My doctor's appointment yesterday brought the news that a CT scan taken days earlier showed a greater-than-expected decrease in the size of my cancer.
This, along with an increase in white blood cell counts from my two most recent tests, and a decrease in side effects (nausea and fatigue) from chemo, led my doctor to pronounce me clear to proceed (between continuing treatments) with normal life -- work, gym-going, even travel -- "as tolerated".
I like that "as tolerated" very much. If you can find a friendly doctor to write a similar note for you, I suggest you do so, and keep it on your person at all times.
If Pascal was correct, and all of man's trouble stems from his inability to sit quietly in his room, "as tolerated" may be the perfect prescription for sanity for us all.
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5 comments:
That's great news!
From as early as his eighteenth year, Pascal suffered from a nervous ailment that left him hardly a day without pain. In 1647, a paralytic attack so disabled him that he could not move without crutches. His head ached, his bowels burned, his legs and feet were continually cold, and required wearisome aids to circulate the blood; he wore stockings steeped in brandy to warm his feet. Partly to get better medical treatment, he moved to Paris with his sister Jacqueline. His health improved, but his nervous system had been permanently damaged. Henceforth, he was subject to deepening hypochondria, which affected his character and his philosophy. He became irritable, subject to fits of proud and imperious anger, and seldom smiled.
In October 1654, Pascal is said to have been involved in an accident at the Neuilly bridge where the horses plunged over the parapet and the carriage nearly followed them. Fortunately, the reins broke and the coach hung halfway over the edge. Pascal and his friends emerged unscathed, but the sensitive philosopher, terrified by the nearness of death, fainted away and remained unconscious for some time.
Pascal's ascetic lifestyle derived from a belief that it was natural and necessary for man to suffer. In 1659, Pascal fell seriously ill. During his last years, he frequently tried to reject the ministrations of his doctors, saying, "Sickness is the natural state of Christians."
... his death came just two months after his 39th birthday. (From wikipedia.)
I can see why he'd think that we should all sit quietly in our rooms.
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