Lymph Journal # 44

3/16/2012

Another lovely day looking out the window of my hospital room. We’re off to a relaxed start here.  A morning vitals check was done by the Krankenschwester  (or nurse but if you take the root words “kranken” and “Schwester”  separately it’s “sick sister” – lovin’ the German!).  This was followed by breakfast that arrived at 8AM in German fashion – two rolls, butter, peach jam, Frühstückwurst (breakfast bologna – broken down into roots = “early” “piece” “sausage”) slices, and coffee of an excellent quality one would not expect institutionally. The cleaners came by and complemented me on the fact that the floor looked clean – they washed it anyway.  Rounds with six docs at various stages of education and experience happened at about 10:40 and hints were made that the infusions would begin soon.  It all so relaxed, I feel like I should go outside and take a leisurely stroll or hunt up a game of checkers with some codger.  They did grab my IV pole so I guess it’s getting loaded up.

Another sign of Spring this morning – the large trees that the crows find so hospitable seem to be shedding their dried brown leaves that they’ve held onto all winter.  And another sign – an errant bee has entered the room in the mistaken conviction that the pollen being sought is on this side of the glass.

Infusion finally began at 12:30, coinciding exactly with lunch.  The earlier appetizer was an anti-nausea pill.  Fish with a side of Etopophos® and a saline solution sauce followed.  Dessert was a fifteen-minute addition of Epiricin/Farmorubicon® applied by manual syringe.  Mid-afternoon snack is a granola bar, a second anti-nausea pill and a bag of Cisplatin®.  This is accompanied by a bag of fluids to hel the kidneys function well – judging by the litter of empty Mineralwasser bottles lying around me and the path I’ve worn to the WC, I’d say the kidneys are working just fine, thank you.  One more waiting for afternoon cocktails (Endoxan® with various mixes to guard the bladder and other essential organs).

The mineral water of choice here, bottled with the Universitäts Klinikum Freiburg label, is from the Bad (Bath) Dürrheimer bottling plant.  Bad Dürrheim is a community in the Black Forest a few kilometers directly south of the city Villigen-Schwenningen and about ten kilometers north of Donaueschingen, the home of the spring considered to be the ultimate source of the Danube River that wind from the Black Forest to the Black Sea (no connection between color labels). There are many towns in the Black Forest with the first name Bad.  It usually means some kind of water based notoriety hails from a Bad town, mineral water springs, hot springs with public baths built around it or, perhaps,  a full-fledged spa.  Historically these locations have often led to local medical specialties developing nearby so you might have a town that is known for cardiac care or even cancer treatment.  Of course this title word ends up with some signage that amuses the native English speaker.  My two favored are a shop called “Bad Design” (out of business now – I wonder why) and, I guess I’ll call it my favorite, “Bad Restaurant” (in Frutingen, Switzerland which makes it both “bad” and overpriced).

The Bad Dürrheimer website (can’t you tell just how full my time is on hospital bed chemo? – it lacks the fast pace of the chemo-lounge but offers the luxury of Google) offers a narrative of the company’s Geschichtle (or “history”).  Below we “hear” it in Google Translate English (which is always amusing):

Beginning of the 19th Century it was caused by the high water Dürrheimer needs of the salt bath, and many wells. The water was pumped through wooden pipes open as well, so-called Teuchel. One of these wells was among the peasants of the village are highly appreciated. The water seemed to have a beneficial effect in horses and cattle have to.

Over the years, the fountain became more and more into oblivion, he was no longer used by the saline. In the early 50s, was remembered again and went on a search. The former mayor and senator spa director Otto Weissenberger argued:

"What is good for the cattle can not hurt the man."

Soon, you find it, let analyze the water and lo and behold - mineral water of the highest quality.

 Here’s their slogan: (better water, better life).  I kind of like, "What is good for the cattle can not hurt the man.” a bit more.  Of course, if that were true we’d be eating a lot more grass and learn to chew better.

Better drink, better life,

Didn’t Jesus have even a better line than “Better water, better life” while chatting with the Samaritan woman by Jacob’s well (a place both good for cattle and for people)?

JOHN 4:

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])

 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

His slogan: (Living water, ever life, never thirsty)

 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”… (a conversation ensues with the woman dodging and Jesus returning to point which is:)

 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Don’t you love it – the beautiful artful detail – she left the water jug behind!!! She believed the slogan or at least was on her way to belief.

Living water, ever life, never thirsty

I don’t know what living water does for my kidneys but I’m happy to drink from it, from Him, deeply.  It does wonders for my hope.