Throat ache

Unhappiness where's when I was young,
And we didn't give a damn,
'Cause we were raised,
To see life as fun and take it if we can.
My mother, my mother,
She hold me, she hold me, when I was out there.
My father, my father,
He liked me, oh, he liked me.

Spoke to mum this morning, and she seems alright. But she said she has a throat ache, and it aches everytime she drinks or swallows. It's the chemo, she said. The drug is so strong it 'burns' the insides of the throat, causing it to become irritated and dry. When you drink or eat something, the food or liquid scratches the insides of the throat. And even her tongue is 'burnt' she said. Not pleasant.

I shivered at the thought, and shiver still when I imagine what it must be like, what it must feel like... I remember she showing it to me once, last year or maybe two years ago, when she was doing chemo. The flesh of the tongue looked like it was singed with scalding water... unbearable.

But mum said she is fine.

I wonder often whether she is just saying so for my sake.