“Es it haf you eated or eaten?” The woman about to draw my blood wanted an English lesion along with the blood. She gave the best needle I’ve ever had… “Regardez-vous les montains. Take a breath, let it out.” I never felt the needle go in. When I told her how good she was, she pumped her arms and said “Oui.” Her brother-in-law is from “Breeten.” We both loved each others accents.
Back to the waiting room, where an elderly Greek woman, raised in Alexandria and now living in Geneva and I chatted.S he’d worked at the hospital for 36 years and was there to check her markers for ovarian cancer. We both agreed how lucky we were to be treated there.
Then Dr. Klug appeared. He was the one who had shocked me with and without my left hand in ice water for a pain test. He had a follow up survey and needed to do a brief exam which involved running first a tiny paint brush and the point of a safety pin over my cancer scar. Sounds kinda perverted doesn’t it. He was surprised I remembered his Van Gogh (and I made sure I said it Gawk no Go) poster and mouse pad.
I asked him how the study was going and he said the data was way off all the literature. The patients were experiencing very little pain and now they needed to know why.
Finally I got to see De El H, for the last time because she’s returning to Morocco. All was normal in all tests and the anti cancer pill has caused no side effects.
I’m doctor free inshallah until Nov. 7 for a control.
