# Itâ€™s not over â€˜til itâ€™s over...



## The Backward OX

*It’s not over ‘til it’s over...*

I had thought, following my discharge from hospital six weeks ago, that it was all over bar the shouting.

Poor, naïve fool.

I received this letter didn’t I?

It was from the oncology department at our state’s largest hospital, telling me to present myself for an initial appointment in two weeks.

That was yesterday.

So, a couple of the scans I’d had done previously had revealed a suspicious nodule in my right lung.

For suspicious, read possibly malignant.

The Professor I saw yesterday said, “We think it’s some thyroid tissue that migrated. We’re going to hit it with some radioactive iodine, which you swallow in a little capsule. If the nodule lights up, we were right. And the radioactive iodine will kill it.”

Sounds simple when you say it quickly.

But, the catch is, I shall become highly radioactive. So, I get admitted to hospital and placed in a self-contained isolation ward for four days. And no internet connection this time. Just books. Plus staring from the window at the view. Four days. God.

My meals will be served by remote control. 

A physicist armed with a Geiger counter will eventually venture into the room. If he thinks the radiation has dissipated sufficiently, I go to another part of the hospital for a scan to learn the results.

Then I’m released. 

But I have to ride home in the back seat, as an added precaution for the driver. When I get home, for a week I eat, wash, and so forth, alone. 

I dunno about the internuts. Does radioactivity travel via electronic medium? Maybe you guys should avoid me too.

The good news is that cats are highly resistant to radioactivity. So at least I’ll have Riley to talk to.


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## Foxee

I'm sorry to hear it, Ox, this doesn't sound like much fun. I hope you take a notebook and pen in with you, too, and maybe you can write some. I've been trying to find some time for writing but becoming radioactive is a pretty extreme way to go get some solitude.


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## Sam

That sucks, OX. Four days in solitary confinement . . . ahem . . . I mean, four days in hospital without any outside contact sounds like torture. I hope everything goes well, though.


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## Gumby

Solitude, when it isn't self imposed, can really be tough. I think Foxee had a great idea, with the pen and notebook. I do hope all goes well for you, Ox. You've been through so much lately.


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## Ditch

Hang tough Oxman, medicine has come a long way. 100 years ago if you had this condition they would tell you to go and get your affairs in order.


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## TheFuhrer02

Hang in there, Ox. You said it yourself: "It ain't over 'till it's over." Fight till the end, Ox! Rooting for you! :thumbl:


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## Jinxi

You have been through a lot already Ox, and you will get through this. Foxee's idea is great. The best way to pass the time is to write yourself into a new world. I wish you all the best and I hope you get well soon. It has been a pleasure writing with you and receiving your advice. Hang in there.


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## Baron

The Backward OX said:


> ... the catch is, I shall become highly radioactive.
> 
> The good news is that *cats are highly resistant to radioactivity*. So at least I’ll have Riley to talk to.



So are scorpions and cockroaches.

I'll be watching the news for any  stories about a meltdown in Queensland.


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## The Backward OX

Foxee said:


> I hope you take a notebook and pen in with you, too, and maybe you can write some. I've been trying to find some time for writing but becoming radioactive is a pretty extreme way to go get some solitude.





Gumby said:


> I think Foxee had a great idea, with the pen and notebook.





Jinxi said:


> Foxee's idea is great. The best way to pass the time is to write yourself into a new world.




This might be an interesting experiment. I haven’t written on paper since I can’t remember when. Some people say keyboarding stifles creativity. We’ll see.

Thanks, everyone.


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## KarlR

Hang tough, Ox.  Four days without a curmudgeon will be like a lifetime!


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## Eluixa

Foxee said:


> I'm sorry to hear it, Ox, this doesn't sound like much fun. I hope you take a notebook and pen in with you, too, and maybe you can write some. I've been trying to find some time for writing but *becoming radioactive is a pretty extreme way to go get some solitude.*



Yeah, but sweet solitude is the thing that stood out, I gotta admit, even with the radiation [yikes!]. And a good book for when your hand starts cramping. Take care, dude.


