Sunday, November 30, 2008

George Gershwin - Summertime

Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Your daddy's rich And your mamma's good lookin' So hush little baby Don't you cry One of these mornings You're going to rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings And you'll fly to the sky But till that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With daddy and mamma standing by Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Your daddy's rich And your mamma's good lookin' So hush little baby Don't you cry





Friday, November 21, 2008

Winter Life After Chemo


I was a little worried about my first winter after chemo. With the lingering neuropathy in my hands and feet, I was not sure if I could do my favorite winter pastime, speedskating on ice. The past few days have been quite cold for late November with daily high temperature just above the freezing point. This is about 15F below the normal high and more typical for January - so it's a good test. I walked to the MIT ice rink, laced up my skates, and skated for about two hours. My feet were a bit achey but not too bad. The long walks and work on the rowing machine seem to be paying off - my legs felt OK. Balance drills are helping with overall stability. The colostomy does not interfere with skating.


My main issue right now is some kind of sleepiness. On the ice the sleepiness disappears, but when things are quiet, my eyes begin to close. I have a hard time focussing on things - coffee helps, Advil helps.