Steve Kay
Mar 15th 2006
MY UPDATE PAGE
March 15, 2006. Wednesday. I got up at 8:30am. Lydia was on time today. She arrived at 9am. She got the handicap placard and went down to put it in her car. The elevator wasn't working so she had to climb the stairs. She was breathing hard when she came in. She gave me a bath and then helped me dress. I just relaxed and took a little nap. Shari Carlson was due to arrive at 12noon.
Shari called at noon an was on the way down the street. She offered to get me something. I asked for half of a sandwich and a Chai Tea Latte. She got them and came up stairs. We hung out and talked until 1:30pm. Shari left. We had a nice time.
After Shari the next thing I had on my schedule was Open Hand. They arrived at about 3:10pm. Today they brought me 2 lunches since I have a session with Carlos tomorrow and will not be here when they deliver. I had breaded fish, carrots and boiled potatoes. After I finished my Open hand meal I waited for Cheryl to call. She called at 3:30pm.
Cheryl and I did updates for what was available and what I had requested. I also decided I didn't need so much from the store now that Open Hand was bringing me meals. Cheryl arrived at 5pm with the groceries. The Apria oxygen was supposed to be delivered yesterday but the said it would be rescheduled for today. It hadn't arrived yet and I called them. Diana said she would check it out and call me back. She didn't. I then began calling each of the 4 drivers on their cell phones to find out what was going on. I got a hold of Ed who text messaged Rafael. Rafael brought me the oxygen. They came and went as Cheryl was leaving. I finally had some time to myself. I was 6pm.
I thought I know I want to go to the casino. I called Michael to see if he could take me. He said he could but would not be able to bring me back until after 10pm because he had an appointment at 8pm. I told him that was ok with me. He came by and picked me up. Off I went. I went to Lucky Chances casino. I got into a 3-6 Holdem game and I won 6 dollars. I then went to a 1-1-2 no limit game. I didn't do so good. I lost. I had an interesting experience for my last hand.
I noticed that I was having a hard time breathing. I stayed at the table but checked my O pod. I noticed that the needle was in the green indicating that I still had oxygen under pressure but the indicator light that shows when oxygen was coming in was red. I thought oh oh. I got dealt my cards and I had AK clubs. That's a great starting hand. I raised. I got called by one guy. On the flop was 3 spades. I checked. He checked. On the turn I got a Ace. I went all in. I figured we would either tie or I would make him pay for a flush draw card. He called. When we turned up our cards he had an Ace and Queen of spades. Ouch. He wiped me out. Oh well. I then realized that I needed new batteries in the regulator so I quickly got up and went to the gift shop and got 2 new AA batteries. I put then in and everything was back to normal. I wished I had realized the message before I played the hand but also was glad I went to get the batteries and left the game instead of chasing good money after bad.
I called Michael and he told me to wait in the cafe. I did. I got some chicken wings and a piece of cheese cake. Michael arrived and hung for a few minutes. He then went to get the van while I went to get the black bag from the coat check. We both meet outside. When I got in his van I was huffing and puffing. It is getting close to the end. Just going from one side of the casino to the other I have to take a break for about 5 minutes just to catch my wind.
Anyway I am glad I went. Even thought I didn't win in the casino I still appreciate being able to get out for the evening. I told a guy before I entered the game about my lymphoma and he asked "can you get surgery and get a new lung?". I told him "no". He asked what could they do. I told him I could have had chemotherapy but I would have been dead by now rather than in the casino playing cards. He was very moved by my answer. He later gave me his spot in line and later offered to give me a piece of Tiramisu. I didn't take the cake but thought he was very kind to me. His name was Joseph and I will probably never see him again but I know he will remember our encounter for a long time.
Michael drove me home and helped me bring my black bag up stairs. He left and I started watching the Tonight Show. I typed this update and am now ready to go to bed.
Another quality day.
Steve
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