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Today no story as I am tired again. I have spent Wednesday and Thursday not doing much and still being tired.

Zoraida visited Susie on Wednesday, and then we connected by FaceTime. Susie is looking better and managing a few words. I called the nurses on Thursday, and Susie had a busy day getting up and moved to the dining table twice.

After ten, I get up late; I don’t dress until near 4PM as I do not want to burn up all my strength in the morning. I overdid it a few times. I am now trying to go slow and let the healing happen. It is boring.

I have found a new channel on YouTube, Armchair Historian, that seems to do an excellent job on WW2 items, an exciting mix of graphics and voice-over. I also found some more Nerd of the Rings items too. Recommended reading or really a library for the Tolkien fan. The channel did strongly recommend the somewhat recently published The Children of Hurin, and I remember having trouble putting that down on a plane. I would recommend it if you have not read it and liked Lord of the Rings or just need a bit more Middle Earth after enjoying the movies.

Yesterday Ingrid, now retired from Nike, sent me dinner from GrubHub. That was very kind of her.

Dan Gray brought some cookies and other goodies today.

Rajesh, from Nike, dropped off some more wound care items for me.

I watched the rest of the show Hawkeye on Disney+ and cannot recommend this Marvel special more. Set in New York City now for Christmas, it was better than some recent movies, and seeing NYC again and reading the signs behind the actors to see where they are was a treat. Again, recommended.

I also watched Into The Woods. While well done, I would skip it.

I finished the Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft mash-up book. It is a page-turner for me, I thought it better this time, but I will not likely do the following two books anytime soon. So I am instead trying another book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Certain Dark Things (English).

I sit in my chair, usually Susie’s, and rest. I fatigue easily. My thinking is better but still not near the top of my game, so less writing and more naps.

The blogger Violet Blue sent me a nice note today (@violetblue). I have followed her for a few years now. I discovered her just as we entered the pandemic and have been a Patreon support. She may not be your cup of tea, but I keep up with her and life in San Francisco these last few years of chaos.

Sorry if this is just lists. I wanted to write something tonight and hope I will be more awake soon.

I was too tired the last two days to blog. It takes a lot to spend 90 minutes writing and thinking while being clear and keeping the reader’s interest. So forgive me for skipping the last two days. Instead, I will just hit a few memories from these last two days.

Actually, Monday was a tranquil day with me just taking it very slow and trying not to have anything go wrong. I find getting showered and dressed with wound care makes me tired. So I delayed that until after 4PM. I am never that late getting dressed, but it seemed the right thing to do on Monday.

The Smith contacted me on Monday, and we used Disney’s watchgroup and phones to share the experience of the movie Enchanto. Kat is here in Oregon, staying with her parents’ home for the holidays. So we had a professional artist with us in our virtual shared experience.

Enchanto is a south-of-the-border modern fairy tale about a family that is saved by a miracle. They are given a magical candle that creates for them a magic house and hidden valley that protects them. Each family member is given a gift and a magical room. The music and art are bright. However, there are a few sadder songs that I just loved, one a whispered that is slight but powerful.

We liked it, but David did point out that the thread of the story gets lost near the end. A song then explores the ending and brings the movie back, but I agree with David it was a fumble, but the game was not lost. I will not flash any spoilers and recommend you enjoy the movie, especially the slower songs.

Changing subjects, I am reading the book Rev. Wolff sent me. I have read it on my Kindle before, but I thought I should try it again since I had a copy. The author freely, often too freely for my tastes, mixes H.P. Lovecraft horror and the Sherlock Holmes gas-light times. Holmes and Watson are presented as darker, more troubled versions of Doyle’s characters. Last time, being a fan of Holmes, I did not like the rewrite of Holmes–but now, re-reading it, I can see it works better than I thought. So I am more forgiving of The Cthulhu Casebooks – Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows, the second read. Thanks, Lord Protector Wolff.

The snow on Monday prevented anyone from seeing Susie. I did call to check that she was OK. I always have my phone nearby.

