That feeling of things being right actually lasted for a while. I have a genuine home-stretch mentality now, which carried me through chemo the week after the two concerts. My energy dipped, as it always does, the Saturday after chemo, but I felt relatively good on Sunday, and it got better from there. Basically, after the stomach bug and the blood clot, I felt like I had the unpredictables licked, and I was back on track for a strong finish. That's what I meant when I said that a few days ago, here's what I was going to write; because a few days ago, that was all the news there was to report.
The moms came to town on Thursday, to reprise their 2013 visit in which they, along with Caitlyn, worked on beautifying the landscaping of our house. Having tackled the front last year, they focused on the bare and dog-dug strip of dirt along the back of the house, planting bushes that will presumably save our foundation from undue pressure by drinking up the water that usually collects there.
They're a good team, our moms, and they're fun to have around. It seems like most of what we talk about when they're here is where we're going to eat next.
I had to work on the first two nights of their visit, so I was looking forward to Sunday- we'd been invited to a neighbor's for Easter festivities. Jody Mulgrew, the California Central Coast's favorite crooner, is in town, so I invited him to come along, and we all had a Champagne toast before heading down the street.
Good booze, good food, good music, Sharpie self-portraits on boiled eggs; it was a perfect day, with weather to match. For some reason, I had woken up early, even after being up until about 2am, so at the end of the festivities, I took a nap. A long nap, from five to seven, which of course meant that I would probably be up until 3am.
We'd been out in the sun a little- just a little- and at dinner I felt a little chilled, but my face and head were hot. I went to the bedroom to take my temperature, which was 101.3 again (which made me wonder whether our Walgreens thermometer just had like three different temp. readings). I knew that if it went up another 0.1 degrees, I was ER-bound, and that, after the last experience, did not sound good to me. So I went to bed to read, hoping that my temperature would fall on its own.
Well, it didn't- it went up to 101.7, so I started packing a bag, not wanting to be bookless or snackless over what would surely be a long night. I assumed that there would be less action in the ER on Easter Sunday than on a normal Friday, but you never know.
That was two and a half days ago, and I am writing this from in the hospital. I am in the hospital. I have been admitted, because my immune system is nil, and I can't fight off anything right now. They are pumping me full of IV antibiotics, taking my vitals every two hours, taking blood, checking in- they are really making me feel important. Every morning, Dr. Greer comes in, trailed by six eager residents/doctors at various stages of their training.
It's a pretty sweet deal: I have a bed that goes up and down and a tv with thirty channels. I have a bathroom and a shower and a dorm-type mini-fridge. I have a fantastic view of downtown, and I have HBO GO. I have nurses that dote on me. Food deliveries, from my mom and Caitlyn's mom and Caitlyn, are frequent. I have effectively withdrawn from the world for a few days- but I am going home in a few hours.
Home: where the bed does not go up or down. Where there is no cable, no real view, and no call button. It's where you're expected to make your own meals and clean up after yourself, and I can't wait to get back.
The moms came to town on Thursday, to reprise their 2013 visit in which they, along with Caitlyn, worked on beautifying the landscaping of our house. Having tackled the front last year, they focused on the bare and dog-dug strip of dirt along the back of the house, planting bushes that will presumably save our foundation from undue pressure by drinking up the water that usually collects there.
They're a good team, our moms, and they're fun to have around. It seems like most of what we talk about when they're here is where we're going to eat next.
I had to work on the first two nights of their visit, so I was looking forward to Sunday- we'd been invited to a neighbor's for Easter festivities. Jody Mulgrew, the California Central Coast's favorite crooner, is in town, so I invited him to come along, and we all had a Champagne toast before heading down the street.
Good booze, good food, good music, Sharpie self-portraits on boiled eggs; it was a perfect day, with weather to match. For some reason, I had woken up early, even after being up until about 2am, so at the end of the festivities, I took a nap. A long nap, from five to seven, which of course meant that I would probably be up until 3am.
We'd been out in the sun a little- just a little- and at dinner I felt a little chilled, but my face and head were hot. I went to the bedroom to take my temperature, which was 101.3 again (which made me wonder whether our Walgreens thermometer just had like three different temp. readings). I knew that if it went up another 0.1 degrees, I was ER-bound, and that, after the last experience, did not sound good to me. So I went to bed to read, hoping that my temperature would fall on its own.
Well, it didn't- it went up to 101.7, so I started packing a bag, not wanting to be bookless or snackless over what would surely be a long night. I assumed that there would be less action in the ER on Easter Sunday than on a normal Friday, but you never know.
That was two and a half days ago, and I am writing this from in the hospital. I am in the hospital. I have been admitted, because my immune system is nil, and I can't fight off anything right now. They are pumping me full of IV antibiotics, taking my vitals every two hours, taking blood, checking in- they are really making me feel important. Every morning, Dr. Greer comes in, trailed by six eager residents/doctors at various stages of their training.
It's a pretty sweet deal: I have a bed that goes up and down and a tv with thirty channels. I have a bathroom and a shower and a dorm-type mini-fridge. I have a fantastic view of downtown, and I have HBO GO. I have nurses that dote on me. Food deliveries, from my mom and Caitlyn's mom and Caitlyn, are frequent. I have effectively withdrawn from the world for a few days- but I am going home in a few hours.
Home: where the bed does not go up or down. Where there is no cable, no real view, and no call button. It's where you're expected to make your own meals and clean up after yourself, and I can't wait to get back.