Laughter is the best medicine

Several people at work have spent the last month putting together a charity event for me, and on February 15, the culmination of all their hard work came together in the form of Wes 2.0 at the Comedy and Magic Club in Redondo Beach.

The night was headlined by the comedic acts of Garry Shandling, Kathleen Madigan and Ryan Hamilton. All are extremely talented and skilled in their profession, but I have to say that I enjoyed Ryan Hamilton the most. I actually had the opportunity to talk with him back stage, and turns out I am now the second funniest Mormon that I know, as Ryan is a BYU alumni and served a mission in North Carolina.







The night was closed to the public, and was made up of a combination of family, friends (from Cali and T-Town), and a whole lot of law enforcement support from all over the Southland. (It would have been a good night to rob a bank).

The hard work by a few didn't stop with just the selling of tickets to the event, but also included a silent auction for gift baskets, jewelry, autographed sports memorabilia, theme park tickets and even a free personal flight lesson.

To sum up the night, I was once again humbled by the generosity and support.

Fast forward three days later. I had my third round of chemotherapy. My body has reacted a little bit different every time, and this time was no bueno. I was finished treatment around 2:00 pm, and did not feel anything until around 7:00 pm that night. I spent the next three days no more than walking distance from my bed.











I was told from a nurse at the hospital that Michael C. Hall, famously known as Dexter Morgan (you have to say it like the trinity killer does) was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2010, and successfully overcame it. Fun Fact.

...Up coming Posts will include "High Maintenance Disease, Low Maintenance Haircut"


Thanks for all the love.

Port-a-cath surgery

I had surgery this morning at 11:00 a.m. The surgery was to place a catheter into my superior vena cava (vein going to my heart area), which runs to an opening at the other end on the right side of my chest. This will enable the chemotherapy drugs to be directly shot into my body without needing to stick a needle into the smaller veins in my arm. It is also easier on my veins overall.

When I got to the hospital the receptionist handed me a "last directive" form, which you fill out and list someone to make medical decisions if you are unable to do so on your own. I was not expecting that. It took me awhile to decide who I wanted to have make medical decisions for me, but because I am sure my Dad and Garrett would request that I get breast implants, or a hook for a hand. I ended up not submitting the form. I just figured that me in a coma, could still make better decisions than anyone else could for me. (That sounds like something Dwight Schrute would say).

I was then taken to a hospital bed, and told to completely disrobe and put on one of the humiliating hospital gowns where your rumpus is out in the open. I had a hat and booties to match.

Anyway, the surgery was about 45 minutes in duration, and after a mixture of Verced and anesthesia, I cannot remember much of it. I now know that I am a light weight when it comes to waking up from the anesthesia, and for some reason I sang "you can't keep a good dog down", from the Disney movie All Dogs Go To Heaven for about ten straight minutes until they called Kristen in the recovery room and order was restored.

Third round of Chemo coming up on Friday.

Here are some photos from today's excitement.

Pre surgery smile  (I am pretty sure the chemo caused the zit) Carlie, too soon and rude overall.                                                      

This is the catheter. It runs from the neck area down to my chest. You can see the entire tube, and the reservoir area sticks out about an inch from being swollen. It looks like a third nip.  

Also, I did not put on fake tan before surgery, nor do I have a hill billy of a tan line. Its cleaning solution, and for some reason it goes from my neck down to my belly button... 

Oops, they forget to take the three stickies off my back. 

Round II- more side effects

I had the second round of chemotherapy last Friday afternoon.

I arrived at the City of Hope at 8:30 am for a surgical consultation, as I am going to have a catheter placed in my chest, connected to my heart (to simplify medical terms). This will allow the chemo drugs to go into my body more easy and it is also easier on my veins, which begin to deteriorate when the drugs are injected directly into them regularly.

After several hours of sitting in the waiting room playing words with friends, I began Round II at around noon. The nurse (lets call her Nurse 1) was someone I had not dealt with before and lets just say there was a "communication barrier"... and my English is pretty good. A second nurse (Nurse 2) finally came in and straightened some things out.

I have previously mentioned some of the side effects of the drugs (tingling in fingers...) Some of the other issues that I have had to deal with are equally annoying. One of the nurses said that when using the bathroom (going #1 or #2) I should flush twice. My initial thought was that Kristen might have told the nurse to tell me this... you know a "courtesy flush", but the nurse said that its not safe to have any chemo drug residue in the bathroom. So trying to do that is extremely annoying, most people flush and run, not me, I flush, stand around for a bit and try to flush again... usually before the tank fills up.

Another thing that has begun to drive me a bit insane is the semi-insomnia. After the initial chemo injections, I try and get as much sleep as possible, so I don't have to endure the constant feeling of getting off the Disneyland tea cups after eating five nacho cheese dogs. As a result of weird sleep hours, I have found that for some reason I will wake up from my go to tylenol pm/ambien/any other sleep inducing drug cocktail, in the middle of the night and be wide awake. I am not talking about the "I have to go pee" one eye open awake. I am talking about the just got punched in the face wide awake. As a result of the tylenol etc, my eyes are pretty much unable to open, but my legs and body are ready to go. Its my "restless leg syndrome" side effect.  I have found that pacing throughout the house, walking up and down the stairs, stretching and also swearing helps with this issue. It takes between 30 minutes to an hour before I can get back to bed.

Just a few more weird side effects. These will be quick.
1. Sleep habits are a bit off, and I have been known to make some weird whimpering sounds in bed (No, I don't have mommy or daddy issues).
2. Kristen also thinks she is a victim of domestic violence, as she has been on the receiving end of some extreme tossing and turing as I try to get comfortable in bed. She has no marks, so its her word against mine. I was a police officer, I know how it works.
3. The chemo drugs have made me a little bit gassy at times. Since Kristen knows that I have to flush twice... she has translated that into thinking my gas is actually go to inflict real harm. I am sorry to Midas (our dog) who I blame it on. All about projecting the blame.

Other than that, I am good. Thank you for all the support! The phone calls, emails, texts, and inappropriate picture messages are helping me stay positive and optimistic through this difficult time. Oh, and I am 16% done with the Chemotherapy....

Wes 2.0