What's the time? It's time to get ill!

While I am fairly certain the Beastie Boys weren't referring to becoming physically sick, a slight shift of definition gives this line new meaning to me. I did indeed "get ill" today. Or at least, my blood counts confirmed that I am in a severe danger zone. I am once again in the precarious state known as neutropenia. My white blood cell count is less that 0.1, with the average usually between 3.5-11. As I've mentioned before, this means I have virtually no way to fight an infection. If I get any sort of fever above 100.5 degrees, it is off to the hospital, post haste, for me. So for roughly the next ten days, I will be cloistering myself in my house. But it's a small price to pay compared to the alternative. I'm actually fairly lucky: I have been doing a lot these past few days, going out and such. Who knows how often I could have picked up some little germy. The good news is I am taking my e-coli derivate shot, which will hopefully help my counts come up faster. And now, if you will please, allow me to segue into my Cancer Rant of the Day.

Health insurance sucks. I wish I could put it more delicately, but those are the words that came to me. By sheer, awful coincidence, our insurance just changed. Once again, I am indebted to my mom because she is taking care of all the ridiculous details. I wouldn't even know where to start. There is so much paperwork, so many nit-picky things, and really, it's all about the money. The last thing any of us need to worry about right now is whether or not all of this stuff I need is covered or not. My e-coli shots, for instance, are apparently no longer covered... I'm not sure though, that's just what one person said. And everyone you talk to says something different. I know all of this will eventually get figured out, albeit with many curses and threats, but it's still a pain to have to deal with it now. And hey, if it doesn't work out, I might just have a benefit concert or sell my spectacular hospital artwork. Haha, I could call it E-chords and stick-figures: help Caroline afford e-coli! But anyway, I just thought I'd mention yet another side of cancer, the red tape. I've gone over the mental, physical and other sides. It's important to note the paper side. Otherwise, that's about it. Hopefully tomorrow will be another good day. I hope it rains. I'm sick of all the sun and feeling guilty about staying inside. Enjoy Saturday. Pax.