Ups and Downs

23 October 2008
I have been having a lot of ups and downs because I am not sure what is going to happen in my life at the moment. There is the possibility of cancer and dropping out of school to receive treatment. The other possibility is not having cancer and continuing my life as normal. When I think that I might have cancer, I am mainly afraid. I don't want to die, I don't want to go through chemotherapy and radiation, I don't want to lose my hair, I don't want to be in more pain, and I just don't want to go through it. It scares me to think that a 20 year old like me sometimes goes through this. It's hard and weighs down on me.

I have noticed that the more that I don't think about it, the better I am and not weighed down by the world of the unknown. I have tried to continue with my life as normally as I can and losing myself in passion for what I love. Passion and seeking my dreams is what keeps me whole and complete. It is what keeps me happy and helps me have a good outlook on life. Passion keeps the monsters of my life away. Life right now, without this passion, would be hell and incomplete.

I Hate The Fight for Marriage

19 October 2008
I am personally getting so sick of all of the fighting over the definition of marriage and Proposition 8. I hate hearing people on campus talking about. I hate getting emails about how I should support both sides. I hate hearing people bash on each other. I hate how the Church is handling the situation. I hate how a lot of MoHos (and the gay community) are handling the situation. I hate getting facebook invites telling me to "say no" or "say yes." I hate getting into fights with friends about the topic. I hate seeing my friends and family talk about the issue and fight over it because they differ on opinions. I hate how much contention this is causing.

Why can't we all just be friends and be ourselves? Why can't everybody have the same rights? Isn't that what America is about, equal rights for all?

These questions open up a huge discussion on the topic, but I don't want to get involved with it anymore. I am sick of it! I want it to be over and I want to hear nothing about it again. I wish it would all go away.

Another Joy of Life

17 October 2008
Here is another update in the life of Sean. It is not as fun as the last one. Actually, it is not fun at all. As many of you know, when there comes something challenging in my life, I call it a joy of life. Well, this is one of the biggest joys of life I have ever had. This new joy of life came from my doctor today. I went in and had all of my test results told to me. Everything was pretty much as I expected it. I am sick and all of my symptoms matched the results from the test. There was a little bit more this time though. The doctor saved this little bit of news for the end. It was definitely the most serious and traumatizing. In my CT Scan, the radiologist found cysts in my liver. He told it to me straight and I will tell you the same. I might have liver cancer. The results are not yet conclusive. I have to go in for more tests next week so I can get a yea or a nay. I do not want all of you to freak out and worry for me. There is still a chance that I might not have it. I just wanted to let all of you know.

Sometimes I wonder if I am cursed to have tons of problems in my life.

I Felt Like I Peed My Pants

15 October 2008
As many of you know, I have not been feeling too well lately because of my Crohn's Disease. I went into the doctor a couple of weeks ago hoping to get some new medication, but that did not happen. He just upped the pills that I am taking right now (this in the past has proven not to work). A couple of weeks went by and I kept getting worse. I have been in pain for probably over a month now... :( I finally was able to get into him again (before my scheduled appointment tomorrow) last week. He decided that he needed to up my medication again and get me into the hospital for some tests.

Yesterday was the first round of tests. On Monday night, I had to drink a lovely Barium Sulfate Berry shake that tasted like crap and metal. It was not good at all and it did not taste like mixed berries as the picture and bottle suggested. After I drank that, I started fasting because I was not allowed to eat or drink until after my CT Scan which was at 11 am the next day. An hour before my CT Scan, I had to drink another Barium Sulfate Berry shake and it tasted exactly the same. Then I had to drink another one 30 minutes before and that one again tasted the same (they should really try to improve the flavors of those things). I went into the CT Scan and had pictures taken of my intestines. Then I had an IV placed in my arm and had some more CT Scans done with Iodine contrast fluid this time. This is where the story gets fun... :)

When Iodine contrast is injected into your bloodstream, it feels really warm and good. It soon spreads out throughout your whole body. You get a lovely metallic taste in your mouth and your inguinal region (the area around your penis and rectum) get really warm. It makes you feel like you are peeing your pants and have something warm shoved up your butt! I am not going to lie... it felt really good! I was in the CT Scanner yesterday for about an hour with that going through my system and I had a good time thinking about life, Madonna, and everything else that went on through my brain.

After my CT Scans, I went to get some blood work done (I still felt warm all over and I still had the metallic taste in my mouth). The blood work was the same old procedure, but the good news was that I did not get the crappy nurse that I usually get (she misses my veins way too often and I usually get bruises from her). So that was great! After I finished everything at the hospital, I went to take a forever long Physical Chemistry test. I was in the testing center for 4.25 hours! That is the longest I have ever been in there. It killed me. The whole time I was a little loopy from some of the drugs that I had in my system, but I think I did fine. I also had "Like A Prayer" stuck in my head by Madonna. That was fun! :) ha!

Yesterday life was interesting. Tomorrow I will find out my results on the medical tests. Today I have been strangely missing the warm feeling of me feeling like I am peeing my pants and that I have something warm up my butt.

Finding Meaning

12 October 2008
And I had to be alone because anyone who came near me invaded me. Only in the absence of people could I boil myself down to a clear broth and add things a little at a time. Occasionally I would venture out into the world with someone else as my escort, but it guaranteed nothing. Each random moment of interaction held danger.

-Julie Gregory, Sickened
I can relate with Julie. Sometimes you need to run away, leave the world, friends, and family behind, look deep within yourself to find out who you really are, and then build yourself back up from a clear broth becoming who you want to be without the influence of others.