MDS: Coughs & Sneezes in Crowded Places

On Sunday, we traveled by train from London to Brighton and back. Few people were on board going to Brighton, but the return trip train was crowded.

A couple who traveled for about a third of the trip sat near us, the male coughing intermittently.

Last night, we went to the theatre. (Saw John Lithgow performing "Stories by Heart", his own one-man show. Excellent.) The young lady sitting next to me was sniffling and coughing. She was obviously nursing a cold.

I sat squirming in these semi-crowd situations. I'm supposed to "avoid sick people," according to the basic recommendations for handling MDS.

How do you do that on a crowded train or in a sold-out theater?

The situations induced slight paranoia. Better not breathe, I told myself. Better not touch anything, like the armrest you share with that young lady. At intermission, I asked Penny to switch seats with me. I doused my hands with Purell. Even considered sticking some up my nose. (Would that disinfect the air I breathed?)

Doesn't this young lady know that this cold she's sharing with us theatre-goers could kill me?

Well, no actually. How could she know that? Bet she hasn't even heard of MDS. Besides, just because she has a cold, doesn't mean she must lock herself away until it goes away.

And, besides that, you (I) can't avoid everyone in the world who has a cold.

And, besides that, could it really kill me? Or would it just be more severe for me than a cold used to be?

Is this nuts? Will I drive myself nuts?

And, now, I'm about to get on a plane for an 8-hour flight. God forbid anyone coughs or sneezes in that environment!

MDS Legs in London

Onward we trudge, traipsing through London as if on the Last March to Victory, testing not only my stamina, but Penny's, as well.

Museums, street markets, shopping, string quartet concerts, walks across the Thames, negotiating five flights of hotel stairs—it was in all in a day's pleasure yesterday.

I looked at my lower legs last night. The right one appears as if it's suffering from a sporadically placed but significant acne. The right one shows some acne-like red bumps, but the shin (where the skin biopsy was done), more than anything, looks like a plum is growing there.

Are there more red blots now? Is that purple blob growing larger? If so, is that all related to walking miles per day?

Probably not. It's more than likely my imagination, combined with a traveler's fatigue.

But, at this rate, I'm never going to win the "most beautiful legs in New Jersey" contest, never mind the "most beautiful New Jersey legs currently visiting London" contest.

What's a poor, middle-aged MDS boy to do?

Keep on truckin'.

This is a great city. So, Vidaza be damned, we'll do just that.

MDS: Stamina Holds Up in London

Well, the stamina question was answered yesterday. You remember the stamina question, yes? How long would it take MDSMitch to reach utter exhaustion after flying all night?

The answer: 2.5 days.

The bottom finally dropped out yesterday (Friday), 2.5 days after landing.

Still, I think that's pretty good. And, even though I didn't even want to get out of bed yesterday, not only did I do that, but managed to stay on my feet through a morning at the Cabinet War Rooms, a stroll in the Westminster Abbey/Houses of Parliament area, and a piano concert at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

All that after Penny kept me up til all hours at Royal Festival Hall for a London Philharmonic concert the night before.

Then—collapse and fair uselessness until it was time for a classic half-pint-and-meat-pie at the local pub.

Delicious, that was.

So, really, I'm holding my own as we play tourist here in London. it's yet another life victory over the mundane.

Cheerio, old chaps.