Dear All
Today was a day I'd been somewhat dreading. I had a check-up scheduled at the AKH (the General Hospital). This one was with the mouth surgeon Professor Ewers. The reason for the appointment was to check the problem with my jaw caused by the radiation last year.
The necrosis (horrible word, sort of a "I'd rather be dead than have necrosis" type of word) was being treated with long doses of antibiotics and this was the acid test — had anything improved?
And the answer is YES! The problem has gone away. The open 'sore' (it didn't hurt but apparently was an open thing) has healed completely. This is an enormous relief, as the worst case scenario, had it remained, was a bone transplant —- replacing that part of my jaw with bone taken from somewhere like my thighbone. This is how I understand it anyway.
But now all is well and I don't need to see the surgeon until after the chemo has ended, and that just to discuss the timing of the much smaller operation to free my tongue and correct my speech and allow me to eat something more substantial than yogurt.
That operation though will not be possible at earliest January or February as I'll need time to get properly in balance (chemically that is) from the chemo. In actual fact it will much more likely to be much later — June is a probable month — as I have two classes scheduled at Webster University for March onwards and look like being involved in the UN Interagency Games after that.
My feeling at the moment is I'd rather have a longer period without chemo and operations and be able to do the thing I really enjoy which is the teaching. Eating yogurt for a couple months is a price I can handle.
Got home this afternoon and checked my mail. There was a letter from the Finance Ministry. I've never yet filled in an income tax form in Austria (didn't need to when I was working tax-free, but the Webster income is taxable — Webster deducts tax, but only relatively recently) and I've had a background feeling of foreboding that someone is going to catch up with me.
So with fear and trepidation I opened the letter and they owe me €167 and want to know how to pay it to me!
It's cold and raining in Vienna, but from my side today has been a great day!
I am hoping the new chemo schedule and my reaction to it goes smoothly from now on and so don't expect I will have anything dramatic to send out in a newsletter for quite a while. I am working (very slowly) on filling in gaps in my blog (my on-line diary) and it can be accessed, should you have any interest in it, from my main web site www.misterwhite.info — I am planning on putting some photos and even some sound recordings on it, but have so many other things I want to also do. It is so great to have recovered my energy and enthusiasm.
Many thanks to you all for your prayers, thoughts, visits and good wishes
Love to you all
David
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