Taking a nap

During my dad’s chemo recovery, back in 2002, he lived with me for a week or so while he got his strength back to go to his home.

I didn’t know it then (but know it now) there just isn’t anything that you can compare with the way your body feels during your chemo treatments. During my months and months of chemo, I didn’t want to be fucked with and I could never not be tired and restless. Your mind is ok but chemo is essentially poisoning you intending to kill everything possible but leave enough of your body in ok shape in order for it to reboot (without the cancer cells)

I got a few questions about my chemo health during my little cancer thing, such as:

• Is it like the flu? No – some weird bird/swine flu bullshit, 4-alarm fire horseshit doesn’t come close. Take the surgeon’s mask off too as you can’t catch chemo
   
• Is it like food poisoning?  Get real … you shit your brains out for three days and stay hydrated and you’ll be fine after food poisoning.  Just don’t take any Imodium AD and cork up your ass – you’re not shitting out a Buick an hour because your body wants to hold onto it … suffer peeing through your butt for a few days and avoid 3 am Denny’s runs in the future.

So – back to my dad – he was at my house and in the middle of his chemo world and he was feeling really wiped out.

 I went to see him in his bedroom and we had this exchange:

Me – How are you feeling?
Dad – Arghhhhhgr
Me – wow, descriptive 
Dad – really tired 
Me – take a nap 
Dad – Arghhhhhgr 
Me – go ahead and take a nap 
Dad – (head in his hands leaning down) Arghhhhhgr 
Me – you’ll feel better if you take a nap
Dad – (does nothing, getting agitated and still has head in his hands) 
Me – go ahead and take a nap …. lean back on the pillow, close your eyes and fall asleep
(at which point my dad lifts his head up just a bit, looks at me through his spread fingers and says)
Dad – I know how it fucking works

At that point I think I went and took a nap