2002-09-21

3:35 p.m.

Good lord! Our cable modem is down and out. I never realized the magnitude of my internet addiction. How is anyone supposed to find out the news or weather? It�s like I forgot how to function without having a constant connection.

I had to trek downtown to my cubicle so I could update my diary. Oh, and do some research for my stimulating Communication Research Methods class. I am working on some busywork "library resources" assignment and go figure - I�m stuck on the very last topic.

The real big new is that I got official word yesterday that I am officially DONE with chemo! Dr. B told me that soon this would all be behind me and I could get on with my life. I did ask him why my right leg feels numb and heavy since that would impair my ability to feel normal, especially if the situation were to worsen. He told me that if it still felt bad after a couple months to let him know. I adore how doctors see a couple months as a reasonable time to walk around with a floppy numb bum leg.

I took my new mini DV cam (a gift from my little bro) to both of my appointments. Since it is compact in size I no longer have to ask for permission to take pics or video of anything. Medical personnel are so suspicious of visual documentation its downright hilarious. So here is my tasters photocollection of my day at the hospital:

Hot stuff I say. I had two appointments yesterday. I stopped by Dr B the cancer man�s office so the blood suckers could have a sample of my newly hodgkin-free blood and then I went over to radiation oncology for my orientation and simulation.

They first took me in a tiny room to watch a video on an all white 13-inch tv/vcr combo.

"Radiation Therapy to the Chest Area" was as good as it sounds. I was especially fond of the section that instructs how to care for the skin being radiated by "using a gentle cleanser such as dove or ivory to cleanse the skin." That particular voice over section was accompanied by footage of a hairy chested bald man simulating a circular rubbing motion in front of a mirror.

I am probably the only patient who was interested in the credits but I made sure to watch them at the end. I was curious if Club Beau (the nurses told me that�s what they call the hospital) had it�s own video department. I saw "copyright 1995 Beaumont Hospital Video Services". Maybe I should apply for a job there since I�ve got a lot of ideas on patient video improvement.

I told the nurses that I was very interested in the patient video and that I work in video production. I discovered that the funniest thing to them about the video was that the people in the video worked in their same department. The hairy guy was probably a radiation oncology technician or something. I forgot to ask if they knew him. After seeing a lather simulation like the one I saw, I think it�s entirely possible that his popularity with the female nurses doubled after the video came out.

The other exciting part of my radiation appointment was when they made a foam mold of my upper body. I plan on asking if I can keep it.

I�m not too worried about this second half of treatment. Most of the nurses at the RO appointment seemed concerned that I wasn�t asking questions or worried about treatment. I finally was like " Look ladies, I just came out of four months of chemotherapy, I�m not concerned about laying on a table." Sassy words of a pro, huh? We�ll see how I feel in two weeks.

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