Holy Nellie! This is some serious shifting in the Matrix. I have fallen through the looking glass, the Hookah smoking caterpillar must have decided to set up shop in my cerebral cortex. Yesterday I had an ultrasound of my carotid arteries, followed by my much anticipated meeting w/ Dr. Tannehill Radiation Oncologist. The ultrasound went very well until she did the left side, which is the site of the incision. Talk about involuntary muscle spasms. My nerve endings were on fire. The meeting went very well. My erbatux treatments are scheduled to start the same day as my radiation, July 11. I will have radiation Monday through Friday at 9am, and erbatux for 2 hours every Monday at 11am. If you are available to drive, I have openings Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The facility is state of the art, and the machines are brand new. The waiting room is clean and comfortable. The appointments should only take about 30-45 minutes. Operators are standing by.
The first step was to send Beth home to get my dental trays which we didn't think to bring. Once the trays were in I was invited to the ct scan for the masking, and mapping portion of the appointment. "Just lay down right here, on this hard metal table". Bear in mind that the Gastric Doctor recently poked a hole into my AB, and secured a fabulous feeding tube through my AB. I'm pretty sure it is the only AB I have/had. "Try not to move, but breath normally" "This is going to be warm, and wet". The mask started out as a flat piece of fibermesh, which is warmed and becomes pliable. He placed the fibermesh over my face, and stretched it down below my ears, and over the top and bottom of my head. Then he attached it to the table, and waited for it to dry. Once he plucked at the nostril area and asked if that was better. I said "g_n$th#ry" through my mouthpiece and face mask. That thing hardened up pretty quickly. "Now please hold still, so that we can take some measurements". Into the CT I go for a quick trip of about 5 minutes. I felt like Jody Foster in First Contact. The trip through time ended without incident, and he unsnapped the mask from the table. It felt like the snaps on ski boots being released. That facemask had really secured to the table. I made it through the process w/out much trouble. The Doctor came back in and invited me to see the radiation room. It was very impressive, the brand new machine is state of the art, one of only 4 radiators like this in AZ. The same kind of machine that is being put into the new MD Anderson facility scheduled to open in AZ this fall.
This field trip lasted about an hour and a half, after which I was completely gassed. I'm very optimistic today that this stuff is all going on for a reason, and that I'm heading in the right direction. Tomorrow I have a port installed at the outpatient center. This sounded like a good idea last week when they had me agree to it, but now I have some reservations. The port allows the medical professionals access to my circulatory system w/out finding a new vein every week. Oh well they're not putting it in today. Who comes up with this stuff.
My attitude and appetite are good. Beth is good. My spiritual condition is good. My fear level is down from a week ago. I'll keep you guys posted. Know that I appreciate the calls, cards, and most importantly the kind thoughts, and prayers. Feel free to share this with my friends, and family.
The adventure continues...
TJH
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