Tuesday was a hard day. I was picked up by Les Hopkins in their silver Air Volvo and headed to Portland. I was already tired from dressing, wound care, and all that. We left early because of the weather and arrived an hour earlier. We parked on the street using the Parking Kittie app available in Portland. It is a well-put-together app that lets you buy parking with great ease. However, you are limited to four hours in one spot.

We walked two blocks to Starbucks near the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital campus and had coffee, and I had a tiny scone. We chatted until it was time for my appointment. Les waited in his Air Volvo while I headed to the docs.

The doc was on call, and my appointment overran the unscheduled events. I waited an hour. The drain was removed, with there are no issues. Just the application of a heating pad was recommended.

Les gets me home, and I rest. I am almost staggering. I take a nap and read some more. The book is hard to put down, even when I know what will happen.

Dinner is provided by Rajesh from Nike. He and Jenny arranged for delivery; I have lemon rice and coconut rice for dinner. It was terrific, and I overate.

I have some challenges that are best not described here. I am fatigued when Cowin and I watch one of his favorite Japanese 1980s animated SciFi, Appleseed. The show is voiced over in English but was initially done in Japanese; oddly, the setting is a futuristic English-speaking city (?). So when the computer screen flashes a warning, it is spelled “Red Alart.” So that is a new thing, “it is a ‘Red Alart’,” is a new saying here.

I slept the moment the light went out, no “Red Alart” all night.

It was a more challenging day now that the healing had started. I also decided I needed to stay home and rest a bit. So I slept into 8ish and did not write the blog until much later in the day.

I will update here that I got the pathology reports, and it looks like the colon cancer had invaded three lymph nodes out of the 35 taken. The tumor was significant and obvious life-threatening and needed to go. I will meet with the docs next year on the care options. It is mostly a very, well, to me, interesting statical model of care vs. risk vs. treatment (and risk of therapy) that must now be explored. It will be comforting to me to see the numbers.

It is a Sunday, so there is little in calls and medical planning. Susie has no visitors today as some folks are exposed to Covid-19, and we have snow.

I spend the day feeling off and trying to just find my way. I have a slow breakfast-lunch of canned peaches and yogurt. I watched the Dan Brown Angels and Devils movie on my Apple. I also discovered that the mic has failed when doing a Zoom meeting with the church folks; I am part of a small group that meets after service. So I did not attend the snow-reduced service. I understand that about sixty folks did attend for Christmas Eve–a record for these Covid times. Everyone is masked, and most keep social distances (it is hard to resist seeing a friend missed for two years now).

The pain is controlled, and I am careful to take my meds on time, with painkillers and anti-inflammatories being taken together every six hours (I usually wake near 4AM for the night dose).

I dress late, and it requires care and wound care. It wears me out. I rest and nap a bit, and the snow starts while I sleep. I then finally wrote the Christmas 2021 blog. A few tears.

Dinner is Grubhub Italian from Pastaghetti ordering chicken parmigiana for myself with spaghetti in a marinara sauce. I am surprised at how hungry I am.

The Expanse is in its last season, and I do enjoy the show. I am behind two episodes, so I watch those while eating dinner.

I dress for bed, slightly complex due to the skin issues and the drain. Details are best left out. I finally slept about 4ish.

I slept poorly and was up early at 7ish to get ready to face the new world with my post-surgery person. I was also hopeful that I was able to see Susie this Christmas Saturday. So I tried to go a bit slow and had a lighter breakfast of canned peaches and yogurt. So this would be lunch/breakfast for me.

The pain mostly in one place is controlled, and I was able to write the Christmas Eve blog, do emails, and be productive that morning.

I managed to dress after a shower and wound care. But, I was then tired. It is tough to get ready and then be done for the day. I managed to rally. Zoraida and I had planned this weeks ago, and we wanted to see Susie on Christmas Day.

