Back to Emergency

Hi Friends,

Catherine and I came back yesterday from a really nice few days in Cobourg. We saw her family and spent time with friends who came to visit from Toronto and Kingston. Before we left, however, I could feel some discomfort in my back. For about 20 years I've had a cyst on the left side of my lower back. It has been growing in size incredibly slowly, and, other than having it checked each year at my physical, I haven't needed to think about it. It was hurting on the drive back to Toronto, and when we arrived I asked Catherine to look at it, and yes, it was red. The last thing I needed was an infection this close to surgery, so, in we went again to emergency. We went to Toronto General and it was a zoo of people with respiratory illnesses and the flu. All of the care workers were in masks (I wore mine as well). The wait time to even check in was at least an hour and they weren't able to make any accommodations for people just of chemo (like they did the last time we visited). We signed the wait list, went outside to get away from all of the sick people, and decided to walk down to Mount Sinai, the other hospital nearby with an emergency department. Fortunately, the line was shorter and we could stay at more of a distance from the other patients. Once an isolation room was available, they let us sit in there until we were seen. After giving me some some blessed freezing, the doctor drained the cyst and packed the wound. I never thought that a cyst would become an issue, but, of course, chemo weakens the immune system so that you are unable to fend off infections from the outside or the inside. This thing has been dormant for 2 decades and then flared up this week. Oh well, better this week than next week, eh? Catherine changed the outside dressing once today (it looked pretty nasty with lots of bruising and the like), and a home care nurse will be by in a few days to repack it. I'm back on the couch tonight, sore, but ok.
Chemo truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Much love,
Kip