27 May 2023
The port implant finally allowed me to get some sleep on my right side last night. It wasn’t exactly a bed of roses but if I positioned myself exactly right, I didn’t feel any tugging or stretching on the area of the port. I still seem to getting plenty of sleep but that will probably start with the chemotherapy so I better get it while I can.
My friends keep checking on me. It’s a good feeling. John, Joel and Keith are coming over tomorrow night. John is buying the burgers, buns, etc. and Joel and Keith are bringing a salad. On Memorial Day, Nancy and Michel are having me over for dinner. Tom is taking me for my first chemotherapy. John will come over and spend the night the night of my first chemo. Everyone is pitching in and trying to help out.
I was warned about one thing. For anyone staying over or visiting, when I use the toilet, I’ll have to flush two times. It’s to prevent someone from coming into contact with the drugs from chemo. There’s a couple of things that stand out about that. First, how drastic are the drugs that they don’t won’t people to come in contact with them on a casual basis? I’ve been told I have to drink copious amounts of water to flush the drugs from my system and they say I’ll be spending a lot of time in the bathroom.
A second more concerning thing is considering the number of people in Broward County undergoing chemotherapy, how much of this stuff is being flushed down the sewer and then treated and either pumped back into the ground or discharged into the ocean? Remember, one way of tracing Covid-19 was testing sewer water of cities.
On a more cheerful note, I felt like doing a light cleaning of the house today and doing laundry. (Saturday is house cleaning day and laundry day). I still have to be careful not to put too much stress on the stitches, but I managed to put clean sheets on the bed and wash two loads of laundry as well as clean – a little bit.
I also finally finished identifying the majority of the plant photos I took on this trip. I took 504 photos and 31 videos while on the trip and, as usual, most of the photos are of plants. It’s not that I don’t like scenery, I just like finding plants better.
I identified 60 plant photos in three areas: Franklin Falls, Twin Falls, and Snoqualmie Falls. Of those 60, 20 were first time finds for me. I keep a spread sheet of all the plants I identify in all the different locations. Although there are numerous plants that are of the same species, I record them if they are in different locations of the country. I’ve recorded 1,924 species since my travels beginning in 2011 from 100 different locations. Add to that 672 species from Tishomingo State Park for my masters thesis and I’ve logged 2,596 species of plants for my lifetime list.
What has made life much easier for me, as I get older and forget most of my taxonomy has been my iPhone. The newer versions allow you to photograph a plant and click on the small “I” icon for information on the photo and it’ll list a plant option if it recognizes the plant. Click that option and it’ll “name” the plant for you. This past trip was the first time I used that option to any extent (thanks for letting me know, Jimmie!) and I found it to be amazingly accurate. There were only about 10 times the entire time that I doubted the name produced by Apple. I suspect that it is Artificial Intelligence in action.
Once I returned home, I broke out my Flora of North America, the online The Plant List, and the online Biota of North America Project to confirm the identifications. Also, don’t discount using the search engine Google and using their “images” option.
I intend, when time permits, to upload photos of the trip and plants of the trip on my website at http://fsearcy.com.
Stay tuned!