Paddleboarding
This week was unabashedly a good week. There was a minor, albeit scary, incident, but besides that I've been able to do and eat a lot more. As I had hoped, I believe I've surpassed where I was before starting this additional round of chemo. My energy is a lot better this week, and I'm starting to gain weight.
The scary incident came a few mornings ago. I've noticed that I can't get up quickly from sleeping or even sitting down. I get a little lightheaded and need a few seconds to settle and make sure everything is fine before moving. However, I forgot to do this one morning, and I ended up losing my balance and falling onto the carpet. Fortunately, I didn't hit anything and only had a minor abrasion on my knee. My doctor friends and mentor assured me that this is nothing serious. This was likely caused by my lower blood pressure and being a little dehydrated that morning.
Besides that, I've been able to resume both a more expansive diet as well as more physical activity. On the food front, as before, I'm still not able to tolerate spice but acidity is getting a little better. I need to make some modifications to recipes to leave out things like red pepper flakes or any spice blend that could cause pain. For example, I made an Italian sausage soup with sweet sausage instead of the usual hot sausage.
One recipe that requires little modification is David Chang's 48 hour short ribs. This is one of our favorite sous vide recipes. It's not hard to make, but requires some advance planning and patience. The meat is super tender and the sauce, which features soy, mirin, apple and pear juice, is very good and doesn't have irritating spice. Also, it's fun to blowtorch the meat to finish it (instead of deep frying). Normally, this dish is served with pickled carrots and mustard, but I skipped those on my portion. Here is a link to the recipe. http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/48-hour-sous-vide-short-ribs-momofuku/
International Bacon Day was September 1. I couldn't let this day pass without consuming one of my favorite foods, so I fried up some bacon and had it with a cherry tomato pasta. The last time I tried to have bacon was when things were starting to go downhill. I couldn't eat it, and I had to throw out the cooked bacon. A sad day, for sure. This time, I was able to eat both the bacon and tomatoes with the pasta. This is NYT / Melissa Clark recipe - https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016634-pasta-with-burst-cherry-tomatoes
(If you are reading this on a phone, the captions may not appear. You may be able to turn the phone to landscape mode to see it, though. That worked on my iPhone.)
In addition to the home cooked meals, we ate out at The Publican and San Soo Korean BBQ, with mostly good results. At The Publican, I was able to enjoy many of the flavors and meats, though I did have to drink probably 2L of water to help wash down the meats and soothe some minor irritation. My tongue is still sensitive, so some things still cause pain (and a runny nose). Our favorite items from that meal were the striped bass with pesto tapenese and cauliflower and the blueberry Napoleon dessert. In particular, the wood oven charred cauliflower was especially tasty.
Two nights later, we went to the korean BBQ to celebrate my friend Cassia's birthday. I made sure to avoid any items with kimchi, as I knew that would hurt a lot. Despite seeing the red peppers flakes, I mistakenly tested out the soybean paste sauce, to painful results. Other than that, I was able to enjoy the rest of the meal. The steamed egg was very easy to eat. For the marinated grilled meats, I was able to eat all of them, even the ribeye. The short rib (galbi) was the favorite item that night.
My energy and motivation was improved this week, so we made it out a few times. I felt strong enough to go to the gym and do some group classes. It felt good to try to do exercises (TRX, weights) that are more cardio and strength intensive than the yoga classes. I was careful not push myself too hard, so it felt like I was only going at 60-70% speed and capacity. There is a long way to go to get back to where I think I was before.
That being said, it seems like my balance is still pretty good. After a few day of wind and waves, the conditions were good to go paddleboarding. I checked with the PA beforehand, who gave me the go-ahead. My friends warned me to be careful not to infect my port, so I made sure to put multiple layers of covering over my port and I wore a rash guard. The conditions were decent (though the wind was up to 12mph), but I didn't take any chances when the jet skis generated wakes. I was able to stand and do a leisurely paddle around the lake. Aiday was also able to stand and paddle around, despite the waves and being the first time this season.
We were also tourists in our own city for a day. Specifically, we went up to the top of Willis (Sears) Tower and ventured out onto The Ledge. It was a clear day, and we went up in the late afternoon to catch both the daytime and evening views. The lines to get onto the Ledge were not so bad (though some groups took a very long time to take all their photos). We ended up going out to each of the four, which face west. The sunset was very nice that night, and we managed to get photos with various poses as well. I think the best views at the ones facing north, as that captures the lake, the Hancock Center, as well as my own neighborhood.
We capped off the week by going to a 90 minute gong bath, a sound and vibrational therapy. It was the first time for both of us. Some friends had suggested this as an alternative healing session, so we went to Yogaview to experience it with Richard Rudis, who originated the term "gong bath." The room was packed. While I can't say I experienced any breakthroughs or release, it was a relaxing experience. I was in between a meditative state (sort of like that in-between consciousness during a massage) and perhaps a snoring state. I wasn't the only one. Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight.
The two gongs produced an incredible range of sound and effects
That's about it for the week. One more week until the next chemo session, so I'm determined to enjoy it while I can.
Hope everyone has a great Labor Day holiday.