Monday, September 01, 2008

In case you wanted to know

I'm home. I wish I could say that I am thrilled to be home and feeling so well after five days of being pumped full of chemotherapy. But alas, I cannot.

I feel like poo. Actually, intermittently like poo. There are periods where I feel sort of okay. Then I feel like poo. Tired, woozy mostly. There are times when simply sitting taxes me. I've got lingering indigestion. My sinuses are flaring up and causing post-nasal drip. My muscles ache, to the touch even, making it hard to sleep well. Then there's my lingering menstrual issues that could become cataclysmic again once my blood counts drop.

My intention after this round of poison was to stay rested and hydrated and do my best to take care of myself and possibly avoid any other hospitalizations between now and my bone marrow transplant days.

Were I so lucky.

I've got a sick, snotty cat whose dried snot is all over the sofa. Plus a snotty toddler who threw up twice during dinner tonight. Yum. And here I am with a weakened immune system. Infections, even ones as small as upper respiratory, have the potential to create huge issues with my treatment.

Tomorrow, I get to spend the morning in Cancerville Clinic.

So excuse me if I'm a little crabby.

I had really hoped to do as good a job as Prisco did, hyping up our little wager, but I need my sleep. Especially if I am going to kick his ass with this book race thing we've got going on.

It's totally on. I have many things to live for in this world, namely my wonderful and beautiful family. Beating Prisco's bald, fat butt by reading 100 books first is just going to add a big old thermonuclear jump start to my getting through this cancer mess.

So I start with a few ghost stories.

Any other recommendations?

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Since it looks like you're looking for more quality fiction than quantity (bet notwithstanding), I'll avoid any of my usual fair and recommend a few by Dan Simmons. I think you've read at least one of these (and they're not all ghost stories, but they are horror at least):

Summer of Night
Carrion Comfort
Children of the Night
Fires of Eden
Song of Kali

Simmons has a talent for writing that transcends genre, IMHO.

Karen said...

I recommend The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls; best book I read all summer. I also enjoyed The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and Ten Cents a Dance (all YA fiction). If scientific gruesomeness is up your alley, I like Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. And I've always wanted to read Devil in the White City. Perhaps some of those are up your alley.

Anonymous said...

Do Dr. Seuss books count?! :) I mean you could read 100 books real quick if you count the ones you read to Lil A.

Anonymous said...

Yay! :)
(from Loob, don't got a blogger id)

Jadine said...

I just finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, probably one of the best books I have ever read. I also just finished a book named Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. It is a story about courage, strength, survival and redemption. Perhaps it would help when you feel like you need some strength to see what the character in this story lives through. Her courage is astounding. Neither are ghost stories but they are fascinating books. I have been following your blog through the link at Pajiba but I tend to be more of a listener than a talker, thus I don't comment very often. I want you to know that your strength, courage and mostly your sense of humor is very inspiring. I pray for you and your family and will be following your blog through this with you.

tamatha said...

If you haven't already read it, and because I found it laugh-out-loud funny (and you, my dear, need some serious amounts of laughter), I'm going to recommend Straight Man but Richard Russo.

Other recommendations:
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris

My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki

If you can read a book of essays/super short stories, I really loved Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White (another really funny book). I'm pretty sure it's at least 200 pages...

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (this one is on the long side)

Drinking, a Love Story by Caroline Knapp

I'm a big fan of the Best American Short Stories series.

I have a bunch more, but they're not particularly new, so you may have already read them.

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