Good evening, dear reader. I hope this evening finds you well. If you’re local, then it’s probably obnoxiously hot. I realized that this was going to be a long day when it was 81 degrees at 7 am. There’s just something unconstitutional or unholy about that. Of course, I’m fairly sure I take after the Swedish great-grandfather who jumped ship in New York Harbor (true story, actually), so there’s my explanation for my aversion to heat.
It has been a relatively slow news day here. My fifth radiation treatment was as easy as the first four; I now have thirty remaining. Assuming I can still count, I’ll be finished on the third of August. I realize that maintaining such a deadline does assume that I will not interrupt the treatments for any reason. Though I have yet to experience any major side effects from the radiation (there has been a bit of tenderness and tightness under the left side of my jaw; we’ve been addressing it in physical therapy), several members of the nursing staff at the radiation therapy clinic have informed me that it is not at all uncommon for breaks or delays to be inserted into a radiation schedule to help patients cope with painful side effects. I’ve been told to look forward to the onset of hair loss (not too painful) and radiation burns (reportedly like a moderate sunburn; painful) around the third week of treatment – which, of course, means sometime in the next ten to twelve days. I have informed myself that delays in treatment will be unnecessary; we shall see if I listen to me.
Work today was fairly uneventful – the usual series of requests for assistance ranging from mundane to puzzling. Honestly, I much prefer the puzzling ones; they keep me on my toes. The only unusual element today was the beginning of much paperwork; as will all things bureaucratic, until it’s filled out in triplicate, signed in blood, and faxed to the Library of Congress, it apparently doesn’t count. I’m starting the process of applying for reimbursement of medical expenses from the Flexible Spending Account that I signed up for two or three years ago but have never used. The really fun part of the submission process is that I have to fax all the documentation into the agency. Yep, fax. Now I realize that the technology is not actually that old, but one would think (ok, I would think) that in the era of every-scrap-of-paper-you-can-imagine-is-available-in-digital-format I could simply email everything they need to an agent. Not so much. Perhaps that’s what bothers me so much about the process as it is currently established; once I fax everything, I have no way to guarantee that an actual human being reviews it. With email, one at least tends to know to whom something was sent.
As I said, slow news day, my friend. I’ve been working on a few more interesting pieces to share with you, but none of them are quite ready for prime time, as they say. The top three that I’m crafting are:
- Accepting One’s Limitations (Or, Not);
- Intimacy and Cancer Treatments; and,
- A Review of My Fears – The Hospital Journals Revisited
What else have I promised to share but have not yet delivered? Please, do remind me in the comments section. Let me know what kinds of questions you have, be they practical or personal or whatever. I’m open to answer (almost) anything. You do me the honor of continuing to return to this place; help me keep you interested.
Until next time, take care of each other.
Shalom.
