Wednesday started with me waking before my alarm. Sleep had come late, and the morning seemed early. But I have to get going once I am awake. So up and writing and reading and making coffee.
I have a later morning appointment with Doctor Frankhouse, the surgeon that removed the colon cancer. So no rush to see Susie. I am also trying to keep my handwritten journal.
I got the address of the RiteAid where my prescriptions were sent in error. Not sure how this pharmacy was used as it is not on my list in OHSU myChart.
I manage to dress and all of that and take my pills on time at 10AM. I have to have them with food, so I have a second donut from a box Corwin bought. Ironically, I am eating his breakfast this time.
I pack up and update the journal. I use Air Volvo nav to find the pharmacy (I was not sure where this one was) and get inside to only discover my wallet is still at the house. Back to the house and then with my wallet, I return the RiteAid a few miles away.
I am now starting to be stressed for time. After a week, I get to the pharmacy window, and the prescription is still not filled (?!). I was worried that they would have undone the filling after waiting for me so long. But, RiteAid’s pharmacy staff is just back after a Covid-19 exposure, and they are a week behind on filling prescriptions. They offer that I can wait for it, but I am out of time. So I told them I would be there on Thursday and headed out.
Note: They had a sign-up at this and my local RiteAid that they have no at-home Covid tests. Another frustration.
I drive to Portland, and the drive is fast and straightforward without the usual creative driving by our over-polite Oregon drivers. It takes no time, and I am 40 minutes early, leaving me feeling like I am part of a Doctor Who timey-thing.
I walk to the pharmacy at Legacy, and they do not have the hand and feet cream recommended for the chemotherapy coming up. I was surprised that the pregnancy tests outnumbered the skin cream count. There were no at-home Covid tests.
I return to the plan and see doc. No issues. I will need to schedule another colonoscopy after the chemotherapy (WTF is all I can say). The doc also explains that some of his fellow doctors lost their careers after undergoing the same drugs because their hands were too numb after the treatment. I will need to be careful to ensure I can still work in IT, he explained to me. I was worried about fine movements, but he explained the loss could be profound.
Note: I woke up this morning worried. I have messaged the doc about this. I have read the literature, and it is possible, and it needs to be mitigated. Interestingly, the risk seems to be related to having the hands and feet get cold.
I stop by the world’s most excellent ice cream, Salt and Straw, and get Susie ice cream (it is frozen rock hard there and will only partially melt by the time I get to Susie). I then stop by Santa Fe Taqueria and have lunch now, including lettuce and beans. I am cleared to eat a healthy diet by doc. I have an enchilada (chicken) and a cheese-filled Chili Relleno, and it is just perfect (my food last time was less excellent).
(Apple and WordPress are not getting along today, but I finally managed one pic)
I then drove the hour trip, with still no traffic on 26, but the locals on the journey into Forest Grove did not disappoint, with one driver going for creative use of lanes and seeing how slow you can go–in the left lane, of course. It was a sunny, dry day, so the excuse that it was raining could not be used today.
Surviving the comical driving without Air Volvo losing any paint, I reached the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center, passed the entrance exam (normal temperature), and found Susie sleeping in room 44A. I had very melty ice cream for her, and she had five or so teaspoons with me, ensuring that her thrush did not reach the container. I used a cup to get some ice cream for her and then threw the cup away.
Susie was talking more; she was worried as I was so late and seemed to be a bit unhappy in bed. Later she had her head lowered, and the pillow returned to her head and looked happier then. Susan was getting out more words that were more clear. She still could not make herself understood much, which frustrated her.
I did FaceTime calls with Leta and David Smith. Susie seemed happy to see Leta and David today and spoke more and was understood more. Susie’s sister Barb was at a dog park when we called could only do voice, but Susie and Barb had a friendly chat. We could hear the barking.
I grew tired as I had a busy day and so soon packed away my stuff and the ice cream (refreezing here at the Volvo Cave) and said my goodbye. It is always hard to leave, but I need to do things at home and not get too tired.
Reaching home after discovering considerable traffic in Forest Grove and dodging school buses without issues. We have the school buses starting about 2PM.
I rest and, after getting up, order the Utterly SMOOth skin cream recommended (with Urea) by the chemotherapy pharmacist from Amazon. Urea is pee and reminds me of this movie scene.
I could make dinner with more options today, so it is homemade jambalaya (the mix is from a box) with kielbasa, ham, and even shrimp (I had purchased a bag of frozen shrimp for the holidays, and there was still some left). I add a can of Mexican-style stewed tomatoes and some corn.
It comes out good, and I watch the newest episode of The Expanse. This seems a transitional episode so, while it was good, it was not as good as I had hoped.
I also watched the newest chapter to The Book Of Boba Fett on Disney. This, too, was a bit of a transitional episode, and I thought it included ham-handed additions of new characters to the show. I was also impatient with a set-piece chase scene–the show was too good for this. A disappointment.
I went to bed, surprised by how late it was 11ish. As usual, I had trouble sleeping, but I seemed to be asleep by 1ish. I dreamed about driving with my late father, explaining to him what was happening. I remember dreaming that he was being very supportive. But, of course, it being a dream, some SciFi events were going on while I drove, and AirVolvo was transformed into a Star Wars speeder Volvo.
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