NOTE: Despite advances in science, and particularly in the fight against Cancer, there are still many unanswered questions. Scientists and doctors know that there are three ways to treat cancer; surgical removal of the tumor and a near area called a margin, radiation to kill cancer cells (it also kills some nearby healthy cells too), and chemotherapy - drugs - given orally, through intravenous drip, or by other methods. The larger issue is that even after over 100 years of 'modern' study doctors only really know two things ABOUT cancer. First, there are things (toxins) in our environment that alter cellular division process to initiate cancers, and that there are defects in our genes that can eventually lead to cancer, no matter how clean of a life one leads. After 100 years, it seems stupid to say, but scientifically accurate, "Cancer simply happens."
Research shows us that there are over 200 types of cancer, from those we commonly know about, to those that are so rare that their occurrence simply baffles the doctors treating the patients with the disease. So to is the 'pace' of the disease. Some tumors like those of the colon, can take 10 or 20 years to grow before becoming 'symptomatic' and thereby becoming 'noticed'. While others move so swiftly that many patients die within weeks or months of their discovery. The REAL battle then, for the scientists and doctors involved in patient care is to first identify the TYPE of cancer, then decide which combination of the above mentioned treatment options: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy - or a combination of the three will give the patient the best possible chance to outlive the disease that is trying to take over their bodies. Sometimes, to the patient - and their families - this almost seems to be not much further advanced than 'stone-knives-and-bearskins'. In some cases treatment is, REALLY, trial and error. If the patient is really lucky, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger."
CHAPTER 12: Uncomfy Chairs and Pink Clouds
After nearly two hours of counting the dots on the ceiling tiles of his room, Reg, leaned over to Polly, who had fallen asleep somehow in the chair beside his bed.
He wondered to himself, "How is it that in a place of 'healing' they make people sit on furniture that resembles some torture device from the Spanish Inquisition?"
His mouth was dry, he spoke softly with crackly voice, "Po-ahl-y, Po-ahl-y, Pols!"
"What is it?" she jolted awake, her iPad slipping from her lap skittering across the floor under his bed.
"I, I'm sorry, Reg. I must have dozed off. How long has it been."
"A couple hours, I think." Reg said, his tongue sticking to his mouth. "Can you sneak me a drink of water, sweetie?"
Looking around the pre-op bay, she didn't see or hear anyone coming beyond the curtain - just the hustle and bustle, beeps and clicks, phones and monitors beeping as patients waited their turn in the operating roms.
"You're not supposed to have anything before surgery." she said, looking sadly at her husband. He seemed scared, smaller than usual somehow. She walked to the sink, slipped a paper cup silently from the wall holder, drew a bit of water from the tap - thankfully it made no noticeable noise.
She turned to her husbands bed, "Here." she whispered, "drink quick... and just a little."
As he sipped the cool water, Reg leaned back, thinking to himself again, "God, I never realized how good a simple mouthful of water could be."
The cup had barely hit the bottom of the nearby wastebasket when the curtain was flung open by a huge nurse, wearing what seemed like a pink cloud over her apparently enormous hair. Her face, that resembled smooth milk-chocolate, sat somewhere between the cloud and the floral-garden of a gown she was wearing.
"High there cutie. We gonna get you some sleepy-sleepy medicine ta hep you relax a bit! My name name is Catrice, and we gonna take good care o' you, chile'!" she deftly lifted the syringe in one hand and an alcohol swab in the other, cleaned the IV port, poked the needle in and in only few heart-beats her smile got biiiiiger. He looked at Polly and her eyes were biiiiger, his eyes wandered down to the button that she forgot to re-do in the office, and his smile, got biiiiger!!!
Polly leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, "My, my, nurse what ever you gave him sure has made him happy! I haven't seen that big of a smile in a long time."
Catrice worked her around the foot of the bed, took Polls tiny hand and placed it on the arm of her droopy eyed husband. "It won't be long now honey, chile." Polly looked at her husband, held his hand and when she turned around to thank Catrice, the nurse was gone. She had slipped way quitely...like the pink cloud on her head.
Chapter 13: Of Purple Haze and Percentages
With the happy meds flowing through his veins. Reg layed there, trying to stay awake as Dr. Warfel started explaining the procedure. Somewhere between 'abdominal incision' and 'remove the tumor' a technician walked by with an iPod blaring 'Purple Haze', by Jimmi Hendirx, and the lyrics, combined with the drugs made it difficult for him to follow along...
