Thursday, November 13, 2008

Lots of bald-headedness!

Wow, my friends rock. This morning 3 of my friends, Farookh, Simon and Eugene (pictured at left), went down to Acme Barbershop and asked to get their heads shaved -- on purpose! They did this in support of me, and I think that's just plain awesome. In fact, they managed to pull off some pretty sexy new looks in the process. I'll post a picture of me later showing my new bald head as well, but don't expect anything sexy like these guys. Especially since mine will be in a hospital robe, bleh.

Speaking of hospitals, I'm still in the hospital but we've managed to get a handle on my fever so I might be going home as soon as tomorrow. Hooray! The biggest fear for me is that I won't be able to get 3 meals a day down at home, since I am still suffering from mouth ulcers, and also because it's hard to keep simple foods down due to my messed up intestinal tract. At the hospital I am on this fancy TPN (total parenteral nutrition) IV drip that supplies me with 2,500 calories per day of protein, lipids (fats), vitamins and minerals, basically I don't need to eat solid food at all. It's been a total life-saver since while I was recovering at home last week I would stress out at each meal just trying to figure out what to eat and how to keep it down. Lately I haven't had to worry about that which has been a huge relief, though I have been trying to eat a little bit of food each day so that I can ease myself back into solid foods, even though it's a bit of a struggle.

The other issue is that they've discovered some liver problems, including jaundice (my eyes are slightly yellow), all of which are likely a result of the high-dose chemotherapy. Hopefully this is something that goes away by itself, but they're monitoring it closely to see what happens next. Kind of a bummer to start having problems in a separate part of my body, but liver issues aren't totally unexpected. It could also have been caused by the anti-cholesterol drugs I was taking during the chemo, which was part of a clinical study that showed that taking this particular drug helped give patients a better response to the chemotherapy, even for people that don't have high cholesterol. But the dose I had to take was pretty high (16 pills a day) and so I basically ended up taking a 45-day supply of cholesterol drugs in just 3 days. But the doctors are good and are on top of things, and hopefully it will just go away by itself.

Also, I was blown away by all the comments you guys have been posting recently. I've been feeling pretty down the last few days and all your comments have really helped cheer me up. Thanks! I have some future blog posts lined up to answer some of your questions too :)

Here are some pictures of the fun my friends head while getting their heads shaved :)

Simon, looking a little like Dr. Evil


Eugene -- Russian mobster look?


Farookh, sporting that Neel Kashkari look. Very smart and sexy.


Too much fun! You guys rock!

11 comments:

obscurity said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
obscurity said...

You know - i was planning to do this as well - but the truth be told, Im just too much of a sissy to shave my head in the face of what is going to be a nasty cold brutal winter here in Chicago. I decided instead that I would shave my back in honor. But the pictures of that were just a little creepy (especially the "Before" pics), so I held off on posting them.

Yeah, the midwest has its drawbacks (read: winter) ..

Funny I couldn't reach Grobison for comment. I guess the D-town contingency is just as sissy as the Chitown contingency. Who knew, right?

Anonymous said...

Steve,

Just wanted to let you know that Nathan and I are wishing you well during this treatment and through recovery. I don't get to read your blog every day, but I do catch up whenever I can. We're praying for you, your family, and your donor every night.

~Becky

Unknown said...

I definitely thought hard about shaving my head. And then had the same thoughts with body hair as Brian. However while the picture of me in a speedo would have been hilarious and I'm sure cheered Stever up I thought about how much I don't want a picture of me in a speedo on Facebook. Not because of being self-conscious but more because here in Detroit we wonder how long we will keep our jobs. And do I want a picture of me in a speedo floating around the internet.

I guess you could break it down to two types of employers. One that would love to hire a hairless guy in a speedo and those that might think it is tasteless. You can see I'm still struggling with my decision. Really it's the paranoia that keeps me from doing it.

Hold on... a guy from GM security is taping me on the back. Why is he holding a cardboard box?

Unknown said...

How much are speedos anyway? I guess I could pretend I'm a swimmer. Employers would be like well he's a swimmer. So you know.

buckmonster said...

bald is sexy... it's always a good conversation starter you know.

Anonymous said...

Excuses excuses ... you guys are wusses! Then again, I didn't have a whole lot of hair to give up in the first place (and neither did Farookh for that matter). Eugene, on the other hand, provided enough to carpet the entire floor of the barbershop.

Wish you could have been with us Steve - you would have had a blast.

Unknown said...

Best of luck Steve - hope it gave you a laugh. Simon looks hilarious when bald - so it certainly gave me one :)

sureshk said...

Hey, very nice gesture, you guys look good.

I've been championing this look for a while. Some of you might argue that it wasn't by choice, but that's just details.

Unknown said...

Very nice guys. Simon did try to convince me but it's just a little bit too cold in Dublin (plus I am a wuss).

All the best Steve!

-Rich

Beth Jackson said...

Steve,
I don't have a blooming thing useful to say ---just wanted you to know we're keeping up with your progress and wishing you well.
Jeff
P.S. As a semi experienced nearly bald person, I wish I had the opportunity to look forward to hair like you do.