I just got back a little while ago from my latest visit for chemotherapy.
They insist on setting my appointments as early as possible, so I have to leave
Smallville in the wee hours of the morning in order to arrive in Gotham during
the middle of the morning rush hour. For a long time I noticed that gasoline
prices in Gotham averaged anywhere from 15 to 25 cents cheaper than local. Since it takes almost three quarters of a
tank to get there and back, I developed the habit of leaving town with just
enough gas to get me there (with a little to spare) and filling my tank with
the cheap stuff. Suddenly something changed.
Gas in Gotham was more expensive there than it was in Smallville. I figured it
was just a temporary thing the first couple of times, but after three times I
figured I’d better fill up before I left. Gotcha! Gas was twenty cents cheaper
in Gotham today. Some days you just can’t catch a break.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve had some side
effects from the new treatments. Most noticably, I've had a lot of itching on my back,
shoulders and knees. Scratching at the itches has left a few small scabby
places which I sort of expected…I wasn’t too concerned. The nurse asked me
about the itch today, how it was doing, which I told her wasn’t severe and
showed her one of my shoulders. “Hmm,” she said, “not too bad but we’d better
have the doctor take a look at it.”
Doctor Whoosh arrived within a few minutes and took a quick
look. “We’re going to give you a treatment today, but we need to postpone your
next treatment for a couple of weeks and put you on some steroids to clear that
up. I’ve seen this before in some of my patients and my concern is that if it
gets worse, your skin could fall off.” I
thought he was joking, but he wasn’t smiling. He was serious. Terrific, just what
I need…my skin sloughing off like an escapee from The Walking Dead. If I start moaning “BRAINZZzzz,” and walking
with a pronounced limp, you’d better give me a wide berth.
Upon returning to Smallville, I discovered that my insurance
had denied coverage of the prescription for the steroids. I bought enough out
of pocket to cover me for a few days while I call the insurance people and
threaten to go Zombie Apocalypse on them if they don’t change their mind.
