A Bit of Britain, A Trace of Hope, & A Taste of Scotland

Day #2 in Europe. After an English breakfast, Nurse Cherry, a.k.a. Cheryl, (she really is a nurse), took off on a day adventure. East, west, north and south we traversed the city, hitting the high spots of my pretend land of 'England.' C. drove her cherry-coloured mobile through hill and dale, as I snapped photographs of Gothic architecture throughout the city. Katie had prepared authentic British music (Mary Poppins) to play on the CD player, which accompanied our musical tour (Anna McGoldrick, eat your heart out!). We were able to go inside the great Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which is a massive structure and most magnificent. We even had our own private tour of the Imperial Theatre, which was also magnificent (this was amazing favour to get a tour of this structure in the early morning!). A walk through the square and into the famous City Market (I got to see Pete's Frootique, at last, but not Pete, apparently he doesn't even live here), down through other massive complexes until we reached Market Square, where I stuffed myself into a European-style phone booth and had my picture taken. Then to the New Brunswick Library where I borrowed the book, What's Hair Got to Do With It or something like that… (No, really, the name of it was It's Not About the Hair: And Other Certainties of Life & Cancer). Wendy was reading it yesterday, and I wanted to read it, too.

We ate lunch at Sisters in the City Market – Greek salads eaten on an English day -- imagine. But we redeemed ourselves with clotted cream for dessert (a.k.a. ice cream) at the Pumpkin Patch up in the high country. By this time, it was time to go to the hospital for round #2 of radiation. Today I didn't have to wait for the treatment – I got in early; it surprised me to hear them call my name so soon, given that yesterday I waited for 1 ½ hours. Enter the radiation cave, get on the table, have a hot flash, "do you mind taking off my sneakers for me? I'm hot," place head in the donut hole apparatus, arm in stirrup, ready for take-off. "See you in a few…" Zap, move the table; Zap, "Here we go again; we'll be back in a minute;" Here, have a piece of lead for your chest and a strange looking gel pack—Zap; "All done, see you tomorrow!"

I went out and sat down with Nurse Cherry to wait for the nurse. I found out her name was Hope. I was waiting for Hope. Just last night, Cherry asked me if I needed anything else before I retired to my bed in the Oasis. "Yes, I would like another "Hope" sign," I replied, teasing her about the number of times I saw the word "Hope" in her house. So, wasn't it coincidental to find that today's nurse was named Hope. I tried to explain my fetish with the word hope to Hope, but she didn't get me, and stuck a needle in my arm to draw my blood. I think she just wanted to get on with business, and probably thought to herself, "We get all kinds here in the unit, pay them no mind." However, before I left, she did offer me a "trace of hope" – she also had gone through radiation and knew what it felt like to be in that room – all alone and anxious. She told me to get my heart checked out by my family doctor when I get home (I'm having palpitations of some sort). Today in the room, every time the radiator machine came on and that unpleasant sound started, I thought of all the bad cells being sucked from my body, so thought more positively about it and remained calmer, despite the palpitations in my throat.

Feeling like I had accomplished yet another hurdle, I left the hospital feeling more hopeful than the day before. Cherry and I took a walk down a hiking trail, then got some iced coffee, and went to Value Village because I wanted a pair of PJs. I instantly was drawn to sheep pajamas. Nurse Cherry told me I could count the sheep on the PJs and I would fall asleep easier. (I had a hard time falling to sleep last night – something to do with my restless legs and the heat in the room that I couldn't get regulated). She, too, did not sleep (and I let her drive me around today??....Doug!). Tonight, we both drank tonic water for our legs (don't laugh; it works).

We finally made it home around 4 pm, and to my bed in the Oasis I did go, to wrap up in my Linus blankie and listen to music. I rested til supper while the Chef prepared the food. How blessed I am to have people take care of me. After a concert by Katie on the piano, Cherry and I went on a little tour of Ireland (Rothesay, Scotland). A foreign red race car, something like a Ferrari, raced past us, and we raced after it down the main drag of this Irish town, trying to see what had just passed us. What a sight – both of us leaning forward, me with my bald head stuck in the windshield, trying to make out the name of the car with my myopic eyes, Cherry trying not to rear end the expensive car. At the stop sign, I saw it – "Countach." OK, someone, tell me what it is? A Ferrari? A Lamborghini? Too much excitement, so we decided to park and walk around the dandy green and down a wooded lane, then into the cherrymobile for a drive down "expensive house lane" to the Yacht Club, bordering a bonnie body of water. "I think it's time we call it a day, Cherry, let's go home and watch a movie."

Instead, Katie and I sat on the couch and listened to the first act of Hamlet on CD. She placed an humongous read-along-book on my lap, for me to try to follow along without my reading glasses. She gave running commentary and taught me this ancient play (and ancient, hard to understand language!). Becky, you should be proud of me, you being the Shakespeare teaching queen you are. Katie wants to teach Shakespeare after she gets her English degree, and perhaps I was her first student, I don't know. My eyes were getting pretty foggy by the end of it, but I made it to the end of Act One, and actually understood what happened. Oh, Hamlet, you really have your work cut out for you, don't you now? It is our plan to finish the complete play by the time I'm done my course of radiation. Hmmm, a course of radiation, and a course in Hamlet. One course physical, and one course educational. You never know what experiences you're going to have, do you?

So, that's the day – truly an English day, with a trace of hope and a bit of Irish thrown in for good measure. And Shakespeare to cap it all off. Cup of tea, anyone? Make mine Red Rose. To be or not to be, that is the question.

PS: Katie sang me this song by Kate Voegele tonight, and the words touched me so much, that I knew I had to post them.

"Lift Me Up"
This road is anything but simple
Twisted like a riddle I’ve seen high and I’ve seen low
So loud, the voices of all my doubts
Telling me to give up, to pack up and leave town
Even so, I had to believe
Impossible means nothing to me, yeah

So you can lift me up,
Turn the ashes into flames
‘Cause I have overcome
More than words will ever say
And I’ve been given hope
That there’s a light on up the hall
And that a day will come
When the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Somewhere, every body starts there
I’m counting on a small prayer,
Lost in a nightmare
But I’m here, and suddenly it’s so clear
The struggle through the long years
It taught me to outrun my fears
Everything worth having, oh
Comes with trials worth withstanding

Down and out is overrated
And I need to be elevated
Looking up is not enough
No, I would rather rise above

So you can lift me up,
Turn the ashes into flames
‘Cause I have overcome
More than words will ever say
And I’ve been given hope
That there’s a light on up the hall
And that a day will come
When the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Don’t be surprised if you hear me singing this song somewhere….