On Reaching A Milestone

As planned, last week I drove to and from the hospital each day, and what a difference it made. My appointment time is 3.30pm, right at the hottest part of the day, and that as much as anything else was contributing to the amount of energy drained away, waiting for buses out in the sun, walking from one bus stop to another and from the bus stop to the hospital, all made for a tiring time. By contrast, the car journey starts a couple of minutes from my home and ends a similar distance from the main entrance to the hospital. There is an underground car park, so that the car stays reasonably cool while parked, and the bulk of the time there and back is with the benefit of air conditioning. Friday came, and I still felt fresh and full of energy. Yesterday, I reached a significant milestone; I had my 19th session of radiotherapy from a total of 38, so today I am on the home run. The finishing tape is still four weeks away, but it feels really goos to have half of my treatment behind me. The waiting areahas become quite a socila club, with the same faces in evidence every day, especially Miguel, José and the two Juans along with their wives. I have now been accepted into the circle and am included in the conversations, even though I may not understand all of it. But, oh what a laugh we had yesterday. We each have a small treatment card which we post through the door into the treatment area when we arrive, so that the radiotherapists know who is outside and can call people in in the order that they wish. Yesterday, one of the therapists stepped into the waiting area, held up a card which to my embarrassment, I immeditaley recognised and politely enquired whom it belonged to. To my shame I had to hold up my hand; busily chatting as I approached the letter box, I had calmly dropped my car park ticket through the door.