15 March 2019.
A new game to play.
OK kids, I've been diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in my throat. Not a good thing, but every medico I've spoken to has been extremely positive and told me it is totally curable with treatment.
I'm not shopping for sympathy, but I'm not much of a talker about private stuff (much to Suzanne's dismay) so I'm writing this the keep family and friends up to date, and save you all a bunch of phone calls and emails. Maybe this will also help out someone who might go through the same thing somewhere down the track. It's always good to get the story from the horse's mouth, even if his tongue is a bit munted. 😃
Today was driving day, which was applicable because the Melbourne Grand Prix is on this weekend.
We had a 9:00 am Radiotherapy session locked in, and another at 4:15 pm so we left home at seven. The plan was to got to The Alfred, get microwaved, spend the rest of the day wandering around Saint Kilda, go back for session number two, then head home.
Vader (our dog) had other ideas.
We're not happy leaving Vader at home alone at the moment because of the nearby bushfires, so he goes with us whenever we go out...but not this morning. The stubborn little bastard absolutely refused to get out of bed. He just stuck his nose out from under the doona and gave us the "It's too bloody cold, and it's too bloody early. Go away." look.
Looks like we'll be making the trip twice today.
Driving in peak hour traffic in Melbourne still amazes me. Bear in mind (No, I'm not thinking about bears) we're driving right into the centre of the city, not just in the suburbs. Drivers here are sooooo polite. If you stop at a T intersection on a main road, they let you in. If you indicate to change lanes, they let you in. We we let someone into traffic, they always give a wave of thanks. It's just so different to Perth where some will stab you to death if you try and take "their" place on the road. Oh yes, Melbourne drivers know how to merge as well. Driving is actually enjoyable again. We actually got there about half an hour early. 😃
The girls in Radiotherapy had a spot available, so I was pretty much straight in. They know my concerns about being bolted down onto the machine now, and work as quickly as possible to set up everything beforehand, and get the mask off afterwards. They also give me a little bell to ring in I freak out. It doesn't sound like much in a room full of millions of dollars of technology, but I'm pretty sure hat bell is my favourite piece of equipment.
This whole mask thing is very frustrating. I know it's psychological, I know nothing is going to happen, but being restrained like that has been doing my head in. I won't say I breezed through today, but it was my most comfortable session so far. Whew! Maybe I can get on top of this.
Now I can't see what his machine is actually doing while I'm on the bench, so I asked if I could set up a video camera and record it, expecting a firm "No, it's against hospital policy." but instead I got a "Yes, no problem, as long as the staff aren't in the video. Now I just have to find my GoPro.
Time to head home for a few hours. As we left the car park I came up with what I thought was a really good idea. I'm starting the H2HTT Challenge. That's House to Hospital (or Hospital to House) Time rial Challenge). Timing starts as we pull onto the main road leaving the hospital, end ends when we pull into our driveway at home. I thought this will make the drive a bit more fun.
My first attempt got us home in exactly one hour, and I got lost which added a big chunk of time. I was pretty happy with that, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. I didn't think Suzanne was overly impressed though, she slept most of the way.
OK, return trip time, Suzanne piloting the mighty 1,300 cc Suzuki Ignis. Go! 54 minutes later we were at the hospital. Well done Suzanne.
For the afternoon session we snuck Vader into the outdoor area again, so he was a happy chappy. We could hear the GP cars practising, then there was an almighty roar. The R.A.A.F. jets were out practising as well. LOUD! Poor little Vader was not happy. Lots of firm cuddling and ear covering kept him OK, but he was shaken, until all the nurses came over and told him how cute he was. He recovered very quickly.
Those jets are so intimidating. I would hate to see one coming toward me in anger, but then, they go so fast that you probably wouldn't see or hear anything, it would be all over before you knew about it.
With the excitement out of the way, it was mask time again. This time was better again. I reckon I'm about 90% OK with it now. Maybe I am winning.
There was no H2HTT on the way home because it was peak hour, so Suzanne is still winning this.
Challenge accepted.
A new game to play.
