Category Archives: Health

Unskilled and Bumbling

Posted on December 5, 2020 by John Swinburn

My wife’s first night home from another rehab center was uneventful, more or less. The event I was expecting—the arrival of a person to look out after my wife from 8 pm last night to 8 am this morning—did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | 2 Comments

Was It a Bad Choice?

Posted on August 8, 2020 by John Swinburn

My wife’s first evening in her new temporary home (a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility) did not have a pleasant start. Once she was situated in her room, she did not see anyone for several hours, even after pressing her … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health, Love | 3 Comments

Trying Times

Posted on August 7, 2020 by John Swinburn

The past several weeks—approaching a month, now—have seemed impossibly long to me. That span of time must have seemed far longer for my wife. Since she tripped on July 14, she has been poked and prodded and exposed to X-rays … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health, Love | 6 Comments

Friday Evening Roundup

Posted on July 17, 2020 by John Swinburn

I delivered Janine to CHI Rehabilitation Hospital (AKA Encompass) this afternoon about 6:15 p.m. It took all day for the process of referral to CHI to play out, I guess. By the time she was formally discharged (the paperwork said … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health | 5 Comments

More News

Posted on July 16, 2020 by John Swinburn

The only significant matter to report is this: the hospital seems to be leaning toward releasing Janine to a residential rehabilitation facility, where she can get ongoing care and rehabilitation physical therapy. But that will depend on several issues, including: … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | 3 Comments

Where Decency Thrives and Compassion Flourishes

Posted on July 16, 2020 by John Swinburn

A friend left a comment here recently, suggesting that some countries’ cultures have a gentler view of the world than ours. That is so true. Our culture evolved from hard-nosed individualism, shedding compassion along the way as if the desire … Continue reading →

Posted in Compassion, Health, Kindness, Philosophy, Selfishness | 1 Comment

Update

Posted on July 15, 2020 by John Swinburn

I’m tired, so this will be brief. Janine was moved out of ICU this afternoon to a regular room on the floor below. A while after the move, though, her blood pressure dropped precipitously, so the nurse said she may … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health | 4 Comments

Relief

Posted on July 15, 2020 by John Swinburn

Yesterday was impossibly long, beginning when I went to sleep after midnight, awoke at 3:30, and then played out during a day that stretched out almost to midnight again. My wife’s sister helped me get my wife to the nearby … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Health | 5 Comments

Life in the Times of Pestilence

Posted on March 18, 2020 by John Swinburn

We have no weapons to fight this war. Our only realistic hope is to hide from the enemy; play dead and hope the beast does not call our bluff. If we confront him, face to face, the best we can … Continue reading →

Posted in Covid-19, Health | 1 Comment

Restlessly Waiting

Posted on March 15, 2020 by John Swinburn

Avocado toast and bacon improved my state of mind yesterday morning. Lunch yesterday helped, too. We had leftover (from the night before) cioppino. My wife found a recipe that married the Italian-American dish to Korean flavors (the latter courtesy of … Continue reading →

Posted in Covid-19, Health | Leave a comment

Confronting Two Enemies

Posted on March 14, 2020 by John Swinburn

In the wake of a growing concern about a mysterious disease, when will a gnawing worry evolve into fear? What incident will cause fear to mushroom into terror, breeding deep suspicion of anyone outside our immediate circle? At what point … Continue reading →

Posted in Covid-19, Depression, Health, Hope, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Circles of Light

Posted on March 12, 2020 by John Swinburn

One of the definitions of corona, courtesy of the Cambridge Dictionary, begins with “a circle of light…” There’s more to it, of course, but I prefer to leave it there for the sake of clarity; clarity that even language is … Continue reading →

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Medical Delays

Posted on March 3, 2020 by John Swinburn

Yesterday, we delayed our planned departure to Little Rock by thirty minutes to accommodate some to-do items; it was a good thing we did. My wife got a call from her doctor’s nurse, saying she wanted my wife to get … Continue reading →

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Preppers and COVID-19

Posted on February 27, 2020 by John Swinburn

Preppers, or survivalists, prepare for a broad spectrum of emergencies: disruptions in the food supply, civil unrest, tainting of the supply of potable water, cataclysmic weather events…and on and on. Lately, talk of the novel (new) coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has … Continue reading →

Posted in Covid-19, Health | 3 Comments

Musing on Health and Such

Posted on February 15, 2020 by John Swinburn

Age is the enemy of good health; the greater the age, the more powerful the enemy. That is not always true, of course, but lately it seems to be an increasingly factual axiom. As I age, I increasingly engage in … Continue reading →

Posted in Emotion, Health, Logic, Mortality | 1 Comment

Through the Mist

Posted on January 7, 2020 by John Swinburn

I feel slightly more human this morning than I’ve felt the last few days. I’m not sure that’s a good thing, though. Feeling human means something different for me than it once did. No longer is it a matter of … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Philosophy, Religion | 2 Comments

More of the Same

Posted on January 6, 2020 by John Swinburn

My cold is no better. It’s probably about the same. Could be worse, but it’s hard to tell. I went to bed early last night, hitting the pillow before 9, but it was hard to get to sleep. Eventually, I … Continue reading →

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The Sickness

Posted on September 27, 2019 by John Swinburn

I’ve felt a little weak and feverish and achy for several days, as if I were trying to catch a cold or the flu. This morning, after I returned from having a blood draw in connection with my annual physical … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | 2 Comments

Not the Kind One Puts on the Roof

Posted on July 31, 2019 by John Swinburn

Day before yesterday, I mentioned in passing: “Night before last, I noticed some odd skin eruptions on the side of my face, just under and the side of my left eye. They have grown progressively larger in area since then. … Continue reading →

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Brittle Memories

Posted on June 25, 2019 by John Swinburn

It hasn’t been long since I finished my chemo and radiation treatments, but apparently I’ve tried to erase the experiences from memory. I say that because I returned to my radiologist’s office for a follow-up this afternoon and all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Emotion, Health | Leave a comment

Afflictions

Posted on June 15, 2019 by John Swinburn

Just over nine months ago, I went to my primary care physician to see about a persistent cough. Thus began my experience with lung cancer. At least that’s where my experience with the medical establishment’s engagement with my lung cancer … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | Leave a comment

Worry Does No Good

Posted on May 15, 2019 by John Swinburn

Most of the time, I succeed at keeping my health off my mind. But sometimes the topic surfaces and swings a machete, as if it has been waiting just beneath the surface of my consciousness for the the ideal time … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Depression, Emotion, Health | 2 Comments

No Imfinzi for Me

Posted on April 22, 2019 by John Swinburn

I’ve written before about Programmed Death Ligand -1 and the immunotherapy my oncologist recommended. Apparently, the drug she wanted to use for immunotherapy (Imfinzi (generic name, Durvalumab), which would be administered once every two weeks for a year, is very … Continue reading →

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Opening Death’s Door

Posted on April 6, 2019 by John Swinburn

Several days ago, I received a promotional/informational email from Liquor.com. The message contained a list of gins that, according to the sender, represent the best of the beverage. My wife, a gin aficionado who rarely drinks any alcohol, found the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health, Language, Liquor | Leave a comment

Cancer Journal 31, 2019 and Indiscriminate Musings

Posted on March 11, 2019 by John Swinburn

Barring unforeseen complications down the road, I completed what I expect was the last of my core cancer treatments today. The fourth and final chemotherapy treatment ended without fanfare just before noon today. I expected–based on my experience at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 2 Comments