(Written Thursday Night)

Anyone who ever told me that radiation is a breeze must have had it in a different location than I am having it...because it's worse than any chemo side effects I've had.  The reason I haven't written in three weeks is that when I get home from school, I haven't been awake or out of the bathroom for long enough to write a paragraph.  Because my tumor is on the vaginal cuff, my colon and all my "private parts" are engaged - and I have burns and cuts and rawness that is terribly painful.  So I teach all day, then either stay in the bathroom and cry or sleep all night.

As most of you know, I NEVER take time off school because it is my lifeline, my community, my support system.  Well, it has been so hard to go to school this week, that finally on Wednesday, the entire staff/faculty/student population (It takes a village to raise an idiot, apparently) suggested that perhaps I should take a few days off and have a long weekend, since homecoming is over, the first newspaper is out, and our first yearbook deadline is two weeks away.  I finally concurred, and left seventeen pages of lesson plans, five stacks of handouts, all labeled with sticky notes, and instructions to each class detailing what I would do to them if they disappointed me while I was gone.

Mike was amazed and thrilled that I finally decided to do this.  I mean, last year, I didn't even USE all my sick days!  We pulled into the driveway of our condo after radiation, and...sitting on our roof...neatly lined up along the entire peak....were packages of shingles.  At 8 AM this morning, my day off began with the roofing crew, and two hours straight of my dog barking at said crew.  It takes her about two hours to adjust to anything new.  She's like clockwork.  It's now nearly 6 PM and they are still here.  I hope you are at least giggling, because the irony is unbelieveable.  They will finish tomorrow.  My second day off.

SO.  One more week of radiation, one more day of roofing, and then ... I have no idea.  I would assume scans, but after that?  I guess we'll see!  Whatever it is, it's bound to be quieter than this day was!

How much fun has it been going to radiation dressed in Spirit Week garb!!

Monday was Cozy Day, so I had on my hoodie and pink flamingo fuzzy slippers.

Tuesday was WackyTacky day, and I was wearing one white shoe and one black shoe, complete with one black sock and one whtie sock. (And I have another set of those at home!!)  I also had pink tie dyed shirt, and green tie dyed pants, and huge flamingo earrings.

But today was best of all....Decades Day.  I did Medieval, and came in dressed like this:

Wait till tomorrow...it's Cowboy day!

EDIT: 

We've had three days of solid rain, and I had five days of radiation.  Each has side effects, and right now, the rain is the big pain in the patootie, if you'll pardon my slang.

Because of the constant Ike-induced rain, after ten years here, we have a new leak in our basement.  It's right in the spot where, ELEVEN years ago, my husband kicked the basement wall and half of it fell out, and he said "This is going to be a problem."  Then they swore up one side and down the other that they fixed it.  While it's great to finally be vindicated, it's NOT great to have a wet carpet and fear of losing a wall.  He's down there making sweary noises and stuff right now.

Radiation is sort of anti-climatic when you've had fourteen months of chemo.  I sorta thought there'd be laser beams and lights, and it would be at least as cool as a Neil Diamond concert, but no...it's like getting a bunch of x-rays, over and over, on the same spot.  I was told to go on a blander diet, and be careful what I eat because my tumor is so close to the colon and intestine that there could be problems.  Here are the side effects I was told to expect:

1. Fatigue
2. Burnt skin (like a sunburn)
3. Nausea
4. Vomiting
5. Diarrhea
6. Bowel obstruction

Those are the biggies.  I had 3 Friday night, 1 continuously, and 5 Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Isn't that a clever way to be ahem less gross?  So today I made a chicken and rice casserole, a pan of homemade macaroni and cheese, and a seafood alfredo thingy with SCALLOPS.  The scallopy one is for dinner, the rest are to tide us thru the week when I get home and am too tired to do anything but put my nightgown over my head and hope gravity makes it fall the rest of the way down.  Apparently Sundays are going to be good days for me - at least I hope so!

So that's the latest.  A personal shout out to the very cryptic Risha, who owes me an email at least, and the MIA Emjay.  Come out, come out, wherever you are!  Love you both!!

Thanks to the ever vigilant readers and prayer partners I have out there...you guys rock.

Monday - Holiday!  Came back from up north after filing a claim for some wind/storm damage on our trailer while we were gone...nothing unliveable, but we have insurance, why not try to use it on our 15 year old metal box? 

Tuesday - A full day of school without a single doctor's appointment or anything!  Little did we know this was the last normal day...for weeks.

Wednesday - Water main break!  Had to call school at noon since we couldn't serve lunches because of the boil water restrictions.  Went to the Radiology Doctor.  I like him.  I like where his office is (The Henry Ford Macomb Cancer Center).  And I like what he had to say, which is a good thing because I'll apparently be seeing a lot of him.

Thursday - Another half day while they fix the water.  Another appointment at the radiologists to get my "tatts" - the three triangulation marks they aim the radiation at.  I'm really the coolest teacher in the school now.  I also went to my oncologists to tell them what was going on and get a red blood cell shot and a white blood cell shot whilst I was at it.  My levels were low, but not awful, which makes me happy.

Today - a sort of full day of school (we are having a school spirit activity at the end of the day) and then down to the hospital for another white blood shot....then radiation begins daily for six weeks on Monday.  I really need to post more often.

I will, too, over the weekend - we are home this weekend, and I'll have time!

And that's the news from Robin Central.