Numbers

I'm a math teacher. I like numbers. But lately I'm getting really tired of them. Not most numbers. It's still fun to solve a really tricky math problem, say Fermat's Last Theorem, which I'm really close to proving and finally winning my first Nobel (and please don't tell me about Andrew Wiles from Princeton - his proof is way too complicated). It's the kind of numbers that show up on my labs, which I've been getting with increasing frequency lately, that I don't like. I actually don't mind those numbers when they're good (in the "normal" range). Then everyone's happy and I can do what I want, with no interference from doctors, nurses, concerned spouses, etc. But my latest labs yesterday came back with a very low sodium level of 126. I don't like that number. Because of it I have to restrict my fluids to 1 liter a day. A liter is slightly more than a quart. For years I have consumed at least a gallon of water a day, plus other fluids. So I started today and have never been so thirsty in my life. And I'm not doing much, mostly sleeping and sitting around. I would cheat in an instant, but I'm told the alternatives are seizures and other sorts of nasty things. Plus it's hard to slip anything past my own private nurse. So I'm  having my four 8-ounce glasses of juice, and sucking on lemon drops in between to fool my system into thinking it's getting more fluid. Other numbers are low, as is to be expected with chemo, but none dangerously so. I've always been a little anemic and am a little more so now. I'm told to eat more red meat, which I suppose I can force myself to do. I know that eventually, after all the treatments are done, my numbers will get back where they belong. Then I'll like all numbers again. For now, back to Fermat. I should have the theorem proven soon. Stay tuned.