Mr. Mark gets Chemotherapy at the VA, eats wonderful seafood, takes mom car shopping, and visits the Blanton Art Museum
Mark looks and says he feels the best he has for a real long time. He drove me to Houston, for his chemo appointments, partly because he likes to drive and felt good and partly because mom was tired having worked 12 hours, slept 4 and worked 5 more hours at the drug study clinic just before leaving on our Houston trip. We left Austin about 3 pm and had a pleasant drive on a warm sunny Sunday. During the drive, we talked about stopping and renting an RV and running away from home and chemo to tour the USA or go to the international airport in Houston and begin our around the world trip. It was tempting for Mark to skip chemo and avoid its awful side effects; however we stuck to our plans to go to the Veteran's Hospital Cancer Center on Monday. Mark's doctor for chemotherapy, under the supervision of Dr. Eppner, is Sira Hussan. She is very polite and wants to help. Mark's nurse today was Abraham Ferrer. His family comes from the Philippine islands and many of his family work as nurses in various health care facilities in the Houston area. Nurse Ferrer seems caring and does his best to understand Mark and others under his care.
Mark gets around and people remark on his hair. Mark had chemotherapy three days (Monday thru Wed). He pushed his IV stand around to socialize with other patients and their families and mom. One man who comes for chemo looked at Mark's thick head of hair and said: Your hair is going to fall out" and Mark replied that it had all fallen out already and even the hair under and on his arms fell out, but then it grew back in. This man said: " I hope mine grows back too." Mark hopes his does not fall out again.
We are a long way from understanding how the VA system works. We thought the clinic was only open on Monday and Friday, because those were the only options given to us for appointments before chemo started, but now we see clients for chemotherapy are here during the week and other patients too. The nurses and docs do seem to be close to some patients who have come here for awhile to get chemotherapy. We saw a warmer caring side of the nurses with patients receiving chemotherapy. Patient for chemo don't seem to wait as long as other patients, but everyone waits; some with early morning appointments wait all day thinking any minute they will be seen and finally in late afternoon they are seen. Most often, no amount of checking to see if one is forgotten elicits anything more than.."It won't be long."Hours and hours of waiting by patients and their families. I read that a researcher is studying the cost to patients and families who sit long hours in the waiting room.
Mark is enjoying his food. Two days in a row, Mark and I ate supper at the Baytown Seafood Market and Restaurant on South Main. The food is excellent. We've eaten gumbo, small lobster tails, fried oysters and shrimp. The price is good. The waitresses remembered us the second time we appeared. This is now my favorite restaurant in Houston. Mark's favorite in Austin is Austin's Pizza. He orders an Austin's pizza every two or three days. Even if he is nauseated and/or has no appetite, he somehow can eat Austin's Pizza. Maybe this pizza has some anti-cancer properties; could this be why Mark is feeling so good these days and feeling like he is in remission? Or is it support and prayers from all over the world; perhaps both pizza and prayers?
Mark gets around and people remark on his hair. Mark had chemotherapy three days (Monday thru Wed). He pushed his IV stand around to socialize with other patients and their families and mom. One man who comes for chemo looked at Mark's thick head of hair and said: Your hair is going to fall out" and Mark replied that it had all fallen out already and even the hair under and on his arms fell out, but then it grew back in. This man said: " I hope mine grows back too." Mark hopes his does not fall out again.
We are a long way from understanding how the VA system works. We thought the clinic was only open on Monday and Friday, because those were the only options given to us for appointments before chemo started, but now we see clients for chemotherapy are here during the week and other patients too. The nurses and docs do seem to be close to some patients who have come here for awhile to get chemotherapy. We saw a warmer caring side of the nurses with patients receiving chemotherapy. Patient for chemo don't seem to wait as long as other patients, but everyone waits; some with early morning appointments wait all day thinking any minute they will be seen and finally in late afternoon they are seen. Most often, no amount of checking to see if one is forgotten elicits anything more than.."It won't be long."Hours and hours of waiting by patients and their families. I read that a researcher is studying the cost to patients and families who sit long hours in the waiting room.
Mark is enjoying his food. Two days in a row, Mark and I ate supper at the Baytown Seafood Market and Restaurant on South Main. The food is excellent. We've eaten gumbo, small lobster tails, fried oysters and shrimp. The price is good. The waitresses remembered us the second time we appeared. This is now my favorite restaurant in Houston. Mark's favorite in Austin is Austin's Pizza. He orders an Austin's pizza every two or three days. Even if he is nauseated and/or has no appetite, he somehow can eat Austin's Pizza. Maybe this pizza has some anti-cancer properties; could this be why Mark is feeling so good these days and feeling like he is in remission? Or is it support and prayers from all over the world; perhaps both pizza and prayers?
CARS Today after chemo, we looked in the hospital parking lot to find cars we liked and then went to several car dealerhsips where Mark and I test drove some new and used cars including his favorite one; the Toyota FJ with 4 wheel drive. We fear my 12 year old Honda will die on a trip to Houston or back. Mark used a good many arguments for mom buying a new car and we had a good bit of fun looking at cars.
Many nice things happened to Mark and me today and we feel the many prayers and nice thoughts people have for Mark and I are bringing us many blessings and we feel our burden lightened because of this. We feel not only blessed but supported and loved.
Plans change often without warning at the VA. We were given written instructions for Mark to have chemo three weeks in a row but just before we left the VA, we learned no chemo this coming week and we got a new schedule with two weeks off. We debate going on a small adventure.Many nice things happened to Mark and me today and we feel the many prayers and nice thoughts people have for Mark and I are bringing us many blessings and we feel our burden lightened because of this. We feel not only blessed but supported and loved.
Addendum 1/11/07 Today Mark and I went to the Blanton Museum of Art accross from the Bob Bullock Museum. For people all over the world contemplating a visit to Austin, the Blanton museum is free on Thursday.
You only pay to park. The Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585) exhibit ends on Sunday. The Blanton owns 7 of Cambiaso's paintings, which is more than half of his paintings found in the USA. Many more of Cambiaso's paintings and his drawings are on loan and display now. Few of these paintings have been displayed outside of Italy. Cambiaso worked on the frescoes in the Escorial, an important monastery where much of Spain's Royalty has been entombed over centuries. Cambiasco died at Escorial in 1586. James I visited Escorial in the mid '80s and loved it. After this exhibit there are many more exhibits to come and the permanent collections are wonderful.Mark really enjoyed his trip to the Blanton.
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