Living With Cancer

The Joke

*The Joke*

This post will cover the build up and the April Fools delivery that shook the entire community!

Complications: March 29th

Over the last few days the medications I’ve been taking to alleviate my discomfort have grown less and less effective. Not only am I feeling increased side effects but new complications have been developing. I almost kept this to myself but at this point but I know many are genuinely concerned for my well being so here I am.

The combination of meds I’ve been taking gives me a feeling of always being full yet I’m always hungry. Trying to eat on top of this causes nausea and I’d surely vomit if I persisted to eat, yet I continued picking at food like that rat outside of every Popeyes chicken restaurant ever. Furthermore, my GI tract was not prepared for the additional waste it would need to process due to the radiation burning inside my bowels. Keep in mind I wasn’t eating much at all which led to the 50 lbs of weight loss.

Bowel movements have slowed down even more and today has been barren. Air still passes through, although painfully, and that’s why I’m still just closely monitoring this situation. If this persists throughout the night and into tomorrow I’ll have to head over to the ER to be certain that possible impacted stool hasn’t created a 100% blockage. The lead tumor is huge and already covers most of the passage itself so it wouldn’t take much to seal the valve.

That of course leads to surgery to avoid sepsis and a colostomy bag which at this point may be a blessing. As much as I hate the idea of a squishy Fanny pack, I enjoy being here more! I’ll be sure to keep you posted as things continue to develop.

Thirstless Thursday: March 30th

Knocked out another round of radiation today. That was the key part for my delay last night against some of your wishes . Give me a 24 hour window and I’ll always open it . Now I’m waiting on my children to arrive home from school so I can head down to the ER just to be on the safe side. Still no changes so I feel it’s time to get a professional opinion.

Basically I’ll check in, they’ll run their tests and do their scans. I’ll drink some fluids that will allow my insides to glow like a firefly booty. This will reveal if there is a full blockage or not.

Have not really been able to stomach food today. Picked at a few things but didn’t really have any interest even though I feel like I could eat a whole donkey . The Ensure shake was harder to get down then normal.

I could be refining the term “Get The Bag” and I better be Gucci afterwards or we gonna have some problems, Mane . Or it could be something simple. Let’s hope for the latter!

Yikes! I should have listened! March 31st

I’m at the ER. I’ve had difficulty peeing all day. They’ve been running tests. My heart rate is coming in at around 95 beats per minute and paired with a shortness of breath. I’m freezing and don’t have much energy. My blood pressure is low.

All of these factors alone are common for someone with my condition. But paired together can mean something else entirely. Tests have shown elevated serum lactate levels (whatever those are) which is a common indicator for sepsis. The doctor sees a high risk of septic shock coming so I’m being prepared for emergency surgery.

I’ve stolen away this little hit of time before the stroll me away and transform me into a Thanksgiving turkey. Since they’ll be working on the blockage which did manifest itself to 100% I’m guessing now is a good time to remind you to wash wash wash your chitlins! This operating room is about to smell like public restrooms & earring backs. At least I’ll get to sleep through that .

I assume I’ll wake up with my own portable bag. The only bright side I can see to that is when they hook me up to the take home chemo kit on Monday they’ll be able to keep each other company around my waist. This is Tony signing off for the evening and I’ll be sure to update you all tomorrow. God speed!

April 1st 8:30 AM

We all know how important this journey was for Tony to document and that’s why I am writing on his behalf. Unfortunately there were complications during the surgery and Tony didn’t pull through. As his family we are asking that you give us the time we need to process this and deal with it. We will be back to update you all. Thank you for your understanding.

The King family.

HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY! April 1st, 7:02 PM

Let me start by saying a warm heart felt thank you to everyone who fed in to my foolishness today. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to attend my own funeral and you gave me a glimpse of that.

Next is I should apologize for playing with your emotions. I saw a once in a lifetime opportunity that my warped sense of humor could not ignore and I jumped at it .

Now onto our regularly scheduled programming.

Week 4 of radiation concluded today! Chemotherapy is back on Monday. I get the Fanny pack reinstalled. This will be my final round of chemo and my last two weeks of radiation therapy. I’m going to be sick as hell that week but I’ll get through it.

I got plenty of rest last night. I guess you could say I slept like the dead. (Too soon?) I’m ready to see the rest of these treatments come to a close. 2/3 of the way clear. I’m almost there!

Once again thank you all so much for your comments and support. Some of you know me and expected a prank. Some of you are probably angry. And some of you are thankful I’m ok. The important part is that I am still very much alive and still fighting the good fight. The best part is I didn’t even have to slap Chris rock to get this Oscar.