12 September 2008

Holding My Breath


The migraine raged on all afternoon, all night and was there to greet me first thing this morning. I didn't cook dinner last night. I stuck it out at work until it was time to go home. When I got there, I actually went to bed and put a cloth over my eyes. Even in the midst of chemo, I rarely hung around in bed.

Hubby made dinner: turkey burgers. He did a great job, but I may never be able to stand the smell of turkey burgers again. I wonder if, because of chemo, I developed an overly acute sense of smell. There are so many things I can't stand to smell anymore. Raw beef. Turkey. Chicken (unless it's heavily disguised by spices). I'm still good with fish. I hate the smell of coffee cake and barbecue (these are definitely related to chemo). Enough of that.

I lived 19 years on the Gulf Coast of Texas. I'm accustomed to hurricanes, the anxiety of whether the path is true and it will eventually find its way to your home. I've lived through the endless rain, the high winds, tornadoes, the endless endless rain in an area not too far above sea level.

Today, I'm worried about all of the people who took (and continue to take) such great care of me at M.D. Anderson. I hope they're safe and that their homes are spared. I know Dr. Ross will be at the hospital, sleeping on a cot, taking care of the people who are so sick they can't go home. It's probably one of the safest places to be in Houston.

I remember every last one of them, from the people who park my car to the nurses who helped me get out of bed or stop bleeding, the medical techs who x-rayed me or ct scanned me to the doctors who saved my life. I can't know how they'll fare.

I'm holding my breath a little bit and saying prayers for all beings living on the Coast. But especially all of those people to whom I'll always be grateful.

11 September 2008

The Migraine Rules

I awoke this morning with a migraine and aching hips. These are clear indications that a front is coming through, but that knowledge doesn't make the pain go away.

I was going to write about my difficulty in standing up for myself, being assertive with people I don't know well. I'm not sure why it hadn't dawned on me sooner that I'm fearless in confrontations at work or when I need to protect someone I love. I have endless amounts of courage when I need to protect animals or I wouldn't have braved The Pimp, The Meth-head and Lillian in order to rescue some puppies. For me? Not so much. I have to practice and hope that my tendency to lapse into enthusiastic politeness won't overcome me when I'm face to face with a situation in which I need to take care of myself.

That's it, though. No more about that. The migraine rules and it declared that I don't have the intellectual or emotional stamina to rummage through that enormous pile of problems. The more critical issue: My mp3 player died. At least it made it through my last M.D. Anderson marathon.

Nonetheless. What a cruel universe to leave me songless.