Wow! What a week…#2!!!

First, I’d like to report that I’m doing quite well all things considered.  I spoke to my oncology team last Monday to report on my side-effects status.  When I explained about the “bone-crushing” ache the PA was like, “Yeah, and?”  Turns out what was new and unbelievably painful to me is a normal part of chemo.  The “ache” was to be expected and I reported that I hadn’t suffered from most of the projected side-effects.  So, “nyah, nyah, chemo, ppppbbbbbbbbbbbbbt”!  [...knock wood]

In my last blog I was writing about looking forward to teaching a songwriting class.  I’ve been teaching private lessons in guitar and mandolin and even co-taught a songwriting camp last summer but this week was different - a class of my own.

A handful of tweeners ready to learn and I can tell you they taught me a few things, too.  When asked about their musical tastes I was told; EDM, Broadway, Pop, Scream-core, Luke Bryant and Gospel to name a few.  I had to look up a couple of genre definitions cuz I didn’t want the kids to think I wasn’t “hip” to current music.  (Truth be told I haven’t been hip since ’78.)

We did writing and word exercises, talked about rhymes and rhythms, prosody and scansion and even did a “Mad-Lib” style exercise to demonstrate extemporaneous songwriting.  They had a great time learning and I had a great time teaching them.  I hope I get to do more of this… perhaps I’ll add, “Songwriting” to my private lesson offerings… Woot!

My week was capped off with 2 shows performed without the aid of a stool or a roadie...   it was both liberating and exhausting.  The first one was on a great big outdoor stage with full sound and lighting and the whole shebang :)  I love it when my suitcase drum sounds like a real bass drum…kick, BOOM!  My my “chemo-brain” was getting the best of me during part of the show and I lost my internal lyric sheet more than once but otherwise I think it went well.

 The next afternoon at the Mississippi River Distillery went much better, more like my old self.  A little stumble at the open but I found my “beat” soon enough and the only thing missing was the appalling lack of their fine local distilled whiskey in my glass.  (The chemo is doing a number on my liver so I’m opting to do without the brown water.)

And now, for my “Week 2” indulgence.
Susan and friends took me to Iowa City Friday night.  IC was throwing a shindig for the RAGBRAI riders and the public was invited to crash the party.  I was still pretty worn out from my StreetFest gig but seeing the riders, street vendors, hearing the music and a scoop of edible cookie dough from Molly’s Cupcakes made it all worthwhile.  The warm-up acts were pretty good, including a band from Oregon called, Blitzen Trapper, but the highlight of the evening was the Minneapolis band from my youth, The Jayhawks!  They sounded great as ever and it was cool to hear a few songs I even recognized. ;p

Here’s me and Susan with our friends, Tracy and Molly, and if you look real close there’s The Jayhawks in the background. 

One down – 15 to go…

Today marks the end of my first week after chemo.  The nurse told me I could expect a couple of good days followed by a few bad days that would slowly ramp back up to good days again…just in time for my next treatment and to start the process all over again.

My wonderful wife suggested we do something fun/different/exciting – one thing, each week during my chemo.  I get Chemo once every 3 weeks for a course of six treatments so we came up with a list of 16 things – one for each week.

On our list:  Take a walk around Nahant Marsh or Sunderbruch Park.
So, this morning Susan and I took a beautiful walk along Sunderbruch Park trails.  We saw horses, butterflies, and the rolling beauty of the farmlands surrounding the Quad Cities.

The trailhead was marked by these cool sunflower sculprtures!
(and yes...I still have my hair ;p )

To recap: Last Monday they pushed ‘Taxol’ and ‘Carbo’ into me over a 5 hour period and I went home feeling more or less “normal”.  And, as predicted, the first 2 days I felt…okay.  I haven’t been sleeping well and I have, what Susan says is “chemo-brain”, but otherwise I felt like, “Hey, chemo, no big deal!”  Then something changed Wednesday night.

