Wednesday, May 18, 2005
My friend Monique came to town and took me and Lucy out to wine country for a fancy-schmancy wine lunch. It was a working lunch for her; she was entertaining a bigwig from Houston. I'm quite impressed that I didn't scare her off when I said that Lucy would probably be fine, but I wouldn't mind holding a screaming newborn while scarfing down fabulous free food and wine.
She did ask that I refrain from breastfeeding during the lunch, and I did. (How un-California!) They had a very nice restroom that Lucy and I retired to to "powder our noses". But it turns out the client loved babies, and wandered around with her while I kept eating.
Now, Monique doesn't have kids, and she's not from boob-friendly California, but I was impressed that by the end of her trip she was hip to the whole breastfeeding situation--she was helping me figure out what side to start on! And I'm sure I scared her, Sex and the City style, with a couple of views. I think she's more partial to older kids, the ones of an age where they can appreciate her stories about the things their mother has done.
She did ask that I refrain from breastfeeding during the lunch, and I did. (How un-California!) They had a very nice restroom that Lucy and I retired to to "powder our noses". But it turns out the client loved babies, and wandered around with her while I kept eating.
Now, Monique doesn't have kids, and she's not from boob-friendly California, but I was impressed that by the end of her trip she was hip to the whole breastfeeding situation--she was helping me figure out what side to start on! And I'm sure I scared her, Sex and the City style, with a couple of views. I think she's more partial to older kids, the ones of an age where they can appreciate her stories about the things their mother has done.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
When you have had a disease where the first two questions they ask are:
Any unexplained weight loss?
Any night sweats?
You tend to get a little bit paranoid when the answers are yes. Yes, but, in my case, but yes nonetheless. (The third question, by the way, is unexplained itching.) These are the three symptoms of symptomatic Hodgkin's. Now, given that the first two are explained by another medical condition, namely post-partum, AND I don't have the third, AND I was asymptomatic in the first place, you'd think I could let it go. But no, when you figure in the fact that I have another PET scan coming up very soon, I really can't.
The PET scan worries me for that reason, and also because it's not just me anymore. Lucy is going to be impacted, too, and I don't think she's quite ready for irradiated breast milk.
Any unexplained weight loss?
Any night sweats?
You tend to get a little bit paranoid when the answers are yes. Yes, but, in my case, but yes nonetheless. (The third question, by the way, is unexplained itching.) These are the three symptoms of symptomatic Hodgkin's. Now, given that the first two are explained by another medical condition, namely post-partum, AND I don't have the third, AND I was asymptomatic in the first place, you'd think I could let it go. But no, when you figure in the fact that I have another PET scan coming up very soon, I really can't.
The PET scan worries me for that reason, and also because it's not just me anymore. Lucy is going to be impacted, too, and I don't think she's quite ready for irradiated breast milk.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Doctor visit today--for me. My post-partum checkup, where they have a look inside and out, pat you on the back, and send you on your way with a prescription for birth control pills and the advice to "not let this happen again anytime soon!"
As part of the "all-clear", you're told that you can resume abdominal exercises (hah!), take a bath or go for a swim, and, hmmm, what was the third one? I can't seem to remember. Probably has something to do with the prescription, I'm sure.
As part of the "all-clear", you're told that you can resume abdominal exercises (hah!), take a bath or go for a swim, and, hmmm, what was the third one? I can't seem to remember. Probably has something to do with the prescription, I'm sure.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Now that I'm deeply busy with the baby-rearing and little boy appeasing, I'm ready to shed the guise of cancer patient. I've signed off the mailing lists, and was considering recycling my stash of cancer materials and Cure magazines. This is even with my June PET scan on the horizon. But no, it's not going to happen. They're pulling me back in!
This months issue of Cure magazine has a feature article on Hodgkin's disease. While full of factual information, it's also got a couple of the more "interesting" cases described, which means people who haven't had the standard "cure". People who've relapsed and are horror stories for the rest of us. So instead of being able to put the whole thing out of my mind, I'm left with paranoid fears, like maybe losing lots of "baby fat" already has a much more sinister connotation.
This months issue of Cure magazine has a feature article on Hodgkin's disease. While full of factual information, it's also got a couple of the more "interesting" cases described, which means people who haven't had the standard "cure". People who've relapsed and are horror stories for the rest of us. So instead of being able to put the whole thing out of my mind, I'm left with paranoid fears, like maybe losing lots of "baby fat" already has a much more sinister connotation.
