Diet Diary - Day 24

May 10, 2002
Day 24 Thursday May 9, 2002 Chemo Day

      6:50 AM I am up, bleary but up. I was watching/listening to the old black and white movie The Bishop's Wife last night. My night light. Chemo day today. Which means we leave in about 70 minutes. I put out a drink for the kid and rocked him a bit. Will let that get and go in and shake harder after my coffee. Fed rabbit its rabbit food (as opposed to kitchen scraps like the fat stem on broccoli) and fed and watered dog. Watered Chinchilla. Checked cat food level. Added water for them. Fed Chinchilla her shredded wheat. Anytime I go near the kitchen, she flings herself into the near corner of her cage, full underbelly pressed up against the wire, sometimes chirping. This is her request for a shredded wheat. Bite size. I understand they also like the one with raisins.
     
      Coffee, want coffee! Left heel is not sore from cracking open and my pulling off hanging skin (wasn't home to clip it). Bad Mommy! Need to figure out how to get rid of the calluses I never in my life had before! Isn't it great how life thinks up new things to throw at you and mess you up! Like I don't have enough things to do in my day now I have to rub stuff into my heels.
     
      I suppose that I could put shoes on when running outside to feed dog and rabbit instead of barefoot on ice-cold concrete. Because it is cold this morning. When living in Massachusetts, I used to run barefoot on ice to take out the trash. In a nightgown! (Harried mother's do things like that. I had two small children at the time.) I never had a problem with my feet before. This I got while running barefoot over the floors of the hospital. Racing in and out in sandals and no nylons. Going to work without nylons the whole time he was at his sickest with the chemo. I had simplified.
     
      While fixing my toast, I decided to warm up the pseudo-butter that had accidentally made it into the freezer. Well, you should always check that no inner wrapper, foil inner wrapper, remains on the plastic container. I had a 3-second light show (sparkles) and fast reflexes. Geeez! That woke me up faster than the coffee!
     
      7:39 AM Auurgh! I heard the street sweeper coming and I was naked in a nightgown. Damn! I raced toast into my son's room, shook the boy, who remains comatose at this hour, and ran to jump into yesterday's workout clothes, conveniently left on the floor. I raced to the street and pulled the van into the two-car driveway where three cars now sit, smashing into a recycling bin on the way. Drat! But it will be fine, just a little off-square. I have got to write that on the calendar. Pull van into driveway - smash recycle bin. Monthly activity.
     
      If he makes a down pass, he may catch me. Did once before. Else I will be out sweeping and hosing the street.
     
      Well, I will be out hosing and sweeping the street. I put it on the calendar for next month.
     
      I dressed fast and shook the kid awake a few times until it was about time to go (close to 8:15 AM at this point. I got him into things and dressed. He drank the V8Splash and ignored the toast. He staggered to the car.
     
      At the hospital, we had to go the day hospital. I had thought it was a short day. Nope. 1-hour. Which translates into 3 at the drop of a hat.
     
      They had an art project for my son and he sat from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM working on PowerPoint on the new computer with the digital screen at the nurse's station. They accessed him in a room and then ran his chemo while he sat up at the computer. I ran for coffee for me and another V8Splash for him. I also bought myself a box of dark chocolate (See's) for Mother's day and shared it with the nurses. I got some lollipops too.
     
      I sat in the room reading (I never go to the hospital without a book to read), kicking back. I finished the book about 12:00 PM. My son was wrapping up the art project. A girl had made HS graduation. She had 28 days to go. She had been through difficulties like my son had. He made a frame (clip art) and then the flip pages for the numbers - with artwork (including a girl graduate colored to match her - blond). The pages will be cut out and assembled for tearing off - except the instructions are to assemble the days in random order. 5 days left, 3 days left, 12 days left, etc. To reflect the uncertainty of the whole cancer-chemo thing. The nurses loved it. They will try to get it printed in color.
     
      We ordered the GCSF late so had to kill another 40 minutes. I sat him in the entrance lobby and I got a small Diet Pepsi. He had left the V8Splash unopened until 12:30 PM. On the way home, I got him a Togo's sandwich and chip (for salt). We got home by 2:30 PM. I grabbed his toast, warmed it in the microwave and added low-fat peanut butter. That and a decaf are my lunch. The GCSF is safely stored in the refrigerator.
     
      My son really should look into graphic art as a major. He is very, very good. He hadn't used PPT in months if not years as he does not allow MicroSoft anything on his Mac. He purged it on delivery. Repurges it when upgrading operating systems. He is over on OpSysX. His system runs fairly fast. Mine is a pig. (450MHz but loaded.)
     
      3:00 PM I sorted through my loose video tapes. Found about 4 mystery shows. Found the last taping of the Fabio True Hollywood Story. Have two blank tapes. Will dup cuts for demo purposes. Him talking. 5-10 minutes.