Thursday 6.5.2008 Done!!!

I kind of slept last night, but woke this morning kind of excited. Last day of radiation, lymph treatment, road trip, vacation at the lake. I reached over and turned the alarm off for the last time for that reason. Thank you, God.

I got myself ready to go. Daniel got up shortly after me, and he got ready to head north. He's anxious, too, as we haven't been to the cabin yet this year. I hugged him g'bye and headed out. See you for supper...

I got to the radiation center and changed into a gown. I was the only one there. Several minutes went by before Adrienne called me back. I asked again if I could take a picture of the inside of the control room with the computer monitors, but she said no. Ok. I just think it's impressive. So I got a clear picture of the sign on the door.

I get up on the table, and Adrienne positions me and leaves the room. Click, zzzzzz, click. Done. WooHoo!! (even though the nipple was tingly-prickly, it's the last one) No More. Adrienne comes back in, and I ask her to take a picture of me on the table.


There's another shot over on the other site, http://kathyjeanpics.blogspot.com/2008/06/06052008-radiation-positioning.html . (A little closer, and there's skin showing, so I put it over on that one.

Ron was coming down the hall as I was leaving, and hugged me. Congratulations. I thanked him for taking good care of me, and reassuring me when I was really scared. No problem, he said, it's my job. Bye.

Out in the waiting area, Fran and Paul had come in, and Paul was in an exam room. Fran had a love note for me, and a nice hug. Then she was summoned to go with her husband...

Melissa is one of the nurses; she is the nurse who saw Dan and I on our very first visit back in ?December? She was diagnosed in January with breast cancer also; has completed chemo and now starting radiation.


When we were done with our photo op, I changed into my shirt, chatted with Fran and Paul for a minute, (he declined a photo), and left. Love the people that I've met.

I went on my way to the therapy place. Ike called me back, looked at my breast, and shook her head. That looks so sore.... Not so bad, I said. I tell her of the soaks and silvadene ointment. I give her the prescription that Dr. Bolmer wrote out for me. She said we'll see how I am next week Friday. And she proceeds to do her stuff.

45 minutes later, she's done, and she said she amazes herself, I look so much better. And she wants me to get the compression sleeve before I go away for a week. Ok, I said. She hugs me, and I leave.

I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions that we had dropped off yesterday, then headed home. I was eager to try the Effexor for the hot flashes, so I opened the bottle of 37.5 mg and took one. I wandered around the house, trying to get organized and finish packing, and realized that I needed to eat. I looked at the labels on the new meds; the Effexor says Take With Food. Ok, I’m getting it right now. I was starting to feel kind of queasy.

I finished my lunch, and I could tell I had taken something. My head was kind of “swimmy” again. Hm. I wonder how long this is going to last. I looked at the list I had made to keep me on track. I gathered some of the items, and realized that I had to lay down. The weather channel showed a line of storms where I would be traveling, so a little delay was ok. I laid down on the bed and rested. I dozed and got up about 40 minutes later. Geesh. I wonder if I’ll adapt to this medicine. I was feeling a bit spacey.

I managed to get everything packed. Breon helped carry a couple of items downstairs for me, and I was on my way. I had to stop at the medical supply store to get the compression sleeve and gauntlet, as I had promised Ike I would.

I get into the store, and there was a line, and I waited about 15 minutes for my turn. A nice girl, Carey, called my number. I gave her the prescription for the sleeve and gauntlet. She looked up at me, looked at my hands and arms, then back at my head. “Did you have a mastectomy”? she asked. I was unprepared for that question. I stammered. Um, Um, no, a, a, lumpectomy. It would have been easier if she had asked if I had cancer, or asked why I needed a sleeve…

She was very kind, though, and went in the back. She came out with a sleeve, but they didn’t have any gauntlets right then. (a fingerless glove) Then there was paperwork to do. I filled out my 2 pages, she entered it into the computer. She measured my arm; above the elbow, below the elbow, and at the wrist. My numbers were such that either a small or medium would fit, and she had brought out a medium. She helped me put it on. It’s snug, but not really tight. I guess that’s the idea. I wouldn’t want a smaller one. She also measured my hand, and that measured medium, too. She ordered that one, and will call me when it comes in.

Thank you so much, you’ve been very helpful. I get back in the car and head North.

Yippee!!

I have an uneventful drive, getting into rain near the town of Turner. It rained the rest of the way up. I arrive at the Jacque Cabin about 6:30 pm. My Daniel is already here. He said it has rained on and off all day. Hm..it was 84 degrees at home. He’s been busy though—swept the deck, opened the awning, put the furniture out, made the bed, sprayed inside and out with the bug spray. He was cooking supper now.

He helped me carry things in, and I unpacked some. There’s nothing better than being at the Lake. I had to look at it and breathe and thank God for putting me in this part of His world.

I had a bite to eat, then I wanted to write here. We don’t have internet from the cabin right now, but one of the local establishments has wireless internet. I took the laptop with me and sat in their parking lot. (Is that a bad thing?) Dan’s car has a 115 volt outlet in it, so I plugged the computer in and proceeded to do my thing. After about 45 minutes, it’s out of power and blinks off. Uh-Oh. Oh yeah, this button has to be pushed on the dashboard to activate the outlet… And there’s the computer again.

I finish up the posting, though it wasn’t complete, and head home. Yes, it does take me a couple of hours sometimes to get this written, especially with the pictures. But I’ve found that I enjoy it.

Thank you for reading, for the kind words, and especially the hugs.