I don’t remember how it started but at some point that evening what I can only describe as a bone-crushing ache set upon every bone in my body.  I couldn’t sit, stand, breathe or sleep comfortably.  I was in head-to-toe pain – not debilitating, not unbearable, just…complete.  There were no pain meds prescribed and I’m only allowed Tylenol – which worked about as well as a sugar pill.  Yes, I’m complaining. I’m whining.  I’m going to take this one moment and ask you to be tolerant while I say, “poor me”.    Okay, thanks for listening, done now.

Thursday we’d had plans to go to a concert and I insisted we go on with our plans - I could be miserable at home or I could be miserable at a concert so off we went to one of our favorite venues, CodFish Hollow, to see one of our new favorite bands, The Lone Bellow.  I spent the evening supplanting the pain by surrounding myself with friends and music - joyous, thunderous music with 3-part harmonies that seemed to cushion my bones against the pain.  It wasn’t absolute but the ache was made more bearable for those few hours.

I’m not really sure what I would have done had that “ache” continued past Friday.  Luckily, I didn’t need to find out. On Saturday I woke with most of the pain having left my bones and only a shallow uneasiness just beneath the skin that keeps me from feeling 100 percent.  I’ll take that.

As the new week begins I’m excited to start teaching a songwriting class for students from the Creative Arts Academy.  I continue teaching private lessons on guitar and mandolin and will wrap up my week with a set at the Bix7 Street Fest on Friday and a show at a local distillery on Saturday. 

My family, my friends and music keeps me going.

Enough about me - let's talk about my music ;p

First I'd like to thank my "Roadies Du Jour" who've stepped up and helped out during my recovery from surgery that's left me with a lifting restriction.

To Dave Dipple, Brian Schou, Gregory, Gregg Parmentierre, Brad Suhr, Erin and Meyer Wikoff and my first Rd'J, Susan - my deepest, sincerest, most humble thanks for being there for what is normally the easiest part of my show and has recently been the most difficult.   Fact of the matter is these people (and so many others) have asked on many occasions to assist with my load-in, set-up, tear-down, load-out - to which I have kindly and stubbornly refused.

What many non-performers may not be aware is just how much energy is expended during a normal 3 hour show.  Most 3 hour shows can be up to 5 hour shows depending on amount of equipment one uses and location of the performance space in relation to the parking space.  In my particular case I carry 2 guitars, a portable PA system and several cases filled with additional gear and merchandise.   During this recent setback I learned that 4 pieces of my gear weighed more than 10 pounds (my weight restriction).  Even my guitars were close to that number while in their case.  In a normal night I endure a 4-4.5 hour strength+cardio workout.  It goes something like this...

Load in approximately 100pounds of gear [strength].  Set-up gear [stretching/warm-up], perform for 3 hours* with one or two 15minute breaks [cardio] and tear it all down again [stretch/cool down].  (*I once recorded my steps during the show and recorded over 10,000 steps!)  Then, after a long night of expending 10K+ steps of energy, I schlep and load that 100 pounds back to my car [strength].   In case you're wondering - this is my only regular exercise routine.

So, I've had 5 shows that required  the help of these magnificent "roadies" to haul my gear in and out again. It's not easy for me to ask for help and I'm not comfortable being weak ("no, thanks, I got it") or being bossy ("no, not there, put it over there...uh, please")  but there is no way I could have performed these shows without their help.

The shows themselves have also been revised in order to adjust for my condition.  I haven't used my drum for these shows due to the unstableness of my core strength, I've been sitting on a stool in order to conserve my strength and endure a 2-3 hour performance and most notably, I've only been bringing only one guitar because I found that reaching out to lift the guitars from their stand put too much stress on the stomach muscles.  (that's right, the drinking game has been on temporary hold)  All of this has created a different 'Lojo Russo Experience'.

I learned after my first show that, though my voice was strong my body...not so much.  Belting out the blues and roots seems to take as much energy from my body as it does from my lungs.  I now have a much better appreciation for how my performance is not separate pieces working in tandem but a whole system that works in synergy.  It truly is a mind/body/spirit kinda thing!

