Author: Dennis

.: Mother
On friday I had the day off and I took my mother to another hospital to get a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) done on her lungs to determine if there were cancer-cells in her lungs that were easier to reach than the main tumor there, which is way in the back, close to her spine, and hard to reach for a biopsy. The scan didn’t take so long, but it took a long time for the radiology department to get to her, and for the radio-active contrast fluid (FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose) to settle. It took pretty much all day, but a lot of people came along, so it was relatively fun.

.: Nooooo!
Schools drop Holocaust lessons to avoid offence
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.: Gaming
I have had the chance to do some primo-gaming this weekend; I got my Warcraft on, and had a good time. I’m glad that TBC caused the game to become less raid-focused. On the other hand, the shake-up it has caused among well-established guilds is a shame.

Sadly, I haven’t been to do any RPG’ing over the last few weeks, and I miss it quite a bit. Hopefully we’ll be able to game upcoming weekend, though it’ll be Dennis’ birthday, so perhaps it’ll get canceled again.

.: Warhammer 40,000
I can’t wait to get Flight of the Eisenstein in the mail this week. I’ve been reading Sons of Fenris, which is the latest installment in the Space Wolf series, but it’s just not as well-written as the entire Horus Heresy series has been so far. Also, the installment after Flight of the Eisenstein, Fulgrim is almost out, so I better get to readin’!

Horus Heresy

False Gods

Galaxy in Flames

Flight of the Eisenstein

According to this article, the US is no longer at the forefront of technological development, so says the World Economic Forum. Nowadays, it’s Denmark. I’m sure that the fragile US economy, as well as the redistribution of funds due to the war has something to do with it. (Though I can’t support that claim.) Interesting enough is that the Netherlands scores spot number 6, just before the US (7) and after Switzerland (5). I would’ve thought we were traders, not innovators.

.: Work
I just had a very good work review, and a nice raise to go with it. I’ve received more and more responsibility within the company, and I’m enjoying it. My pay-rise wasn’t quite as stellar as Eva’s (mine was only 11,6%) but mine’s not fraudulent either! ;)

.: James Holden
I’m really enjoying James Holden, lately. Balance is fantastic, and At the Controls is also pretty good. I’m really curious aboutThe Idiots Are Winning, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of that yet.

.: UFC
I’ve been getting back into watching UFC and Pride FC regularly. I was so surprised that Josh and Frank both don’t like it because of the ground-work that comes into play with MMA. To the point where one of them (don’t remember who) said that if you’re a good stand-up fighter you won’t have to go to the ground. While that’s partially correct, there’s not a stand-up fighter in the UFC/Pride/Pancrase that doesn’t work on his ground-skills, because if you go up against those BJJ or Shooto guys you will be taken down, no matter how good your stand-up is. I haven’t seen Cro Cop’s UFC debut yet, and I’m also looking forward to seeing Quinton Johnson’s UFC debute, considering how he completely laid waste to Chuck Liddell in Pride.

.: Mother
My mother had to go back to the hospital on sunday evening, after being discharged for the weekend on friday. She didn’t like it, she’s bored and alone most of the time, and she misses the comfort and familiarity of home. She had a little freak-out yesterday as she talked to another patient who had been in the hospital for the last 9 months. She’s never been one to go and lay in bed, which is why she happily walked around with a headache for two months before she went to the doctor (who then ordered an MRI and discovered a tumor the size of a fist).

On friday they’re going to do a combination of a CT and a PET scan, where they pump her full of some radio-active stuff that responds to the abnormal cells in her lungs, in the hope of finding cancerous spots in her lungs that are more easily reached by bronchoscopy or surgery. The tumor in her right lung is way at the back, very close to her spine, hidden behind shoulderblades and ribs, so very hard to reach. They’d rather not do surgery just to get a sample for biopsy, so they’re going to see what else is out there.

I wonder if it’s possible to let her stay home most of the time, while she waits for friday’s CT/PET scan.

Meanwhile, the medication she’s taking to drain the fluid from around the tumor in her head are doing a wonderful job of keeping her less confused, more stable and less headachy. I think it also keeps her in good spirits, which is fantastic.

The last few days have been very difficult. On wednesday I was informed that my mother, after two months of continual headaches, was taken to the hospital for tests and not released, due to the fact that there was a tumor the size of an apple in her head. The next day it was shown that she also had a tumor in her right lung. All in all it’s been rough, but with my family’s dark and slightly morbid sense of humour everyone, including my mother, is in good spirits.

Realistically, we shouldn’t be, because her case is quite serious and grave, but it’s the way we deal with things, and in the end, going through it all with a smile on your face is better than lamenting it all and letting it bring you down. As dysfunctional as my family is, it was good to see them pull together and show overwhelming support. Some of the people I had to talk to I could’ve done without, but my mother appreciated each and every one of them.

I’m especially proud of my little sister, which is something which hasn’t happened before – we don’t get along so well most of the time – as she has shown herself to be very strong and capable of making the necessary arrangements for my mother’s stay at the hospital. Of course, she had a little help from me, but I was impressed nontheless. This weekend my mother is allowed to stay at home, and next week more tests are going to be done in order to get a proper diagnosis and determine the strategy of treatment.