EASTER

It's April eleventh and I'm sitting here listing to a classical piece “Night on Bald Mountain” while looking outdoors to see large snow flakes dance their way to the ground. Just an hour or so ago I headed out for a non-energy filled two mile run which ended up being more of a slog then a run. How different from this past Saturday when I ran a twenty one minutes forty second five kilometer race, finishing up twelfth overall and shocking the living daylights out of myself; I expected to run somewhere shy of twenty four.

The selection has changed, currently Vivaldi's “Spring”(I'm listening via Pandora). Not looking like spring out there Antonio. Snow is falling hard and the roads are “Steaming” the same as if a cool rain had fallen on a hot summer road, bizarre.

Easter has come and gone and for the first time since we've been married Susan and I did not share Easter together. Instead I drove with my brother, Tim and his family to Raleigh NC to surprise Mom. 

I would have said to surprise Mom and Dad but apparently Dad is clairvoyant; he announced, “I'm not surprised, I knew it all along.”

The surprise for Mom however was complete, compelling and joyful. Perhaps in a strange way the most meaningful Easter I may experience.

If there was a down side it only rose after I returned home, thankfully after I returned and not while on the road. I tend to forget sometimes that it has just been three months since reversal and probably unfair for my mind to expect my body to cooperate upon demand. Still.........

Yesterday I went off the “Gabbys”; the name Sue and I had given for Gabapentin. It is a drug to control the pain from the side effects of chemotherapy. I ran out as soon as I came back from North Carolina and apparently did not have an available refill. I never imagined I'd still be taking this stuff at this point but my hands ache and my feet are thirty percent asleep. You are not supposed to just stop but since I have, I'll just gut it out and deal with it.

The informative paragraph below explains probably why I feel like crap.

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If you suddenly stop taking Gabapentin tablets, capsules, or oral solution, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, nausea, pain, and sweating. If you are taking Gabapentin to treat seizures and you suddenly stop taking the medication, you may experience seizures more often. Your doctor may decrease your dose gradually over at least a week.

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Mom's surgery is scheduled for Friday, I am at a lack of words to express how I feel.

Mike