Story 4April2022: Monday Again

Sleep was hard to get, and I started late as I tried to get some extra sleep. So I rolled over a lot. Finally, starting at about 8:30. Oregon weather is the usual rain, sometimes windblown and sideways, and the sun comes out between the rain.

I finished a short blog early and got dressed a bit earlier than usual. I had my regular banana and peanut butter toast with coffee for breakfast and then roast beef and a cold swiss sandwich for lunch.

My phone stopped working. It would drop calls and just be useless. It would, after being restarted, finally notice the inbound calls I missed. It could not make local calls. AT&T had a bad day, but it did not get any news play. After four tries, I contacted Bristol Hospice and told them to let Dawn, our nurse for Susie, know that my phone was not working. The issue cleared in the afternoon.

In the blowing rain, I managed to reach the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, without any incident or alarms from Air Volvo. I am now on day 5 of chemotherapy, and the fatigue is hard. The walk from the Air Volvo to the front door of the facility seems four times longer now. Also, my body can’t decide if lunch will be rejected and ejected, but I manage to fake-it-to-you-make-it and ignore nausea, and it fades.

Susie is just finishing lunch when I get there. She had enjoyed about 1/3 of the offering. It is pureed. Dessert is the best, and Susie is now getting ice cream for each meal. Better.

Susie and I watched some videos for a bit. Susie sings “Sing in the Rain” while I put on the classic dance number for her. We do some Fiddler on the Roof songs and then Music Man, “There is Trouble in River City.” I am dizzy again from the anemia and the chemo-based fatigue. Next, we call Leta, which actually works, and Susie and Leta, her mother, chat for a while. I then head out. On the way home, I stop for an ice cream cone at Jim’s in Hillsboro.

Before the ice cream, I had to tour Hillsboro downtown as the main road was closed by what I assume is a fallen tree. The winds are strong enough to have tree branches now on the road. I do get to pass by the redwoods in Hillsboro and they were enjoying the winds and dancing their huge limbs to the storm.

I reach home in Air Volvo without issue. I lie down and rest and awake after 6PM. I slept for three hours or more!

Corwin is making dinner, but Mariah invites me to have dinner. So Corwin will put the dinner away for me. I often eat a small dinner at 10PM as the pills I take then need to be taken with food, so this works out.

I meet Mariah at BJ’s Brewhouse and have a beer and a Southwest Salad. It is a lot for me, and it takes me as long to eat as Mariah, who has a double pork chop with all the sides. I order a small dessert, a small one, a cookie, and a scoop of ice cream. Ice cream is a new fav now that I can eat it again.

Mariah was delayed as the road is still closed in Hillsboro.

I am still losing weight, and the side effects are growing as they should. I will have some hard days to come. I will stay with my fake-it-to-you-make-it approach. Just believe you will not toss your cookies and put it out of your mind.

I also have to be careful not to bring my head below my heart with the anemia and other side effects, plus an existing ear problem; otherwise, I could get into some trouble. That is what tripped the ER trip. So things that fall to the floor stay there until I am sure I am OK to pick them up and remain conscious (literally) of where my head is compared to my heart.

I get home, Corwin is out already lifting weights at a gym, and I try his dinner. It is delicious. I will only take a small bite as nausea requires me to stick to one dinner. I watch Moon Knight, recommended by Cory, and it is spooky and well done–recommended for the first episode. The quality of the writing, special effects, and craziness reminds me of the Hawkeye series. I also watch some more Clone Wars and still am surprised with the darkness of this series. Not sure this is really a kids’ show.

I go to bed; I am stumbling tired now and sleep until about 2AM. I have a few waking dreams and one nightmare before finally sleeping. Finally, I managed to sleep in the dark.