I broke the bell

Today was my last day of external beam radiation treatment.  Three long weeks of driving into the city and home again are over!

The clinic has a tradition for patients who finish their treatment.  They have a little saying on a plaque that reflects on ending one stage and starting another, and there’s a bell attached to it.  When you’re done with treatment, you read the saying and then ring the bell three times, while all the nurses, technicians, and doctors cheer for you.

Well, today was my day to ring the bell.  I read the little saying, grateful that I was done, and I rang the bell three times...but on the third time, I rang it so hard I jerked the whole plaque and bell off the wall.  No, I wasn’t excited in the least.  I dare say, they’ll be remembering me around there for quite a while.

So, this chapter ends, and I get a few weeks break before entering the next one.  In the meantime, I’ll be able to go with one of my sons to California to visit CalTech and Stanford, two of the schools he’s considering.  I feel so blessed to feel well enough to do this with him.

Then, in another week or so, I’m going on an annual girlfriends’ weekend getaway.  Three glorious  nights with just the girls at a cabin in the mountains with views, wine, and a hot tub.  Again, I’m feeling so blessed to be able to do this.

Then, the day after I get back from the mountains, I go into the hospital for three days for the Syed radiation procedures.  Three days flat on my back, able to raise my head no more than 15 degrees.  I’m not particularly looking forward to it, but it’s the next stage in this journey.  I begrudgingly embrace the opportunity for more high tech healing.  I will gladly accept visitors to help me pass the time...as well as any suggestions for things I can do to occupy myself as I stare at the ceiling of my hospital room.  (I will have Netflix on my iPad.)

One day at a time...while still giggling about that broken bell.