The one in which my oncologist talks himself out of giving me more injections and also finds out I’m a Buddhist.
With the third full day done and dusted, I am now over halfway through my second inpatient stay. Tomorrow will be my last full day at the hospital and by Saturday evening I will be back home for another two weeks.
My oncologist dropped by unexpectantly early this morning. When I last saw him on Tuesday, he told me he would be back on Friday. However, apparently there was fuck all going on at the outpatient ward this morning, so he decided to go see his patients on the upper floor.
We talked for a bit and suddenly he brought up me doing injections at home. For those who missed a post or two, he prescribed me injections last week to raise my white blood cell count ahead of the inpatient stay.
However, almost as quickly as he had brought that up, he added that no, in fact, I won’t be doing any injections. He explained that he likes to bring injections up as a reminder but that he sometimes also needs to remind himself that they are not needed. I have grown quite fond of him over the weeks and we get along nicely.
After the medical stuff was sorted, we moved on to the stack of books on my table. He already knew that I am an avid reader, but this time he spotted a small yellow booklet – The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. I explained to him that I have been practicing Buddhist meditation for the past eight years, to which his immediate comment was that my new hairstyle of “no hair at all” fits that lifestyle perfectly.
In general, I continue to have wonderful chats with the different staff. For some, I have learned things about their life, their hobbies, dreams, and the little things that bring them joy. One lovely German-speaking nurse asked me whether it would bother me to chat a bit. My sister in Christ, you are talking to one of Luxembourg’s foremost yappers. Let’s get some bloody banter going!
Still no major side effects to report, for which I remain immensely grateful. Two more nights, and I’ll be sleeping in my own bed again. We can do this.
Dear all, may happiness and health always find you wherever you are. See you soon!
just thoughts 