Friday, July 25, 2008

motolFEST

Thanks for all your supportive comments and sorry this post is such a long time coming, but it’s been a pretty busy week.

I got up at 5 in the morning on Monday to meet Tim at the airport (I was still a bit late) and we took a taxi straight to the hospital for my blood test. Platelets up to 82 and probably much higher by now; WBC 3.2 and also likely on the rise.

I asked my oncologist about the phenylalanine connection and she was unaware of it, so I don’t feel so stupid. Going from thinking for months that I had brought this upon myself by being cheap and impatient and performing home surgery, only to find out that that probably wasn’t the cause. To realize that I had possibly been sabotaging my own therapy by being vain and wasteful is a lot to take at once. Shoulda woulda didn’t, but don't anymore.

Round two of ‘radiation planning’ on Wednesday consisted of a repeat repainting of my tattoos and another completely uneventful non-‘spin’ in the ‘simulator’ for about ten minutes. Maybe I should keep my eyes open or at least try not to nap next time. I go under the zapper for real on Monday at 11 and am supposed to bring my own towel.

We went to see the Hungarian gypsy band, Parno Graszt, that night at Rock Café, who played for an hour and a half on stage and then another hour and a half unplugged at the bar right next to our table. Excellent.

I can't make head nor tail of my CT scan results from yesterday, so I’ll have to wait for the official analysis some time this year. I didn’t have my žádanka, so we had to wait until my oncologist sent it down Stone-Age-pneumatic-tubicly. The nurse was a bit of a bitch and answered all of my questions with “LIE DOWN!” so I did, eventually. She then stuck me with the old plastic kanyla needle and pumped me full of contrast solution – pretty painful. Luckily, the whole thing lasted less than 20 minutes.

I had Dr. Wang’s reception in stitches when, after having grabbed a pair of filthy old lady fake leather sandal shoe-type things that certainly didn’t look any more hygienic than my own Nike™s, asked, “I’m not really expected to wear these, am I?” The owner of the ‘shoes’ came out moments later to the sound of muffled snickers. I fell asleep during acupuncture and dreamt that I was having acupuncture.

Am having a great time with Tim, who seems to find more time than I do to post. There are thousands of those posters left all over the hospital and the event happened well over a month ago. I felt entitled. Here’s a picture of Tim, Martha, the poster in question, and Mark:

I don't know if you can make it out, but the poster shows doctors and patients drinking, urinating and being attacked by dogs.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike,
Thinking of you. Thanks for the updates. Ann

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
mike said...

Really, Jiffy. Chicken...

chihuahua lady said...

Mikey!! i celebrated motolfest in absentia by drinking a beer, not being doctor and both me and the dog urinated.
it was a blast.
hoorah that blood o yours is bouncing back!!!

Anonymous said...

Jiffy got served up some blog comment chicken?! Wow -- my curiosity is piqued.

I guess you've finished your first zapping by now. hope it went well!

Shay said...

Do you remember, back in the the Bird Flu days at your old apartment, you expounded to me how Lysine should theoretically make you immune to said Avian HacknCough? You did promise to take care of me should I have come down with it though. While I did have a very close call when I was attacked by a friendly Vlatava Swan (I think the swan was in the right on that one), I have since decreased my bird-handling to virtually nil. I say virtually because it still allows me space to pick up injured birds you and I find in the middle of Vinohradska in those oh so special hours we have between whichever club we were in, a herna, and -having dropped off the bird in the park- the beer garden. Looking forward to the end of Motolfest...

valter said...

hey mike; great to read your posts each day
Val

Anonymous said...

Mike,
I hope that the radiation went well. You were undoubtedly a pro after the two test runs. I am sure the witch that bossed me around like a doorman knows her stuff.
-T

maire said...

oh, i am SO going to start answering all your questions with "LIE DOWN."

you have to post a pic of the new, post-facial hair you!

Una on Tour said...

Hey Mike

glad to hear that the blood count is going up again. That "lady" sounded more like the type of lady Max Mosley would like to have speak in german to him.

I enjoy reading your blog. I shouldn't it's about cancer after all. but it's about a truely amazing person with cancer. I think you are amazing, and am thinking of you.

Una

Anonymous said...

Drink! drink! with your friggin' pen!

Anonymous said...

I hope the radiation sife-effects aren't too rough.

The post deletion was impressive:you are indeed the master of your domain.

...thinking about you and looking forward to seeing you--and hearing about everything that didn't that didn't (or couldn't) make it to the blog.

Chicken!

Jon

mike said...

To address a few of your many excellent comments:

Jiffy’s comment was neither intriguing nor memorable: just the old non-sequitor vulgar stream-of-unconsciousness rambling bilge that one has come to expect... big love ;-)

I’m not pushing lysine anymore for bird flu...

Tom, if that ‘witch’ who bossed you around knows her stuff, she isn’t telling me. I haven’t spoken to my radiologist since you were here except for a few furtive dobrý dens. I’m to meet her on Monday after radiation so she can grudgingly answer my questions briefly.

And yes, Una, I am amazing.

New post up shortly, sorry for the delay - a lot going on...