Still here…
Yikes, I just realized that it’s been two weeks since I blogged!
This is not due to me being completely under the weather, do not fear. It’s due to me being partially under the weather, and then trying to use my up-times to get some work done on the ebooks. I would love to get the rest of the Kindle versions out by the end of this month. The epubs are in process, as well, but less speedily…
Meanwhile, I had TH chemo on Monday again. It’s a lot of stuff that goes in.
And this is just the stuff they use to prep me before the Taxol and Herceptin, the big guns.
I don’t actually feel bad during the infusion… I just chill out and read and surf the internet, write a bit, make notes, listen to music.  Thank goodness this hospital has free wifi!   They have TV’s at each infusion station, too, but bleagh. Daytime TV? No way.
Sabine’s going to be taking a week’s vacation from me, hooray for her!  She’s had to do a lot. Our pal Brian is coming on Sunday do fill in for her and be my minion, and Sabine will be basking in sunshine by the sea.  About which I’m jealous, of course.  At least the weather around here, while still swinging wildly, is hitting some nicer numbers on the upswing. I try to take a walk for about half an hour, on days when I can.
Meanwhile, hey, I’ve got radioactive blood! Yesterday they did a MUGA scan (Multi-Gated Acquisition Scan, also known as radionuclide angiography), to test my heart-valve functioning.  They do this every three months in order to track a not-common but possible side-effect of my treatments. They want to stay on top of it. I’ll know the results on Monday next.
Naturally, many jokes with the radiology tech person.  I was leaning toward Spider-man, she tending toward the Hulk.  The student in attendance, a young foreign gentleman, was a bit puzzled at us.
The new chemo has a huge dose of steroids to accompany it, but for a shorter period than previously, meaning that I’m moving into a crash-mode right now. Last time, Wednesday was the hard day for the crash, with other attendant annoyances and pains — so, more to come shortly, I suppose. Fortunately, I’m off work, so my calendar is clear…
Minor but annoying side-effects: I cannot play the guitar! This because the AC portion of my chemo had a cumulative side-effect of dehydrating my skin so much that no amount of lotion prevented my fingertips from being crazily-sensitive to any kind of friction, and actually sometimes cracking. I believe this was exacerbated by all the paper-handling in my day-job, which I was still working at that point. Also, as a finger-style guitarist, I use my nails to play… and the other common side-effect is that your nails start growing in weird.  And freakishly painful. Like having a tiny, tight vise on each finger.
That’s starting to diminish now, although the fingernail thing, while hurting less, remains peculiar.  And kind of creepy, with multiple subsurface colorations.
When I signed up for Worldcon in London, I told them I was interested in doing a 20-minute musical performance… I’m hoping I’m back in the musical groove by then, but if I have to back out of that part, it’s not the end of the world. Heck, I don’t even know yet if they’re going to give me a slot at all.
Meanwhile, my oncologist is still pleased with my progress, the surgeon’s happy, and I’m just movin’ on down that track toward getting this thing to be gone.
In other news: yes of course I watched Cosmos!  Love Neil deGrasse Tyson. I thought it was delightful and moving. And I agree with most reviews I’ve read, that the animated bit about Giordano Bruno ran a bit long… but it did serve as a reminder that there were times in history when disagreeing with religion could get you killed!
Wait, that’s still today, isn’t it? Depending on where you live, that is.
March 12th, 2014 at 4:29 pm
Glad to hear that the long absence wasn’t a major setback.
Still waiting, patiently, for Kindle versions. Even though I have them all here in pBook format, I never read pBooks any more.
Also, I ran across a recording of Baffin Bay the other day. And enjoyed it, so gave Amazon my buck for that, too. 🙂
March 12th, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Charlie —
And part of that buck went to Smithsonian Folkways, which is a good thing to support! They’re the ones who re-released the Fast Folk Musical Magazine issues.
March 12th, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Agreed, they’re a good thing to support. Not that my buck will make any real difference, but there it is, we do what we can.
March 12th, 2014 at 5:32 pm
What excellent timing — I’d been thinking about sending you email the past day or so, to ask how you were doing. It’s always a difficult thing to ask, though, because if you were not well, I wouldn’t’ve wanted to make you think you had to respond!
Health first. ebooks later!
(And, hm, you’re going to loncon? I don’t think I knew that. Maybe I can be convinced to go.)
March 12th, 2014 at 5:33 pm
A thought for performance at WolrldCon – I’m fairly certain that you would find several filk types who would be quite happy to act as “trained stunt guitarist” (it’s been done before!). Or perhaps several could go together to perform a set list of your choice?
I’m sure we’d all rather see you do your own performance, though, if at all possible! 🙂
March 12th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
Melissa —
Actually, I’m mainly interested in playing guitar, and for me there’s no point if I just sing. My voice is not that stunning… guitar is where I shine.
March 12th, 2014 at 6:54 pm
Glad things are moving along as they should! I’ll be interested to see how you plan to improve the lot of humanity with your radioactive blood. Remember, with great power comes a whole lot of power . . . .
March 12th, 2014 at 7:54 pm
I have read that one of the reasons for the fingernails (and hair follicles, and other seemingly unconnected side effects) is that chemotherapy is somewhat unspecific – while it is better every year, it still essentially targets fast-growing tissue like tumors, and fingernails, and hair …
Hope you bounce back quickly and are back to your normal in no time.
March 12th, 2014 at 9:08 pm
Yayy! Thanks for posting. I’m glad things are still going as well as possible. Spring has GOT to come sometime, and it will do us all a world of good. (Says the woman who had to dig her car out from under yet again this morning.)
March 13th, 2014 at 7:43 am
You are the best, Rosemary! We are thinking of you.
March 15th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Hail from the couch, where I’m sitting with my leg in the air! I’m glad it’s going well, and that Sabine is off in the sunshine for a bit. Maybe EK can join her when she’s done dancing attendance on me.
March 18th, 2014 at 4:06 am
Yay. Glad to hear you are making good progress and looking after yourself.
It would be lovely to see you in London with or without the guitar.
Good to hear Sabine is looking after herself too – all superheroes should have a trusty sidekick !