The Italian Penicillin and a Permanent Piece of Jewelry

Today is the day for my port placement. I successfully moved the appointment up from tomorrow so it wouldn't interfere with my new plan to meet Dr. Shergill from the University of Chicago. This port is a big deal; they basically implant this circular device into your chest permanently. Well, permanently until you don't need it anymore, but sadly, I think this is just part of the ongoing journey. I don't really see a time when it would be taken out, based on everything I know so far. So, it's kind of like a permanent piece of jewelry, albeit a pretty unattractive one.

I have tough memories related to the port because every time my mom's port was accessed, she would be in great pain. She'd squirm and wince, and her face would just kill me with the pain, and there was nothing I could do. Every time they access it, they use a special needle that has to penetrate the skin anyway. I’m going to try not to be a p&$sy and suck it up but I’m already in pain - throbbing liver is a nuisance. Because my body is deconditioning every move is taxing and even my shoulder is being a pain in my ass. So, it's just tough. The chemo I'm getting has to be done through the port because I'm going to be carrying a pump for 48 hours with every cycle, which will be bi-weekly for this particular treatment, 5-FU, I think it's called.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. I'm going to do a separate post about my neighbor, Leslie, and her husband, Billy. But my Aunt Tina came back from her vacation, and it was the first time we saw each other since she found out over the phone. I hated that I had to tell her over the phone, but that was really the only choice. She came over, and we were so excited because she was going to make me pastina, which is very, very special in Italian culture, I think specifically Southern Italian culture. My nonna used to make pastina. They're tiny little pieces of pasta shaped like stars, made simply with olive oil, garlic, and cheese. It's just a beautiful, clean dish they call the Italian penicillin. I was so excited about that. She brought everything over, but unfortunately, we had really bad storms yesterday, so the power has been out since about 11 o'clock. It's pretty wild. We've had no light, no electricity. Apparently, a big power line went out outside my Gates of St. John community, and they're still working on it. So, we've been living by candlelight. It's daytime now, but I'm going to get up and take a shower and pull myself together for this interventional radiology appointment.

I will keep everybody posted on how it goes, but in the meantime, I'm going to drop a couple of images of pastina and the ingredients that go into it. And I recommend you give it a try. I realize this post today is a little bit of a bitching and moaning, but I’m gonna get through this and once this plan is blessed by all of these different world renowned experts my mindset will be different and I will be ready to go HAM on this cancer.