I Am NOT A Pincushion or Mondays and Fridays

In the expanse of 6 days I had received:

-a blood draw for an oncologist appointment
-a needle core biopsy
-a finger stick for a blood count
-a flu shot

Needless to say after those 6 days I was completely done being poked and prodded at. On the plus side all of the poking and prodding resulted in a clean bill of health for me, which, given my tawdry medical history is a really good thing.

That being said, I just read this article online: When vital drugs run out, patients pay the price. In summary, drug companies aren't making enough or certain drugs (whether due to cost, or due to generic forms or what have you) so there are shortages or various medications. The article spoke about how one cancer patient wouldn't be able to receive part of his chemo due to the shortage of leucovorin (which is used to boost the effectiveness of the other chemo drugs the patient is receiving). What? Are we in some third world country? Are we woefully behind the times? I can't even imagine getting this kind of news from your doctor. What struck me though was the photo. One look at that recliner and iv stand and I was wooshed back 6 (SIX!) years. Mondays and Fridays spent in the room, hooked up to medicine that battled the hell out of me in the interest of making me better. Mondays and Fridays spent watching mindless television (I don't know why, but me and my fellow patients usually watched the Food Network - which is odd since most of us had issues with food at the time.) or movies I brought from home. Mondays and Fridays guzzling down root beer to get rid of the awful metallic taste brought on by my chemo. Mondays and Fridays being the person in the recliner, but still feeling better emotionally than the person watching me in the recliner. Mondays and Friday nights spent recouping and just feeling miserable. I know exactly what the man in the blue shirt is thinking and feeling and it hurts like hell.