Sunrise outside Froedtert Clinical Cancer Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin on October 23, 2023.
October 23, 2023, 6:55 a.m.: Sunrise looking east from Froedtert Clinical Cancer Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, with downtown Milwaukee on the horizon at center, and American Family Field to the right.

Another Week: Number 44

by | October 29, 2023

Another Week

This was another outpatient week for Amy. Monday was spent up at Froedtert getting two separate chemo treatments, an infusion to protect against bone loss, and an injection to boost platelets. On Tuesday and Thursday, we had home visits from a very nice physical therapist who brought compression tubes to help the edema in Amy’s legs and gave her some exercises.

The rest of our time was spent in the tension between me repeatedly attempting to get tiny portions of food into my wife, and those suggestions either being waved off by her or vomited up by her minutes after consumption.

Due to this meager diet, bowel movements are near zero, so we’re trying to juggle senna, Smooth Move® tea, Miralax, prunes, and prune juice into her regimen of Ensure® shakes and tablespoons of actual food.

In between, we caught up on the horrific violence in the Middle East and the mass shooting in Maine via CNN Max, diluted by movies and sports.



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Chicago Bears 30, Las Vegas Raiders 12

I have watched sports pretty much all my life, but I’m not a huge statistics guy, nor do I have any interest in fantasy leagues. What grabs me is the psychological battle of wills — the determination and belief that can tip the scales on any given day.

From this viewpoint, I look for players with standout personalities. A great example would be the 1985 “Super Bowl Shuffle” Chicago Bears. They made a music video highlighting their individual personalities and, as a team, predicted a trip to the Super Bowl. Their “Punky QB,” Jim McMahon, may not have been an ideal quarterback on paper, but he was relentless. When, hurting bad, McMahon came off the bench in Week 3 to throw two consecutive touchdowns and beat the Minnesota Vikings on a Thursday night, I knew the team was going all the way.

So this year during the Bears’ preseason games, when I saw Tyson Bagent taking charge and scoring touchdowns, I was hoping he’d get a chance to start some regular season games. While I realize that QB1 Justin Fields has unique skills that can be astounding when the right circumstances come together, he has never felt like a real leader to me watching at home in Wisconsin. Sometimes I feel Moe Szyslak vibes from him.

Sunday, my wish came true. With Fields out, Bagent got his first NFL start and acquitted himself quitewell, leading the team with an enthusiasm rarely felt since 1985.



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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

We’re still scrounging for scary movies as Halloween approaches, so we tried this adaptation of the young adult (or really older kid) book series because
Guillermo del Toro wrote and produced.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was fine in the way it strung several of the tales and their standard tropes together as chapters in a horrific book.

But unfortunately, most of this stuff is old hat and the movie is aimed at people much younger and less jaded than we are.

 

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Nile Rodgers & CHIC: Tiny Desk Concert

While I’ve always been a guitar-based rock and roller, it’s funk and soul that gets Amy dancing, so Nile Rodgers hits a sweet spot that sways us both.

This Tiny Desk Concert with CHIC is pure joy — something we need more of these days. Amy couldn’t believe they did six songs. Tiny Desk Concerts are usually three-song sets.

She’s not in dancing shape these days, but her foot was tapping on the footrest of her recliner.

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