Tuesday was yet another six-week visit to KU Med.  This time it was just blood work, a consultation, and a bone-strengthening shot.  Everything went smoothly except that once I got there, I noticed a large blood stain on the front of my shirt.  Once in a great while, the daily morning shot will bleed a little; it is an anti-coagulant after all.  I had noticed a few drops of blood when I was in the shower, but I'd put a Band-Aid on it.  Evidently that hadn't worked.  But all the results were within normal range, so nothing has changed there.  I don't mind shots, but the expensive one that strengthens the bones sometimes hurts a bit.  This time, the nurse said, "One, two, three," and I waited for the prick but felt nothing.  When I turned to look, she was taking the needle out. 

The physician assistant didn't seem as impressed as we had thought she'd be when we told her that we had stopped smoking--or at least switched to e-cigarettes.  We're using a modular system that satisfies all the characteristics that make smoking satisfying: something to do with your hands, inhaling, exhaling vapor, and tasting.  The system comes with a variety of flavored "e-juices" that soak a wick.  It's not a perfect solution, but it's a step.  The doctors haven't mentioned giving up smoking since the beginning.  One resident mentioned it a few months ago, but then said, "Oh, well, you've got terminal cancer anyway, so I suppose it doesn't make any difference."  So far, Mohamed has been perfect: not one cigarette in ten days.  I cheat about twice a day.