Here’s one I prepared earlier…

Day 8

General Status update

Hair: looks appalling – no change there, then - but not falling out yet

Nausea Demon: Has settled in nicely, and is currently filling out his electoral registration form. He says ‘hi’
Fingertips: still numb
Chemo brain incidents: 1 (maybe, I'm not sure)
Anxiety level (1-10): much greater since failing to get a response from the Chemo 24 hour emergency help-line
State of mind: Gone to my happy place – back in about 17 weeks

 

 

I vowed to myself that I was going to make a post on this blog every day for the next 100 days, if it killed me: it’s one way of wresting a vestige of control out of a situation over which I have essentially no control whatsoever. And by post I mean what I would call a ‘proper’ post: something which contains information and/ or comment of some kind, and contributes to the narrative structure for this story that has been developing in my mind over the last week or so.

Today, though, that is beyond me – I’m so weakened, physically and psychologically, by the nausea that there is no chance of being able to write a sustained piece of prose, and I need to stop and rest. My oncologist has prescribed more, and different, anti-emetic and other meds which I will get this evening; R is going to pick them up from the hospital on his way home.

 I hope that tomorrow I will be able to get a grip and continue, but in the meantime I am going to post a link to something I wrote earlier, when I was living in my Camel Barn Library, and writing about my love affair with Ayvalik in particular, and Asia Minor in general; if nothing else, this piece will give you information of which you were almost certainly not previously aware about the long and distinguished history of yogurt, and its centrality in Turkish culture. To understand modern Turkey in its historical context, you really need to understand yogurt.  

It’s called  'Entertaining angels unawares...'

p.s. Many apologies to those of you who have already read this, and may be less than allured by the thought of revisiting the fascinating history of yogurt, which lacks the immediate drama of cancer treatment. I hope to resume posting as normal tomorrow.