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on his legs. Bob and Margaret had insisted that he come and stay
with them until he was well enough to be on his own.
    “I’d like to
keep you here for a week, make sure you’re doing OK before we let you go
home.  You’re to start radiotherapy once the swelling goes down.  It
will be five days a week for about five or six weeks. As I told you before, you
may experience some side effects like nausea, dizziness, that type of thing but
we’ll treat you with drugs to minimize the effects.  You will need someone
to drive you to therapy and to keep an eye on you at home. Once you’ve finished
those treatments you can start the physiotherapy which could take up to two
months.”
    Great! For
someone who hated to take medicine and to see doctors, he was about to see more
of them in the next few months than he had in his entire his life. At least he
had a life and for that he should really be grateful.

 
 
    A week later
     
    Daniel lay
immobile while radio waves were applied to his head to remove the rest of the
tumor.  The actual procedure was painless but his whole face and head were
covered by a mask made of some kind of plastic which had been molded to fit the
shape of his face before he left the hospital.  It felt like a vice and
was so tight he thought it would crush the rest of his brain.  It made him
feel claustrophobic and he couldn’t wait for the few minutes of radiation to
finish before he could get it off.  He could relate to the Phantom of the
Opera.  He had nothing to do but think as he lay there.  He couldn’t
imagine how he was going to endure this for the next six weeks. 
Wellington had also warned him that he might feel nauseous from the treatments.
God, he hoped not.  Moving his head around was still agonizing, he
couldn’t imagine what it would feel like if he was throwing up as well. 
Was he really supposed to be learning something from this? No answers were
forthcoming, but then again, he didn’t expect any.  He realized that he
had little control over what fate threw at him, but it was up to him how he
responded.  Right there and then he made a vow that this would not defeat
him.
     
    Several hours later
     
    Daniel tried to
remember the vow he had made in the radiation room, as he leaned over the
toilet in his bathroom at Margaret’s house and heaved the contents of his
stomach up. The violent movements made pain explode in his head and drained him
of what little energy he had. He washed his mouth and staggered back to his
bed, leaning heavily on the walker that he had bought to help him about in
these early days.
    “Daniel, are
you alright?” asked Margaret knocking softly on the door.  When he didn’t
answer she pushed open the door and repeated the question louder.  She
kept forgetting that he only had hearing in one ear now and he was still
adjusting to that.
    “No, I’m not
alright.  I feel sick and weak and I don’t know how the hell I’m going to
get through these next few weeks.”
    “The hospital
gave me some medicine to help with the nausea.  I’ll get it for you now.
Would you like some broth?”
    Daniel groaned
at the thought of food.  He had little appetite and his mouth tasted
metallic anyway.
    “That’s the
last thing I want Margaret.  I’ll just rest a bit.” He hoped she would
leave. He appreciated all that Margaret was doing for him but, right now, he
just wanted to be left alone.
     
    Two weeks later
     
    Daniel ran a
comb gently through his hair as he prepared for yet another session of
therapy.  He stared in horror at the comb which was full of hair and the vanity
which was littered with even more strands. He closed his eyes in despair. As if
the tiredness and nausea weren’t bad enough, his hair was now falling out. He’d
read about it but still wasn’t prepared for the reality of it. He’d have to ask
Bob or Margaret to shave the rest off since he was definitely not going to the
salon that he frequented for that. He cleaned up the hair