10 December 2011

A Very Festive Spa

The chemo ward on the 12 floor of Mount Sinai Hotel & Spa is a jolly place this time of year. The fabulous volunteers are dressed in red and green, and bejewelled with festive accessories. The Scottish snack lady jingled as she speed down the hall with her wheeled  trolley.

In the spirit of Christmas, I brought a tin of homemade ginger cookies. I don’t normally bake (not fun) but my little sister gave me the best recipe ever, and chemo people love ginger. So do the nurses apparently, as they were beating out the Arrowroots as the cookie du jour.

No more Lazyboys for me at the Spa! I’ve graduated to a bed! This is much more fun as there is more room for my cell phone, my coconut water, my trashy movie magazines, and my big sister.

Of course the real reason is much more functional. I’ve switched up my chemo cocktails and the immediate side effects need to be monitored. One possible, and not so pleasing side effect, is the discolouration of the nails. Or worse. As a precaution we slip or hands and feet into plastic ice bags which may protect the nails. (Would also be handy for champagne). As a result, my sister had to turn the pages of my National Enquirer, and she was none to pleased.

Lying under a warm blanket, listening to my lovely nurse Marion talk about her Christmas plans, it felt like the start of a holiday. Of course, this is also my second last treatment, and there’s nothing more fun that saying "One more to go.”

I am no longer the new person there, so I feel quite at home. I actually look forward to seeing my nursing posse, and challenging myself to getting my IV without cringing. I wave to some of the other people, and we compliment each other on our hats. One young man, sitting in his lazy boy under his homemade blanket was giving me tips on how to use my ipad. I told one gorgeous bald woman how gorgeous I thought she was.  She translated my compliment into Spanish for her dad, and he was beaming.

By the time the Scottish lady wheeled her way to my sunny side of the room, she only had tuna. No egg salad, but it only slightly blemished the day.  Sister Sue and I were preoccupied by pictures of a topless Chaz Bono rollerblading down a Hollywood street, so we almost didn’t notice.

At 1:30 nurse Miriam, who was looking over our shoulder and eating a cookie, said “You know, you’re free to go anytime girls.”  So soon?  Well then Mt Sinai, see you in 2012!




1 comment:

  1. Congrats! One more to go!! Plse send ginger cookie recipe. nurse morgan

    ReplyDelete