I am using my cell phone to write this while getting chemo.
The topic amongst local chemo getters now, is of using small fish to clean off dead skin.
The chemo room is full. 7 people all getting chemo. Chemo people are allowed to talk about stuff that would be taboo in normal society.
One guy was telling about his second colon surgery. While he was unconscious on the operating table the surgeon collapsed dead from a brain aneurysm. They had to get another surgeon in quick to finish the surgery.
Another lady just told about her heart attack. She was just about to be released from ICU after throat surgery. ICU is a great place to have a heart attack.
We just finished talking about the methods for colostomy patients to stop shit coming out all over clothes. The one guy just showed everybody his colostomy bag and how it works. He removed the bag and we could see the inside of his colon. Imagine showing your shit in public to normal people. He eats many small meals a day. Certain foods will kill him. He has no stomach, so all nutrition must come through the intestines. One thing he hates is the fact that it takes almost one and a half hour per day of his wife's time to change and clean the bag, and the socket. He can only do some of it, but someone else has to do the rest.
Everybody in this room is intimate with the dying process. Experts on dying. The old man next to me had a PET scan a few days ago. The oncologist just told him today, that is the last chemo for him. It isn't working. There is no "Plan B".
The only way to know more about death, is to die.
Yesterday I was online in an amputation internet chat room. I hoped to learn about things to help me get around the house. The topic then was leaving the bathroom door open. Often the wheelchair blocks the door. Most amputees on the chat room had completely removed the bathroom door.
One lady was an above knee amputee, and she gave a party for all her friends to come over. They all had to use the guest toilet next to the living room, with the door having been removed. It was a poo party. There were many humorous stories from that evening.
The toilet paper was kept on the coffee table. So if you needed some, someone would bring you how much you need.
Learning humility, being dependent, and how to be humble. The whole purpose of the evening was to introduce her friends, to her new way of life.
OK...I just woke up. The Paclitaxel hit me hard. Now crutch to pee, then to the car, then home.
Learning humility, being dependent, and how to be humble. The whole purpose of the evening was to introduce her friends, to her new way of life.
OK...I just woke up. The Paclitaxel hit me hard. Now crutch to pee, then to the car, then home.
--
Later
Here in South Africa there is a confusing situation with car parking for people with one leg. But first some definitions:
Handicap = Any physical or mental defect, congenital or acquired, preventing or restricting a person from participating in normal life or limiting their capacity to work.
Disability = Is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, or some combination of these.
Paraplegic = Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord.
The use of handicap/disabled parking spots are defined by the policy of the store or shopping center.
The South African Government has laws regarding Handicap person parking. But only on Government property. I once parked in a spot with a wheelchair sign on it, and got out with my crutches. A car guard said it was for Handicap people only, and I should move my car. I moved my car to a nearby spot.
At the local shopping center there is special parking for "Paraplegics Only". It has a big painted wheelchair on it. A one leg person in a wheel chair is not welcome in that spot.
Disabled people do not have to be handicapped, especially if they can find a way around their disability.
I am Disabled. Not Handicapped. Disabled because I am missing a leg, but not handicapped because I can make a plan around my disability. (Usually)
I feel that soon after chemo I am handicapped.
The local Hospital where I do my chemo has Disabled parking. It is marked with a large painted wheel chair. I use the special parking because it is a long way to crutch, and after chemo I don't want a long balancing act to get to the car.
The hospital does distinguish between Disabled parking and wheelchair parking. Wheelchair parking is much wider to allow the loading and unloading of the wheelchair. I try to use the narrow Disabled parking.
At the local Hospital you never see anyone abuse the disabled parking spot. The disabled parking seems much more of a real need than at the shops.
At the shopping centers you sometimes see a rich, healthy person in their Mercedes.
When this guy was approached by the lady with a wheelchair in her car he answered. "F**K of! Do you know who I am?" He waited another 10 minutes till his wife came out with the shopping. I am so sure he is South African Government.