Purple haze all in my brain lately things don't seem the same...
Dr. Warfel continued, "...due to his advanced condition we will have to use a special chemical bath to remove the upper layer of skin...the 'stratum corneum', in order to allow the chemotherapy process we will use to be more effectively absorbed into his system..."
Things were really getting fuzzy, Reg was sure he had hard wrong. "Remove my skin? What?" he wanted to ask, but what came out was, "...actin funny....kiss the sky. Wha-wha!" He glanced, again at his wifes ample bosoms....
Polly held his hand, "What was that, Honey?" She leaned in to kiss him again. That silly smile returned.
Reg tried to refocus on what was being said, but all he heard in his head was.
Purple haze all around don't know if I'm going up or down am I happy or in misery?
He could see Polly nodding her head, trying to absorb everything that was being said.
"During the excoriation process, it is good that he will be under heavy sedation, because, were he awake, he would be in excrutiating pain." the doctor continued.
Reg saw Polly signing more papers as a nurse had handed her a clip-board and pen.
"There could be complications, since this is an experimental treatment, there is about a 10% chance that the polychemical bonding process will be permanent."
Research shows us that there are over 200 types of cancer, from those we commonly know about, to those that are so rare that their occurrence simply baffles the doctors treating the patients with the disease. So to is the 'pace' of the disease. Some tumors like those of the colon, can take 10 or 20 years to grow before becoming 'symptomatic' and thereby becoming 'noticed'. While others move so swiftly that many patients die within weeks or months of their discovery. The REAL battle then, for the scientists and doctors involved in patient care is to first identify the TYPE of cancer, then decide which combination of the above mentioned treatment options: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy - or a combination of the three will give the patient the best possible chance to outlive the disease that is trying to take over their bodies. Sometimes, to the patient - and their families - this almost seems to be not much further advanced than 'stone-knives-and-bearskins'. In some cases treatment is, REALLY, trial and error. If the patient is really lucky, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger."
CHAPTER 12: Uncomfy Chairs and Pink Clouds
After nearly two hours of counting the dots on the ceiling tiles of his room, Reg, leaned over to Polly, who had fallen asleep somehow in the chair beside his bed.
He wondered to himself, "How is it that in a place of 'healing' they make people sit on furniture that resembles some torture device from the Spanish Inquisition?"
His mouth was dry, he spoke softly with crackly voice, "Po-ahl-y, Po-ahl-y, Pols!"
"What is it?" she jolted awake, her iPad slipping from her lap skittering across the floor under his bed.
"I, I'm sorry, Reg. I must have dozed off. How long has it been."
"A couple hours, I think." Reg said, his tongue sticking to his mouth. "Can you sneak me a drink of water, sweetie?"
Looking around the pre-op bay, she didn't see or hear anyone coming beyond the curtain - just the hustle and bustle, beeps and clicks, phones and monitors beeping as patients waited their turn in the operating roms.
"You're not supposed to have anything before surgery." she said, looking sadly at her husband. He seemed scared, smaller than usual somehow. She walked to the sink, slipped a paper cup silently from the wall holder, drew a bit of water from the tap - thankfully it made no noticeable noise.
She turned to her husbands bed, "Here." she whispered, "drink quick... and just a little."
As he sipped the cool water, Reg leaned back, thinking to himself again, "God, I never realized how good a simple mouthful of water could be."
The cup had barely hit the bottom of the nearby wastebasket when the curtain was flung open by a huge nurse, wearing what seemed like a pink cloud over her apparently enormous hair. Her face, that resembled smooth milk-chocolate, sat somewhere between the cloud and the floral-garden of a gown she was wearing.
"High there cutie. We gonna get you some sleepy-sleepy medicine ta hep you relax a bit! My name name is Catrice, and we gonna take good care o' you, chile'!" she deftly lifted the syringe in one hand and an alcohol swab in the other, cleaned the IV port, poked the needle in and in only few heart-beats her smile got biiiiiger. He looked at Polly and her eyes were biiiiger, his eyes wandered down to the button that she forgot to re-do in the office, and his smile, got biiiiger!!!
Polly leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, "My, my, nurse what ever you gave him sure has made him happy! I haven't seen that big of a smile in a long time."
Catrice worked her around the foot of the bed, took Polls tiny hand and placed it on the arm of her droopy eyed husband. "It won't be long now honey, chile." Polly looked at her husband, held his hand and when she turned around to thank Catrice, the nurse was gone. She had slipped way quitely...like the pink cloud on her head.
