Previews of Coming Attractions:

Saturday evening, the Washburn Alumni Association is giving me the Col. John Ritchie award at a reception and dinner on campus.  Ritchie donated the land for Washburn, which was founded as Lincoln College in 1865.  The award is for "distinguished" teaching, service, etc.  I came to Washburn in 1972, thinking I'd stay for a year or two before moving on.  I retired 38 years later, realizing how many great opportunities Washburn had given me.  I had a career that I loved with many smart and generous colleagues and with (for the most part) interested and interesting students.  The poet Randall Jarrell said that if he weren't paid to teach, he would pay to teach.  That's how I felt, though I never said so in public until I retired lest President Farley take me at my word.  Two women whom I never met, the aptly named Sweet sisters, endowed a one-of-a-kind summer sabbatical program that allowed me to spend eight or nine summers in Paris.  (As an American lit. professor, I did have to  be inventive to think of reasons why I needed to spend so many summers in France.)  I had four regular sabbaticals to work on research and four leaves of absence to spend years teaching and living abroad.  With Virginia Pruitt, I had the unique opportunity to work with Karl Menninger, a project that eventually led to four books and a monograph and that wouldn't have been a possibility had I not been in Topeka.  The award will provide a convivial occasion to share a couple of hours with friends and colleagues and to express my thanks for all that Washburn offered me.  (I'll just have to fortify myself with a couple of Imodiums and a nap or two beforehand.)

Monday I return to the KU Cancer Center for the whole battery of tests.  The schedule had been that I would go once a month for blood work, the hugely expensive bone-strengthening shot (now at $12,000 a shot after a price hike of $800), and a consultation with Jennifer Heins, a physician assistant; every third month, I'd also have scans, x-rays, and a consultation with the oncologist, Dr. Vanveldhuizen.  The schedule was changed last time to once every six weeks, with the shot once every three months, and more limited scans (this time only a pelvic CT scan was scheduled).  Since the pain in both my right leg, especially in the hip joint, and my left shoulder, where much of the scapula has been destroyed, has increased, I e-mailed Dr. Van asking whether the scans should be broader in scope.  When I taught, I always prefered e-mails to calls from students.  Calls led to phone tag; the students seemed to leave long, overly explanatory messages and then mumble their phone numbers at the end.  Dr. Van responded promptly, and Jennifer called, so I'll have more tests on Monday than were originally scheduled.  The tests aren't unpleasant, except that we have to be in KC at 7 a.m., and I can't have eaten or drunk for four hours before the tests.  Before the scans, I have to drink two bottles of liquid; they used to be thick "smoothies," then they became clear liquids that were supposed to taste like lemonade.  This time, the drink is supposed to be just like drinking two glasses of water.  The CT scans aren't difficult: they're like MRI scans except without the lengthy time in the enclosure and the banging.  After the tests, there's a two-hour wait to see Dr. Van so that he can have the results of the tests.  Since he always explains things very thoroughly (painstakingly, even), the wait is usually three hours, by which time I'm tired and grumpy.  Finally, I'll get the shot, and then we'll head back to Topeka.  Chances are good I'll fall asleep in the car.  Insha'allah, as they say, the results will be good.

Something I learned:  We like both Jennifer and Dr. Van a lot.  In person and in previous blogs, I had always called Jennifer, "Dr. Heins."  But the last time, I noticed that everyone at the Cancer Center calls them "Dr. Van" and "Jennifer."  Initially I thought this was some sort of out-dated sexism.  But then I saw that she had signed a prescription with her name, followed by PA-C.  I had no idea what that meant.  A few minutes after googling, I had learned a lot about the title 'physician assistant' and how prevalent and important this profession is.  I still feel awkward calling her Jennifer, though she is very personable.  The more you know...