Hair today gone tomorrow?

Who would have thought my thick curls would give up the ghost so quickly? It is not just coming out from around the neck, but all over. It is going to be interesting to see how much I'll actually be left with after the next lot of chemo. I am scared to touch my hair because so much is coming out.

On the other hand I have to use all my will to NOT touch the itchy lumps around my neck that drive me crazy. I got an anti-histamine today so I hope that will help. I also have itchy palms. Isn't that a sign of madness? More likely madness is a result...I feel it coming on fast.

The radiotherapy team is just wonderful. They are not nurses, but every one of them has the qualities that you expect great nurses to have. Every day they make me feel like I'm the most important person in the world. They offer encouragement and endless words of advice and any little concern I raise is treated as serious and worthy. I don't know you thank them, but they are an exceptional bunch of people with amazing technical skills and fabulous people skills.

My lift to Rotorua on Friday was an experience. The other passenger is at the end of his treatment. He was the oldest person here at the Lodge - 92. His hearing aid batteries were running down and my ulcers were making it very painful for me to talk, so the driver, his neighbour and friend, had a hard job keeping conversation going. She has just lost her husband after 55 years of marriage. So two things, funny how many people 'lose' their life partners, like I must have put him down somewhere but I can't remember where; and then like how old is Ngaire anyway. She put her foot down and we went, mostly 20 k over the limit for whatever speed zone we were in at the time. She flew past trucks at the crests of hills and sat close and lead-footedly on the tail of the hapless driver with a trailer that she complained wasn't even carrying any weight so why should it be travelling so slowly. Isn't the speed limit 90 when towing? Turns out she was a stock car driver and took part in the first women's stock car race event in NZ. Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Meanwhile I was nearly melting in the back because she obviously didn't believe in using the air conditioning. Stock cars wouldn't have such frivolities of course.