Not Your Standard Punching Doll

Roberto had another leg kicking night.  The medication (we don't know which one yet) finally wore off towards the end of the night and he got to sleep.  This was after he asked for a massage and slept on the floor a few times because his back was bothering him.  All the sitting during the week, sleeping in the lumpy bed, and the shifting of his organs from the shrinking tumor might be causing the back aches.  I'm thinking about getting him to a professional masseuse. I guess Massage Envy?  I don't actually know a good place to take him.

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Amanda and Tarik stopped by today to see how Roberto was doing and to drop off a gift!

The above is a "Da***t Doll" that Roberto can abuse when he's feeling angry.  The instructions on the doll state that whenever one is feeling angry, they should take the doll by the legs and wail it against the nearest wall.  Apparently, Amanda gave Roberto permission to hit ME with the doll!!!  I have yet to confirm this with Amanda.  I might need to get a doll of my own.  But I can't hit someone with cancer!  Arrrrrgggg!

The next few pictures are of gifts we received a while ago.  Rob and Kat went to San Diego Comic Con and found a little Master Chief!  It's about four inches tall and is the cutest Master Chief, which probably comes in handy when fighting the Covenant (really, more nerdy references??). 

Before Martha left, she bestowed on us an array of candy and games!  She also bought us some new sheets so we don't have to wash as often (we have to wash the sheets each week).

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As for today, Roberto also ate lots of solid food!  He wasn't quite ready for burgers but did eat a good portion of pasta with plenty of fruits and veggies throughout the day and finished the night with a smoothie.  He hasn't forgotten about the burgers though.  He already has lunch plans with Tarik to grab some In and Out tomorrow. 

Roberto was also awake for the entire day!  Granted, he spent the majority of the day playing Halo and Starcraft 2, but that's better than sleeping or throwing up.  It's great to see him recover so quickly after completing the chemo infusion portion of the cycle.  I'm trying to think of ways to make the third cycle a little easier on him.  Any ideas?

By the way, I added my email to my profile so people can contact me.  I realized that not everyone who reads this blog may have my email address.  

Cheers to a full night's rest!

Cycle 2 - Day 7

Achievement Unlocked - One Cycle Complete

We spent the day relaxing with friends.  One more board game was played in the morning with Eric and Michelle (we squeezed it in right before lunch).  This one is called Carcassonne and it's super fun.  You build cities and roads and claim them for yourself with little tokens called Meeples.  Well, I should tell you that it's origin is in Germany.  Leave it to the Germans to pick mundane tasks for the theme of a game.  Seriously, though, this is one of Roberto's favorite games.  You've probably guessed by now that I'm a super nerd about board games.  I blame Eric and Michelle (yes, I know you're reading this).

Eric and Michelle stayed for lunch and we met up with Kat, Rob, Jim, Jun, baby Sophia, and Martha for a lunch buffet which was so fun.  We hadn't hung out with all of them for a long time and it gave me a sense of normalcy that I hadn't felt for a while.  Martha is gracing us with her presence for the next two days to lend a helping hand with Adam.  :)  It's great to have her lovely face around and an extra voice against watching the Top Gear Bolivia Special.  We escaped with having watched only the first 20 minutes.  Whew.

When Michelle and Eric came the other day, they brought with them a bunch of ginger products:  candy, tea and soda!  Roberto is not going to be running out of ginger candy any time soon.  I truly hope one or all of these helps Roberto through this week.

Speaking of gifts, Roberto received a care package in the mail from the awesome Jessica!  She sent a gift card to iTunes and Starbucks (good call on my addiction to coffee, Jessica!).  She also sent hard candy made by the creepy Ginger People!  OK, they are not creepy, just creepy to me with their little ginger limbs.

Well, Roberto made it to the end of one cycle!  He's one-fourth of the way through his chemotherapy treatment.  There's nine more weeks to go which seems like forever at this point.  This week will be hard but we'll take it one day at a time with all your well-wishes, thoughts, and prayers to keep us going.  :)

Cycle 1 - Day 21