This cop got coffee and a roll. When approached, he answered that he could park anywhere he wanted, anytime. And in South Africa, he can.
US Social Security considers an amputee "disabled" if : Amputation of one or both legs at or above the ankle. You also must not be able to walk effectively. “Ineffective walking” generally means that you have stump complications that don't allow you to use prosthetic device effectively and/or you need to use both your hands to handle a walker, two canes or crutches, or a wheelchair.
The UK Government said you are not considered disabled, if you are able to do the following:
If you can stand, then move 200 meters, either aided or unaided.
They have now changed the wording to 20 meters. Many people with disability pensions now lose then.
Disability means different things in different countries.
--
Jokes
Is karate for amputees called partial arts?
They say: "Time heals all wounds."
Doesn't help amputees much though.
I invented a sandal for people with one leg.
It was a flop.
--
Poem
And when I reach the other side,
I'll find a place to rest my spirit, if I can.
Perhaps I may become a pilot again,
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain.
But I will remain.
Handicap = Any physical or mental defect, congenital or acquired, preventing or restricting a person from participating in normal life or limiting their capacity to work.
Disability = Is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, or some combination of these.
Paraplegic = Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord.
The use of handicap/disabled parking spots are defined by the policy of the store or shopping center.
The South African Government has laws regarding Handicap person parking. But only on Government property. I once parked in a spot with a wheelchair sign on it, and got out with my crutches. A car guard said it was for Handicap people only, and I should move my car. I moved my car to a nearby spot.
At the local shopping center there is special parking for "Paraplegics Only". It has a big painted wheelchair on it. A one leg person in a wheel chair is not welcome in that spot.
Disabled people do not have to be handicapped, especially if they can find a way around their disability.
I am Disabled. Not Handicapped. Disabled because I am missing a leg, but not handicapped because I can make a plan around my disability. (Usually)
I feel that soon after chemo I am handicapped.
The local Hospital where I do my chemo has Disabled parking. It is marked with a large painted wheel chair. I use the special parking because it is a long way to crutch, and after chemo I don't want a long balancing act to get to the car.
The hospital does distinguish between Disabled parking and wheelchair parking. Wheelchair parking is much wider to allow the loading and unloading of the wheelchair. I try to use the narrow Disabled parking.
At the local Hospital you never see anyone abuse the disabled parking spot. The disabled parking seems much more of a real need than at the shops.
At the shopping centers you sometimes see a rich, healthy person in their Mercedes.
When this guy was approached by the lady with a wheelchair in her car he answered. "F**K of! Do you know who I am?" He waited another 10 minutes till his wife came out with the shopping. I am so sure he is South African Government.
This cop got coffee and a roll. When approached, he answered that he could park anywhere he wanted, anytime. And in South Africa, he can.
US Social Security considers an amputee "disabled" if : Amputation of one or both legs at or above the ankle. You also must not be able to walk effectively. “Ineffective walking” generally means that you have stump complications that don't allow you to use prosthetic device effectively and/or you need to use both your hands to handle a walker, two canes or crutches, or a wheelchair.
The UK Government said you are not considered disabled, if you are able to do the following:
If you can stand, then move 200 meters, either aided or unaided.
They have now changed the wording to 20 meters. Many people with disability pensions now lose then.
Disability means different things in different countries.
--
Jokes
Is karate for amputees called partial arts?
They say: "Time heals all wounds."
Doesn't help amputees much though.
I invented a sandal for people with one leg.
It was a flop.
--
Poem
And when I reach the other side,
I'll find a place to rest my spirit, if I can.
Perhaps I may become a pilot again,
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain.
But I will remain.
This comes from the song "Highwayman". I think this refers to the conservation of energy theory in physics. Your life force (soul) is energy. It can never be created or destroyed, but can change form. Mass and energy are interchangeable.
--
Nice poem.
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