Crisis over. Situation returned to normal (at least normal for me). The new protocol uses different coordinates to avoid my heart area and any need to become a human balloon. I am beyond grateful to the amazing staff who worked out the new settings and dodged that bullet for me. This morning's session was relaxed as they did new scans and took the necessary readings so I can begin the actual radiation on Monday morning. I can almost say I am looking forward to it but, more accurately, I am looking forward to getting it started because the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends. There will be sixteen sessions, every weekday (M-F) until March 30. Once done, it will be a terrific way to celebrate Spring, a season of new beginnings and hope.
The chart above describes my aspirations for this next stage perfectly. The superpowers have already been arriving in the form of the army of supporters who have seen me through this so far. You all know who you are and I could bear-hug every one of you!
After my last ("I'm a failure at breathing yada yada yada") post there was a huge outpouring of encouragement, support and positive energy in the form of emails, texts, and facebook posts. But to REALLY prevent me from wallowing in a giant tub of "poor me" pudding, my youngest sister Betsy sent this along:
Our family motto has always been "Tease and Be Teased: Dish it out but get ready to have it come right back in spades!" Of all of my siblings (two sisters, one brother), Betsy has the most right to payback. As the youngest she endured over-the-top harassment at our hands. We would pull her cute little baby toes until the joints cracked. [To this day she claims her current size 11 shoe size is a direct result.] She was our entertainment at the family dinner table as kids when we would signal her to fart on command and she would dutifully comply, much to our parents frustration, since the actual signaller was rarely identified. We awarded her extra points if we were having dinner guests, thus escalating the parental flashpoint. Countless dinners went unfinished as we were ALL banished to our rooms, giggling uncontrollably as we left the dining room.
So I particularly enjoyed this cartoon and laughed until the tears were running down my face. Well played, Betsy!! It also helped me get perspective on the issue. This was NOT going to be an insurmountable obstacle, not when I have come this far. And it wasn't. It's now resolved and I'm ready for the job at hand.
And about those superpowers...I'm thinking of revising my planned tattoo when this is all over. Something along these lines might be pretty cool:
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