It's been a while since I added a blog entry - but this has been good news. John reports that he is gradually regaining his strength: he is once again making his paper runs to Gibson's, visiting Dorothy twice a week, and keeping up with his gardening.
He has also been coping with the strange effects of regaining taste. The first signs of taste returning was a high sensitivity to only certain flavours - like green pepper and garlic. Eating Italian food tasted like a blast of garlic, John reported - and all it needed was a small mount of green pepper to overwhelm all the other flavours. In his latest phone call he now reports that there is too much cinnamon in his cinnamon bun. Food textures are also a challenge. At times chewing is just too uncomfortable.
His saliva is not yet back to normal, his lower 'beard' is still peach fuzz, and his skin has a post-sunburn smoothness - leaving him with a 'distinguished' look according to the Purolater clerk. I expect that his slimmer look also helps.
John will be visiting the doctor on Monday and will be having a PET scan at the end of the month. He has had a number of blood tests along the way, with 'no news is good news' results. The PET scan is a more thorough test. I'll keep you posted.
