Goodnight Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep;
I pray the Lord my back to keep.
For I am weak without my brace
and needful of unmoving grace.
My sternum and my spine agree,
there’s very little room for me
to wander from the narrow way;
I may not stir, I must not stray.
For if I twist or turn or strain,
this causes me [...]

You’re Taking What!

The newest addition to my list of drugs to swallow—number 23, but who’s counting—is Fluconazole (the generic of Diflucan), which many female readers will recognize as a leading treatment for yeast infections. 
 
The packaging boasts, “Just one oral tablet provides a full course of therapy sufficient to cure most vaginal yeast infections.” Me? I’m on a [...]

The Cart

Tuesdays with Morrie may be enlightening but Thursdays with Mikie are a nightmare. Lots going on, but most of it bad.
 
It was the same with my first round of RICE. I’ve learned that surviving Thursday is the key.
 
That’s the day the cart comes by:
 
CART MASTER:
Bring out your dead!
[clang]
Bring out your dead!
[cough cough...]
[clang]
[...cough cough]
Bring out [...]

Figure of Speech

A comment on a friend’s blog (Running For My Life) sparked this post on the quirks and inexactitudes of our language. One of Ronni’s pet peeves is “not to mention.” If you’re not going to mention it, then why did you?” she asks.
 
When people say, “to tell the truth,” or “let me be honest,” I find myself thinking, so, [...]

Clinical Trial

I have greatly benefited from the experiences of those who have had cancer before me and I would like to help others who will be diagnosed with the disease in the future. That’s why I recently asked Dr. Dax about any clinical trials I could join.
 
Clinical trials are “biomedical or health-related research studies in human [...]

Chemo Farts

While not mentioned often in the literature and blogs I’ve read, fetid fumes are a byproduct of cancer treatment. Not surprising, since one of my chemo drugs is Cyclophosphamide, a derivative of mustard gas.
 
The foul odor of normal flatus mainly results from:

low molecular weight fatty acids such as butyric acid (rancid butter smell);
reduced sulfur [...]

Sunday Funnies

I have warm childhood memories of reading the Sunday funnies: Blonde & Dagwood, B. C., Andy Capp, Herman and their ilk. I don’t find today’s lineup very humorous. There are more laughs on the typical op ed page than in the comics.
 
I still enjoy great cartoons and have collected some gems over the years. Here [...]