#SongoftheDay Dream Weaver (Gary Wright)
Every hour at the hospital feels like five. By the time we got home from two radiation treatments yesterday (one first thing in the morning, one late in the afternoon), I felt like we'd been at my partner's cancer care centre for years.
Between his two bouts of radiation, my partner had a check-in with his oncologist and some other healthcare professionals. They were concerned that his blood pressure was very low, and he was notably dehydrated. One of the many horrible side effects of the radiation he's receiving is that it causes extreme pain in his mouth and throat, making it difficult to eat and drink. He's doing his best, but he's also exhausted all the time.
It's hard to drink your 8 glasses of water a day when you're always asleep.
So, anyway, they put him on an IV drip, which made him cold despite the warm blanket the nurse had put on him. (The nurses at this hospital are amazing. The are so compassionate. I truly love them.) I had to run out to a medical appointment of my own while he was getting fluids (the process took two hours), but luckily my doctor's office is only a block from my partner's cancer care centre, so I was there and back in no time. Plus, I was able to pick up some yogurt for him, since that's one of the only foods he can eat pretty easily. And he likes it.
When I got back to the hospital, he was curled up in a ball. Even in his sleep, he was shivering so intensely I got into his chair with him and cuddled him until he stopped shaking.
We had about an hour and a half between the IV fluids and the second radiation treatment, so we walked over to a spot my partner likes outside one of the hospitals on the street. This stretch of University Avenue, in Toronto, is often referred to as Hospital Row because it really is just a row of hospitals.
The spot he likes is kind of an outdoor patio where healthcare workers tend to eat lunch. We sat on a bench across from a huge flower box planted with the most tropical-looking pink begonias I've ever seen, plus palm leaves. It looked so lush we felt like we were on holiday for a minute or two. When we'd left the house at seven something, the air had been cool, but by two in the afternoon it was hot and humid--just what my partner needed after shivering in a chair in the sub-basement of a hospital.
He read his book. I got out my phone and turned on the radio. As I stared at the windsock on top of the Sick Kids building across the street, this song came. It made me think of Wayne's World, of course. And I relaxed into nostalgia.
If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check them out from your local library.
Between his two bouts of radiation, my partner had a check-in with his oncologist and some other healthcare professionals. They were concerned that his blood pressure was very low, and he was notably dehydrated. One of the many horrible side effects of the radiation he's receiving is that it causes extreme pain in his mouth and throat, making it difficult to eat and drink. He's doing his best, but he's also exhausted all the time.
It's hard to drink your 8 glasses of water a day when you're always asleep.
So, anyway, they put him on an IV drip, which made him cold despite the warm blanket the nurse had put on him. (The nurses at this hospital are amazing. The are so compassionate. I truly love them.) I had to run out to a medical appointment of my own while he was getting fluids (the process took two hours), but luckily my doctor's office is only a block from my partner's cancer care centre, so I was there and back in no time. Plus, I was able to pick up some yogurt for him, since that's one of the only foods he can eat pretty easily. And he likes it.
When I got back to the hospital, he was curled up in a ball. Even in his sleep, he was shivering so intensely I got into his chair with him and cuddled him until he stopped shaking.
We had about an hour and a half between the IV fluids and the second radiation treatment, so we walked over to a spot my partner likes outside one of the hospitals on the street. This stretch of University Avenue, in Toronto, is often referred to as Hospital Row because it really is just a row of hospitals.
The spot he likes is kind of an outdoor patio where healthcare workers tend to eat lunch. We sat on a bench across from a huge flower box planted with the most tropical-looking pink begonias I've ever seen, plus palm leaves. It looked so lush we felt like we were on holiday for a minute or two. When we'd left the house at seven something, the air had been cool, but by two in the afternoon it was hot and humid--just what my partner needed after shivering in a chair in the sub-basement of a hospital.
He read his book. I got out my phone and turned on the radio. As I stared at the windsock on top of the Sick Kids building across the street, this song came. It made me think of Wayne's World, of course. And I relaxed into nostalgia.
If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check them out from your local library.
Supporting my AudioErotica endeavour on Patreon would also help me hugely.
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Giselle
