The Taber Family Blog

It’s been a while since I posted and overall things are getting better. Slowly better, but any progress is still progress. The skin on my neck has dramatically improved and feels almost supple these days. It’s still reddish with some minor scarring, but that will all fade over time. My face is getting better every day. It’s still red and patchy but I can see small improvements each day. I might actually start going out in public if the mood strikes me. (Wow, a home body no more!) These days, getting out of the house is something to look forward to. I spend so much time here each day, I’m starting to feel like a crazy hermit.

My mouth hasn’t changed much at all and that’s my biggest complaint currently. I’m still stuck with my daily diet of Ensure and protein drinks, jello and soups. I was beside myself with envy over Easter with all that great chocolate, candy and jelly beans around; none of which I could even begin to put in my mouth. Even if I could eat it, it wouldn’t taste any good. Rats.

So yesterday I had a checkup appointment with Dr. Vikstrom at Northbay. He was delighted to see my skin improving and that I was there by myself!  Hey, I’m slowly re-establishing my ability to get around on my own.  Anyway, all my vitals were good and my weight is holding steady at just under 200 lbs. My caloric intake is not terribly high, but I don’t do much strenous activity anyway, so I’m probably burning just a bit more calories than I take in everyday. He looked at my ear and said he could see my eardrum again, but I should keep taking the ear drops more consistently for good measure to clear it up for good.

Dr. Vikstrom also said the levels of Erbitux in my body most likely have dropped by half since the last infusion on the 16th of March. He also told me that with radiation related hair loss (like my beard and the lower back of my head), it will take much longer to regrow than if I had been given true chemo. Erbitux is not considered as chemotherapy. Chemo patients start growing hair within a few months, but mine may take until the Fall or even Winter. UGH, that was not good news. So I’ll have to come up with a clever new hair style for a while.

So, I’m getting closer and closer to spending more time out of the house and away from my little cockpit in the home office. And I’m hoping to start eating real food sometime soon, although my taste will be “off” for a while longer. And the lack of saliva will keep me and bread separated too. I’m nearly crying as I type that.