Most of Me - Tapa blanda

At age forty-three, Robyn Levy was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and, eight months later, with breast cancer. With irreverent and at times mordant humor, Most of Me chronicles Levy's early, mysterious symptoms (a dragging left foot, a frozen left hand, and finally, a crash into "downward dead dog" position on the yoga mat), the devastating diagnosis, her subsequent discovery of two lumps in her breast (Little Lump and Big Blob), her mastectomy and oopherectomy (after which she discovers there is unfortunately no ovary fairy), and her life since then dealing with her diverse disease portfolio. She is accompanied on her journey by a fantastic cast of characters, including her Cry Lady (who always makes appearances at inopportune times) and perky Dolores the Prothesis, as well as her loyal dog, Nellie, and a convoy of health professionals, family members, friends, and neighbors. Much of Levy's life is spent visiting those health professionals, but she makes the best of those visits. At an appointment with her neurologist, she wholeheartedly participates in party games such as "tap the patient's impaired reflexes" and "try to move the patient's rigid left arm." After "scrutinize the patient's lopsided walk" and "make the patient lose her balance but catch her before she falls," Levy is sorry to realize that the party is over, especially when she gets a prescription instead of a grab bag. She has the last laugh, however, as the doctor tries to help her put her disobedient left arm into her coat sleeve and suddenly her arm jolts violently against his body. Strangely, this happens again and again, and in the end she has managed to "accidentally" punch him several times. Both heart-breaking and hilarious, Most of Me offers a unique glimpse into a creative mind, an ailing body, and the restorative power of humor and fantasy.