A book?

Dear sisters,

Now that we have the drama of the shaving of the head out of the way -do you realize you are all carrying a superfluous amount of hair on your heads?- I can get back back to the order of the day. Like writing a book in a month.

E. convinced me with one measly word to sign up for
national novel writing month with her.

The idea, which is to write a novel during the month of November, is of course ludicrous.

Writing a book in thirty days, a book meaning a lengthy work of fiction of 50,000 words, that is just under 2000 words a day, is no mean feat. Writing a book in a month, of which half that time my chemo brain will not tolerate anything other than re-reuns of 'America's next top model', does not give great prospects for success.

But it sounds like fun to me.

I just need a little inspiration.
(Relax, mam I will not do a "Richard Billingham" " of our family. Maybe just a few bits and pieces here and there.)

Love,

S1

The deed is done

Typing with hairs on my keyboard was starting to get annoying. Playing "pulling mama's hair out" wasn't so much fun after all. The time had come to do the deed. This afternoon, round about noon, all my hair came off. I now look the part.

I always wanted to know what it would look like, although only for five minutes. The alien look takes a little bit of getting used to but, after a little cry last night, it is a relief it is off. I don't think my children are going to be too traumatized by the event. They spent the afternoon gleefully chasing each other with my hair on their head.



And here, as mentioned before, my latex leggings and ostrich feathered coat. Now with the added bonus of no hair. Just before popping off to the supermarket.


Love,

S1

introducing the ballerina bear

Yes sisters this is what i looked like one year ago when i was in the dance school
i was accused of dancing ballet like a bear but little did they know i was starting a new art movement
all my love and lots of bear hugs
s3

advance is written on my basketball tshirt

dearest sisters I send you here another visual poem
i am thinking of you both intensely sending you positive vibes from Prague
am drawing everyday and trying to get my fingers loose and free to create
once a week i have to play basketball in the school team and im the only girl
but the guys pass me the ball occasionally and i jump higher than Michael Jordan
i need to let off steam and between you and me i think im the best player there
Tomorrow i am going to take my camera to school and i will pretend to be a little british spy
and i will document my surroundings for you
so expect a visual diary update very soon
i love you both very much and i hug you bigbearballet
s3

Frequently asked questions

Dear sisters,

The first most frequently asked question, when telling people I was going to have chemotherapy, was:

Can you drink alcohol during treatment?

Well, lately the thought of alcohol has been far from my mind, like coffee, but no one wants to know if I can drink coffee.

I have looked it up, as I didn't think to ask. One or two drinks are probably okay, as it could relax you and increase appetite (not exactly necessary in my case), but obviously the less the better. Yet again, like during pregnancy.

The second question, asked by those living in San Franciscio, is whether I am eligble for a marjiuana card.

The same people all tell of someone they know, or have heard of, that inhaled marijiana ("which is natural and must be better than all those pills") and did not have ANY bad side effects from chemo. This sounds good. On the internet you can also find many studies that have found that marijiuna can reduce the side effects of chemotherapy dramatically. It sounds like it's worth a try at least.

In San Francisco you can get a marijuana card if you have a medical reason for needing it. With this card you can buy marijuiana at so called weed clubs spread across the city. There are a lot of people with back pain in SF, I can tell you that, as there are more weed clubs than Burger Kings and McDonalds put together in this city, or so I have been told.

Cancer is on the list of eligble diseases. I looked it up. But you need a doctor to sign off for you, and mine won't. I asked.

So I am pushed into the arms of the underworld for this experiment- or maybe just a phone call to a friend, who shall remain anonymous, who knows someone with really bad packpain..

I will keep you informed.


S1

you that tall

xS2

Chemo # 2

Hello, dear sisters,

I am here, on the other side of chemo session #2. It went smoothly. It makes a difference when you know what to expect.
I have strange tingly feeling all over my body and a bit of a headache, but none of the dreaded nausea yet.
Kids are still spread across town, waiting to be picked up by A.
A parent from Rosie's school just dropped off a meal for us, which (for now) smells really good.

This will be the session that makes my hair fall out. They are already fallling strand by strand, but nothing major yet.
To compensate I have bought a second hand ostrich feather coat. I will wear it with my latex leggings.

S1