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## Hawke

Oh geez, Ox. 

Well, hopefully the time will pass quickly. Write a lot, read a lot, sleep a lot. You'll be in our thoughts.


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## terrib

Thank God for Riley! Keep us informed, Ox..


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## Foxee

Write us before you go in.


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## ewan

Look on the bright side, when you cycle home in the dark you won't have to worry if your light batteries will last the journey.


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## KangTheMad

I'm just worried that OX will get some sort of superpower. That could never be good.


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## Candra H

> It was from the oncology department at our state’s largest hospital, telling me to present myself for an initial appointment in two weeks.


 
Have you presented yourself yet? How did it go?

If not, good luck and ignore my seemingly ghoulish over-eager curiosity. I worry about you, old man, is all.


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## The Backward OX

Candra H said:


> Have you presented yourself yet? How did it go?
> 
> If not, good luck and ignore my seemingly ghoulish over-eager curiosity. I worry about you, old man, is all.


I worry about me too.

Looks like I failed to make myself clear, again. The “yesterday” in the OP was the day I presented myself. Read it all again from that perspective; everything is in the near future.

But wait, there’s more. Before I even get to be radioactive man, I now have a diagnosed heart condition (atrial fibrillation) that takes precedence, as it can kill me much sooner than the lump in my lung; the lump thingy may yet be a false alarm. I’m taking digitalis as an emergency measure for my heart and am seeing a cardiologist on April Fool’s Day; god knows what hocus-pocus he’ll dream up. :scratch:


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## Candra H

Haha. No worries. I can either take comfort in the fact I actually got you on a poorly worded post or I can let that warm little glow slide and say, ouch! A cardiologist appointment on April Fools' Day...

Good luck.


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## The Backward OX

*April Fool indeed.*

Ummm...saw the cardiologist today. That worthy gentleman is referring me for what they call a Myocardial Perfusion Scan. He gave me no details, so when I got home I googled it, and it’s ghastly. 

More radioactive invasion.

I’m half-inclined to scrap everything. Forget the possible cancer in my lung, forget my cardiac disease, forget my ingrown toenail. I’ll just ask the plumber’s secretary to run away with me to the Greek islands, we can make whoopee, and I’ll go out with a bang.


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## Candra H

I don't know about ghastly so much as stressful, though being injected with a radioactive substance cant be fun for anyone. Not sure if a CT scan would be better or worse.

I also got googly and after reading about the difference between your impending perfusion scan and a CT, I figure they're looking to see how your heart behaves during activity, something you wont get while lying on a bed.

I dunno. I figure you have to give it a go, regardless of the stress. If you don't and your medical conditions turn out to be fixable, I'd say the regret of dying too soon would definitely be worse. Mind you, you'd be the one dead so you wouldnt be giving a f*ck.


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## MJ Preston

Ox, reading your opening post made me laugh out loud. Tough as this may be I like your spirit and think you will bumble through this just fine. 

What you mentioned about cats being resistant reminded me of something. I used to transport truck-loads of Kitty Litter from Canada down to New England on a regular basis. After the crazies leveled the twin towers and everyone thought we Canadians let the Hijackers through, the border has never been the same. As a result, pretty much everything crossing now is checked for radiation and the Kitty Litter would set off the alarms every time I crossed. 

When I asked, the customs agent told me that the clay in the kitty litter has low levels of radioactivity in it. 
Perhaps that is why felines are resistant. If you pooped in uranium mine everyday you might be as well. 

All the best with this and keep us posted.


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## The Backward OX

MJ Preston said:


> After the crazies leveled the twin towers and everyone thought we Canadians let the Hijackers through, the border has never been the same.


I didn't know George Dub-y-a was living in Canada, eh. :-\"


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