Chapter 13: Of Purple Haze and Percentages
With the happy meds flowing through his veins. Reg layed there, trying to stay awake as Dr. Warfel started explaining the procedure. Somewhere between 'abdominal incision' and 'remove the tumor' a technician walked by with an iPod blaring 'Purple Haze', by Jimmi Hendirx, and the lyrics, combined with the drugs made it difficult for him to follow along...
Purple haze all in my brain lately things don't seem the same...
Dr. Warfel continued, "...due to his advanced condition we will have to use a special chemical bath to remove the upper layer of skin...the 'stratum corneum', in order to allow the chemotherapy process we will use to be more effectively absorbed into his system..."
Things were really getting fuzzy, Reg was sure he had hard wrong. "Remove my skin? What?" he wanted to ask, but what came out was, "...actin funny....kiss the sky. Wha-wha!" He glanced, again at his wifes ample bosoms....
Polly held his hand, "What was that, Honey?" She leaned in to kiss him again. That silly smile returned.
Reg tried to refocus on what was being said, but all he heard in his head was.
Purple haze all around don't know if I'm going up or down am I happy or in misery?
He could see Polly nodding her head, trying to absorb everything that was being said.
"During the excoriation process, it is good that he will be under heavy sedation, because, were he awake, he would be in excrutiating pain." the doctor continued.
Reg saw Polly signing more papers as a nurse had handed her a clip-board and pen.
"There could be complications, since this is an experimental treatment, there is about a 10% chance that the polychemical bonding process will be permanent."
Pink-Cloud-Chocolate Nurse pushed more happy sauce into his IV and Reg felt himself slipping... He wanted to ask, "WHAT could become permanent?" But all that came out was..."...you got me blowing, blowing my mind....tomorrow....end of time."
Again, he noticed Polly holding his hand, looking away from all the papers she was signing. What Polly noticed was Reg, reaching for her breast as he lay their with that smile on his face again. She looked around to be sure no one else noticed, and placed her husbands wandering hand under the blanket.
The last things Reg heard as he felt a cool breeze across his face and the motion of the gurney being wheeled into the operating room was SOME doctor, rushing in, seemingly frustrated about something, "Dr. George, this has NEVER been tried, full scale on a HUMAN! There is a 50% chance it won't work at all. What if something goes wrong?"
The blue masked Dr. George, turned to the green-striped Dr. 'Frustrated' and said, "Don't worry...this procedure is entirely safe...nothing could go wrong."
Reg made one final attempt at protest, but all he heard in his head was,
"...help me, help me, i don't know, can't go on like this, blow my mind."
What he said was, "....blow my mind, blow my mind!"
Pink Cloud Chocololate Lady lowered the mask saying...."You can be SURE of that honey, chile, now breathe..."
Chapter 14: 'Lifestyle changes'? Are you KIDDING ME?
When Reg finally opened his eyes, he noticed something. He couldn't 'feel' anything else. The last time he had this sensation was when Calvin 'The Crusher' McGurt pile drove him into the mat during his senior year on the wrestling team, the pinched nerve in his neck, left him paralyzed for a week before the swelling went down and he regained his senses.
So, much like that time on the mat, he lay there, trying to take bodily stock. He blinked. O.K. eyes work. He opened and closed his mouth. O.K. jaw works. He moved his head side to side to side and was met with a strange sensation - his head felt wet, and like it was suspended in Jello. He tried to lift his head. No luck, it seemed it was strapped down. Before he cold continue his self-check, he heard a familiar, comforting voice, his wife Polly was speaking.
"Honey, Honey, Reg? You're awake!" Polly announced. Reg wondered why she wasn't holding his hand. She always his hand. It was her way, whenever she talked to him, she held his hand.
"Arrrrrgh! Owwwww!" is what came out of Regs' mouth, as searing pain, like someone raking a thousand red-hot needles from his finger tips to his head. When the pain reached his brain, it became a searing white light that burned the image of his wife from his vision and repalced it with a strange outline, like a high contrast photograph or something.
"Reg, don't move! Don't move, you are still healing. Moving will only make it worse, make it harder for you to get used to things the way they are." Peggy said, still not holding his hand. Why couldn't she hold his hand.
A few moments passed, his mind cleared, and he tried a few words. "Wha, What? What hap - pened?"
