Where do I start? Do I start with the headaches that are churning my brain into applesauce? Do I start with the fever I’m chillin’ with? Do I start with the Rays: a source of great joy and greater sadness in one evening? Do I start with the allergic reaction to an antibiotic, which has turned my clothing into an “aggressive interrogation” device? Do I start with the nurse who said I couldn’t get my own snack from the fridge (bought and paid for with a friend’s money), then took three hours to deliver the goods – despite semi-hourly reminders? [...]
Cancer
The Saturday setback
One of the criteria for going home (from the hospital) is being fever free for 48 hours. Two days ago I had a very low grade fever. Personally, I wanted a second opinion on that one, but I was ready to let it go… because it was now two days ago. This evening I developed the full bore fever, complete with chills. Damn.
What’s wet with this picture?
As you may know, I’m in the hospital. The chemo is done and modern medicine is doing its best to rescue me from cancer’s cure. Therein lies the rub… or more appropriately, the tub. In order to flush out my kidneys I’m on a near constant IV drip of fluids. Further, I’m on a regular diet; strongly encouraged to suck up as much of the wet stuff as I can. Unfortunately, I am not a man of science fiction. I have no mystical reigns on the laws of physics; able to steer them at my will. Therefore, the capacity of [...]
Not your father’s Friday
In the last 24 hours I’ve had two phone conversations with my children. Beth hasn’t been sleeping at night and needed another run down of all the drugs I’m taking, how they work, and why they’ll make me better. Beth is a happy child; everyone usually says so. So it broke my heart to hear the anxiety in her voice, and not be able to take it away. Adam has been telling everyone that my wife “is on her way to pick up daddy.” He asked me if I was picking him up after work today. Adam is a lovable [...]
Sucks like an American vacuum plugged into a European power outlet
The Euros run more juice through their sockets, right? No matter. Fact checking is for sissies (as they say on The Report). The latest word from the good doctor is “wait,” as in, “we’re going to have to wait before we send you home.” Here’s a few more words he used: “next,” “week,” “uncomfortable,” and the ever popular “estimating” (when used in conjunction with “uncomfortable”). I don’t feel it’s appropriate for me to discuss how I’ve been feeling, owing to it’s graphic nature; but I’m perfectly willing to toss around some euphemisms, if that will satisfy any latent curiosity floating [...]
Going Down
The other day, one of those “other days” which are now relegated to the blur of my defensive mind, I was exceedingly nauseous. I was having chills, my back was spasming, and I wanted relief. The good natured nurse came in to play twenty questions (she lost by the way), and I got her back out the door to fetch me the appropriate pharmaceutical relief. That relief came in the form of two magical pills – swallowed, not implanted. The nurse helpfully suggested that I nibble on some crackers first, so that I wouldn’t vomit up the pills. Unfortunately for [...]
Sunday Status
I don’t much feel like typing, but I feel even less like talking… so here it is. My apologies to those of you who’ve called and I haven’t answered. The fever is lingering, but so far the blood cultures have been negative – so it’s increasingly likely the fever is just a side effect of the chemo and not because of some opportunistic infection. My nausea has stuck around… ratcheting up the violence yesterday. My back, which I put out the day before the dreaded ER visit has been an almost constant partner. So what’s good? The pain medication has [...]
Setback
Around 4 a.m. this morning I woke up with nausea, a little dizziness, and a pounding headache. I took a quick check of my temperature, and it was 102 degrees (Fahrenheit… but you probably knew that… naturally ocurring boiling innards is pretty rare). My instructions from the oncologist were to call if I had a fever above 101, and luckily for me this qualified. It’s now 15 hours later and I have a lovely private room at the local hospital, complete with a wireless hotspot… which made this entry possible. Everyone entering my room comes in with a mask and [...]
It’s not easy being green
No, this is not an homage to Jim Henson’s famous muppet, although little Kermie was my favorite. I don’t recall how it happened, but my wife got on Al Gore’s email list, and we’ve had the pleasure of some one-way correspondence ever since. I’m sure we didn’t do anything special to get on the list. The only qualification was probably an address… and we’ve got that covered in spades. But the one-way nature of our exchanges ends today friends. Today I sent a reply. You see, I am a flawed man. I come before you all today… addicted to ebooks. [...]
How do you spell “irritate?”
If my skin were a character on TV, it would have to be Archie Bunker. My skin is so irritable… oh who cares, we’ll just say it’s pretty fracking irritable and move on. It turns out my skin is particularly irritated by some bandages. “Elementary my dear simpleton,” you may be thinking, “it’s the latex.” Here’s the rub, bub. Several brands of “latex free” raise the welts just as well as the latex laden. So now I find my self tubed and sealed, courtesy of Tegaderm (a clear, moisture resistant barrier to protect you against infection)… and the damn stuff [...]
