Two Lucky

Bring on the Taxotere, by Phil and Pam

A quiet evening

It’s not easy getting chemotherapy in a country where you barely speak the language. But this is the best decision for now. If Jesse quits his job, he will lose his insurance. If I quit mine, I will be in debt for nearly half a million dollars.

There is a lot of truth in what people say about money. It is freedom.

From 8am till 4pm, I stay with Jesse in the ambulatory outpatient unit of the hospital in Paris. It is like the old bio-chemo times at the hospital of UPenn, but much easier. No puking, no chills, no fever. The nurses warn us that that may kick in later but so far, so good. Jesse is unimpressed, my dear boy.

Dinner is light. We eat at home, a simple spread of multi-grain bread with grapes, cheese and prosciutto. No wine, but sparkling water with fresh lemon. Entertainment? Our favorite comedy TV show, Saturday Night Live. “I hope Debby Downer comes on tonight,” Jesse says.

It is so comforting to be sated simply, to know that it takes only this much to feel loved, to feel fulfilled. Why did it have to take such particular hardship for us to find our way?

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 25th, 2006 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Melanoma, Couplehood, Seoul. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.