He opened his eyes, his vision returned to normal, he focused on his wifes face.
"The doctors GOT the whole Colon tumor." she said, smiling down at him. He saw a quiver apeaer in her lip. "But, but...there was something else wrong...You needed a special procedure to keep you alive, because of the other cancer, the lymphoma." she paused to wipe a way some tears from her eye and to blow her nose. "I'm sorry, honey. They won't let me hold your hand."
Reg blinked again, attempted to continue his self-analysis, and every time he tried to move - his other arm, his legs, his feet, even when he tried to take a deep breath, the searing, tearing, blinding pain returned. Finally exhausted, he gave into the floating feeling, where there was no pain. When he finally opened his eyes again, his wife's face had been replaced by Dr. Warfel's tobacco stained smile, and the handle bar-moustached face of a new doctor.
Warfel talked slowly to ensure Reg heard and understood what he was saying, "Reg, Reg? Welcome back. Don't try to move. You have had major surgery. Life altering surgery. You need to stay calm. Dr. Emil George is here. He will explain what happened during your operation."
Warfels image switched places with George's between blinding bouts of pain. "Nurse, could you please administer 5 ml of Versed please. The patient's pain is returning, we need to pay close attention now that he is awake. I want him evaluated every 2 hours, please note it in his chart." The nurse tipped up a small bottle drew some of the liquid into the syringe, administered it through the hanging IV port, and in a moment, Reg's head cleared a bit, and he no longer felt the burning pain. The new doctor waitied for the medication to take effect.
Wearily, Reg moved his head slightly and looked at the doctor, "What....the....hell...happened?" he managed to let the anger and confusion slip into his voice.
Pulling up a squeaky stool next to Reg, Dr. George began.
"You have experienced new surgical procedures that will change your lifestyle forever!" he went on.
"Well, my friend, your colon tumor removal was textbook. We were in and out in about an hour."
Reg, blinked, waiting for him ton continue.
"Once we got the tumor we began looking around to see what other tissues were involved. This is where things got serious Reg. We discovered that your version of cancer had generated a rare form of lymphoma - we discussed this before your operation, remember?" George explained.
Reg nodded as best he could.
Reg looked around, saw Polly sitting on the other side of the bed now, "Why won't she HOLD MY HAND?!" he wanted to yell, but Dr. Goerge snapped his fingers to regain his attention.
"Reg! Reg! Stay with me, this is where it gets interesting."
Reg could tell the doctor was on the edge of his seat, he was also now fiddling with one side of his long moustache as he spoke. "We decided that no matter what we did, your lymphoma was so involved that we knew we had to move quickly to save you."
"If you remember, Dr. Warfel gave you a couple of rounds of a drug in capsule form before we did surgery, yes?" Dr. George asked, now fiddling with the other side of his moustache.
"Well, that medicine in it's capsule form was, um, less than effective. We had to move on to a new procedure." The doctor rose, spreading his arms as if in triumph over something and continued,
"You are immersed in a tank of a special biomemtic gel that is helping your body deal with the fact that, in order to more quickly and effectively administer the new chemotherapy, we had to remove several layers of your skin to allow the application of a special 'artificial skin' called XACTO." The doctor paused as if waiting for applause.
Reg somehow got the idea that he had made this speech before, or was practicing it for later. He looked down at his patient and continued.
"In what was a unique process my surgical team removed your old skin and applied the XACTO fabric to your body." the doctor seemed puzzled, seeking some kind of response.
Reg stared back at him, blankly, still not understanding.
"Oh, yes, yes, I have not explained. XACTO stands for 'X-ray Activated Chemo-infused Transdermal Over suit." the doctor announced, triumphantly. A look of frustration appeared on his face, as there was STILL no reaction to from his patient.
Reg continued to stare. "What the hell is this guy talking about?"
With a loud, humph, Dr. George twisted BOTH sides of his moustache before standing up. "I will try to make this simple. Instead of skin you have a synthetic-polymer and natural silk blend fabric which has replaced your regular skin." the doctor could see confusion entering his patients face.
He went on, walking around the tank. Reg realized now he was floating in a tank, of stuff that seemed like jello. He listened to the doctor explain.
"This special fabric is coated with a unique blend of chemicals to allow the full-body administration of a chemotherapy cocktail consisting primarily of 5-flourouacil which is being delivered transdermaly in a continuous process." again, a dramatic pause and a deep breath from the doctor.
