Story 27Jan2022: Thursday Before Chemotherapy

I started Thursday early, moving back to my early starts, at 7ish, and managed to still be rushed and spent too much time reading Internet stuff. I still delay my start getting dressed until I have taken my pills at 10AM, which makes me late. So I will have to get dressed and then take my pills.

The trip into Forest Grove using Air Volvo was without events, but I am always on my guard. Oregon drivers have sudden attacks of imaginative driving, which I did see on the way back with a motorcycle crossing all the lanes of Pacific Highway, causing me to break to avoid earning a new ornament for the front of my Volvo.

I quickly went through the entrance ritual at Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway and found Susie asleep in a wheelchair in Room 44A. Her new roommate, Tammy, said she was not surprised that she was sleepy as Susie had trouble sleeping. Something I had not heard before of Susie having sleeping issues.

Susie was happy to wake up and find me there. She wanted a tour of the place, and we spent almost an hour just circling the facility. Unfortunately, I forgot to put Susie’s mask on; Pre, the head nurse, reminded me and pointed us away from one area in the facility. And Susie was the first customer for Covid testing as we rolled up to the testing cart skipping the risky area. Apparently, Covid-19 or something else contagious was in that area now. I received an update by email later and learned a new resident has been infected, as have more staff. Susie is still OK.

After the touring, we called Leta, Susie’s mom, and did a chat on FaceTime. We next called Barb, Susie’s sister, who could only do a phone call while walking their dog, Sophia, at a local dog park. They had a friendly chat.

Parking Susie in 44A and telling her I would be back in 90 minutes, I said goodbye. I had lunch with Scott Woolfolk today. He had driven out to Forest Grove to meet me. Scott last saw me before my surgery, and now he is here to see me the day before I start chemotherapy for colon cancer. We met at the Grand Lodge and chatted about work and family stuff. It was a good break for me.

I returned to the facility, and Susie was napping in her bed now. So I let her sleep for a bit. I did call Leta back, and we did another FaceTime. Susie kept falling to sleep, but she did get some words out. I stayed until after 3PM, and Susie woke up enough to ask when I would be back. I explained I would like to miss this Friday as that is the start of my chemotherapy. I will also be back on Saturday afternoon, not in the morning, as Susie’s mother and sister are going to the opera at the movie theater (The Met Opera will be broadcasting at the movie theaters on Saturday the new break-out work, Fire Shutup In My Bones). So I will have to try to reach them in the afternoon.

Driving back was without incident, but Air Volvo and I were watchful as the return contained more creative driving from the locals. It appeared that the drivers believed the lane markers and safety were more of a suggestion than law.

At home, I was a bit tired and running later than my usual return. I took a nap and was surprised by how quickly I was asleep. Unfortunately, my plans for light housework were not going to be executed.

My meal train had Saravana Prakash covering my meal cost in GrubHub, so I ordered a fav curry, Mussamun Curry, from Ma-Now Thai. As usual, I watched the news while eating and prayed for peace. Thanks, Saravana.

I managed to get back to the housework and emptied the stuff from the bathroom remodel mostly into the trash. Most of the items from the old medicine cabinets were past-date items anyway. That got hauled out to the garbage. Corwin collected the recycling. I did find more boxes here and there he missed and made four trips to the recycling bin myself. Corwin missed a few more items and made two more trips. I also cleaned up my working area just a bit.

Tempus Fugit–time flies.

I was in bed just about 10ish after taking my pills and treating my ears. My hearing is mostly back, but the ears still fill and drain in the mornings. I was reading and daydreaming about the model I plan to build for the next for Dungeons and Dragons. The new campaign has balloons filled with swamp gas. That sounds like a fun model to build from scratch, and for $70 to buy one, I bet I can do that cheaper and better. The rigging looks fun, and I think a larger one with multiple gas bags would even be more fun. Then there is the lighting of torches. Yes, that could be fun. The excitement makes it hard to sleep at first.

Sleep comes without issues, and I sleep the night through with vivid dreams of wandering an airport that combines highway signs and gates. I am trying to get aboard a chemotherapy flight. I spent the dream moving higher and higher in the combination of airport and highway headed to my flight. I am flying economy without any upgrades, so I have to find my way. I had no luggage for this flight. I awake rushed but rested.