday when we’ll find out to what extent my tumor has been reduced.

4 – Spinal taps, 12 more to go. They aren’t extremely painful, but I hate those.

4 – Episodes of throwing up. Shanda feels very sorry for me when I do, but I just keep repeating my mantra to her: “It’s just vomit.”

3 – Fingers that have been left a little numb from the chemotherapy. We don’t know if that will go away or not.

0 – Eyebrows I have lost so far. But it’s just a matter of time and it’s gonna be weird.

2 – Episodes of passing out at the oncology clinic.

7 – Approximate number of nurses staring at me when I regained consciousness.

14 – Meals we have had good friends make and deliver to our house.

2 – Grandmas that have come for extended stays to help take care of our boys.

12 – Approximate number of times each day that Shanda asks me, “Are you OK?”

12 – Inches long for each tile on the oncology floor at the hospital.

250 – Number of tiles a person travels if they make a lap around the oncology floor.

21 – Laps around the oncology floor to make 1 mile.

3 – Miles I walked during my last hospitalization.

7 – References to Kojak or Mr. Clean when people hear about or see my bald head.