I was feeling much improved, stronger, and internally stable the day after I left hospital on Thursday May 30th. The gut distress and irritation was gone, or largely so, I felt. This left me feeling centered and stable in core. Energy was pretty good, despite ongoing anemia. Appetite was back. Disordered taste and smell improved. Mouth membranes felt more robust, perhaps a sign of diminished mucositis. Much happier camper, I was and have been. I look forward to eating well and building up strength — not just rest — before the real nasty chemo in five weeks.

There have been hiccups, both literally and in learning that my gut isn’t able to handle hard to digest foods, meaning things I like the most: dark green veggies, nuts, Indian curries, spices, pizza, fried crunchy stuff, even brown rice. So I’ve been learning to eat a bland diet for a while and small portions throughout the day. And no coffee!

And there’s the occasional blood transfusion to keep the anemia from being too much trouble.

On the enrichment front, have read The Idiot, Out Stealing Horses (lent by Jo Marie), and Mrs. Dalloway (Jo Marie and I are reading Virginia Wolff these days). For entertainment, Jo Marie has introduced me to Northern Exposure, which I totally missed in the 90s.

So managing well and enjoying a visit from Jo Marie’s mom midst beautiful weather. Also thinking of the folks down in Southwest with nasty high temperatures, especially working class folks.