One-Third Down

May 10, 2011: Had a blessed Mother's Day weekend. Warmish weather. A great chili cook-off that scored me "Best Darn Chili" award (thanks to Chelsea's Chicken Chili Blanco recipe). Dinner with my Mister and my baby-cakes. Tears on Mother's Day, shared and alone. "I love you's" that mean the world, literally. Priceless children. Precious grandchildren. Beloved mamacita. Blessings by the truckload.

Yesterday marked my 10th radiation treatment. One-third of the way through this path of my little journey. Today, I walked into the treatment room to see Mark and Mary, two of my favorite techs. "Ah," I said, "you're waiting just for me!" "Yes," said Mark, "we've got your bed ready and your pillow fluffed." My bed - the narrow metal table with a fresh "placemat" for me to lay on. My pillow - the plastic mold that holds my neck in the right position. All the comforts of home. Yesterday, as Mark unclipped my mask from my head and face, I subconsciously rubbed the places where it smooshes me the most - my chin and lips (remember when it used to be my windpipe? This is such a relief, though it leaves "road rash", as Dr. A calls the indented pattern of little diamond shapes that linger on my skin for about a half hour after the treatment). Mark saw me trying to bring those spots back to life and said, "You know, we don't want you to get too used to this thing, right?" RIGHT! Only 19 more treatments to go!

Once a week, I get to visit with Dr. Avizonis for a few minutes, just to check on how I'm doing. She came in today and said she was glad I was still smiling at her. "We'll see how you feel in a couple of weeks!" she joked. I told her there were minimal side effects so far - more dry mouth (but not unbearable) and increased loss of my taste buds. Taste buds are interesting fellows, you know. I could taste that spicy salsa I made over the weekend (that burned my hands for about 24 hours!), but the ketchup on my turkey burger Sunday was as dull as dust. Blech! Linds thinks I need to try Indian food - see if some curry wakes up these guys inside my mouth. Other than that, I'm doing well.

I asked Dr. A to check my neck scar, simply because it has felt different the past few days. She looked at it, felt it, and said it looks like it's "reinventing itself". I wondered if it was being "cooked" from the inside - some of it seems so stiff and hard. She said the radiation is certainly making things inside "inflamed" and "swollen", but she is not a bit concerned with the scar area and everything looks perfectly normal. She suggested I try to massage it during the day with my Aquaphor to loosen it up and make it feel less stiff. I guess I'll add that to my nightly routine of taking out contacts, drinking a big glass of water, flossing, brushing with fluoride paste & rinsing with potent fluoride mouthwash. It feels like I spend more time in front of the bathroom mirror at 10:00 PM than I do the entire rest of the day. The last thing Dr. A said to me as I left the examining room was that I am "doing great." And I am.

Now, if it would just stop raining...