25 June 2023
It’s been a good day. A couple of minor bouts of diarrhea last night but so far, today has been fine. Other than the rain. We are under a flood advisory and we are in the middle of an electrical storm. I’m staying off the big computer and have not turned on the television. People are amazed when I tell them about lightning striking land lines and the electrical shock traveling through phone cords. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that experience occurred with my Dad when he was in the military. The lightning bolt traveled through the phone line and knocked him across the room.
These days I tend to get a little nervous when rain starts to pool around the house. I’d just as soon not go through another flood episode for the next 100 years.
As far as the diarrhea is concerned, nothing seems to totally stop it. I’m alternating between Lomotil and Imodium. I’ve been told by the doctors that it’s OK to take Lomotil every six hours and Imodium every four. I don’t do that much but pretty close to it. Since it hasn’t stopped, I’ve given up on the BRATT diet. I’m still eating the diet but decided I need to get some real food into me. Even when I poop, it’s starting to look like little bananas. Can’t say I’ve ever had yellow poop before. Either that or I’m hallucinating.
I therefore went to Whole Foods today and bought some hamburger patties. They sell premade patties with additions like bacon and cheese or bleu cheese and onion. I bought 2 plain and 2 bacon and cheese patties and when I got home divided those into two to make 8 patties that are much thinner. I really prefer thinner patties. I made a plain one for lunch and put on the bun mustard, ketchup, onion and dill pickles and was able to eat the entire burger. That’s a first for me since my chemo infusion. I have no idea why hamburgers sound good to me, taste good to me and allow me to eat them when thoughts of other foods turn me off.
I made the mistake of brushing my teeth with minty toothpaste last night as an experiment to see if my gums and lining of my mouth had recovered from the infusion. It hadn’t. I can’t believe how much minty toothpaste burns. It’s back to baking soda for toothpaste.
I also bought some precut chunks of watermelon. I feel like I can eat the fruit (it still tastes good to me) and I need something in my stomach besides BRATT. I also mix vanilla yogurt with the fruit and the yogurt has probiotics. Hopefully that will help replace some beneficial bacteria in my gut. I suspect the antibiotic they gave me in the hospital did a number on my “good” bacteria.
While at Whole Foods, I always check their cut flowers. They had some beautiful peonies but I knew they only last a couple of days when the do open up. I think peonies are my favorite flower. It goes back to the days we lived in Boyle, Mississippi and the older lady next door was a retired elementary school teacher. Mother would go over and visit and she’d take me. The lady would give me mimeographed drawings of plants and a set of crayons and I was off the the races with coloring. I distinctly remember coloring in peonies.
The lady at the kiosk at Whole Foods said to wet your hands and force the petals of peonies open and even then, they’d only last three or four days. Instead, I bought yellow roses.
I always think of the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas” when I see these.
I’ve always loved yellow roses. When I was union president and senate president of Broward College, I often had to go downtown to the administrative tower and deal with the president of the college and various vice-presidents on union and senate matters. Sometimes the meetings were rather acrimonious and I remember one time the president of the college tried to throw me out of his office.
Regardless, the personal secretaries (administrative assistants) of all the bigwigs always treated me with courtesy and respect. I got in the habit of taking them each a yellow rose when I showed up. I think that earned me more good will than anything in the downtown office. I also think it shamed some of the big administrators into thinking more about their administrative assistants.
June is almost over which means it’s getting closer to surgery time. I look at it as another step in the process and look forward to getting it over with.
Stay tuned!