Rashes, Cold Spells, Naseua...Oh My!

Hello All,

Sorry for the delay in my posting. I have had a rough couple of days. It seems lately that I cannot wonder that far from a bathroom if you know what I mean. It appears that when I get my chemo on Thursday that everything just kinda slows down for a few days. It wears off by Monday night, but the weekend is usually a drag. I am experiencing nueropathy in my hands and feet. It feels like they are falling asleep alot, but shaking them and rubbing them does no good. Also, like in the last post, I am very, very, very tired. I have started taking daily naps. I am not trying to rub that in with all the hard working folks out there, but it really feels good. Sometimes they are short, and sometimes they are a few hours. The pain is still increasing little by little. Actually, I think that the pain is more from my frequent bathroom visits than anything else. It really hurts to go, and with diarrhea, sometimes nothing is there and I end up just pushing on the tumor really hard. It hurts worse for about thirty minutes afterwards and then kinda settles back down into the pain to which I have grown accustomed.

One thing that was weird was that I started to have this strange rash where my skin was pigmented red on parts of my body. I was not sure what was going on, and thought maybe it was from radiation. I saw the radiation doctor yesterday and asked about it. He said it was still early to see radiation side effects (7 treatments) and that they would be around the specific target area. He said it sounds like I got in the sun too much, which I am not supposed to do with the chemo. I have really not been out that much, but I guess what little exposure I have had can go a long way. It was really strange looking. I have stopped getting really afraid about strange things with my body...they seem to be happening pretty frequently. I just note them and ask the nurses or doctors. However, it really sucks to look outside at the nice fall weather and close the blinds.

Also, the plans for the benefit are in the finalization phase. I will post some more info soon about the details. Roughly speaking it is October 18th at Little Willie's in downtown Tuscaloosa. There will be a few bands and some items to be auctioned off to raise money. I believe that ticket prices are going to be $10. Persons wishing to make donations who will not be in attendance can make contributions payable to "Friends of Josh Wimberly" to be deposited at The Alabama Credit Union.

Peace
Josh