Hismones 01/16/26

Happy New Year! I still used the eyebrow-raising expression, "I haven't seen you since last year!" yesterday when greeting some fellow members of Singing Men of Texas during our rehearsal afternoon. I'm so glad I read my last post before starting this one, because it ended much more positively than I've been feeling. My one as(s)pect in common with our president is that I seem to be facing battles on multiple fronts: not Venezuela, Greenland, the Middle East, or ICE but instead hip pain, fatigue, and fecal urgency/incontinence. Following an X-ray and spine injections, a recent MRI revealed that I have multiple muscle and tendon tears in my hip that can only be treated through pain-reducing injections. I have a specialist appointment at the end of the month, but my main symptom is an increasing pain the longer I sit while driving or on a hard chair. Because I take Eliquis as a stroke preventative due to "paroxysmal asymptomatic" Afib, I can only use Tylenol for pain, which for me is about one step above Skittles. I suppose our Sunday-Monday 15 hour driving trip, my servicing Tammy's car on Tuesday, working Wednesday on baseboards for the new entry tile area, and the driving and choir rehearsal/concert yesterday have taken a toll. I am deeply relieved to be retired during this treatment. And the evidence is mounting that my intestines experienced serious injury during February-April radiation sessions, because after more than eight months following completing the treatments, I'm still having 4-6 bowel movements daily with extreme urgency and being occasionally surprised by small leaks. I took an extra pair of underwear to the men's choir event yesterday, and Tammy brought up the suggestion that I may need to wear a pad sometimes when being away from home. I lasted through the concert last night and then went immediately and briskly to the nearest restroom. I did okay while seated (I am among the senior choir members who are on a seated front row while singing) but standing at the end "lit the fuse." If you're still reading, this isn't too much TMI and maybe will help someone going through this commiserate? The gastroenterologist has given up on medications (I started an antibiotic this week, Xifaxan, in case of gastritis) and has scheduled me for another colonoscopy for next Friday (1/23), planning to biopsy any areas that look suspicious. I had the procedure last June, almost two months after radiation, with only a couple of small benign polyps evident. The doctor has suggested "radiation proctitis" as a possible diagnosis, and unfortunately that can be a permanent parting gift of radiation. Hopefully, he'll find a clear diagnosis with an effective solution. I really thought that living my latter years would be more graceful but maybe a year from now, speculating that I will have been off hormone therapy for six months or so, I will be feeling more normal again and all this will seem to have been more of a severe "speed bump" in life. As an update for the cancer patients I mentioned in the previous blog, the gentleman on hospice has died and his memorial service is forthcoming. My music teacher friend has passed her original six month prognosis, continues treatment, and maintains a strong faith in facing whatever lies ahead. Another men's choir friend diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma recently is enduring infusion treatments including one yesterday before he heroically directed our choir in two of our songs. Disease doesn't define us but it definitely affects us. I'm not depending on God for miraculous healing but rather so as not to go through this alone. If I may pray for you in some way, please let me know. Prayer seems more relevant and important these days. Blessings on your 2026! I'll update following the colonoscopy if anything significant is discovered.