Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

this painting is me
during last infusion 40 minutes in
to a 90 minute infusion
my head, neck, and ears were on fire
my chest tightened
and my legs felt flushed to the toes
and i began to shake
my son summoned my nurse
but right behind her were All the nurses
this was far from their first rodeo
calm and professional, they each had a task
one stopped the infusion, one took my vitals
blood pressure 220 over 100
one infused benadryl into my IV line
one brought heated blankets
then a doctor appeared with her stethescope
to check my heart and lungs
and finally my oncologist emerged
everyone so very calm.....that relaxed me
the plan for Friday is a much slower drip
but if things go haywire I know a great bunch
of care providers that understand what needs to be done

visited my ex this sunday
our daughter flies home soon
and besides
she & her hubby miss their dog
so off we went
(dog and I)
an hour's drive
to suburbia
where people pee indoors
and share backyards...
cancer (and hair) gone
(for now?)
but so is her her immune system
to be grown anew
from a stranger's stem cells
new blood type
TBD
new eye color
TBD
new genetic ID
TBD
despite it all
she'd made a birthday cake
for me and her dog
which we all ate
on a sunny sun-day
in her suburban
backyard

my cancer team
so tough and together
their caring and cooperation
incredible
hope to never need them again
but miss the commitment
the team spirit

healing thoughts to all

my daughter had leukemia at 6 years old
shes still around thanx to a bone marrow transplant
from her brother which was a sibling match
she took on his blood type....and a Y chromosome
there are some amazing stories in the world of cancer