Train ride

I woke up this morning to find the windows coated with ice… The promised ice rain did arrive during the night, and it was rattling hard when I was getting ready to head to the train.  Don suggested that we leave early as he wasn’t sure what the roads would be like, but it was easier than he expected, so I got to the station quickly, and he returned home without incident, so I was very relieved.  On the train, I’m warm and well-fed, but the weather is dreadful.  We had ice rain for a while, then thunderstorms, and it’s pouring rain with flashes of lightning still.  Add to that, there are power outages in the towns we’re passing, so the train signals aren’t working as well as expected, so we’ve stopped and slowed down a few times.  We’re running late, and I’ll update on our progress as we go.  I left behind an annoyed little puppy who let me know that he disapproved of my departure, and also left some treats for Don… although I just remembered that I forgot to put some of them where he can find them.  Question:  do I tell him where to find it (and give away one of my more secure hiding spots for gifts) or just leave it until I get back home?  It won’t spoil, but it’s really meant for Easter, so it’ll be really late.  Thoughts?

The train ride is intended in part as a trial run for how well I cope with travel.  It’s a total of 6 hours on board, plus some waiting time, so overall just under 8 hours.  A flight to Toronto is 1 hour, but then I spend 3+ hours waiting before departure, and another 2-3 from the airport to home, so about the same duration.  A flight to Trinidad is 6 hours, plus security waiting time, so about the same again.  It gives me an idea of how well I cope with being seated this long.  The short answer is “poorly” as I generally reach a point where sitting is excruciating and I can’t do anything to change it.  This trip is a more effective trial as we’re experiencing delays due to weather, signal issues, and so on, so there’ve been several stoppages and slowdowns, not unlike airport delays.  I think I’ll need a lot of rest to recover from this; I’ve already taken some of my “breakthrough” medications and the pain is not abating.  I hate having to admit that my body is a dreadful traitor that is disappointing my plans, and I’ll therefore have to consider carefully how to safeguard my strength.    Swearing about cancer will just momentarily relieve my feelings but otherwise accomplish nothing, so I’ll save my energy for staying upright.  Happily (there is always an upside; the challenge is to look for it!) they do feed me well on the train, and I’m sipping on a hot cup of tea as we crawl past some muddy farmland through weepy windows!

You guys know that I’ve got this bias towards trusting the scientific approach and relying of robust research, as opposed to “health” bloggers who advocate questionable practices. But like everyone else, I have a collection of nostrums (home remedies) that I use for different, minor ailments.  Like I’ll rub menthol on my feet and wear socks if I feel sniffly.  My explanation is that my feet feel warmer, and therefore I breathe more easily.  It makes more sense than the “eat 3 bananas to cure melanoma” nonsense.  (We’ve just stopped again!  This train has spent most of its time in park on this trip, it seems!!)  In most cases, when people start sharing their “secret that BigPharma doesn’t want you to know” things, I consign them to the junk folder and don’t bother.  But in the interest of keeping an open mind, I’ve researched a few treatments that seem popular.  These aren’t homeopathic; but they’re adjuvant therapies— things like massage, acupuncture, etc.  One of the cancer organizations offers them to supplement other treatments, so I thought I’d see if any of them are useful to me.   Since my back surgery, my team has discouraged the use of massage as I’ve fractured a couple of vertebrae and I have some odd responses where I don’t have sensation in some areas of my back, so I can’t tell if heat is applied nor do I feel pressure, so I can’t reasonably control how it can be applied.  Plus if I’m touched in certain areas I get what feels like an electric shock… all sorts of oddities that reduce the utility of massage as a treatment for me.  Then I’m on blood thinners (because of DVT) so acupuncture is also contraindicated.  Things like hot tubs, which have a certain level of comfort, are not great ideas because they’re basically a soup of infection, and unless the tub is drained, cleaned and filled just before I enter.. well… that’s just way too inconvenient and impractical.  So those treatments won’t be helpful to me.  It’s a pity, but there you are.  Then there’s mindfulness, which has become a major buzzword and it seems that everyone wants it incorporated into everything.  I realized that I do practice it, and meditation, and several other techniques — like journaling — in my daily routine.  Crochet is one of the ways that I use to ground myself, and this blog is a form of daily journaling, which I enjoy.  No, I’m not likely to start yoga, so please don’t ask.  

My train journey continues.  I missed my connection because we were over 2 hours late and our train pulled into the station 40 minutes after my connecting train was due to depart (it was about 20 minutes late.)  I’ve been moved to the last train of the night, which adds another almost 3 hours to my journey.  They were good enough to put me in the lounge to wait, and provided me with a decent turkey bagel sandwich for supper.  The lounge has a selection of soft drinks, so I’m ok.  There’s another hour or so before the (delayed) train is due, so I took another dose of my pain medication, made myself a cup of camomile tea, and I’m sitting mostly comfortably to wait.  I anticipate a challenging time over the next couple of days, and some disappointed small people who won’t be able to climb all over Auntie first thing in the morning.  Missing my boys a bit, as they’re usually nearby, and my lap feels cold and empty without the Jerry-pup snuggled up on me.  I’ll just rest a bit, and will update tomorrow on the end of this saga.  Good night!