Well, Dana finally succumbed to the head cold she thought she was getting for the last 4 days. We called young John up from the bullpen, and he came up Tuesday night. Dana left Wed. morning for SLO after cleaning the apartment; she did not want to leave any cold germs behind. When I talked to her yesterday, she was cleaning in SLO.
John and I had a shaky start because I forgot my cell phone, and left him bad instructions to the Stanford Cancer Center. Normally I call when I am just about done; it can be 2 hours or it can be 4 hours. I used the house phone to call John, and he left to come get me, but I knew when he didn't show in 15 minutes that my directions failed him. Eventually he showed, bent but not broken.
Everything is fine with me. My WBCs are at 3.3, big jump Wed. from 2.7. All other counts are up and looking good. The doc looked in my mouth yesterday and said 'Could be a month before that heals completely.' Bummer. The sore mouth is making food choices for me, and forcing me to blend things that aren't naturally blended. I am down to 169 lbs, from 180 when I left the hospital. The 180 was a bloat; I should weigh 160-165 in fighting trim. I am nowhere near fighting trim. It's going to be a long road back.
John said to me last night 'It's like you're under house arrest,' and that's true, except I can go out. The biggest fight is with boredom. I was watching a PBS show on Brain Health, and they showed that in order to keep brain plasticity you had to learn new things. You couldn't just do crosswords or sudoku, but had to take up new skills, and force your neurons to seek out new pathways and make new connections.
So, I am searching the library for some DVDs to learn French, for the once-healed Paris trip I owe Dana. Dana wants to pick up a couple of ukuleles and learn to play, easy for her as she plays guitar, not so much for me. John and Mike both play ukulele, so that we would be entertaining as long as I don't sing. Knitting? I am always chilled because of drugs, I could make big sweaters! I should get better command of Spanish, I only have the present tense right now, and not much of it. A tenuous grasp of reality. I started on Tai Chi in Fground, seems like a lifetime ago, and I should try that some more. If any of you have recommendations of what new skill I should learn, send it on. Nothing involving heavy lifting, industrial lubricants, or live (or dead) animals please. Keep it low microbial too, and inexpensive.
Today John and I will go grocery shopping, mostly for soups. The cabinets are stocked with beans, all kinds of beans, but no soup. I won't see John for many hours; he goes to bed at like 4 am, and I get up at 7 am. Maybe around 2 we will go shopping.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
nosperJohn,
ReplyDeleteI am comforted by you increased wellness, and continue to be in awe of your perseverance. Languages certainly, seem like a challenging course of study and subsequently good for increased mental agility and as you are a man of language multi-linguistics might suit you well. Though I have heard some really amazing music played on the ukulele on you-tube, i.e., the jimi hendrix of the ukulele and a guy who played the one note samba that was off the charts, I like the physicality of the guitar and the quality of the sound. Muscle memory predictable patterns, repeatable patterns, relationships between, posture. Meditative. You get back what you put in. It takes time, it seems like time is what you got, play, life is not all work, play can make you strong. Resonance.
best
Mo
John ,
ReplyDeleteNot sure how or what my fingers did to get that nosper thing up there in front of your name. I have better muscle memory than memory, so maybe I should take up a language, though in fact english is challenging enough for me.
Mo
Hey John,
ReplyDelete1st time caller, long time listener. For an intracranial fountain of youth, you might think about drawing. Nothing "Simmons-like" or "E(ar)L Greco" in size or scope; but using a simple cartoon drawing primer you could illustrate your saga...much easier than making a "Holy Cow" musical I think. And, if you act now - or at any time in the foreseeable future - you get the repetitive use of the new pathways that's just the thing for keeping that cerebral grey matter sprightly. It also works the cerebellum and "muscle memory" without leaving unsightly stretch marks.
If this is already in your therapeutic armamentarium, please forgive me.
God bless
Roger
Is the caller there please? RAJA!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was, what about cooking—make some soup, use the beans--but that would involve peeling things that might be microbial even if they’re not dead animals, right?
Aaaaaaaaah, I don’t know. It isn’t as if you’re the scarecrow for crying out loud, you got too many brains as it is. Randy’s website has links to brain training games but they give me a headache…Hey, what about playing online regular games where you get to swear at the people in a little chat box, but if they cough it doesn’t germ you?
My father-in-law used to sign on with his friends and play bridge. I would offer to play some games with you but then I’d be bored. Losing really bores me. Ask any 5 year-old I’ve competed against recently.
Is it around paragraph 4 when I usually say anything? Ok, your mathematical brain would easily get music theory and your diligent nature would serve you well during the repetitive practice necessary to acquiring a language or playing an instrument. But if you just want to go to Paris you could hire a designated interpreter. The drawing might even challenge you to what? Take a left on the right side of your brain and maybe even drive on the wrong side of the street…but
This is a little farfetched… why not stick to writing? Maybe take it to an even more eclectic level, try a fortune cookie-type theme approach; ask the audience even though we don’t require much encouragement. Enough with all our talk! How about some illustrations, soundtrack, a catering truck, a tent for the storytellers?
Ps. Mo dear, that word thing at the beginning has happened to me, too. I think our computers are haunted by mork from ork
~Nanu nanu~
wait wait don't answer
ReplyDeletewhat a slacker I am, I not only overlooked the obvious I leapt over it and got caught in a loop to nowhere.
what about combining your return to tai chi with learning about other healing modalities? which couldn't hurt, might help and at the very least be something new. by now you could probably pass medical school but might it stretch your brain and relieve some of your boredom to go a little boo quilla woo woo?
back last summer I ran into jeanne's former partner from the holistic health/education business at the beach; asked her about what is available in Palo Alto (because they all visit through allthatmatters eventually and because I knew she had a brother who'd undergone BMT and would be thoughtful in her response)
she said a center near there run by very nice woman had a lot of good stuff/people. at the time I read some of the articles online but if I go to retrieve the web address I will have to wrangle with the letters twice--will email you the link if only for entertainment purposes or another source of things to read and I guess "not think" about
I left this comment yesterday, but it did not take.
ReplyDeleteThis is all good input. Dana took up painting a couple years back and has supplies here, and I like the idea of trying to make a comic book blog.
We do keep an eye on what Stanford Cancer Center offers for alternative healing classes. They have quite a few. One thing I am doing is a Healing Through Writing class, altho I haven't been able to go to the last 2 classes.
so on to my real hope...
ReplyDeletethe day is coming when you can run the workshop for the rest of us?
though I guess you already are
where is Mac? the Phillies won!
Try cat juggling...
ReplyDeleteYour OC fan club!
Check out this link John... http://www.guidepostsmag.com/personal-change/communities-in-action-archive/?i=2312 for a hobby. Combines surfing and crocheting!
ReplyDeleteWe think of you often, but aren't smart or witty enough to post much on your blog... :)
Glad you're on the upswing. We knew you'd come out ahead!