Cancer

by on May 18, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Mom has been getting steadily weaker the last few months, until she could no longer stand up on her own. Going into the hospital was with hope that the doctors could help her get stronger. They have treated multiple infections, but there is no improvement in the basic issue that she now needs twenty four hour support, and I physically can’t do that. After a week of seeking improvement that is not happening, we have decided to cease cancer treatments and go on hospice and comfort care. Now we wait for what comes next.

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Health and Illness

by on May 17, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

My mother’s uncle flew planes over Europe in World War II and came home to marry the girl he exchanged letters with. He cared for her when illness robbed her of her mind and she lived at home until she died. Another of her uncles farmed during World War II and had an accident that caused his foot to get gangrene. His wife cared for him until he died of old age many decades later. Family cared for my mom’s brother and sister when they fought cancer, and I did my best to follow their example with mom. In the end, I had to ask her doctors for help, and now she is in the hospital. You see, I have allowed my body to become unfit over the years. Pound by pound, I have let it slip since I had other things to do, and when I called on it to give her the care she needed to stay at home, I ran it empty. So I tell you all, look after your fitness. You will never know when you will be called to use it for a loved one, and failing that test is not something I would wish on anyone.

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Doctor Strange

by on May 16, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I saw Doctor Strange 2 over the weekend, and I have to say I was happy to see it before the story was spoiled for me. It made the twist hit a lot harder. I was entertained, and I liked it. One of the things that is nice about multiverse stories is you get to see a lot of interesting concepts, and they gave those to us in spades. And seeing Wanda truly unleash her powers was pretty amazing. That said, it is probably not a movie I will watch over and over again. It was a darker movie than many of the other MCU movies, or even the first Doctor Strange, and it doesn’t fill me with joy as much. I liked how Into the Spiderverse and the recent MCU Spiderman did the multiverse better. We didn’t get to see as many universes out there, but I enjoyed the stories more. And Spiderman’s optimism is always a plus compared to darker forms of Doctor Strange’s cynicism we saw in this movie. I give it one thumb up.

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Louis

by on May 15, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Mars has the largest population of any of Earth’s colonies, but is absolutely not united under a single flag. Every major and most minor nations have a colony on Mars, and that leads to more legal shenanigans than you shake a whole pack of lawyers at. Louis Mattioli excelled in that environment. He did get one really shiny side effect from the Peloran Treatments, and that was an eidetic memory. So he could walk into any courtroom on Mars and argue based on the local laws, including any precedents set by other courts the local court may choose to recognize depending on the current nature of international relations on Mars. He was by far one of the best lawyers on Mars, and he had high-level contacts in every single nation that would answer his call at any time of the day or night. I say this to make certain you understand what he walked away from when he volunteered to fight the Shang.

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Louis

by on May 14, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Louis Mattioli took the Peloran Treatments when he was young like most people. They didn’t do much for him. Oh, they fortified his immune system, and he got a really long lifespan out of it, but he didn’t get any of the really shiny side effects. H grew up as a normal Martian, with his greatest claim to fame being that he was a very successful lawyer. He made a lot of money, but there was enough humanity still in him that he decided to volunteer after the Shang attacked us. Without the Ageless reflexes he couldn’t fly in any front line formation, but he ended up in the reserves out at Alpha Centauri. That is when he ran into Charles. His Family had been working on supersoldier serums of their own for a rather long time, and one of them actually worked with the Peloran Treatments. Usually. Mostly. Louis took it and never looked back.

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