Well it has been a while since I updated. I had a week off from chemo on May 7 week but that didn’t stop me from having another abdominal pain attack. I was just beginning to feel my strength come back when, Viola! Thursday night, it started. It was not as bad as previous attacks, but basically kept me awake all night. And, it was not fun.
Friday I worked about three or four hours from home to finish a weekend story – so I was not completely debilitated, but spent most of the day in the bed.
Friday night it eased – but I had to cancel attending the awards banquet for my book (mentioned earlier) and for a weekend retreat at beautiful
By Saturday morning, it had slowed to an occasional pang, but I was worn out.
I am hoping after consultation with my doc Monday (14th), we have the right combination of medications and “eating instructions” for this to be my last “event.” I also picked up a tip or two from the man sitting next to me in the chemo room, who had similar problems last year with the same drug but got them straightened out. He’s been through more treatment than I have, bless him.
As a matter of fact, Freda and I set a new record getting into the doc’s office, through the chemo room and on the road on Monday. It was nice. I spent the rest of the day working quietly from home (good for reading as no one bothers me).
Tuesday night (5-14), I attended the memorial service for my friend, work colleague and fellow cancer patient Laurie Anderson (who wrote a column for The Advocate although near the end fellow reporter and long-time friend Bob Anderson, her husband, wrote a bunch). Those columns were often hard for me to read because it was difficult to read about her problems and I was often worried I might be reading my future. She was 53 and asked ladies to wear colorful clothes so the service is a celebration of her life. I like it. You can read her columns at:
(See http://www.2theadvocate.com/columnists/patientperson)
Laurie’s memorial last night was nice, and unfortunately, an opportunity to see a lot of old friends and coworkers – folks she and I worked with over the past 25 years. Many bemoaned that it is sad we end up renewing friendships when we come together to celebrate the loss of a friend. Several fellow reporters/editors came from out of town like Randy McClain from
One of the speakers was Danny Heitman, who made everyone laugh about Laurie’s love of the semicolon and editors who tried to curb that enthusiasm. (I was one while on the city desk for the old State-Times.) Finally, she confronted me and asked me why I was changing the semicolons to periods – basically making her sentences into two sentences.
Eventually, I remembered I didn’t like editors messing with my copy and backed off. She rarely wrote a sentence was too long to be fairly clear. Eventually, I went back to writing as I wasn’t really a good editor and didn’t at that time have the demeanor to edit. We sat in the same little group of six (called a “pod” back then when Morning Advocate reporters and afternoon State-times reporters shared a computer (dumb terminals were a really new thing.) We even had share phones. Last night, five of the six of us from the old back corner pod were there when I moved in in 1981 -- Randy, Ed Pratt, Barbara Kleinpeter and myself. Laurie was there, too, in spirit.
And, there is a new resident at the Dunne home -- Hope, a seven-week-old tabby kitten with four white feet. She takes on the role of the late Vincent, who was our cat for more than 10 years until we had to put him to sleep earlier this year after an autoimmune disease. The vet's office called for Freda Tuesday morning. I asked why and they just said they’d call her later – not a you-owe-us-money call. I knew a kitty was on the way – this one rescued from the Perkins Road I-10 off ramp… She is sitting on my chest as I write. We think she will be a people cat.
