Sept 12 Saturday

I had a very sad news day yesterday. A very good friend of mine from all the way back in grade school, Linda Williams Young, died of brain cancer. What is the most upsetting it that I didn't know about it until it was too late. I saw her last summer at a school function, and we had a chance to chat. In grade school at St Charles, she was one of the hotties. She also was one that had parties quite frequently. I guess I was the other person that had a lot of parties. We started by remembering some of the parties we both had and some of the crazy things we had done together. The one thing that she said stood out in her memory was the fact that she was the queen of the 8th. grade dance and I was the king. She also reminded me that I was the one that said we should have crowns and I should make them. I had forgotten all about that until she brought it up. I did remember doing the crowns once she mentioned it. I actually went to the 5&10 and bought plastic jewels and holders that you could put through cardboard and hold them on like diamonds set in a ring. I think I now remember why I tried to forget that memory. What was I thinking. Well anyway, that was all going through my mind when I heard the news. I decided I had to drive to Lima and say my good buys. I saw her husband Paul and he assured me that she was in a much better place. It had taken her rather quickly, but she was in a lot of pain etc. Everyone loved Linda, she was a teacher, and spent most of her teaching career at St. Charles where she and I were King and Queen of the 8th. grade dance. I will never forget her.

I had my forth treatment today and the first time that I saw Dr. Chang since I started. He looked my arm over and said he was happy with all the X-rays and wanted to know I how felt. I said it definitely hurt when I had to hold my arm above my head for very long and that I understood that some of the time was spent waiting for the Dr. to look at the X-rays. He laughed and said he was always very busy and tried to get their as soon as he was notified. He then looked to see I had any burns on the scar. He didn't find anything yet, but said that before it was over that there would be burns and that I would need some creams to make them less uncomfortable. He also wanted to know if I felt tired. He said that if I wasn't yet, that most likely I would be starting to feel the effects of the radiation. Again he said it will tyre you out and you will not have the energy you are used too. I told him I was working out each day and doing exercises to to keep my elbow and shoulder limber. He said to keep that up now, and for the rest of my life.

We are having some friends over for drink and then dinner tonight. It's been a long time since we have had the opportunity to do anything like that. It's great to have the family here and party with them, but it is also nice to be able to just go out to dinner and let someone else cook. No dishes, no cleaning, just talk and eat, and come home and go to bed and get up to a clean house.

Just four more weeks of radiation and I will know how I stand. I have to get a CT SCAN Tuesday and see Carol Burns on Monday. I'll let you know how all of that plays out. I will not know anything about the scan until the 22nd when I see Dr. Rushing. More later. Have a good weekend
Tom