One Down....
Despite the fact that I was born the day before the worst saturation allied bombing of Budapest during WWII, smack in the worst period of the Holocaust in Hungary, and the fact that my twin sister died in that bombing, I was always thankful for the historical period I was born in and to the parents who bore me. Like Forest Gump, during my long track through life across four countries and three continents, I have seen many momentous historical events and met some amazing people – especially in the arts, medical and scientific arenas.
I guess, this is a long, roundabout way of saying (not so unusual for me) that I have survived the first day of chemo pretty well, without nausea and vomiting, just lots of burps and incredible fatigue. Well, I can live with that. Thank you modern medicine. Thank you Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
And thank you all those scientists and breast cancer victims, like my wonderful sister-in-law Zsuzsi Horner (Susan Ban) and friend Eva Tibor (Eva Thomas), who died at the young age of 49 and 52, 19 and 16 years ago respectively.
Today I am very conscious of that fact that it was their suffering and the cancer survivors’ dedication, grassroots organisational and global political savvy to stop these needless deaths, that spurred on scientists and politicians to mount the necessary funds and research that allowed me to survive this day relatively unscathed.
Having said all that, the day was no picnic, by any means, let me tell you! The incredible fatigue that descended the previous night was there in the morning, waiting to pounce full force as soon as I woke up, thank you very much. And it was worse lying down than sitting or walking around. As soon as I lay down, invisible forces pulled me further into the bed from below and pushed me deeper from above. The remedy: get up, Tai Chi, sit.
Besides the fatigue and how to deal with it, the rest of the day was devoted to establishing a routine to avoid stomach problems, and praying that the antinauseants work.
The recommendation was to drink 4 bottles of 600ml water and eat light foods, preferably liquid stuff. Some people advised to get 4 bottles of water, but I knew better and devised my own scheme. This morning, the 4 bottles of water seem much more sensible, so I’ve just emailed the order to Karel S. the man who steered me to screenwriting, and who will be a great film producer one day soon (www.ozzywood.com.au), and who is doing my grocery shopping today. God bless you Karel!
Back to the kitchen! So, I tried porridge for breakfast, but it lay like a ton of bricks, so I decided to make my mother’s caraway seed soup, which is a blessing for any kind of stomach ailment. (Roast a small handful of caraway seeds, make a roux with browned flour and oil, but you can do it without a roux as well, add 4 cups of water, and a tea spoon of soup mix you like, boil and mix in one raw egg until swirling white and cook for a couple of more minutes)
That did the trick, but couldn’t down too much, so I sipped it periodically throughout the day, interspersed with leftover roast vegies and zucchini kugle slice, ice cream and I made a fruit juice concoction with the fruit I had in the fridge – strawberries, apple, mango, kiwi fruit, etc. It tasted good, and I have one more glass for breakfast today. Here’s to hoping that this day will pass well too. L’haim, Skol, Down the Hatch!
I guess, this is a long, roundabout way of saying (not so unusual for me) that I have survived the first day of chemo pretty well, without nausea and vomiting, just lots of burps and incredible fatigue. Well, I can live with that. Thank you modern medicine. Thank you Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
And thank you all those scientists and breast cancer victims, like my wonderful sister-in-law Zsuzsi Horner (Susan Ban) and friend Eva Tibor (Eva Thomas), who died at the young age of 49 and 52, 19 and 16 years ago respectively.
Today I am very conscious of that fact that it was their suffering and the cancer survivors’ dedication, grassroots organisational and global political savvy to stop these needless deaths, that spurred on scientists and politicians to mount the necessary funds and research that allowed me to survive this day relatively unscathed.
Having said all that, the day was no picnic, by any means, let me tell you! The incredible fatigue that descended the previous night was there in the morning, waiting to pounce full force as soon as I woke up, thank you very much. And it was worse lying down than sitting or walking around. As soon as I lay down, invisible forces pulled me further into the bed from below and pushed me deeper from above. The remedy: get up, Tai Chi, sit.
Besides the fatigue and how to deal with it, the rest of the day was devoted to establishing a routine to avoid stomach problems, and praying that the antinauseants work.
The recommendation was to drink 4 bottles of 600ml water and eat light foods, preferably liquid stuff. Some people advised to get 4 bottles of water, but I knew better and devised my own scheme. This morning, the 4 bottles of water seem much more sensible, so I’ve just emailed the order to Karel S. the man who steered me to screenwriting, and who will be a great film producer one day soon (www.ozzywood.com.au), and who is doing my grocery shopping today. God bless you Karel!
Back to the kitchen! So, I tried porridge for breakfast, but it lay like a ton of bricks, so I decided to make my mother’s caraway seed soup, which is a blessing for any kind of stomach ailment. (Roast a small handful of caraway seeds, make a roux with browned flour and oil, but you can do it without a roux as well, add 4 cups of water, and a tea spoon of soup mix you like, boil and mix in one raw egg until swirling white and cook for a couple of more minutes)
That did the trick, but couldn’t down too much, so I sipped it periodically throughout the day, interspersed with leftover roast vegies and zucchini kugle slice, ice cream and I made a fruit juice concoction with the fruit I had in the fridge – strawberries, apple, mango, kiwi fruit, etc. It tasted good, and I have one more glass for breakfast today. Here’s to hoping that this day will pass well too. L’haim, Skol, Down the Hatch!
posted by Unknown at 9:08 AM
4 Comments:
Your mother's wonderful soup & your home made fruit juice sound like excellent solutions to getting food into you.
Your mother's wonderful soup & your home made fruit juice sound like excellent solutions to getting food into you.
Your mother's wonderful soup & your home made fruit juice sound like excellent solutions to getting food into you.
Your mother's wonderful soup & your home made fruit juice sound like excellent solutions to getting food into you.
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