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Sept. 5th. Update to "Houston - We Have A Problem..." Mornin' All, Yesterday was Day 8 in my first cycle of Chemotherapy... Brenda had the day off, so I went home after lunch, showered and spiffed up a tad 'n off we went to the BC Cancer Agency 'bout 15 blocks from home... We parked in their garage and went through the connector as usual. Each time we walk through the "connector" we walk by a large sign that proclaims BCCA don't discriminate for reasons of age, race, gender, etc. etc. ad nauseum, and each time I think that's nice but how come it's gotta be proclaimed so "loudly"? You'd think the average ol' red-neck country plowboy'd know that stuff... Suddenly it struck me... average ol' red-neck country plowboy?? Hey!! That's me!! And... it don't spell out anywhere on that sign what their policy is regardin'' ol' red-neck country plowboys... Those bandits are obviously tryin' to smokescreen me here... (if they were tryin' to smokescreen the usual targets it woulda been in a foreign language and it ain't) ... Yep! It's ME alright! Gotta keep yer eyes open these days! Up to the third floor, line up, give a little sample of the red stuff, so they can check out the blood counts, and get a handy snap shot of how the chemo's affecting your immune system... Can I get a paper copy? Ask the chemo nurse on 6 for a print-out, it'll be on her screen in 'bout an hour ... No discrimination here... That only took 10 minutes, so it's 10 past 2 and I'm not booked for the chemo 'til 4... Two hours sittin' twiddlin' m'thumbs in this clinic? Mebbe that's how they discriminate 'gainst 'em plowboys... What's to do, what's to do... Brenda has her book and there is a newspaper for me... Boring... We go on up to the 6th. floor, check in and whatta ya know... There's a table with a big ol' 1000 piece jig saw puzzle... that's more like it!! I forget all 'bout discrimination and settle in... An hour and a half blows by, the puzzle is shapin up, all the straight edge is complete, save for a coupla missin' pieces, and the body is well under way too, 'bout one third done...I haven't lost the touch!! Thanks mom!! Put yer feet up, put yer arm out, IV in and chemo underway... Nurse Libby is very efficient... I listen closely to her British accent and then ask in what part of the south of England did she call home? Ahhh... I thought so... She grew up in Kent, not far from Tunbridge Wells (my grand-father's birthplace) and not far from Edenbridge where my cousin Ray has lived all his 65+ years... The chemo itself is just one drug this time, Gemcitabine, and I feel a mild burning sensation as it enters my vein... Nurse Libby explains mild is normal as you progress in the chemo cycles... Anything really discomforting, let her know immediately... I settle down and get out the newspaper... The crossword puzzle and the chemo wind up around the same time... IV out, here's the lab printouts you requested, and we're ready to go... Piece a'cake!! As we walk past the jig saw I see someones added to my handiwork... But... those two straight edge pieces are still missing.... That's a nuisance! Then it dawns on me! That's how they discriminate 'gainst 'em unsuspectin' ol' redneck country plowboys!!! When they see ya comin' they must slip a coupla pieces in their pocket!! It's now 6:45 AM, we're more than half a day into this chemo and I feel fine... Already taken my parkie meds, already had breakfast, already scanned and posted the PD news off the wires... I'm ready to go for my walk... and then to work for a few hours... Just do yer very best and keep on smilin'... I am!! cheers ....... murray * * * read the rest of this thread... "Houston - We Have A Problem..." http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Forum71/HTML/008729.html http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Forum71/HTML/008729-2.html * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn