I’ve written and
deleted this post countless times.
The bottom line?
Radiation was terrible.
What was not terrible
was the support. So I’m going to leave the crappy details out and focus on the
awesome. (There is an actual medical update at the end...I didn’t keep y’all
waiting for a month a half just to read about how well I am loved).
-I had someone there
with me every single day. Gary (my boss and very dear friend), Steven, my
parents & my sister Carol all made sure I had a smile to see and a hug to
receive when I was finished. Start to finish I wasn’t there more than 20
minutes and it seemed silly to have someone come all that way for 20 minutes.
Until I had my first treatment.... Thankfully Gary insisted he come that first
day. (If you choose to scroll down and see the photos you might understand why
I needed a hug). I underestimated radiation. I put out a text and it was
handled for all 10 days.
-I had a card to open
every morning. Carol had 10 cards prepared & labeled with which day to open
it. This girl didn’t just sign her name to a Hallmark card. Nope, these were
the blank inside cards where she wrote Bible verses, jokes, inspirational
quotes, weird hashtags, and a thoughtful, day specific encouragement note from
her. The time & energy it took her to do all of those for me....sheesh!!
-When I got to work
each day after radiation, I had an encouraging note from Vicky (we share an
office and she’s my pal) laying on my keyboard!
-Chloe (my niece),
Kennedy & Tania (Arissa’s best friends) spent several of their Sunday’s
with me doing anything that I needed to make my week go easier. With their
help, I’ve been able to still meal plan and prep meaning I’ve stayed on track
with my diet. HUGE stress reliever!
-Beka (another office
pal) made me a radiation countdown and affirming words board. She got me the
prettiest “you did it!” celebration flowers my last day, too!
-Steven got me through
with his strong shoulder, usual humor and a dozen roses that second week when I
hit the wall and melted down. He took me to Lakeside Tavern to celebrate, too!
-My incredibly understanding and supportive work family made this so much easier. I never worried about the time missed or the work that had to be done. They cheered me on, picked up my slack, and tried to down play the way I looked each day (for that I am so grateful because that part was really tough on me).
Side note.. this whole
thing may have been so hard because I was also dealing with my back. I have now
received 2 lumbar injections and finally got relief a few days before
Thanksgiving. Sadly, this was after I was done laying on a hard table every
day. Miserable is an understatement.
But! We DID make it through,
I graduated and got a souvenir mask. The mask is now hanging in my living room
and will be wearing season appropriate hats for the foreseeable future.
Now—-what we’ve been
waiting on. Did this work?
As of Friday, nope. It
sure didn’t.
And things are getting
worse instead of better. I DO have single vision and therefore have 2 eyes most
of the time these days which I am very grateful for! However, the tests that
matter show I am not seeing everything and my eye is still “smooshed”. I was
told that we would have to see a positive change in January or we will have to
move ahead with the surgeries we have been fighting to avoid. Radiation
continues to work after treatment ends so we are praying for a huge change in
the right direction when we go back to Nashville.
That mustard seed
faith .....
Photos below may be tough to see. I've had several in my village choose not to see them (totally understandable). If you don't want to see my face after treatments or me bolted to the table then your visit to The Pod ends here. They aren't gruesome but hard to see when it's someone you care about. I've added a bunch of space so scroll down for the photos.
