I had a hell of a weekend. Saturday night was spent enjoying chills, fever and sweats. The next morning I went into the ITA (Infusion Treatment Center – an outpatient service for those of us getting infusions.) The doctor, a skinny forty-two year old woman who looked twenty-five, in tight jeans and with a bare midriff (my kind of doctor) told me that the symptoms were a common side-effect of rabbit crap. I realized that I somehow must have offended the great rabbit god. I have decided to take steps to rectify this blasphemy. I will pay homage to great rabbits in history. Read the rest of this entry »

Days in the hospital devolve into routine intrusions. There are obligatory knocks at the door, but they are perfunctory. Staff does not bother to wait for a response before entering. It is as if we patients are children, not yet meriting respectful privacy. Read the rest of this entry »

I am in the hospital – bone marrow transplant ward. I have a cough, so the assigned me a private room. There is a yin and a yang to everything. All the nurses and aides in this unit wear masks over their noses and mouths. I was ready for some serious flirting but it feels like Saudi Arabia. All I can see are eyes. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a friend who volunteers at a hospice. He has seen a lot of death. A few months ago, I asked him whether he noticed a pattern with those who had an easy passing as opposed to those who had a difficult one. He said that was an easy question. Those who have an easy time of it have their house in order – not their material house, but the one where their relationships with others reside. Read the rest of this entry »