Catching Up - Cycle II

Catching Up - Cycle II - Plus 5

My apologies for not posting in the last seven days. It's now 5 days after my last chemo cycle ended, Sunday, and I tell you I simply haven't felt well. It's not so much I'm nauseous, which is what my doctors expect me to be (and I'm building up a nice little supply of anti-nausea pills in the cupboard) but rather I'm tired, fatigued and, at night, insomniac. In addition my legs are quite weak. If I could best describe how I feel it's over medicated - you know, like when you take too much codeine and feel hazy and light-headed. Thank god I've skipped the intestinal viral problems this time around. And as I said to Megan, though, at least the further out I get from my actual chemo days the better I feel.

The somewhat depressing part is the ongoing sickness and the sense that I just feel worse and worse, compared to how I felt before I started the chemo. But Maryse, ever the optimist - and she's right - says I'm going to continue to feel worse before I eventually feel better. Now, that's not as depressing a statement as it sounds. If I were to be as optimistic as she and my doctors are I'd realize that this entire process will result in a bone marrow/stem cell transplant that will eradicate 90 per cent of my cancer. And how will that be when it comes to feeling better...!

Interesting development today, although I don't know the results yet. The doctor I saw at the bone marrow transplant unit last week - Dr. Ansti - ordered a heart scan in the nuclear medicine unit this morning. The technician said this was a normal benchmark type of activity for bone-marrow transplant candidates, meant to determine if my heart was up to handling stronger drugs if and when necessary.

Hey, I'm officially a Quebec handicapped parker - got my parking shield in the mail this week. Age, and a decrepit body, marches on! Now I have to get my doctor to fill in a form to ensure the province doesn't take away my license. I kid you not. I did so well at convincing the province I needed a handicapped parking pass now they're not sure I can drive any more. Sheeesh! Now I can park next to the doors at Wal Mart to get my prescriptions...I just can't drive to get to the parking spot!

Guitar: Yeah, yeah, I know

Book: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

Music: "Sailing" from Christopher Cross - Christopher Cross

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

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