Afterglow...

And people here at the Rehab keep asking me how my "Big Day" went, and I have a hard time knowing just how to respond. Yes, it took a little out of my physically to do all the things required of me...but if anyone thinks that sitting on a church chancel and paying attention for an hour-and-a-half while all sorts of people you admire and respect say wonderful things about you is hard work...well, you have another think coming. My only disappointment is that even more people couldn't be there to share in that experience...but I also know that there are plenty of folk who would have loved to have been there if they could, but for some reason or another were unable to attend in person. And if anyone has digital photos I would love to be able to post a few here. Call Me!

Meanwhile, back at the Rehab, I'm working hard on three basic things in order to be able to be discharged at the end of the week. The first is pain control, as I move off of the Fentanyl patch and back to some sort of oral medication that will be easier for me to manage on my own. The second has to do with mastering the last of my "ADLs" or "activities of daily living"-- basically figuring out how to go about my daily business given whatever level of physical mobility I have at the moment. And the last, of course, is plain old fashioned physical therapy, and the attempt to build up the muscles I haven't been using for the past five weeks, so that I am better able to perform my ADLs with the minimum amount of pain and exertion.

Discharge plans themselves seem to be shaping up much more smoothly that I had worried they would. Next stop will be the Independent Living wing at Seventy-Five State Street, where I will be living on my own in an accessible apartment back on the peninsula, but will also be able to eat three meals a day in the dining room there, and receive transportation to my medical appointments. Will probably stay there through at least the first two rounds of my chemotherapy, and maybe a little longer depending on how that goes.

The next stop after that will probably be back to my study at the Eastland Park Hotel, which I'm actually looking forward to quite a bit. Will probably try to spend a fair amount of time there anyway this summer even if I am still living at State Street, since it's a good opportunity for me to catch up on some of the work which often gets neglected amidst all the "activity of daily living," yet is essential to the health and vitality of an effective ministry. An imposed sabbatical. And God only knows whether I will ever make it back into my walk-up apartment on Carleton Street. I'd only planned on living there for a year anyway, while I scouted out the city and decided where I wanted to settle down in a more permanent residence. Hadn't planned on loving the space, the neighborhood, my neighbors so much.... But I don't have to figure this one out today. My lease isn't up until the end of July, and until it is...well, visitors welcome.