Here's to Thursday

Here is it Thursday already. I have three, yes, count them, three radiation treatments left!!! Yay! I can see the end. It has been a long haul. One more radiation tomorrow, chemo and radiation Monday, and Tuesday I'm finished.

And then the wait begins.

I am extremely thankful that I do not feel as horrible as I did the last time I had radiation.  I remember the thick goopy saliva, the extreme fatigue, and my throat feeling like it was filled with shards of glass. While I am sure the lower dose and more selective radiation has a lot to do with it, I also know that the feeding tube really makes a difference.

Speaking of the feeding tube, I had relatively few issues with it during visit, until today. This morning I clogged it up with I suspect the blueberry seeds.  I sprayed the floor and had to take the valve apart to clear it. This evening I jammed it up again and sprayed dinner out the side port all over the horse models next to the dinner table. That was an attractive mess.

I guess I should back up to earlier in the week.

Malia has been baby sitting me and toting me around, so Kelly has actually been to work all week. Tuesday Karina took us to the credit union, the Farmer's Market, and the Backyard Farmer. I just was going to use the ATM at the credit union, but it was out of order. Good thing Karina was with me or I would have had to try the old handing the teller a note trick. I didn't feel like being arrested. She did ask me for ID, which I didn't bring because the ATM doesn't require an ID. Not that I want to show my driver's license picture to anyone, ever. She took a look at me and decided that someone who looked this rugged wouldn't be trying to defraud someone's account and gave me the cash. Sometimes pity is a good thing.

I had two stunt double techs at radiation on Tuesday. That isn't great because they don't know how the best way to get my mask on, or that I like the radio on. I'm guessing there was some training going on, too, as it seemed to be much longer on the table than usual.  But done and over with.

Wednesday I had Miracle Mia. She was also quite happy with how I am holding up. Thanks to the nice chemo rash, I had blood on my face from where I scratched at it. I went to the bathroom and washed the blood off, came back to the room and took my shirt and bra off. It was then I realized there was no way I would make it through an hour massage without going to the bathroom. Put back on bra and shirt, go back to the bathroom, and start over.

The hour at massage always flies. There is more to work on than she could ever get to thanks to my many body modifications. Everything just works better when I leave Mia's.

The fatigue came about 3:45, which is unfortunate as we have to leave at four for radiation. No rest for the weary.  But Renee is back and the mask goes right on. Yay.

We continue to receive meal train through the temple and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it has been. Getting home from radiation and not having to think about dinner helps so much. Even with Malia here, there is enough going on that just having dinner taken off the to do list is huge.

Today I did not wake up feeling wonderful. It was a long night of lots of gooping. We had a middle of the night trach clog as well. I did finally haul myself out of bed. I forgot to soak oatmeal last night, so I made a simple breakfast, but as I noted about, jammed the valve up but good. Heather came down to visit and catch me up on all the news. I think she misses Karissa as much as we do.

Karina was a good sport again today and took Malia and I to Down to Earth. I knew it Malia would enjoy it and I always love it. It isn't always Karina's favorite place, but she did find a birthday gift for a friend. Malia is much like me. She realized that she needed to get out of there before she went crazy. I managed to only purchase two veggie plants, which for me at Down to Earth might be a record.

I spent the balance of the afternoon icing trying to get the left eye down to a manageable size. I forgot to take the muscle relaxers last night, so despite taking them on time today, my neck was pretty tied down. It took two tries, and some adjusting, but the mask went on and Renee said it all lined up perfectly. Three left. Have I mentioned only three left???

Thank you to Sabena for bringing dinner tonight. Thank you to Betty for the pie and chicken she also stopped by to bring. Thank you to Heather for you wonderful visit, and to Anne for checking in on me. A huge thank you to Malia for this week. I know it made Kelly's life so much easier being able to go into work. Your help was invaluable, although you know I appreciate the visiting even more.

Tomorrow Malia leaves and we will be on our own once more. I have physical therapy tomorrow and radiation. And then there will only be two left!  Karissa comes home this weekend. I can't believe three weeks are gone already. I am so excited to see her! She hasn't even heard the engagement news yet. I'm sure she will want to start picking out a dress now.

Joel had his PET scan this week. I am hopeful that his cancer will be very localized and they will have some good treatment options for him. I also want the third time to be the charm for both of us so we can be done with cancer for good.

My sister in law is still in the hospital and has had a set back. Hopefully they will be able to get her back on the road to wellness soon. It has been a long time.

I have stories to tell, but I will save them for another day. When I don't have to worry about if the mask is going to fit or not, I'll need something to talk about.

Until tomorrow!

Love,
Kiara