Facebook

Karin was the undoubted queen of Facebook (I think George Takei is probably the king) and it would be a terrible waste if some of her more entertaining comments were shared again.  There are quite a lot - when I could see that she was writing some very entertaining pieces I started saving them, but this was really only for a short period of time.  Obviously the time she wrote most on Facebook was when she had left work but was still able to construct sentences artfully.
So, to kick-start things, here are the first two on my list;

Public Advice Notice
I have just been given a Muller thick and creamy 'strawberry' yogurt to eat. 

If you are ever tempted by one of these, beware! They are the most artificial tasting and feeling yogurt I have ever had the misfortune of eating. Colour is an unappetising dirty pink; the texture is horribly reminiscent of Angel Delight (now I love Angel Delight, esp butterscotch flavour, but yogurts should be yogurts, not Angel Delight) 

My advice? Just don't go there.

Ingredients:
Yogurt, Strawberries (8%), Water, Fructose, Modified Maize Starch, Gelatine, Flavourings, Citric Acid, Stabiliser: Pectins; Sweetener: Aspartame; Beetroot Juice Concentrate. 

Mr W is something of a yogurt specialist, having worked in the Yeo Valley yogurt and cream dairy in his youth. His view on the ingredients above and what they mean for the manufacturing process is that basic yogurt is taken and stirred into a virtual liquid, before being 'stabilised' into a creamy mass - unnecessary ingredients for a yogurt include modified maize starch, gelatine, stabiliser and beetroot juice concentrate (which is supposed to make the yogurt look like it's got strawberries in it, which I suppose it has, all 8% of them).

Avoid avoid avoid!

and number two;

Clever clever body!

Had to go back to the Oncology Centre to have more needle sticks - boo hiss - but the lovely Fallon got a vein second try! Man,that was a relief.

Even better, my blood counts were stellar - white cells, Hb, neutrophils, platelets had all improved incredibly over just the past 24 hours. Well done, me. (I believe the secret to improved blood counts is half a perfectly ripe avocado mashed with a big dessertspoonful of mayo and a splash of Thai sweet chilli sauce, eaten for lunch with a teaspoon and with Carrs melts crackers.)

Clutching evidence in hand, off we, my dearest Ingrid (actually my only Ingrid, but she'd be my dearest if I had a football team of Ingrids to choose from) and me, trot to South Bristol Community Hospital for day 1 chemo. Welcome, Carboplatin - duck billed platypus drug - and Gemcitabine - pretty jewel drug.

Again, a suitable vein found on the second try. Nice cup of tea from the little cafe and a really lovely talk with MDI. Two and a half hours later, off we jolly well go; steroids, anti-emetics x2 and poo medicine in hand.

The whole experience about a million times better than I'd expected.

The first one a throwaway reflection, but the second one I think catalogues her clutching at positives in a sea of negatives.  Loving the company of a friend, reflecting on a pleasurable meal, her body's positive response, and one thing only Karin could do - be entertained by the names of her chemo drugs; all of which hurt her.

But also, the dread she felt at having to undergo chemotherapy.  The certainty of knowing that there will be sustained and constant discomfort - how do you deal with that?  How would you deal with it?  I don't know how I would cope, but looking at Karin's strategy of identifying and celebrating the pleasures in her daily life, now that is to be celebrated.

I don't understand - where is she?