Bag Lady

No offense to bag ladies, but I never thought I'd be one!   A radiation bag lady that is.

If you look to the right at the very bottom you will see my "bag" with my name and a sunshine with a cross inside it on it. My bag looks nice and new.  Some of those bags look pretty worn...

They have a very slick system at the radiation department.  When you walk in for your first appointment they hand you a paper bag, a sharpie and 2 blue hospital gowns. Those are your 2 gowns (one to wear backwards and one to wear frontwards, thank you very much) for the duration of your treatment to save on laundry, and the bag is where you keep them and also where you store your clothes whilst you are wearing said blue gowns.

The other nifty thing is that you don't have to check in each time, you just chuck your appointment card in the tray when you come for your appointment, grab your bag, get changed and they come and get you when it's your turn.  Very efficient. 

It's good that it's efficient because I have to go there every business day for 20 days, much the same as everyone else and it would get a little irksome to have to check in like in a Dr.'s office every time.  I know the radiation is a drag, but I couldn't help but be impressed and thankful!

The staff are great too: extremely upbeat, and they have me out of there within 15 minutes.  I mean, like I walk in the front door of the Clinic and 15 minutes later I'm walking out.   I *almost* wish it took longer so I could catch my breath between my hour commute there and my hour commute back! At least it doesn't give me time to dwell on the situation. I've made the decision to do this, it's weird and slightly freaky if you really think about being bombarded with radiation, but it's not going to do any good to think too much. So I lay there for 5 minutes in varying states of undress, while I'm monitored by video, and pray.  I pray for me and for you and for the nurses, and that's about 5 minutes worth. 

Commuting is interesting. I'm trying to enjoy the drive by listening to some radio programs I don't always get to hear on Oneplace. Plus the weather is nice and it's a bit of a thrill to be adventuring out into the world for a change, rather than being at home.  I'm afraid I'm going to enjoy the habit and be restless to fly the coop once it's all done on June 2!  3ish hours a day does cut into my schedule though.  I've requested late afternoon appointments so that we can get school done in the morning, but it's messing with my exercise time and general flow of the day quite a bit. But only 14 more to go!