Abby Ramona arrives in my hospital room just as Dad is leaving. She gives him a kiss. He says, “Goodbye Hon” to me and is gone. She brings me a large, iced mocha with whipped cream. Now that the surgery is over, I can resume my caffeine intake and I choose to do so in [...]
Posts Tagged ‘cancer and comedy’
Abby
Posted in Abby, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, domestic partnership, gay relationships, ovarian cancer on May 17, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Morning Shift
Posted in Morning Shift, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, divorce, family estrangement, ovarian cancer, sympathy on May 3, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Morning Shift When I wake up the morning after surgery, I see Dad, settled and dozing in the armchair next to my head. His tanned bald head is tilted forward, chin meeting chest. I understand two things without asking. One, that he and Mom, as if they were still married and not in the [...]
Another Flower Delivery
Posted in Another Flower Delivery, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, chemo, denial, ovarian cancer, sympathy on April 23, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Another Flower Delivery Flashes of yellow and orange bob above the window sill moments before the knock on the kitchen door. ”Come in!” I yell from my horizontal post-surgery station on the couch. This delivery woman has been here before and she brings this latest flower arrangement right into the living room. She pauses at the [...]
Pee in a Cup
Posted in Pee in a Cup, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, hysterectomy, ovarian cancer, pregnancy test on April 12, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Pee in a Cup When we are called in to prep for the surgery, I am almost relieved. Finally we will get to the reason I am here. In the curtained prep area, I get naked into a backless blue hospital gown and sit on the creaky rolling medical bed, the bed that will deliver [...]
Question
Posted in Question, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, gay parenting, hysterectomy, lesbian parenting, not having children, ovarian cancer, planning children on March 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Question The surgeon visits my partner and me the morning after the surgery. “How you doin’?” “I just got spayed,” I reply through a morphine haze. He thinks it’s the drugs talking. I squeeze Ramona’s hand. I feel the finality of the missing uterus, fallopian tubes, cervix, ovaries, eggs. All the female parts we learn [...]
Acceptance
Posted in Acceptance, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, ovarian cancer on March 11, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Acceptance First Attempt I have spent weeks writing, cracking myself up late into the night, anticipating stardom. Preparing. For. This. Moment. Standing on the Comedy Connection stage, lights reflecting off my bald head, a hot flash imminent, I say my first witty lines into the microphone and wait for the reward. It does not come. [...]
Steroids
Posted in Steroids, tagged cancer and comedy, cancer and humor, ovarian cancer, steroids side effects on March 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Steroids Everybody talks about chemo. Nobody talks about the steroids. I was prepared for nausea, hair loss, and constipation. I was not prepared for raging, homicidal hunger, manic decision-making, or outsized courage. After my second treatment cycle, the steroids hit my veins. Pizza-Hut on speed dial. Pop and bake Pillsbury cinnamon rolls lining the inside [...]
