the american tour

The tingling seems to be fairly steady in both feet and hands now and, it’s either gotten slightly better, or I’m just getting used to it. I am, however, having more and more trouble walking and standing for longer periods, but this usually remains unnoticeable to all but the most observant. We’re going to call it ‘peripheral neuropathy’ from now on, as that’s the name of the (more chronic) condition and fairly common side-effect of chemotherapy.

I got my ticket for the post-election gloat-boat, the “In your face, grandpa, and you too, ya cheap hussy” Express, for less than $700 (that’s like 50 crowns!) for all these imminent arrivals:

Sunday, Nov 16: San Francisco (SFO) 12:08 PM PST

Sunday, Nov 23: Denver (DEN) 11:44 PM MST
Monday, Dec 1: Austin (AUS) 10:09 PM CST
Friday, Dec 5: Baltimore (BWI) 4:23 PM EST
Tuesday, Dec 16: Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) 2:37 PM EST
Monday, Dec 29: New York (EWR) 10:56 PM EST

So buckle your seatbelts! Despite the recent ‘mental recession’, the fundamentals of the American economy appear stronger than ever: waste gas and pollute the air for next to nothing and buy lots of Christmas presents made (or at least bought) in USA.

But I progress. From October 30th to November 16th I’ll be in the greatest New York area, as well as after December 29th. I look forward to seeing all of you and your respective sundries at our mutual conveniences on any stop of the tour. That’s a pretty wide berth: you have no excuse.

I had my long-awaited CT scan yesterday morning. It took them four tries to get a working needle in for the contrast solution, so I’m back to junkie pincushion arms after a long break. I got the results on CD immediately after, but can’t find anything, nor have been able to in the past, except that my insides are a lovely shade of blue, my boxers are a little too tight in the waist, I have a strange wire running down the right side of my body and my spine is pretty straight for all my poor posture:

My oncologist, in a surprise move, is mysteriously disappearing (on purpose) for a month, or at least until after my last opportunity to see her before I leave for Germany and then the States. I’m to have blood tests and get my CT results on Tuesday morning with her replacement, Dr. Batko. I’m having some abandonment anxiety. I hope to arrange a PET scan before I leave, depending on Tuesday’s consultation with the second string.

I saw Dr. Wang today and told him about the neuropathy. He stuck ten relatively painful pins in my head, turning me into a real Hellraiser, and left me for almost an hour. I feel pretty much the same, although my much lighter wallet has put a little skip in my step.

Results on Tuesday could affect my US itinerary, so bate your collective breath until next time. Don't miss tonight's presidential debate, even if McCain does.