Reg finally spoke. "My. My. My skin is gone? I am wearing some kind of suit that replaces it? The suit is delivering chemotherapy all over my body?"
"YES! My boy, you understand!" Dr. Emil George jumped in the air and clapped his hads like his team had scored a goal at some game or another.
"Now, all that you need to do is stay still, and spend another day or so and we can remove you from the gel and let your new skin cure to it's permanent state." the doctor announced, seemingly very happy with himself.
Looking at Polly for confirmation, Reg saw her nod her head, but she still did not look convinced that all was well. "The tank, Reg. That's why I can't hold your hand. But, it looks like your new skin will be a very pretty blue.... Kind of a Smurffy blue..."
Polly broke into a smile and a giggle, which brought the same to Reg, but when he laughed the pain return, but he didn't mind so much, trying not to laugh, looking into his wifes green eyes, and realizing that he was alive and he could get past the pain.
He had no idea just how much his life would change...
Again, he noticed Polly holding his hand, looking away from all the papers she was signing. What Polly noticed was Reg, reaching for her breast as he lay their with that smile on his face again. She looked around to be sure no one else noticed, and placed her husbands wandering hand under the blanket.
The last things Reg heard as he felt a cool breeze across his face and the motion of the gurney being wheeled into the operating room was SOME doctor, rushing in, seemingly frustrated about something, "Dr. George, this has NEVER been tried, full scale on a HUMAN! There is a 50% chance it won't work at all. What if something goes wrong?"
The blue masked Dr. George, turned to the green-striped Dr. 'Frustrated' and said, "Don't worry...this procedure is entirely safe...nothing could go wrong."
Reg made one final attempt at protest, but all he heard in his head was,
"...help me, help me, i don't know, can't go on like this, blow my mind."
What he said was, "....blow my mind, blow my mind!"
Pink Cloud Chocololate Lady lowered the mask saying...."You can be SURE of that honey, chile, now breathe..."
Chapter 14: 'Lifestyle changes'? Are you KIDDING ME?
When Reg finally opened his eyes, he noticed something. He couldn't 'feel' anything else. The last time he had this sensation was when Calvin 'The Crusher' McGurt pile drove him into the mat during his senior year on the wrestling team, the pinched nerve in his neck, left him paralyzed for a week before the swelling went down and he regained his senses.
So, much like that time on the mat, he lay there, trying to take bodily stock. He blinked. O.K. eyes work. He opened and closed his mouth. O.K. jaw works. He moved his head side to side to side and was met with a strange sensation - his head felt wet, and like it was suspended in Jello. He tried to lift his head. No luck, it seemed it was strapped down. Before he cold continue his self-check, he heard a familiar, comforting voice, his wife Polly was speaking.
"Honey, Honey, Reg? You're awake!" Polly announced. Reg wondered why she wasn't holding his hand. She always his hand. It was her way, whenever she talked to him, she held his hand.
"Arrrrrgh! Owwwww!" is what came out of Regs' mouth, as searing pain, like someone raking a thousand red-hot needles from his finger tips to his head. When the pain reached his brain, it became a searing white light that burned the image of his wife from his vision and repalced it with a strange outline, like a high contrast photograph or something.
"Reg, don't move! Don't move, you are still healing. Moving will only make it worse, make it harder for you to get used to things the way they are." Peggy said, still not holding his hand. Why couldn't she hold his hand.
A few moments passed, his mind cleared, and he tried a few words. "Wha, What? What hap - pened?"
He opened his eyes, his vision returned to normal, he focused on his wifes face.
"The doctors GOT the whole Colon tumor." she said, smiling down at him. He saw a quiver apeaer in her lip. "But, but...there was something else wrong...You needed a special procedure to keep you alive, because of the other cancer, the lymphoma." she paused to wipe a way some tears from her eye and to blow her nose. "I'm sorry, honey. They won't let me hold your hand."
Reg blinked again, attempted to continue his self-analysis, and every time he tried to move - his other arm, his legs, his feet, even when he tried to take a deep breath, the searing, tearing, blinding pain returned. Finally exhausted, he gave into the floating feeling, where there was no pain. When he finally opened his eyes again, his wife's face had been replaced by Dr. Warfel's tobacco stained smile, and the handle bar-moustached face of a new doctor.
