This diary has two aims:
- To update those who are interested in the chemo diary of last week
- To thank all those members of the dKos community who made my 66th birthday a truly memorable event.
The second round of chemo is short, but difficult.
First, because I seem to have real trouble with any energy after each day of infusion and the doc says this could go on for some weeks.
Second because this week my local cancer infusion center moved from temporary digs to a brand spanking new facility on the fifth floor of a building on the VCMC hospital grounds underneath the Ventura Hills overlooking the Southern California coast with the beautiful Channel Islands in the north and the unbroken coastline stretching down through Point Mugu and Malibu and into Santa Monica bay on clear days to the south and east.
Naturally, I was looking forward to spending time in the chair while receiving chemo, to taking in the unbroken views from the lofty perch on the upper floor of the new building.
Not to be!
On stepping from the elevator I was dismayed to learn that the building seemed to be back-to-front on the lot.
The reception area, surrounded by large picture, floor-to-ceiling windows looked out directly onto the back side of the hospital complex, the hillside residences and the hills beyond. Further, the area was dominated by a huge glass screen which separated the center staff from the waiting patients without affording either them or the patients any sense of privacy.
I should note here that the temporary facility, recently abandoned, was in a cottage where the homey, organic, welcome-mat, atmosphere more than compensated for any technology shortcomings.
My misgivings were further confirmed when I was escorted to the infusion room. I was ushered into a cavernous, British Rail waiting room circa 1952 with no tea room attached, replete with tiny windows with obstructed views of the hillsides! (yes, the hillsides!) I was later to find that the only rooms on this floor with a view of the ocean are the patient examination rooms. (and these too have small, slot like openings only).
The infusion chairs, 16 in total, were lined up around the walls such that patients can talk to only the person on their immediate left or right, no group discussions here! Worse, in the middle of the room, a nurse’s station rises higher than head height for patients seated in the chairs, effectively creating a feeling of being "watched" rather than "cared for". For me, and old hand, no problem, but for new patients, I could sense the unease in this extremely unfriendly environment which was so much more about the equipment, so much less about people.
Later in the day, when talking to my oncology nurse, I was told that nowhere in the building, which now houses the oncology infusion center, the family care clinic for the county, the hospital’s surgery group and several other critical specialists practices, is there a staff break room. And that the only rooms on every floor that have windows which offer unobstructed views of the spectacular coastline are the utility rooms! Great views for towels, blankets and buckets!!
What has happened to America? Who is making these decisions? Why can’t we get out of our own way?
It seems only fitting that the interior decor, as "hip" as it tries to be, is reminiscent of the old "government green" of the 1950’s and, even more appropriate, that the outside decor is as close to diarrhea brown in all its manifestations as paint can get!
Give me the down-home old house
and narrow corridors
and everything within reach
and people first
and turn the building around
and put the glass on the outside
and ask first
and build second
and fire the architect
and fix the damned paint job!
On a different subject, on Saturday October 23, I turned 66, there are many Kossacks to thank, you know who you are.
The Longest Hokiest Thank You Letter Ever Written
10/29/2010
When you reach 66
There are many people to thank
So here goes
With apologies to anyone I missed
For:
James of the broad shoulders
Melanie the perfect daughter
Ian the perfect son
Aria look after your mother
Shirley a true friend
Beverley my sis in law in Oz
Bill and Judie in Cleveland even if they are Republicans
Danna the best teacher James ever had
Gordon my best friend for almost 50 years, from Oz, to Asia, to America we have chased each other around the world!
Jesse my left hand, literally.
Linda my artist friend in Oz, never met, always interesting.
Mark and Ed my golf partners for almost twenty years
Michelle and the gang at Caffrodite
Natalie keep dancin’, my son's wonderful friend.
Pete and Lindsay my younger brothers in Tassie
Peter Wong my soul bro in Hong Kong
P. Richard my pure math colleague and collaborator
Renee my grand niece in Oz
Robyn my cuz in Oz
Steve my favorite giant
William Wong at his bar in Shanghai
And then we come to dKos, (in alphabetical order):
3CPO, 4 Freedom, Asterkitty, Beth Harvey, BF Skinner, Bleeding heart, Dave W, Debra Whitehouse, Ebby, Founding Father, Glendaw271, Horsefeathers, I’m a Frayed Knot, Janet Stonechipher, Jax Dem, Nurse Kelley, Larry Bailey, Left over flower child, Luvsathoroughbred, Mary Equality Burroughs, Meteor Blades, Michael Equality Moore, Noor B, OtterQueen, Pamela Henry, Patric Juillet, Phil N DeBlanc, Phyllis Simon Foster (psfinla), Radiogirl, Randal Allen Shields, Ridemybike, Sara R, Susan Pashkoff,
Terry Equality Nicholson, Triciawyse
The funniest, most endearing package of goodies from horsefeathers, my son took the "moose shooter" home with him and is terrorizing his dog with it!
The beautiful flowers from OtterQueen and 3CPO
The talking card from luvsathoroughbred, celebration time!!
The wondrous poem from asterkitty, reproduced below
The many cards from nurse Kelley
The phone calls, from Sara, Chuck, Kelley and others
The facebook messages that filled my wall
The electronic email cards, very funny
Simply, thank you
CJ
This from Asterkitty
For CJ On His Birthday
If wishes were fishes
they could swim across the land
bringing you a hand to hold
having such magical fins
they can almost fly
with shiny scales
of silver phosphorescence
that light up all the darkness
yes, if fishes could,
they would animate such wishes
just for you
If waves of hope
are flowing into harmony
they would curlicue a melody
while they speed along the highways
and strum the liquid lines on maps
this music of the mountains
dances over peaks
where the continent is drifting
and brings a song for you
to listen to
awake or in your dreams
Another year around the sun
a baker’s dozen of moons
humming lunar tunes
here on the outskirts of the universe
we are sparks of carbon brilliance
a deep integral part
of all, of everything
and the ebb and flow
the pushing pulling tides
will do their best to wash away
the difficulty days
With every wave comes rolling in
cool and dulcifying water
aquamarine recovery
to soothe your tired brow
to heal you now
these wishes travel at light speed
day and night they intercede
with a very special delivery
of friendship, endurance, hope
and a long-distance hand to hold
whenever you may need
© Alexandria Levin, October 2010