OK kids, I've been diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in my throat. Not a good thing, but every medico I've spoken to has been extremely positive and told me it is totally curable with treatment.
I'm not shopping for sympathy, but I'm not much of a talker about private stuff (much to Suzanne's dismay) so I'm writing this the keep family and friends up to date, and save you all a bunch of phone calls and emails. Maybe this will also help out someone who might go through the same thing somewhere down the track. It's always good to get the story from the horse's mouth, even if his tongue is a bit munted. 😃
Today was driving day, which was applicable because the Melbourne Grand Prix is on this weekend.
We had a 9:00 am Radiotherapy session locked in, and another at 4:15 pm so we left home at seven. The plan was to got to The Alfred, get microwaved, spend the rest of the day wandering around Saint Kilda, go back for session number two, then head home.
Vader (our dog) had other ideas.
We're not happy leaving Vader at home alone at the moment because of the nearby bushfires, so he goes with us whenever we go out...but not this morning. The stubborn little bastard absolutely refused to get out of bed. He just stuck his nose out from under the doona and gave us the "It's too bloody cold, and it's too bloody early. Go away." look.
Looks like we'll be making the trip twice today.
Driving in peak hour traffic in Melbourne still amazes me. Bear in mind (No, I'm not thinking about bears) we're driving right into the centre of the city, not just in the suburbs. Drivers here are sooooo polite. If you stop at a T intersection on a main road, they let you in. If you indicate to change lanes, they let you in. We we let someone into traffic, they always give a wave of thanks. It's just so different to Perth where some will stab you to death if you try and take "their" place on the road. Oh yes, Melbourne drivers know how to merge as well. Driving is actually enjoyable again. We actually got there about half an hour early. 😃
The girls in Radiotherapy had a spot available, so I was pretty much straight in. They know my concerns about being bolted down onto the machine now, and work as quickly as possible to set up everything beforehand, and get the mask off afterwards. They also give me a little bell to ring in I freak out. It doesn't sound like much in a room full of millions of dollars of technology, but I'm pretty sure hat bell is my favourite piece of equipment.
This whole mask thing is very frustrating. I know it's psychological, I know nothing is going to happen, but being restrained like that has been doing my head in. I won't say I breezed through today, but it was my most comfortable session so far. Whew! Maybe I can get on top of this.
My Nemesis.
Beam me up Scotty.
Now I can't see what his machine is actually doing while I'm on the bench, so I asked if I could set up a video camera and record it, expecting a firm "No, it's against hospital policy." but instead I got a "Yes, no problem, as long as the staff aren't in the video. Now I just have to find my GoPro.
Time to head home for a few hours. As we left the car park I came up with what I thought was a really good idea. I'm starting the H2HTT Challenge. That's House to Hospital (or Hospital to House) Time rial Challenge). Timing starts as we pull onto the main road leaving the hospital, end ends when we pull into our driveway at home. I thought this will make the drive a bit more fun.
My first attempt got us home in exactly one hour, and I got lost which added a big chunk of time. I was pretty happy with that, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. I didn't think Suzanne was overly impressed though, she slept most of the way.
OK, return trip time, Suzanne piloting the mighty 1,300 cc Suzuki Ignis. Go! 54 minutes later we were at the hospital. Well done Suzanne.
For the afternoon session we snuck Vader into the outdoor area again, so he was a happy chappy. We could hear the GP cars practising, then there was an almighty roar. The R.A.A.F. jets were out practising as well. LOUD! Poor little Vader was not happy. Lots of firm cuddling and ear covering kept him OK, but he was shaken, until all the nurses came over and told him how cute he was. He recovered very quickly.
Those jets are so intimidating. I would hate to see one coming toward me in anger, but then, they go so fast that you probably wouldn't see or hear anything, it would be all over before you knew about it.
With the excitement out of the way, it was mask time again. This time was better again. I reckon I'm about 90% OK with it now. Maybe I am winning.
There was no H2HTT on the way home because it was peak hour, so Suzanne is still winning this.
Challenge accepted.
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