Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Lure of Werewolves

Copyright  © Christie Silvers
What is it about werewolves we find so intriguing? Is it that they can change forms and run in the wild, shirking their responsibilities in the human world? Or is it the total hotness of most werewolves in their human form?

Maybe it's a combination of both! Or neither.

I think some of the lure comes from the enjoyment of fear. Some people absolutely love being scared (think Halloween haunted houses), so the idea of a big, strong, scary beast excites them. Granted, we don't want to be torn to shreds by those monstrous claws, but the thought that it could happen pumps up the adrenaline.

And then you have the people who would love to become the werewolf. Strength and vitality top the list of werewolf attributes, as well as heightened senses. When you life is filled with other people making decisions for you, bosses who don't appreciate you, and even strangers annoying the piss out of you, plus all the death and disease in the world, why not become a creature stronger, more confident, and who will live longer, knowing everything that's going on around them?

What is it about this creature of the night? Would you really want to be tied into a wild rampage every time a full moon rolls around? What about the bad tempers? Sometimes it sounds a lot like massive PMS!

So tell me, all you werewolf lovers out there, what is it about these creatures that appeals to you? What do you think makes them so desirable?



Monday, October 5, 2015

Bad News on the Homefront

Last week my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread to her liver. It was a devastating blow to all of us. She has been a smoker for 40 years now, so it wasn't a surprise that we would be dealing with this sort of situation at some point in the future, but I certainly wasn't expecting it right now.

She went to her GP last Monday because we thought she'd picked up a bug or had a nasty sinus thing going on. He threw antibiotics at her and scheduled her for a CT scan on Wednesday. By Wednesday she was so sick, weak, and dehydrated I had to take her for the scan. Later that night, after my sister & I discussed it, my sister took her to the hospital. They admitted her right away and started pushing I.V. fluids. Thursday the doctors wanted to see Mom's CT scan results to verify what they thought they had seen on a chest x-ray.

There is a mass in her right lung about the size of a golf ball and a couple of spots on her liver.

Friday morning she had a biopsy of the lung mass and then she went home Friday evening. Even though the doctors said it is cancer, they are waiting on the biopsy results to verify it is cancer. That result should be back today. By the end of this week we *should* know what KIND of cancer it is, and thus, what kind of treatment plan will be initiated.

Tomorrow, Mom is scheduled for a PET scan. This scan will tell us if there are more cancer spots anywhere else on her body. The oncologist seems to have a plan in place for her, and she's feeling pretty optimistic, so hopefully together they can beat this.