There is a certain happiness sighted when your bus comes along. It is of course a small specialized form of happiness and will never be a great thing.

-Richard Brautigan, The Old Bus

Thursday, July 24, 2008

An infusion of live blogging


Live blogging from the infusion chair at the University of California, Davis, Cancer Center. We've got our beanie baby, best of Maria Callas on CD, the laptop connected to the hospital wi-fi and enough anti-nauseous meds to invite a daylong ride on an amusement park roller coaster.

We'll be back here every other week for 16 weeks. This will likely be the last photo I'll be allowed.

Beyond the obvious challenges we face, the cancer treatment has also disrupted our joint efforts to leave our cars at home.

Today, the wife was expecting to take the bus and trian and use the Medcenter's shuttle, but I suggested we drive instead. We don't know how she will react to her first infusion of anti-cancer drugs. Getting there would be fine, but the hourlong trip home might have been problematic.

The wife's future use of transit is also in doubt. The treatment has the effect of lowering the body's immunity to ordinary illnesses. Riding around for an hour in an enclosed environment with a bunch of other people is not encouraged. It's not prohibited, but it is certainly not recommended until the wife knows how well her immune system is holding up.

By the time the wife is finished with the chemo and recovered from surgery, Sacramento Regional Transit should be finished with its latest round of service cuts and fare hikes. There may not be any service for her to come back to.

4 comments:

FLUBBER said...

if you and the wife are looking for a nice diversion one day, UCDMC has a shuttle that leaves from the main hospital's parking lot (about 3 blocks from the cancer center) and goes to Davis. It's an express ride, and is free for visitors. Once you're in Davis, there's a bunch of fun things to do, like watching the dozens of ducks in the miles-long arboretum or checking out some of Unitrans' oldschool London doubledeckers (these may only run during the school year)
The ride is about 20 minutes to traverse the 18 miles between Davis and the med center. It runs until 8pm, but if you miss the last bus, you can also take Yolobus or Amtrak back.
Shuttle schedule:
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/parking/transportation/campus_timetable.html
Davis info:
http://daviswiki.org/

davis also has their own artwalk, on the second Friday of the month
http://daviswiki.org/ArtAbout

Unknown said...

Brian,

That sounds like a great idea. We have a couple of hours to kill on Aug. 7 between appointments. Riding out to Davis and back might be just the distraction we need.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

John,
My heart goes out to you and your wife. The best thing during chemo is to take it as it comes. My best friend found she was too weak after chemo to do much of anything except go home and rest.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Stephanie.

The wife has been in bed since we got home last Thursday. Today was the first day she ventured out of the house. She had hoped to be back at work tomorrow, but that won't happen. Maybe the next day.

It's not that she must work, but she has this need to feel useful. Having to stay in bed is sort of double-whammy.