Yesterday was pretty low-key. Slept in until 9:00 and then went to Mass with Mom. The priest there was this charismatic Italian guy from New York who spoke like an enforcer in a mafia street gang. One of my lifelong interests has always been the history of the Mafia, so this accent always makes me pay attention to whatever is being said, no matter what the topic. I gotta say, it sounded really weird to hear a Mafia voice talking about the Church and Christianity instead of prostitution and whacking some rat.
From there Mom and I hit Earl’s, a Western eatery, where I ate many meals as a student in Calgary. Standing on the bar, directly across from my seat was a Kokanee draft tap. Kokanee is a beer made from glacier water and is smooth as silk when you drink it. I haven’t had any since my last trip out west, which was a few years ago. So while I drank my club soda, I stared at a draft tap of one of my favourite beers in the country, unable to have any of it. I think that feeling is what alcoholics must go through when they are jonesing for a drink. I am pretty sure I am not an alcoholic, but I do hate being dictated to on what I can and cannot have in my life.
If you have ever been to Winnipeg, you have probably been to The Forks. It is nothing fancy, just a market in what I think is an old railway station, but everyone here thinks it is the cat’s ass of tourist attractions so we had to go take it in. What can I say about it… they had good coffee and the buskers knew all the words to the songs that they were singing. Then back to the hotel where we watched about a dozen CSI episodes and tried to keep my mind off my hospital trip for today.
I slept pretty well last night, mostly because of the lingering jetlag I think, certainly not because my mind is at ease. Today I go to meet the surgical team and, of course, Tammy… the voice I relate to both terror and hope. Today is also my last chance to back out of this whole thing and go back to NL with Achmed still intact. This doesn’t really seem like an option to me seeing how the nerve damage from real surgery seriously threatens my quality of life.
My cold seems to be getting better as well. This is great news, as sneezing in the tunnel of radiation would mess me up pretty bad… when a gamma ray hits your brain, I think you are pretty much done as far as cognitive abilities go, hopefully I will be able to remain still. Between the halo brace being screwed to my head, and the bed being screwed to the halo brace, and the valium being somehow in my system to make me believe that I am in a big open space instead of a little tiny tunnel, I am hoping that staying still is no problem. I am a little worried about my small bladder though.
So, if you have any free time on Wednesday, I would appreciate some positive vibes being sent to Winnipeg while I am screwed to the table, under the knife. I don’t think that is too much to ask for.
From Achmed and Me… Live Life!
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