Monday Monday

Monday again, and here I am back at the hospital.  However, with chemo now over, today is the end of one regimen and next week will be the start of another.  Today was my last weekly herceptin infusion.  I am scheduled to go back next Monday and have a three-week infusion, meaning that I will get a triple dose of this anti-clonal antibody.  Then, I will only come in once every three weeks after that for hour long herceptin infusions.  This routine will continue into November, until I've had a year's worth of treatments.  It will be a welcome change from having to turn up at the hospital every Monday.

I have been coming to the hospital for treatment for the past 19 Mondays. Each week I have carried my pocket-sized camera in my pack, with the intention of photographing the Gateway Arch from the treatment floor every week. The Arch is located just about three miles east of the hospital. Today, March 14th, an unexpected thick wet snow has obliterated any hope of seeing that monument let alone photographing it.  Oddly, this is in keeping with most of the Mondays I’ve been here. Not that we’ve had snow every week, but there has been a preponderance of gray, cloudy Mondays, which have made the Arch a dull subject.  As I look back on the days I did shoot the structure, I see that we had at least one beautiful clear sunny day – on Monday, February 14th.  Here are a few of the images I’ve captured of the varied moods of the Arch.

This last one was taken from the 14th floor of the hospital -- not the 7th where the treatment center is located. The 14th floor provides an amazing view and a very different perspective of the area. With at least a dozen more visits to the treatment center between now and November, perhaps I'll have some better opportunities to capture the St. Louis icon under better light through the seasons. It would certainly be a great venue for viewing the fireworks on July 4th!