With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.
The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!
Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.
When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.
The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.
November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.
By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”
Is this the new normal? It’s actually quite comfortable. Maybe we have just been so brainwashed and constrained for the last 5 months, this easing up feels like a whole new world and maybe we’ve completely forgotten what it’s like to live any other way! (Or maybe it’s a conspiracy to control us!!!!!)
Life is easing up here in South Africa with the move to Level 2 restrictions. This allows for the sale of alcohol, cigarettes (for those who must have them) and interprovincial travel. Restaurants will be able to open and serve liquor! Level 2 also allows us to visit family and friends! But nothing international yet and there is no indication when flights will open up. So will make the most of my time here.
What a mess the world is in with this awful pandemic. Here in South Africa, we are supposedly heading into the peak with infections surging all over the country. Often illogical rules and regulation are put in place, then removed, then reinstated, with very little transparency, leaving people floundering in a vacuum. Rumors are rife and spread like wildfire, causing further unease and uncertainty about the unknown.
4th of July in the States, 100 days of Lockdown in SA
100 days and we are still in Level 3. With so little information provided by the government, it’s no wonder people are disregarding any sort of rules. Going out into public spaces, it’s like nothing has changed: no masks, no social distancing, people gathering in groups. It’s pretty scary!
We’re on Day 92 I think of the lockdown here in Sunny South Africa. Feels like a lot longer than that!
Has much changed? Not really. No eating out unless you do take-away or to-go. No getting together with friends and family, although there are ways around that! I think a lot of people are “going to church” in various places!
