Thursday, August 31, 2006

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water

I haven't posted here in a while, and it's a shame that it takes a "life event" (don't you love those psychiatric euphemisms?) to bring me back.

My father-in-law was just diagnosed with Acute Myeloma Leukemia. That's right, boys and girls; cancer. The big C. Initially they thought he was just anemic because that's what this particular brand of nastiness does at first - it crowds everything out of your bone marrow so there is no room for red & white cell production.

He's on chemotherapy: something called hydroxia. He can look forward to hair loss, reduced energy, loss of appetite and other happy side effects.

A prediction: People who haven't contacted me in ages, even people whom I've tried to contact and gotten no response, will suddenly crawl out of the woodwork offering sympathy. Will they mean it?