Going forward I've got a little break before my next set of shows and - depending on how the chemo plays out (am I nauseous?, is there neuropathy?, does my scarf and hat make my head look big?) - I plan to bring all the gear back into play - the drum, the second guitar, maybe even a little of my usual frivolity.  The pacing of my show will still be important to ensure that I am performing at my best whether it's the first song or the last.  Time will tell if I bring back the roadies...

Day One - done and dusted

Well, First Day of chemo... not my favorite day but my no means my worst.  It certainly was lllllloooooonnnnnnggggg.

I'll not bore you with all the gory details but I'll let you in on some of the secret goings on behind the teal curtain.

First day jitters had me pack enough games and such to last me a week in a remote cabin.  And, then I made the mistake of dressing for a cold hospital and found I couldn't roll up my sleeve past my forearm.   So,  I opted for a hand vein instead of a hospital gown - yep, I'm that vain (see what I did there? ;)

The scariest part came before the therapy even started - when we were going over the side effects of the drugs they'd be pumping into my body for the next 15 weeks.  

I already knew much of the usual stuff ; nausea,  body aches, hair loss (I've scarves, hats and set of clippers at the ready if/when that happens) the stuff you see on the commercials,  right? But,  it was the "possibilty of chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy"  - tingling, loss of feeling in my fingers - that sent me reeling. That is one possible side effect I can do without.  Fingers crossed this doesn't happen (but not too long less they start to tingle...)

As for the rest of the day it went something like this:  Take 2 benadryl and a tylenol to help against a bad reaction to the drug that will help against a bad the reaction to the chemo drugs that help against the stupid cancer.

Well,  2 benadryl and I was pretty much drooling most of the day.  I "watched" a, The Avengers, marathon on metv and had soup for lunch with my wife by my side the entire day.  We didn't touch one game, not even on my phone.  It was all so wonderfully,  non- threateningly boring. 

My nurse was fantastic,  and the room had a big window that looked out on Kinnick Stadium and a side street with a traffic cop making their monthly quota.

The best part of my day was the outpouring of texts from friends and family sending thoughts of love and support.

I'd like to say I'm staying positive thru this but that's not always true, so I'm glad you're out there being my positive thought and attitude when I don't have the strength. 

Thank you for your strength.

Good Newz, Bad Newz, Good Newz...

Hello My Fine Folk,

If this is your frst time visiting my blog, Welcome!!
For you who've been here before, Welcome to the new site!!

To all - I'm a lousy blogger.  When reviewing my last entry the date was December 2016...yikes. Okay, so I admit, I suck at blogging so,  I decided to create a fresh blog site to try to rejuvenate my attempt to share more with you.  As recent events have made this practice more relevant why not start sharing now, yeh?

Some of these events include working on the new album.  The live show was a success, the live recording has been fun to listen to and the post-production process has been slow but steady.  I think I speak for us all when I say we're looking forward to putting the final touches on this project and we'll be starting the pre-release details soon.

Then there's this other event which has arisen that is a wee bit more immediately significant.

Recently I was diagnosed with adeno carcinoma.  On June 15th 2018,  I had surgery to remove the cancer only to discover there was a second cancer site which was also removed.  In the coming weeks I’ll be going thru chemo treatments to ensure and reduce the chance of the second cancer metastasizing.  (Yes, I’ll probably lose my hair and, no, Iowa does not participate in legal medical marijuana).

I’m recovering from surgery and am in good health - all things considered.  A residual side effect from the surgery is a lifting restriction so, over the next few weeks I’ll continue to enjoy the advantage of having roadies ;)  However, my voice remains strong… as does my resolve to beat the #&*! out of this stupid disease.

My spirit is high and my outlook is positive.  Despite the diagnosis I know that I am extremely lucky to have found the cancers when we did and count my blessings to have my wife, my family, my friends and you fine folk by my side and in my corner who continue to encourage and support me both in my music and in life.

Now, let's see what this new chapter brings.  My plan is to post to this blog while sitting in chemo so I hope you will consider following this blog and I will endeavor to write more often. Deal?

peace.

~Lojo

#==OQ