Holly and I have just finished watching NC State, her alma mater for Vet School, lose to Maryland in the first round of the ACC men's basketball tournament. Sadly, they are probably done for the year as their record has been only so-so. Tomorrow after I get off work, we'll drive down to Emerald Isle where our friends are hosting a w-e of fun, fellowship and basketball. Tomorrow there are 4 games with both UNC and Duke playing in the afternoon or evening. Now that NC State is out of the running, Holly will pull for UNC, and I will be left the sole, lonely Duke fan FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND. It's a tough job, and I'll need the proper balance of humility and school spirit to pull things off in that den of Carolina blue. Wish me (and my team) luck.
I was really happy seeing my patients yesterday in the clinic. Things have been going smoothly now that I seem to have all of my wits about me again. I mean that my memory is back to normal, and the last remnants of my chemo brain seem to have cleared. It is much easier to move through my day if I can remember the encyclopedia's worth of knowledge that I acquired over the last 10 yrs or so (okay it isn't really that much, but I have to at least know where to look to find the info if I can't remember it all). I was pretty worried in November and December about how spotty my memory was. I had some real word and fact retrieval issues. I didn't want to hurt anyone with my feeble chemo brain and I know from experience that one of the worst things is not knowing what you don't know. But the rashes and lab tests and treatment protocols are all streaming back into place just as I'd hoped, and I feel safe again.
I had an interesting encounter yesterday with a 50 yr old hispanic woman who I was seeing for her yearly physical exam. We were going over Lillian's social history-issues like do you smoke, drink alcohol, work, have a partner or husband etc...
She told me that she was now divorced (for 2 yrs) which made her initially very depressed and sad. (I couldn't help remembering Liz Gilbert's analogy in "Eat, Pray, Love" about divorce being like a car accident everyday for 2 years straight..) Anyway, Lilliana now has a new partner. She had this big, sly smile as she relayed this news in spanish and added that he is much younger than she is. When I asked how old he is, she grinned and told me that he is only 28 yo, younger even than the oldest of her 4 boys. She said that he makes her happy, takes care of her, and showers her with attention. Well who wouldn't like that??? I asked her if she is working, and she told me that she now works in an Italian restaurant in Fuquay-Varina. My spanish is not so great so I was sure I had misunderstood her since Fuquay is south of Raleigh-Durham and pretty far from Burlington where our clinic is located. I asked for clarification, and sure enough, I understood right. She is now living in Angier, at least an hour from our clinic in Burlington. She had tried getting her care at another office closer to where she now works and lives, but hadn't liked the experience. "You are my doctor so I am here again. It's only an hour," she said. What a compliment. I kept thinking about that and how fun it was to see her delighted by her younger man. You go girl. If men can do it, why can't we?
Photo: me at the Sourwood Inn on a recent trip to our favorite B and B in Asheville.
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