Newsome’s Weblog

Arggghhh – my skin is killing me! I am itching and burning like a combination of a sunburn and poison ivy. My neck looks and feels like KFC’s Extra Crispy Chicken – no, more like Church’s Chicken. I’ll save you guys the horror of posting photos of my neck.

I’ve been really bored sitting around the apartment, but I don’t even have the energy to play video games. I’d brought my Playstation 2 with me and several games – I over estimated my energy level. How much energy does it take to play a game? I don’t know, but I do know that it is much easier to just lay on the bed and watch TV. I’ve watched enough Court TV that I think I could pass the bar exam. I’ve learned how to do Spock’s Live Long and Prosper gesture with both feet. That may come in handy one day.

I have spent the past two weeks in an apartment at the hospital. I was fortunate enough to get a room – this saved me from having to ride back and forth (3 hours total) everyday. The room was free and it wasn’t too bad – couple beds, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, etc… It was like being on vacation, but a vacation where you have to put up with the abuse everyday. Sorta like those “free” vacations where you have to listen to a marketing schpeel about time shares. It’s free, but you’ll pay for it somehow.

I didn’t have a car with me, so I used the bus shuttle system to get back and forth to my radiation treatments. I would call them to pick me up – no problem. But getting picked up to return back to my room was hit or miss. One day I wanted 1.5 hours to get back to my room. I quickly learned that the promptness of the pick up was related to which driver I was lucky enough to get that day. One of them was awesome – always on time, concerned with my well being, and very friendly. Another one, who’ll I refer to from here on as Tardo, was always late. Remember the 1.5 hour delay I mentioned – yep, Tardo. The roads around UAB are really rough and bumpy. Tardo knows where every pothole, dip, and bump are and hits them with the precision of a sharpshooter. He attacks the bumps with the gleeful giddyness of a child with a whole roll of bubble wrap. Did I mention that he is doing this at break neck speed? Evidently, this is to try to make up the time I spent waiting. I’m only 4 blocks away from the treatment center, so I think Tardo is trying to reach the speed of sound.

I don’t drink, don’t smoke (what do you do?) and I still ended up with cancer. I don’t really know if there was anything I could have done to have prevented it, but I only have one thing to say about the matter. YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET CANCER. I repeat in case my uppercase sentence didn’t grab you – YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET CANCER BECAUSE THE TREATMENT IS PURE HELL.

If you smoke – QUIT! If you dip tobacco – QUIT! It can’t happen to you huh? Well, it happend to me and I wasn’t adding to the problem. I urge you to take better care of yourself so that you will not have to go through what I’ve gone through. I lost my dad and grandfather to cancer and I don’t want it to happen to you. If you are reading this and you’re thinking that I am specifically speaking to you – you’re right.