Back on the Left Coast

I was hoping that my return to sleepy Los Olivos, medical treatment plan decided, would afford me the opportunity to settle into a routine in which I am no longer pulled in a dozen directions at once. But as a high school teacher once said to me, hold one hand out for wishes and the other out for sour owl manure and see which one fills up first.

But before we discuss the whirlwind of activity into which I have touched down, I’d like to describe my return trip from NYC to LAX. You may recall that I have abruptly changed my diet once again, this time from vegan back to something called “balanced carnivore”. But I still do poorly with salt in my diet. And eating out for five straight days in NYC certainly loaded my system with lots of salt. And that meant swollen feet and ankles, a bloated gut, painful cramping, and nausea. The coup de grâce was dinner the final night at an Argentinean steakhouse. We caught a ride to the airport the next morning at 5:30AM, and within an hour I was suffering horribly. Cecily had to schlep our luggage by herself – I was useless. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other. And a couple of times I wasn’t sure that I could even do that. The only thing that kept me off the concrete floor was the thought of a gang of TSA agents dragging me out of the security line.

I gingerly made my way down the jetway and into my seat. But I couldn’t sleep. And I couldn’t puke, despite grabbing the barf bag several times and dry heaving into it. Fortunately, everyone around me had headphones on and didn’t seem to notice the retching. Or maybe their ambivalence was simply a product of the fact that they had all just spent time in NYC where retching sounds are an everyday occurrence.

Anyway, I lived to see wheels down at LAX, where we were picked up by Cecily’s mom and driven to her brother’s house. I took a three-hour nap before we got in the car for the 2.5-hour drive to Los Olivos. Went to bed at 9 PM. Woke up at 10 PM and 11 PM, lots of cramping and pain. Took an Advil, which has become an indispensible part of my day, at least when I’m suffering the effects of congestive heart failure.

Yesterday (Monday) was a little rough. Visited the SB oncologist. He concurred with my decision to forego chemotherapy, although he is not exactly a proponent of NY2’s renegade protocol. No matter. Like I’ve said, I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do. Human speed bumps just need to stay outta my way.

There appears to be consensus of opinion that I should do what is necessary to keep my left kidney from failing. I'm told that the imaging studies indicate that it is in danger. But a blood test conducted in late July did not indicate a problem. So when I was at LA2 eleven days ago a more accurate blood test and urinalysis were performed. I received the results of that yesterday: no indication of a problem. So more blood was drawn yesterday. And another imaging study will be performed tomorrow. Then I’ll see a urologist on Friday. I guess we’re gonna study the hell out of this kidney until the insertion of a stent can be justified. Whoopee.

Meanwhile, another echocardiogram was performed on my heart this morning. Preliminary indication is that there have been no substantive changes, but final opinion on that will come from a cardiologist. Another acupuncture session in the late morning. The suction spheres are getting larger and larger. I didn’t ask whether that was a good or bad development.

In closing, I just want to acknowledge that I continue to receive very nice notes, comments, emails, and phone messages from many of you. I appreciate them all very much and regret that I do not have the time to respond to them. But please understand that I appreciate your sentiments very much. (Also, please remember that I will not publish a comment on the blog if it includes your full name and/or contact information – this is for your protection!)