So Les and Zoraida, in their Air Volvo (XC 60), picked me up, granted me the passenger seat, which I managed without too much discomfort. However, the right side incision can be painful and oddly feels more like a burn than a sharp pain can be awoken by standing up and sitting down. So I try to limit those movement options.

We reached the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center room 44A without issue. Susie was happy to see me, and I was so delighted that we managed to have another Christmas, every so short together; it took weeks of planning. So all we wanted was to be together on Christmas 2021, and that single goal was reached. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.

Back to the house via Hopkins’s Air Volvo! Rest and pain killers. I am asleep soon.

I planned the evening dinner. I got a bag of dried pasta and a bottled sauce from Elephant’s Deli in  Portland. Water boiling and pasta made. I also make a pork chop (frozen from Schwann’s defrosted in the pasta water) fried in light butter with a few spices. Perfect.

I finished a movie, Suicide Squad 2; I started on Christmas Eve and went to bed. Unfortunately, sleep is hard to find. Skin issues still.

I am so happy to reach Christmas 2021 with Susie. Thank you for all your support!

Sorry, this blog is so late. I am fatigued, and all the events are calling in their markers. I need to rest now.

 

Not sure what order would be best for today’s blog, so we will try a bit of non-linear story writing and hope that the reduced amount of pain killer now makes this easier.

It is Christmas morning, and I have slept a broken sleep at the house; as usual, I am a person who wants to be about something constantly, and the house, messy as it is, is my place of doing so many things. But, the house is somewhat emptier and quieter without Susie. The house and I want to do so many things.

Sleep was hard as my back and legs were slightly blistered from the stay at the hospital. Bendrlyn ointment was provided to help, and it lessened the itch, and I changed to a clean white cotton t-shirt, but alas, I finally took a Bendrlyn 1/2 tablet to stop the trouble late at night. Then, finally, sleep came, as did bright dreams.

I woke the previous morning itchy and tired with the nurses rallying me early. I had put myself to bed that night as the nurses had patients that needed help. Some meds helped me forget the pain and events and just sleep the night. It was my second night sleeping at the hospital, and I managed to have no interruptions.

I got my luggage opened by the nurses and got out my robe, and civilian clothing was set out, and I requested a shower as I needed to know how to wash. Also, today, the new nurse and I went over how to give my blood thinner shots. I gave the injection to myself on Christmas Eve, a unique holiday experience. The nurse and I believed I would be getting a prescription for the special pre-filled blood thinner hypodermics, so I needed to learn. She also told me to get a milk container to hold the sharps. These had a process where you press extra-hard on the plugger after pulling the needle out, and a spring-loaded tube shoots out and covers the needed. Nice!

I put on my mask and walked down the halls for a while. I have some energy, the painkillers have not worn off yet, so I take a photo of myself next to the wreath made from urinals in the Cancer Ward; I discovered I am in the cancer ward as a short stay and thus the room to myself and the positive airflow meter on the room.

Because of Covid-19, I stayed in my room, often walking in the room and doing side steps and walking in circles to get moving. Even now, I do not wander far.

Note: No prescription for blood thinner was ordered. I called back the nurse at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital Cancer Ward after getting home, and we checked, and so far, no order for the shots. She sent a message to the surgeon to see if they had just missed it.

We have only rain here and the typical gray clouds. The nurse told me I was being discharged, and the CNA helped me get showered, gave me instructions on how to shower, and provided replacement supplies for my wound care.

I manage to do what is needed and take an extra long shower. I find towers set out, and my robe is not far. I then work with care to dress in my civilian clothing.

I walk down the hallway and wave, now clean, not shaved as I am on a blood thinner (I was told, “no shaving with a razor”), and told the nurses I would be ready to help deliver meds and whatever else they needed. Yes, time to discharge me before I join up. That at least gets a smile. These folks work hard in a Covid world for cancer patients.

The nurse brings my release forms, and they are surprisingly simple. Just some over-the-counter pain relief. Excellent! I did not notice at this time the blood thinner was missing. She helps me pack the suitcase. I am already tired and nod off in the chair.

