Day 179 - clip shop

Today had one very momentous event. Here are the before and after pictures:

Before

After

Yes, my first post chemo haircut. I was a little self conscious in the barber shop taking my own picture, thus the goofy expression. Since my hair is so short now, I decided that I could go to a short hair expert and tried out Jim, the barber next to what used to be The Baker's Peel. I must admit, I'm feeling very New England-y because I refer to the bakery that has been there for two or three years by what was there before. I have not been in a barbershop ever that I remember. It was a really different experience from a hair salon.

All the customers were at least 70, mostly I'd guess were over 80. There was a tiny little dog who lived there and snuggled on my lap for a while. A friend of the owner/barber came in, sat in a chair which was evidently there specially for him and talked for about thirty minutes. He would accept comments from those sitting in the shop, but certainly held the conversation up by himself for the whole time he was there. After he left, I listened to the barber and a customer discussing the customer's impending blindness. He currently had one eye only that could see only red and light. He talked about how he hated the word "blind" and would never call himself that, no matter if he lost the rest of his vision. He talked about how lucky he was because his wife of 60 years helped him out so much and he didn't know what he would do without her. While he was having this conversation, his wife and another customer were talking about how crazy it is that everyone gets all worked up about the first snow of the year, regardless of how much falls. Then the next customer had brought a sword and a couple of other artifacts with him that were made by an Exeter Revolutionary War silversmith ("a local craftsman," he called it). The barber asked him where the silversmith had worked and the customer said he didn't know exactly but it must have been right in town because he had been the postmaster for thirty years after the Revolutionary War. I was astonished that some one would carry this kind of trivia around in their head. It was really cool to see the beautiful work, too.

Then it was my turn and the barber was puzzled when I asked him to leave the top alone. He combed through it and said, "How short was it when you got it cut?" I told him that I hadn't had it cut, that it had all fallen out from chemo. I told him about the leukemia and he asked all kinds of questions about it. He had read the article about the little girl with leukemia who was getting a great response from the T cell therapy. He asked what I did for work and we talked about my being a doctor. I told him I was a palliative care doctor and he had not heard of palliative care so we talked about what that meant for a few minutes. This makes about the fourth time I have explained palliative care to someone I met casually this week alone. I feel like the academy should make me a roving ambassador. Anyway, I am pleased with my haircut and it was only $6. I'm going back for sure. The entertainment alone was worth well over $6.

Other activities for the day included an internet lecture on out patient palliative care, talking via Skype with a friend of a friend who wants to practice her English (native language Hungarian), and (finally) finishing the shawl. I started planning the next project (also for Christmas--better get going), but haven't done a single lick of actual visible work on it yet.

People who have heads for details (or who are on the cancer committee at CMC) will remember that the day I had my lab tests, my last day of work, I went to the CMC cancer committee. O, the irony, huh? Anyway, if I'd been totally with it, I would have gone back to work tomorrow because that is when the cancer committee is for this month. It is really weird to me somehow that the committee is meeting just before I go back to work without me. It did not even register with me that there was a meeting in August or October, but I keep thinking about this one. I will hopefully go to the February one.

For me, I will wish for an end to the most recent run of anxiety dreams. For you, I will wish for an event that gives you as strong a sense of place as I had today in the barber shop.

Day 136 - this n that

This morning when Barbara came to pick up Maggie she had a brie baker for me. I have never made baked brie and I don't really think I'd ever had baked brie before today, but now I have and it's pretty tasty. I exulted so much in eating brie in yesterday's post that Barbara felt I needed a brie baker. It probably turns out that today is my last for sure day of non-neutropenia so I will transition myself to the neutropenic diet in the morning and I really had to eat the rest of the brie today. What I did was cook it as the baker suggested and then took it to Tommie's. We called up Barbara and she joined us eating brie and watching the sun set on the river. It was nicely relaxing.

Other activities for today include weaving some of Ellie's blanket. I am getting the challenges worked out and it is growing pretty quickly. It is so fuzzy and warm looking that I think it will be tough to hand over to her.

I also spent some time on the CAPC forum websites, imagining my professional life out there waiting quietly for me. I'm getting excited for being done with all of my various poisons and on to regular life again--mid December or so. I still do not know the specific next poison that Dr Hill has planned for me, but will keep you updated when I do.

Other activities for today were a little walk through downtown which was totally gorgeous today--the sun was out, a gentle, fresh breeze was blowing,  there were constant clumps of people out walking and enjoying the day (perhaps because there was no school?). I took this nice picture of the dam and this out of focus picture of a crazy bird that was hanging out in the river. There were two and I was not able to get either in focus. This is an example of the kind of thing the iphone camera is not that great at. I could carry around my point and shoot in addition to my iphone for just such situations.

All the overflow is coming out the sides; the dam wall is dry. There is strong consideration being given to getting rid of the dam as it serves no purpose any more.

Our photogenic river, taken from the String Bridge, looking upstream.

The weird bird. It's quite thick looking with a white chest and brown other parts and a waterfowl kind of beak.

More photogenic Exeter. It's hard to believe that this was the day we were all so worried about with Sandy. We were so lucky in the seacoast of New Hampshire. That's the public library behind the island. The children's room has a window that is right out over the river and worth a visit, especially in the spring melt.

This consolidation has been so much better than either of the others. I feel really quite good: easily fatigued, but energetic between rests. My mood and thinking seem to be fairly normal. My mucous membranes are intact. Hopefully, things will stay good this time. Tomorrow, Diane is coming for a visit and I have no other plans planned. Thursday will be my next set of labs.

I hope for myself for tomorrow a day of recovery. I hope for all the folks who are submerged or still damp, a quick recovery. For you, I hope a peaceful day with recovery if needed.