I think I'm into my radiation pattern: Monday when I get chemo with the greenie steroids and Tuesday, I have plenty of energy (it's also after a weekend's rest.) Wednesday to Friday, fatigue sets in and all I want to do is nap, nap, nap. This weekend I'll be sleepy and maybe a little sore after having the feeding tube surgery on Friday. It's an easy procedure; I take a "nap" and wake up with a tube. Simple, huh?
Jeff, who is going through the same treatment protocol for throat cancer, had his 20th radiation treatment today. He's a good model for me. We both don't smoke or drink, love to exercise, and eat healthy. Yeah, he's 40 and I'm 57, but we have a lot in common. His attitude mirrors mine. Bring It On! So, I ask him how he feels and I get an upbeat answer. He also tells me about some stuff he's hit that I will hit soon. For instance, the tube will be sore the first week until the surgeon pulls it out and manipulates it. After that, it’ll be much more comfortable. I feel fortunate to have my radiation treatment back-to-back with Jeff.
Ann & I left Worcester around 9:00 am for my 10:40 am slot. I went to sleep early last night and my alarm went off at 7:30 am. Took me almost four minutes (one song on the CD I have cued as a wake up tune) to drag myself out of bed. Big shock, I napped on the rides to and from Boston! Radiation treatment went fine. Today’s music was from Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Growl – tracks played were “Rooster”, “Screw You, We’re from Texas” (the special request for Little Bang, my Novalis Tx), “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is A Vicious Game”, and “Stolen Horses”. I think the techs like Texas.
When we returned home, we had lunch. Ann left for work and I got some errands done and answered a few emails. Rudy Dog & I took a nap, or tried to. Lacey kept whining for dinner – an hour early! Rudy and I were not amused.
Last night, I finished Mariantes’ Matterhorn. Thought the author found a satisfactory ending for the book just when he seemed to have written himself into a corner. Started (still on my Kindle) Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Ok, after Matterhorn, I need a bit of fluff and this book sounds like intriguing historical fluff.
Tomorrow, Jesse will drive me to Dana Farber. We’ll have lunch in Boston. I’m looking forward to a fun day.
Thanks everyone for your messages. Your support and comfort keeps me rolling through these days. I appreciate every zoom you send my way.
Love…
Richard
It is good you have Jeff but remember every body is different... what he is going through yours might resist...
ReplyDeleteOnward ~
I knew Hubbard (slightly, not well) in the seventies when I lived in Dallas. I worked at a legendary folk club called the Rubaiyat where Ray was part of the regular rotation of performers. I swear he’s better now than ever … And Screw You, We’re from Texas seems perfect for Little Bang. I also like Hubbard’s Snake Farm. It’s produced by Gurf Morlix and it’s eerie and dirty and swampy … everything that Ray has always been, but Gurf captures that so well as a producer. I’ll bet Little Bang’s techs are having a real fine time with you and Ray and electric guitars and lasers and radiation. Gurf puts out great records his own bad self.
ReplyDeleteI’m so grateful for Jeff, who is your age corrected for good behavior: forty. It’s so great to have a pathfinder. Your experience won’t be exactly like his, of course, but you have such a better idea of what to expect because of Jeff. Please tell him I said, Thanks, and tell him how glad I am that he’s most of the way through.
So, swallow, swallow, swallow … nap, nap, nap … You’ve got the rhythm. Rudy’s got the rhythm. Groove is most of everything. Groove moves time along. Time does not fly when you’re in treatment for cancer. But, it passes. Someday we’ll look back on this, my friend. I’ll be thanking you forever for your steadfast posts that inspire me and inform me and entertain me and comfort me. I’ll be thanking Little Bang for being such a good and rowdy Tx girl. Yee-Hahhhhhh, boy howdy wow!