Acontinuationofwords...more news from Montreal

Well, today has become a day of surprises. The doctors came by for the normal visit, but with some great news: another bone marrow biopsy was to be performed, the one where they drill a sample of bone from my hip. The fun never ends! The next "good" news was to be that I have Clostridium difficile; a annoying bacteria that is becoming a problem in hospitals, mostly affecting patients who have been on constant antibiotics and have a low immunity. It causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, some of which I am experiencing, but will not go into details as I did before. So my freedom has again been taken away from me as I must wear a robe, mask and gloves now to leave my room, as well as anyone who comes to visit must do the same. These somewhat shady tactics are put in place to protect the other patients, where as any "normal", not sick people are at very low risk of contracting the bacteria, but still have to be cautious. In case you're wondering there is no need to shout "blasphemy" or "Contaminated" and scream while running away from me... It is not too serious of a problem, but I am on another antibiotic to combat this bacteria now, so it is starting to become a never ending trend. Clostridium difficile is usually controllable within ten days of treating, so likely, it will not affect my (still unknown, but nearing) departure date for coming home.
Last week my hair started falling out. To some people this comes to them as a shock, and I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed that my sexy blonde hair was going to start to fall, it was the longest it had ever been in a long time, and the girls in Quebec were going crazy over it, yeah sure... Anyway, becoming impatient with the process, I decided to speed it up a tad. So, and this might sound a little creepy, I started to, every now and again, pull out sections of my hair, grabbing fairly big chunks each time I pulled. Well I didn't make myself bald by pulling my hair out, but I did make my hair thinner, along with the amounts of hair that fell out on my pillow every night. I got the local hospital barber to come give me a chop, so with my military hair cut I didn't look too bad. The hair kept on falling, only this time it was whisker like, and a lot more itchy, so making a rash decision I went to the razor. I could only get the front of my head, so I had to resort to mommy helping me get the rest. So now I am a baldy, hopefully it doesn't start growing back in patches.
The last two weeks I have also learned a little more about my protocol. It is not as short as I once thought, as I was confused for a while at what what going to happen to me after I left the Royal Victoria Hospital. It has been cleared up a little and I know basically what will happen. Once I am ready to leave this hospital, I will be able to take a break from the hospital life for a week, maybe two, to come home and see everyone, have a little time with friends. After that I will have to start my second session of chemo, which is only two weeks, but it seems a little more intense. I will most likely be staying in Calgary for this two week period, but I am unsure as to whether I will remain in the hospital or if I can stay out. During the next session it seems it may be a bit brutal since I will be receiving four Lumbar Punctures in 14 days, so it is likely that my back will be a bit sore. After the second session I might get another little break, but then will start the next session which is divided into ten-three week intervals, mostly of which will be out patient, and therefore I won't have to be in the hospital. As I said, I don't really know much of the details yet, but the doctors are currently working on my transfer, talking with doctors in Calgary and my family doctor at home.
The past few days I have not been feeling my best, I have had a fairly good headache off and on throughout the week, but hopefully it is nothing, or just that it only has to do with the C. difficile...Who knows. I will go for a CT scan today to see if anything is wrong, but I doubt there will be, the doctor doesn't seem too concerned so neither will I. My morale has been pretty good, my brother and dad were here for a couple of days, so they were relieved to see me, it's easier to know someone is doing well if you see them(I know everyone wants to see me.) I have had visits from people I met in Quebec, so that also keeps my spirits up, as well as the nurses, they are all taking care of me! Other than that I have been thinking about what I want to do when I get through all this. Where I will go to school, just what I want to do with my life... It's so hard to decide. I know that I have to focus on getting better right now, but I am keeping my mind open for what is going to happen next.
I wrote this over two days again, cause I get lazy and stop writing then start again, so the start was yesterday!
Take Care, Justin:) Hasta Pronto