Life in the Slow Lane

Life in the Slow Lane

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Gazoo

I managed to sleep most of the day away yesterday, which made it next to impossible to post something. I think all those injections of Neupogen are starting to kick in. Well, that is my excuse and I am sticking to it. The main side effect of this medication is bone pain. Let me just say right off that bone pain feels very similar to muscle pain. Like the aches when you have a fever kind of pain. So snoozing on Tylenol is really great right now.

I am feeling particularly blessed as my home care started today. That means I don’t have to run to the doc everyday and pay for parking and deal with traffic to get my injection. A very nice lady came over this morning and did it for me in the comfort of my home. That is a beautiful thing. We were talking and she was looking through my chart and said that me having breast cancer at this age sucked. I told her I couldn’t agree more. She then went on to tell me that there seems to be a blip in the universe right now and there are lots of ladies in their thirties who have breast cancer. She has had about 6 patients in her rotation this year so far. I was SHOCKED. When I was in the hospital there were two other women around my age who my surgeon operated on that day with breast cancer. The nurse and I talked about diet and such factors like that. My personal hunch (Jinkies, Scooby!) is that it is going to be because of viruses. I think viruses trigger cancers in people a lot of the time. That is just my opinion but when I mentioned my theory to my oncologist she agreed and said she is putting together a study on this very hunch as I type. Interesting. This kind of stuff fascinates me. I love a good mystery. I hate living one though.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day for a change and so I sat out on my little fire escape to pick off all the good basil leaves for my mom. She makes yummy dishes with them. I don’t really cook so I grow it just for her. Anyway, I was sitting there in the sunshine picking off these leaves when I looked down in my yard and saw three baby skunks playing in the grass. Such unbelievable cuteness I have never seen before. They were the size of three-month-old kittens. Seriously adorable. Now I should say that I have a particular love of skunks. I think they are just too sweet for words. If I could have a skunk as a pet I would in a heartbeat. De-smelled of course. So these little critters were rolling around on the grass wrestling with each other and I thought to myself, “Hmmmm! I should get up and get a pic of these beasties.” So I quietly got up and quietly opened the door and quietly walking through and quietly knocked down every unused hair product on my shelf which then not so quietly caused a major domino effect which caused my full length mirror and other large breakable objects to crash onto me and my floor. I looked back out and they babies were gone. SOB!

Several years ago my mom and I went to Calgary to visit my cousin Lbo. On that trip we went to a farm called Gazoo located on the outskirts of town. This place is a home to unwanted zoo animals as well as orphaned wildlife and such things like that. I walked into the main office building and in a little hamster cage on the table was a tiny baby skunk. I put that thing in my pocket and held it for hours. If I had not had to take a plane home at the end of the trip I would have adopted that little smellie in a red-hot second. The thought of him still brings tears to my eyes. Also on that day I cuddled orphaned baby racoons, bunnies, a kangaroo and I even took a baby timbre wolf for a walk on a leash. It was simply one of the best days of my life. I don’t think the place is there anymore but I would go back if I could. The whole place smelled terrible with all the accompanying poops from all these cute beasties but still the best day. You know it had to be worth it to make poop smell ok.

9 comments:

c said...

Little baby critters! So cute!

Squirl said...

Glad you have home care now. So sorry for your bone pain. I hope you get past that part soon.

LadyBug said...

That baby skunk is so cute. Loved your story.

But this...

"I love a good mystery. I hate living one though."

...broke my heart.

I'm so sorry you're having to go through all this crap, Kranki. It does just absolutely suck.

Thank you again for speaking so openly and honestly about your disease and your pain.

God bless,
LadyBug

Kranki said...

mrtl-I only wish Smellie smelled as good as skunks.

hdl-you know from my email what she does when the nurse somes by. Now she just ignores her.

misfit-somebody has to be a real hard dude to not be cutified by small creatures. I am a big sucka for the baby animals.

squirl-thanks so much. The bone pain is gone today. Woo Hoo!

ladybug-thanks so much lady-b. It is a part of life. I figure I am getting it out of the way now so my old age will be illness free.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like between the nurse and the skunks, you have some good home care indeed.

Kranki said...

kalki-the nurse is lovely and those skunky poos made my WEEK! I look for them often. No sign yet.

east village idiot said...

What a cute skunky. I hope you feel much better super soon. My brother's former boyfriend did costume work for films - what a fascinating job - it takes so much creativity (and patience). I pray that you feel much better soon. I'm 43 years old and am amazed at the number of women between 35 to 45 developing breast cancer in NYC. I'm not a scientist but I think you're on to something about viruses. Keep on truckin! Great Blog - i haven't even finished putting mine up yet.

Kranki said...

easte village idiot-I wonder if there is some sort of epidemic or something. Seriously bad. Thanks for coming by. And thanks for all the good wishes.

Anonymous said...

It's still there.

http://www.guzooforever.com/