Fall Adventures with Destiny – Lucky Breaks

Per requests from my international following (that makes me positively giddy to say), these next posts will attempt to entertain you with the gifts of being sidelined by cancer treatments. After this cycle I spent several days getting my sleep functions back in order. The promised difficulty of sleeping was presented as an issue at my last chemo session on October 17th, what I will call the “surprise chemo,” and with the assistance of friends, a small dose of melatonin seemed to straighten that out. In the interim, I went through the tortures of the damned with such saboteur responses as:

• Irrational hatred of my bed and bedding – yes, the beautiful satin sheets!
• WTF – I thought neuropathy meant no feeling – why are there jabs of pain in my extremities?
• That Tramadol you just took will mean you are addicted forever

My “surprise” chemo resulted from my inattention to a significantly important part of the Keck patient portal, the appointments tab, buried in the menu at the top, which listed clearly all the upcoming appointments, including the fact that they intended to have me come on the Tuesday, the same day as my doctor’s appointment to complete the second infusion. Doh.

I pride myself on being on time or early for appointments, and so when I arrived at 10:45AM to check in for the 11:00AM doctor’s appointment, I was flabbergasted that I had missed my lab appointment and didn’t know about the second infusion being that day.

Initially, my response was: “I can’t do this because I was prepared mentally for tomorrow, not to mention I drove myself today. I didn’t bring a book.” The kind receptionist looked at me and said, “If you need to reschedule, let them know inside.”

But after a few moments of panic and disarray, my PQ training kicked in immediately and my sage navigational tool kicked in. I texted my brother, Don, who agreed to come pick me up at 6:00PM and then get a ride share back to Keck to get his car afterwards. Easy peasy, and with that, I didn’t need to worry another day about the dread of the next chemo. In fact, if I’m honest, I am a little sorry that my knowledge of the appointments tab will preclude more surprises in scheduling.

After getting the labs, seeing the doctor, then reporting for the second infusion, Destiny and I waited in the lobby to be taken in. My repeat RN, Nora came and put on my wrist band. She said, “I don’t believe we’ve met?” To which I happily responded, “No, you and I have met, because you were so kind to help me through round 1. You just haven’t met Destiny.” Nora quickly recovered, and I was happy to inform her that all wigs sport women’s names. Destiny and I were next pleasantly surprised with the option of “bed or chair” that Nora presented to us. I chose bed, of course. I had that choice because it was a quieter day in the clinic – not usually an option. It may not be again, but for my surprise chemo, it was delightfully comfortable.

The other thing I learned was that it was okay to not have a guest by my side. Don’t worry, those of you who have signed up to accompany me on future dates – I will be happy and grateful to have you there, but realized I need to be my own selfish self and may doze off instead of being entertaining. Bring a book as I would tell anyone in that role of chemo buddy. And in advance, thank you!

The other thing I learned this time through the mill was that there has been significant study about the improvement of cancer treatments through fasting. Especially in those for whom fasting is possible (not low BMI, or frailty – not my thing.) So I’m going to try this path the next cycle, which is, barring surprises, November 8th.

Meanwhile, Destiny and I have had some small adventures. We went out to dinner with friends on Sunday evening. An early dinner to Pine and Crane, a lovely indoor/outdoor Taiwanese restaurant in South Park. It is next to a tidy green space called South Park Commons, completed in 2019, which sports several garden rooms and a sculpture of a large blue wishbone by Paul Johnson.

Artist Jonathan Paul, otherwise known as Desire Obtain Cherish, has incorporated a 24-foot tall metallic blue sculpture of a wishbone titled Lucky Break into one of the park spaces. According to the artist, “Wishbone luck has been a popular pastime for centuries. It symbolizes the promise of good luck. The saying “get a lucky break” comes from this tradition, which is a common theme for people from around the world who flock to Los Angeles.”

Destiny urged me to go get a lucky break, so Leah captured a video of us trying to do so. The video was ridiculous but sweet, too. You can hear a loud guffaw from Leah as I walk away after what she described as my high school pose giving the Trojan Fight On symbol. My other friend, Rob, eschewed the opportunity to appear on the other side of the wishbone. Friends with more dignity perhaps. Besides, everyone would have known that I picked the right side for the lucky break. I know my way around a good wishbone.

Upcoming adventures for Destiny this week include two theatre outings at USC – Dance Nation on 10/26 at the Scene Dock Theatre, and Pippin at the Bing on 10/27. Stay tuned for deets after I’ve seen those shows, but you can buy tickets at the links above!

The beginning of November bring all sorts of events, from meeting Little Amal, “the 12 foot puppet of  a 10 year old Syrian refugee child at the heart of The Walk.  She has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees” at Amal Walks Across America on November 2nd, to attending Inherit the Wind at the Pasadena Playhouse on November 3rd.