Energy levels

Patrick Hoban, reporting live from his hospital bed, awaiting the third injection of Velcade, blood pressure 135/70, pulse 68, face slightly sun burnt.

Well, week 1 can be ticked off and so far, so good. I’m starting to notice a real drop off in my energy levels and general feeling of wellbeing the day after I come off the steroids. I’d been made aware that this was likely to be the case, but yesterday was the first time I experienced a real sense of numbness (apart from Friday night, when the Sweden v England game was on). From the first day of this treatment, there’s been one side effect that I’m desperate to avoid, peripheral neuropathy. I’ve spoken about this in a previous post, not because of its physical affect, but because of the potential impact it could have on my on going treatment. Yesterday felt like a small scale battle between the one side of me that was thinking ‘my fingers feel numb, this could be the start of neuropathy’ and the other, perhaps more rational side of me that was saying ‘this is chemotherapy, you will feel tired and less alert’. I know I’ve got to learn to control and steer my thoughts, especially when I can see myself becoming almost paranoid and over analysing every little pain or strange sensation in my body. As I go through my chemotherapy cycles, I’ll  develop a better understanding of how my body reacts to the treatment, it won’t be so alien or unknown. I know this will also help to moderate my more outlandish thoughts

So let’s go back to Friday night. I’ve now got a new goal in my life. After witnessing 90 minutes of ‘the beautiful game’ I now genuinely believe that I’ve got the necessary footballing skills to play for England. Maybe not this time around (especially if we’re drawn to play on a non-steriod day), but the 2014 World Cup could be a realistic option. I’ve even been told that post chemotherapy your hair can grow back stronger and more curly. Me and Rooney could even be sporting the same haircut!!