State of the Ape XXV: Two Years Later
Two years ago today I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Thanks be to God, Who has been moved by your prayers — for which I am eternally grateful — I’m still here, still with my family, and still writing.

More health news than usual:

AFAIK, the cancer is still in remission. We’ll know more when I get my quarterly blood work done at the end of June. I’m getting closer to the end of my dental work: they put in a temporary crown today and I should get the permanent one in 2-3 weeks.

After a year free of major vertigo, it decided to come roaring back. I had my worst attack ever on the 12th. (Those who don’t need TMI can skip to the next paragraph.) It started at 3 PM. At first I thought it was just another recurrence of the mild episodes I’d been having lately; but it steadily worsened, with the room spinning, acute nausea, and repeated vomiting. After 8 hours with no letup (previous attacks had always lasted no more than 6 or 7 hours), we decided to call 911 (almost the first words from the EMT’s mouth were, “Why didn’t you call earlier?”). Despite doses of a drug supposed to counteract them, the nausea and vomiting continued on the way to the hospital, in the ER, before the CAT scan, after the CAT scan (mercifully, not during the CAT scan, and back to the ER. Finally I was given a shot of valium and — BOOM! — they went away.

On a more pleasant note, the Catholic chaplain visited me, heard my confession, and gave me the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick.

Upshot: I was in the ER Sunday night into Monday; they decided to keep me for observation and an MRI, so I was moved to a room. The vertigo never came back (Deo gratia!) and I was discharged Tuesday morning.

The aftereffects are: one, I’ve lost a lot of ground, strengthwise — it’s all I can do to take the shortest of my regular walks; and two, I’ve had a recurrence of another intermittent problem, positional vertigo (different from that caused by Ménière's disease), Fortunately, it does not usually cause nausea, and meclizine can be taken for this kind also. [UPDATE: No, it can't. Good thing I found out.]

Finally (I know I’m rambling on dreadfully, but it’s a commonplace that old people will talk about their health at the drop of a hat), I went to a dermatologist about a small growth on my face and it was diagnosed as basal cell skin cancer (not related to the prostate cancer; probably due to overexposure to sunlight when I was much younger). What impressed me was the complete nonchalance — in a good way — of the doctor: basically, “Hi there, it’s skin cancer, I’ll just take my laser and remove the growth, come back in a few weeks and we’ll dig out the rest of it.” It was like taking a car to the shop for a broken headlight. I love modern medicine.

OK — ENOUGH about my health.

The cover for The Adventures of Zoe, the Flying Rhinoceros, will be done by the same artist who did the cover for Murder at Minstrel Manor.

I’m almost done with the revisions to Edwina 2; I hope to have them done in — let’s just say soon — and then it’s on to Edwina 3, which I’ll probably have to start over.

Plus, maybe trying to turn out another short story or two.

Hope you’re well — God bless you.

Posted by Bob the Ape 6:46 PM