My Kiwi Moment

I have been having quite a bit of organic kiwifruits recently. Full of vitamin C to bolster my low immunity. And the food hack on peeling kiwis without liquifying them in the process has given me a new found confidence with this sawdust-like covered egg-shape fruit. I discovered 2 boxes at the back of the fridge this evening and peeled them for an after-dinner kiwi platter for the family. I am the official fruit chef in the family and it is my parenthood mission to leave a fruit-eating legacy to my kids. As there wasn't enough space on the plate for all the kiwis, I ate 2 of them. The rest fitted the plate perfectly; cling-wrapped and back into the fridge they went. A sense of satisfaction came over me for getting to these kiwis before they start to crawl around in my fridge. 

About 15 minutes after, I felt them crawling in my stomach instead. And then a sharp pain. Excruciating. Never before. I suddenly realised that after having had 3 cycles of chemo, my stomach lining has weakened and the acid for the kiwis was having a chomp at it. I reached for the bottle of Galvaston antacid because there was literally a fire in my belly. I needed those Galvaston firemen in the TV commercial to extinguish it immediately. It helped only momentarily. The churning pain came back very soon. I went to the toilet 3 times in an hour because it needed to be purged from my system from both ends. I shall not get into the rest of the details.

The oncologist did explain to me about weaker linings of the digestive system before I started the treatment. And I was prescribed with special mouthwash and medication to prevent ulcers from forming. Up until now I have been using the mouthwash sparingly and taking the medication in week 1 of each cycle with no ulcer issues. But I have overlooked the fact that I should also adjust my diet over the course of my treatment as the linings weaken. Lesson learnt. 

Those killer green kiwis.



"...Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)
It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)
Wait until the dust settles
You live you learn, You love you learn
You cry you learn, You lose you learn
You bleed you learn, You scream you learn"

~ You Learn, Alanis Morissette