Now has the summer of my discontent..ended! With that tip of the hat to the bard, I am ecstatic to report that it is the beginning of September, and my journey of cancer treatments is over! While the last several months with their occasionally fraught moments are now history, I’m now anticipating a trip which promises to be exceedingly more benign and even pleasant. The main itinerary is recovery and building up my strength .
The last three weeks have been taken up with daily (Monday through Friday) radiation treatments. Every morning, I had a mask fitted over my face ( see picture below) which was bolted very tightly to the table which was in fact a long, narrow metal slab with a molded form for my head to fit into. The mask pressed into my face, forcing me to keep my eyes tightly closed throughout the 10 minute radiation procedure. After the mask was removed, my face looked like a waffle! People in the halls seemed to look somewhat strangely at me as I walked out, and probably cancelled their waffle order for breakfast!
The radiation itself is a painless procedure, and is in no way remotely as traumatic as chemotherapy, at least in my case. But it does have a few side effects, fatigue being one, a sunburned red neck, and an acutely sore throat being two more. Eating is difficult for now, so I’m mostly restricted to smoothies, yogurt, soup, or something puréed! The upside is that I’m eating less, and have been able to shed a few extra pounds!

But the summer had so many good moments as well. In August we were very fortunate to have Jeremy, our youngest son, come from Seattle for a visit – a very special treat for me! Another highlight was the visit of our granddaughter Trudi. What a brave little 9 year old she is, to travel all by herself from Taiwan, a fifteen hour flight! She enjoyed a week at camp, spent time with her auntie Kristine who took her on many excursions. (By the way, Kris has been a tower of strength through this entire process, always being there for me ).And of course Opa Howard spent a lot of time with Trudi, swimming and going for numerous ice cream treats. Having Trudi here was such a joy, her boundless energy notwithstanding! We were exhausted (in a good way😀) at the end of every day!

I’m not quite sure what happens next, but of course I will continue to be monitored. I anticipate some anxiety as I wait to hear whether or not the treatments have been successful! At this point I am optimistic they have been. The path ahead beckons, it’s various twists and turns revealing themselves in the fullness of time. It’s all part of a lifelong journey, but I for one am looking forward to rather more agreeable modes of travel.

There already are signs that my body is striving to recover from all of this; my bald head now has the ugliest patches of fuzz gamely attempting to be hair! It’s also distressingly not as dark brown as it used to be! This, I think it’s safe to say, is a first world problem! Following the summer of my discontent, I anticipate a glorious fall and winter.

I so appreciate my wonderful family and many friends, who have been remarkable in showing their love and support in a multitude of ways. Thank you all! It’s great to be alive!

Hugs,
Maggie