Monday, March 9, 2009

Mortality! Mortality!

The 100 year old patriarch in our family, having survived a second hip joint operation, was back in his rooms only a few days when he had a “bit of a turn”. The doctor thinks he perhaps had a small stroke but there’s no obvious evidence of it.

On the phone last night he said that it was a good and gentle experience and if that’s what it was like to go then he wasn’t afraid and was ready. He almost wished he just could have popped off. Apart from the fact that the NZ taxpayers have gifted you this mechanical joint that’s good for ten or fifteen years or more, that’s a good thought, Dad. I hope I can be as relaxed about it when my time comes.

On the way home from the birthday celebrations we stopped off in Whangarei for my quarterly injection of Zoladex. My tests suggest that it doesn’t seem to be suppressing my prostate cancer as completely as we had hoped. My PSA became measurable again a few months ago and, though the figures are very tiny, is showing signs of doubling fairly quickly. That’s a bit of a disappointment, I guess, but we’ll probably add some other medication next time so I can do my best to outlive the old Dad by a respectable amount.


Meanwhile, we have a lot of life to get on with.... Watch this space!

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