September 08, 2005
Mark is facing one more laser surgery on his eye. The eye still has a fluid leak and he is not cleared by the eye doctor to fly, so no visit to Texas just yet. His cancer center doctor is pleased with Mark's response to chemotherapy and the chemotherapy continues. Mark has caught a cold. His broken arm is healing and hurts him less. He does not talk about his brachial plexus pain anymore. I figure that he is too busy with all his other problems and efforts to resolve them that he just ignores the BP injury problems.
I am planning to go visit Mark in Bangkok in 3 or 4 weeks to check on his health state and the state of his bank account. Thinking of banks, I just had a strange mental synapse to a memory of when Mark was a baby and came home from the hospital. His first trip outside the home was to the bank with mom. It was cheaper in those days to have a baby. I think my hospital and doctor bill was about 150 dollars total. But then again I had excellent insurance. When Mark was born I was a nurse working on the obstetrical unit of Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Illinois and the doctor (Dr. Zelle) may have given me a discount since I often helped him deliver babies in the labor rooms or took care of his moms and/or their babies after delivery. If any of you reading this were born in Memorial Hospital Springfield Illinois between 1959 and 1965, I may have helped deliver you or have changed your diaper.
Back to the visit to Mark. He made me promise to go lightly on him when I come back to Bangkok or I couldn't come. A cold, chemo, cancer, a broken arm, an old brachial plexus problem, and financial worries seem to have worn him down so he does not want to be questioned, pushed, prodded, or told when or what to do. I think I kind of know how he feels. I think it is like when I am really tired and have given about all I can and just want to be "babied."