Last session

Tomorrow I’ll have the last chemo session of my first treatment program. This is no reason to celebrate, but I will certainly feel relief when I return the empty bottle on Friday. If the surgery that liberated me from the tumor, half my colon and assorted innards was the prologue to a long multi-stage event, chemotherapy was the first set of stages. We haven’t entered the mountains yet, though some of the hilly terrain had quite a bite. It wasn’t always easy, but the hardest part is still ahead. Now, though, I can enjoy a rest day that might...

Locked in

The lockdown – though it’s not called so – has Switzerland firmly in its grip.  Schools and kindergartens are closed.  Children turn themselves into permanent nuisances at home where parents who lost the luxury of their office desks try to define a new normal.  Children at home during work days is not normal.  Parents at home isn’t normal either.For us, the situation could be worse.  We are lucky in that Flucha’s lab has been closed.  Since her work is largely experimental, there’s not much to do at home besides reading...

Half measure

Yesterday I had my second-to-last chemo session.  It was a day to forget.  All started well, though a bit early for my taste.  The doctor was happy with my blood values, even if my immune cells were a bit low.  There was not much left of the infection that had felled me ten days earlier.  I was cleared to go.The nurse connected my port, flushed the lines with glucose and started the first set of drugs, oxaliplatin and calcium folinate.  All seemed fine.  I was working on my computer, as if the hospital bed were...

Drastic measures

It’s curious how this blog has taken a turn from being about my cancer to being about everyone’s corona.  Months ago I got heartfelt wishes for my health and packages of sweets for my spirit from my friends in Italy.  Now it’s me who’s concerned about them and their well-being.  They live half an hour north of Milano.Switzerland is far from the worst afflicted country but has a fairly high per-capita infection rate and recently imposed strict measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.  Bars and restaurants had to close...

Home office

The last three days I stayed at home.  My doctor tried to talk me into sick leave, but what’s the point of boring oneself to death at home?  One might as well do some work if one’s work is suited to it.  Mine is.  Besides traveling, I mostly read and write.So I stayed at home, following, in this particular instance, the guidelines published in the morning by the Federal Office of Public Health.  I pushed my bicycle aside...

Just a cold

Today was the second session on the trainer in a row that I skipped.  I’m not proud of this, but even I have to admit that overdoing it is not always the best strategy.  Sunday went as expected for the most part.  I was still a bit weak in the morning but better than the previous day.  I relaxed with a book and let the children play with mommy, except for brief forays into ambitious railroad construction.After lunch we took the train to Zurich to go to one of our favorite places.  Josefwiese is a large patch of grass at...

Down day

It’s now five days after my most recent chemo and three days since the portable pump was removed.  Everything should be fine.  I should be well on the way of recovery for the last two sessions.  The cold-sensitivity in my fingers should have abated and my digestion should be back to normal.  All should be good, but it isn’t.Frequently after chemo, I get exceptionally tired.  I probably wrote a few posts that talk about this.  I was dead-tired after Christmas and after the sessions in January.  Some days, I slept...

Two anniversaries

Today five years ago was also a Monday.  It should have been my first day at the new job, but travel duties had already sent me to the US to attend a workshop at the University of Georgia.  The flight out there took place on Sunday.  It was a good start.  It taught me about the flexibility expected and the compensation offered.Today I’m celebrating my fifth anniversary as a detectorist.  The CEO has invited me to his office, presumably for words of appreciation, but I’ve got the best possible present already.  From...