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Hooray. I passed!!!<br />
Friday, August 13, 2010<br />
I passed the written drivers test. The photo will be weird <strong>with</strong> half my face red. I will put it<br />
down to bad lighting. Actually, if you have an appointment, the CA DMV is very efficient. I<br />
was in and out <strong>with</strong>in half an hour.<br />
Only two more treatments to go.<br />
Bert is much better, home from the hospital. We will play bridge this afternoon.<br />
Mike and Leanna sent us birthday gifts which we opened while doing a Skype video chat.<br />
That was a great way to keep close when travel is impossible. <strong>My</strong> gift was two wooden<br />
pieces onto which Mike printed some old photos. Judy's gift was coasters hand painted<br />
by Sammi, age 2 1/2. Great and meaningful gifts.<br />
Our house is on the market. What a pain in the you-know-what. On Wednesday we had<br />
to vacate the place as a couple <strong>with</strong> two boys checked it out for an hour. Then our realtor<br />
says they can't afford the asking price. How inconsiderate. We were only given an hour,s<br />
notice to clean up and get out.I am having great fun following the Giants. They are a<br />
good distraction.<br />
We recorded the HBO special, The Pacific. I have been watching that. If you are one of<br />
those who feel that we should never have dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, watch that<br />
series. It will change your mind. War is horrific. You can't imagine the courage it took for<br />
the marines to go from island to island in the Pacific to battle the Japanese. If anything,<br />
the error was to go to islands like Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, rather than wait until we<br />
could use the bomb.<br />
I will report on my progress again next Tuesday after my last treatment.<br />
Posted by docshu at 12:28PM (-07:00)<br />
I Know What Michael Douglas Has Coming<br />
Tuesday, August 17, 2010<br />
Tuesday, August 17,2010<br />
I am done <strong>with</strong> the radiation treatments!!! I had my last treatment this morning. They gave<br />
me a certificate of completion like I had taken a Medical Education Course. Actually, I<br />
should get category 1 credit for all this as I learned so much. I know what Michael<br />
Douglas has to look forward to, as he will have radiation for throat cancer. His will be<br />
worse than mine. I hope his trophy wife will be half as nice to him as Judy has been to<br />
me. The printed information given to me says that after treatment ends, symptoms may<br />
still get worse for 7-10 days before there is any improvement. The electron beam<br />
treatments seem to be innocuous. The entire process takes only a few minutes. I lie on<br />
the same table <strong>with</strong> the same head holder, but no mask. They line up the machine <strong>with</strong><br />
marks on my face which were drawn a week ago Monday by Dr John, and which have<br />
almost completely come off. They tape a stand-off pad to my cheek, generally running<br />
the tape onto my lips so I feel like a hostage. About 15 seconds of machine noise and I<br />
am done. Dr John checked my skin yesterday, and there is an area behind my left<br />
earlobe which has broken down. I am to cleanse it <strong>with</strong> Hydrogen Peroxide diluted to<br />
20% and then <strong>with</strong> water, and then cover the area <strong>with</strong> Silvadine cream, three times<br />
daily. This will take weeks to heal, but is relatively asymptomatic as my earlobe is still<br />
numb from my surgery. The skin in front of my neck and just above the left clavicle is<br />
worse than it was, and the Aloe Vera stings when I apply it. I am afraid it will begin to<br />
break down.<br />
<strong>My</strong> <strong>Battle</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Merkel</strong> <strong>Cell</strong> <strong>Cancer</strong><br />
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