When the radiologist first described radiation therapy to me, he said that the side effects would probably commence after the first two weeks. So when it hit an hour after my first treatment, I was totally caught off guard. I felt waves of nausea coming over me, but I had a few hours wait until my next appointment. I decided to take a nap in one of the waiting areas, but the need to throw up was just too intense. Luckily, my next appointment was with the radiologist, so I asked him if it was odd that I was having nausea already. He said that 10% of patients experience the side effects immediately. Why can't I be among the small percentage of people who win the lottery instead??
So to combat nausea, I've been consistently taking nausea meds every 8 hours....which in turn, makes me very very sleepy. In fact, after today's treatment, I had to take a break while walking through the hospital back to my car. I was just way too tired. I'm not too sure what side effects the chemo pill is causing because all I can feel right now is radiation. My tumor seems to be pretty pissed off. It's ulcerated and I can feel heat radiating off of it. I try to sooth it by eating yogurt and lime sherbet (my favorite ice-cream) but it is not accepting these peace offerings. Swallowing has become even more challenging...everything I eat seems to travel down my throat, to my esophagus...then it meets my angry tumor and is too scared to travel past it...so my food tries to come back up my esophagus and throat. It's going to be a challenging five weeks. Gone are the days of spending weekends running around with my peeps exploring Houston. It's been fun while it lasted.
I did pick up a fun hobby during my stay here...I've been convincing my cousins to shop more...since I can't!!! All my "why are your jeans so baggy?" and "why do you dress like your homeless?" has paid off! The name sake actually let me pull a few looks for her today! I picked ten outfits from pinterest that I thought would suit her...she picked two out of those ten...and then I online shopped and found pretty similar pieces to create those looks. One minute I was wallowing in misery on my couch...and the next minute I was feverishly trying to find her the perfect pair of skinny jeans! When the outfits come in and they look fabulous on her, I'm pretty convinced I will be her new stylist!!
Last but not least....My dear friend, Sheba sent me a very special surprise today....A larger than life teddy bear that I can practice hugs on! I've named him, "Mr. Big"...two reasons...1. he's huge. 2. Mr. Big is the name of Carrie Bradshaw's boyfriend on SATC!!! Now without further ado....INTRODUCING.....MR. BIG!!!
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| Yes, I always wear pink lipstick when I'm lounging around with my larger- than- life -sized teddy bear watching Malayalam movies!!! |
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