Warfel talked slowly to ensure Reg heard and understood what he was saying, "Reg, Reg? Welcome back. Don't try to move. You have had major surgery. Life altering surgery. You need to stay calm. Dr. Emil George is here. He will explain what happened during your operation."
Warfels image switched places with George's between blinding bouts of pain. "Nurse, could you please administer 5 ml of Versed please. The patient's pain is returning, we need to pay close attention now that he is awake. I want him evaluated every 2 hours, please note it in his chart." The nurse tipped up a small bottle drew some of the liquid into the syringe, administered it through the hanging IV port, and in a moment, Reg's head cleared a bit, and he no longer felt the burning pain. The new doctor waitied for the medication to take effect.
Wearily, Reg moved his head slightly and looked at the doctor, "What....the....hell...happened?" he managed to let the anger and confusion slip into his voice.
Pulling up a squeaky stool next to Reg, Dr. George began.
"You have experienced new surgical procedures that will change your lifestyle forever!" he went on.
"Well, my friend, your colon tumor removal was textbook. We were in and out in about an hour."
Reg, blinked, waiting for him ton continue.
"Once we got the tumor we began looking around to see what other tissues were involved. This is where things got serious Reg. We discovered that your version of cancer had generated a rare form of lymphoma - we discussed this before your operation, remember?" George explained.
Reg nodded as best he could.
Reg looked around, saw Polly sitting on the other side of the bed now, "Why won't she HOLD MY HAND?!" he wanted to yell, but Dr. Goerge snapped his fingers to regain his attention.
"Reg! Reg! Stay with me, this is where it gets interesting."
Reg could tell the doctor was on the edge of his seat, he was also now fiddling with one side of his long moustache as he spoke. "We decided that no matter what we did, your lymphoma was so involved that we knew we had to move quickly to save you."
"If you remember, Dr. Warfel gave you a couple of rounds of a drug in capsule form before we did surgery, yes?" Dr. George asked, now fiddling with the other side of his moustache.
"Well, that medicine in it's capsule form was, um, less than effective. We had to move on to a new procedure." The doctor rose, spreading his arms as if in triumph over something and continued,
"You are immersed in a tank of a special biomemtic gel that is helping your body deal with the fact that, in order to more quickly and effectively administer the new chemotherapy, we had to remove several layers of your skin to allow the application of a special 'artificial skin' called XACTO." The doctor paused as if waiting for applause.
Reg somehow got the idea that he had made this speech before, or was practicing it for later. He looked down at his patient and continued.
"In what was a unique process my surgical team removed your old skin and applied the XACTO fabric to your body." the doctor seemed puzzled, seeking some kind of response.
Reg stared back at him, blankly, still not understanding.
"Oh, yes, yes, I have not explained. XACTO stands for 'X-ray Activated Chemo-infused Transdermal Over suit." the doctor announced, triumphantly. A look of frustration appeared on his face, as there was STILL no reaction to from his patient.
Reg continued to stare. "What the hell is this guy talking about?"
With a loud, humph, Dr. George twisted BOTH sides of his moustache before standing up. "I will try to make this simple. Instead of skin you have a synthetic-polymer and natural silk blend fabric which has replaced your regular skin." the doctor could see confusion entering his patients face.
He went on, walking around the tank. Reg realized now he was floating in a tank, of stuff that seemed like jello. He listened to the doctor explain.
"This special fabric is coated with a unique blend of chemicals to allow the full-body administration of a chemotherapy cocktail consisting primarily of 5-flourouacil which is being delivered transdermaly in a continuous process." again, a dramatic pause and a deep breath from the doctor.
Reg finally spoke. "My. My. My skin is gone? I am wearing some kind of suit that replaces it? The suit is delivering chemotherapy all over my body?"
"YES! My boy, you understand!" Dr. Emil George jumped in the air and clapped his hads like his team had scored a goal at some game or another.
"Now, all that you need to do is stay still, and spend another day or so and we can remove you from the gel and let your new skin cure to it's permanent state." the doctor announced, seemingly very happy with himself.
Looking at Polly for confirmation, Reg saw her nod her head, but she still did not look convinced that all was well. "The tank, Reg. That's why I can't hold your hand. But, it looks like your new skin will be a very pretty blue.... Kind of a Smurffy blue..."
Polly broke into a smile and a giggle, which brought the same to Reg, but when he laughed the pain return, but he didn't mind so much, trying not to laugh, looking into his wifes green eyes, and realizing that he was alive and he could get past the pain.
He had no idea just how much his life would change...
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