"This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco...

. . . this ain't no fooling around."

--The Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"

"Old folks boogie, down on the farm. Wheelchairs, they was locked arm in arm."

--Little Feat, "Old Folks Boogie"

"The waiting is the hardest part."

--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "The Waiting"


Let's see. Where do we start? How 'bout with the visit from the lady from Hospice? She was certainly nice enough, but it was fucking depressing, going through my medical history for the umpteenth time. Shortly after the visit concluded, the delivery van from the hospice arrived, and set up a hospital bed in my (1st floor) office. I thought I was prepared for this eventuality, but I guess not. Maybe no one ever is.

Then a couple hours later it was over to the hospital for a three hour MRI session of my neck, cervical spine, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac spine. Then over to X-ray to photograph 8 views of the same thing. The first machine we were on broke in the middle of my pics. Kind of the story of my health the last 1 1/2 years. Got home at quarter to midnight, completely exhausted.

Now I have to wait until tomorrow (Thursday) to see if if the cancer has spread to my spine and if so, if any palliative radiation can be done. it's questionable due to the previous radiation on the lung. If not, I guess it's time to get fitted for a wheelchair. I was ready for pain, even extreme pain, but I wasn't (and I'm not) ready for that news.