It has been some time since I lasted posted here. It has been a wild time. The election ate up quite a bit of time and
energy but it was all worth it. We all
do make a difference. On November 6, Election
Day, I drove to the VA for my last scheduled infusion. I wasn’t an early bird that day. I had to see to my good friends, Ziggy,
Benson and Charlie who took care of me the previous night. Their regular humans were off to see Ms.
Barbra the night before. I brought my
computer [to follow the election] which proved absolutely useless as there was
no coverage until that evening. My oncologist
and several of the nurses asked that I bring copies of the PD article for them. After reading it, one of the nurses walked
over to me with a tear in her eye and asked me if I had any doubt that I was
well loved. I have no doubt. Nada,
zilch. There was a bit of a problem
finding veins that morning. I think they
have had just about enough and decided to hide.
After several tries by two of the staff I finally waltzed off to
never-never land. My drive to Oakland that
afternoon took an hour and a half.
Brother Martin was making meatloaf and mash for dinner and we settled in
front of the TV for the evening. After
my comfort food infusion I tried to remain calm as the results started to come
in. Slowly the joy of the evening grew
and Ohio went to Obama by 8:30. The last
time I was waiting at Oakland Airport for a late arrival and it wasn’t called until
10 or 11PM. I remember bursting into
tears at that instant. It may have been
the happiest minute of my life. 8:30PM
Tuesday evening made me quite happy too.
The next morning I stopped at Mel’s for French toast before reporting to
the clinic. I read the paper cover to
cover really pleased with most of the results.
My day was short. I was through
by 1:30. I was cautioned that since
there was probably very little cancer, if any, left that I might experience a
different recovery scenario. I was also
given a shot to stimulate the growth of bone marrow/blood cells as they would
be hit pretty hard. It was also
suggested that I might experience some hair loss this time. As I drove home I made a celebratory dinner
date with Jim & Dotty at the new Bravas in Healdsburg. We had a lovely time running into several
friends and enjoying exotic taste treats.
The next day it hit me. “Bone
Ache” was the term the nurse used to describe the salient side effect of that
last shot. Well, I spent most of the day
unsuccessfully trying to get comfortable.
I watched 8 episodes of “Spiral” [a brilliant and gritty, French crime
drama], and didn’t think at all about eating.
NAUSEA!!! The next day was much
the same but less discomfort. I knew I
would be ready to party today. I hope to
see many of you out at Martha’s Vineyard [the local one] this afternoon. As for the future, I have a PET scan on 12/17
for final confirmation of remission and then I start the maintenance program in
mid-January [an infusion of Rituxan every two months for the next two years]
after I return from The Palm Springs International Film Festival.