I call Les Hopkins, Zoriada’s husband, to get me. And soon, he is there, having dropped Zoriada with Susie in Forest Grove. I pick up my credit cards and cash from the security folks at the entrance. I had to have my valuables locked in the hospital safe when I checked in. I still had the pink copy in my coat pocket, which I remembered when I put my hand in my pocket. One of the nurses had chased us down to give us the yellow copy, the nurses’ copy, so we were okay. My RN escorts me out, and I get to say goodbye to her. This hospital does not have a transportation group except for the X-ray Department, and so the RN sees you out.

Zoraida and Anne Weld-Martin saw Susie on Christmas Eve. We faced time a bit and Susie was relieved to see me.

Les has a Volvo XC60 a few years older than mine; it is Zoriada’s car. It is easy for me to get in. We chat about investments and vehicles. He takes me to the local RiteAid, and I pick up over-the-counter painkillers and my prescriptions (they ran out, of course, while all this was going on, and I had refilled them on Monday). I am now drained.

Les brings in the suitcase and bag of used clothing, says goodbye. I am fatigued now. I then notice I have no syringes. As mentioned, I call, and we leave that unresolved.

I discovered how to lie down in the queen-sized bed and find the blanket I folded before the surgery, thinking I would need it and pull over me. I am sure that it was only a second later that Corwin told me soup was here. He ordered from GrubHub lunch for two Vietnamese soups. He steams the veggies for me.

We watch the rest of the series, The Witcher, and this season is more linear than the previous one and has more clear plotting. I like it. I can’t remember for sure, but I think The Witcher’s voice narrated my dreams last night, or at least I heard comments from the voice.

The new Matrix movie was available on HBOMAX, and since I already had that service, why not. I enjoyed the movie and felt this movie had better found the story’s roots than the third movie. In addition, I was fascinated by how they would update the technology and visual effects that were so cutting edge long ago. I was not disappointed and happy to see that the bad guy pointed out some of the special effects just did not work in the New Matrix–that was a gas and excellent writing. And having a bad guy, a new one, was perfect. I will not write any spoilers here, but I liked it, and the casting was fun.

One complaint: The fights seemed a bit hard to follow, and the new characters were a bit simple, but I suspect they will bring forth a new movie or TV show on HBOMAX and be expanded.

Off to bed after 11PM on Christmas. I listened to Christmas Music and missed Susie again and tried to sleep.

I spoke to lots of people on Christmas Eve. I will not recount them there, but to thank everyone here for their prayers and kind words.

An aside: I just heard a firetruck whistle this Christmas Day while I write this, and it reminds me of a tradition never spoken about and a sad story I remember every Christmas Day when I hear the wail of fire and rescue.

When I was a kid, my dad and I delivered a couple bedroom sets to a house in my hometown of Laingsburg, Michigan. It was in the spring. I noticed that the house looked new but old at the same time and that on the ground were burn marks where the roof had melted and boiled off in a fire.  A small boy and his mother met us. The kid’s hands were wrapped in bandages. 

We put it together as it was a bed set and helped organize the rooms a bit. Surprisingly, the gal was chatty, and dad explained how the appliances worked–they were not from our store. 

It was clear to me that the fire had gutted the house, and it was now rebuilt, and these were the last items to let them move back in. 

When in the truck after we were left, my father told me that the kid’s hands were burnt trying to save his younger brother in the fire. All the stuff in the house was new. The fire started in the Christmas tree. We drove home. 

But, the story that is not told is that when there is a fire, the homeowner back then only got a partial amount from insurance. But, at our furniture and appliance store, it was always enough to cover replacement. Nobody wanted to do more than cover their costs for such a tragedy. Same with clothing and food, and other supplies from other stores in Laingsburg. The amount was always enough for new and better. So when I hear a siren on Christmas day, I hope it is not a fire and remember my father’s kindness and the kindness of the other business people long ago in Laingsburg, Michigan.