Lindsey, newsletter # 68
Nantes, Monday 6th of February, 18-00.
Frustration. I think the secret reason for writing all this has been to express frustration.
A typical day…
The blood testing took place at 8. The nurse comes to the house. I remember commenting about this with my mother the other day and we both had to admit that the French system was good on the patients. The blood test is now about numbers: platelets and the different items you are supposed to find in the blood. In this case platelets were the issue. It should take about 5 minutes to obtain the result. But I had to wait till 4 in the afternoon to find out. This allowed me to discover that Lindsey’s blood sample had a lot of travelling to do before I would obtain the result…
We needed the result in order to launch a new round of chimio. Obviously 8 hours doesn’t seem to matter on a long treatment like this one. But it means that I have to spend my day chasing for the results, then for the oncologist to get the go ahead. If not, the 8 hours become an extra day… As I wrote, frustrating.
Frustrating… the insurance company who should have reimbursed what it owes from the summer and who doesn’t even answer my mails. You sometimes feel that there is a deliberate strategy… waiting till we get bored or have more urgent issues to deal with. Of course, there is no penalty if they take ages to pay.
Frustrating. More administrative papers asking us to go and get some document in the office next to theirs and bring it to them.
Frustrating…
I suppose the bad weather, the grey winter, the very boring days have something to do with it.
If I did want to be a bit more positive I should say that my mother was impressed with the progress Lindsey has made (she was here a few days). I should also add that Lindsey does more and more. We are now able to attack complex cooking together. I usually run into problems once she feels tired and sits down.
We are making some plans… Biarritz in a couple of weeks time, London in May.
Love
Lindsey, newsletter # 69
Nantes, Tuesday 14th of February, 19-00.
A short entry.
We did get the go ahead so Lindsey went through 5 days of chimio. We changed a bit the protocol so it was at night rather than in the morning. I think it was a good idea to do so. But it does require some care at a time of the day where you would want to put your feet up. The way around this is by using alarms that keep on going off…ah, time for the pre-pill… ah time for the pills themselves… ah she can now have the pain killers.
The pain killers are working well. But of course, there is a logical effect of getting hooked to the d… stuff. I don’t think it is the most urgent issue but we will have to deal with it at one point. At present pain has ceased to be a problem. But the fact of having pain killers at regular intervals might be the reassuring factor.
Of course, toward the end of the treatment and in the days after, Lindsey has been tired. But now (we are Tuesday and she finished on Saturday) there is a recovery. Yesterday a one hour walk took place and today she went into town with Melissandre. And she walked in!
On Friday we will be off to Biarritz. I have to pack. This of course was not my prerogative. But I must make sure I bring everything she needs for the week we will be there. Sort of scary.
Love
Lindsey, newsletter # 70
Biarritz, Saturday 26th of February, 22-00.
Yes. Biarritz where we are ending a lovely week rest. The rest involved both of us, which in part explains why I have not been blogging.
Let me try to recapitulate…
Last week in Nantes there was a lot to do in order to be able to leave. Obviously safety was a key concern and that involved a lot of preparation.
On Friday (18th) we left. Lali (my mother) had arrived the day before and came with us. We stopped at Bordeaux for lunch (with Luis, Corinne and Boris). Sitting outside on place Saint-Michel was just great!
On Saturday we went for a walk in Biarritz. To the market where they were not only selling food (the gateaux basques were great) but also clothes. Lindsey was tempted and we bought a brightly coloured top. Later Jesus and Merche arrived from Toro. They had intended to drive all the way to Nantes to see Lindsey… it seemed easier to meet them half way.
On Sunday we just stayed around Biarritz, enjoying the company, walking down by the beach, feeling very lucky that the weather was so nice.
On Monday we went for a real walk. On the chemin côtier, from Guethary to Saint-Jean de Luz following the coast path. Well, you used to follow the coast path… because of the erosion, many parts of the walk were closed and you ended walking between the houses. Lunch in Saint-Jean de Luz. Decision was to go for lunch in a Sushi place in Saint-Jean de Luz. Sounds like a strange choice in a place where you would normally go for fish… or not.
On Tuesday I went to Bayonne to give a talk, leaving Lindsey have nice walks and enjoying the company of Jesus and Merche who had to leave.
On Wednesday we went to Pasaia. Pasaia is just before San Sebastian. We have picture of going to Pasaia more than 20 years ago. Boris is on these pictures. Vikki is not. Shows how old the pictures are. Pasais is a famous part. A gulley separates both sides of the port with a ferry running at regular intervals. The walk was great. The lunch was not quite as good as expected.
On Thursday a couple of great walks but the most exciting event was that Hara Kiwi took off. Hara Kiwi is this great youtube project Boris has embarked in with some friends. Somehow, a youtube star (who has more than a million followers… seems crazy) advertised Hara Kiwi in one of his videos. And suddenly people were flocking into Hara Kiwi. Not only viewing the videos (out of which « Posters » which in a very nice timing, came out today) but also subscribing. From 2000 fans yesterday, the number of these has risen to more than 16500 by the time I am writing this entry.
We have spent a lot of time just looking at the counter go up, go up, go up…
On Friday a morning drizzle seems to leave little room for outdoor activities. I managed to get a run, and then we were able to go out for lunch in a Portuguese restaurant in Biarritz. Bacalhau a Bras (what else?).
Then we managed to squeeze 2 walks in the afternoon. In the evening we were joined by Luis, Corinne and Boris, on their way down to skiing in the Pyrenees.
On Saturday (today!) a long walk in Biarritz, lunch, and an afternoon watching rugby.
Time to pack and get back…
Love