Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13 - First day back at work has been completed and I think it went really well! I was welcomed back by bunches of flowers and numerous coworkers stopping by to give me hugs (I SO love hugs!). At 8:20 a customer actually called. I hesitated to answer because I don't know how comfortable I feel talking to people when I sound continuously drunk (again I'm thankful JT can't post on here!) but I decided to give it a try. It was a local customer needing a quote and he enthused about how glad he was that I was back. (I'm still wondering how he knew I would be back today, did a mass e-mail go out to my customer base??) I managed to read through all 858 e-mails that were in my in-box. I then started sorting through them and doing clean up. I think by noon on Wednesday I should be up to date with everything and ready to take over where I left off. Phew!

Had my simulation appointment today for radiation. I think the Ativan (anti-anxiety drug) that I took for the original fitting did a little more for me than I thought it had. I spent 25 minutes in the mask during that first appointment, because that's how long it takes to cool and form fit itself to the head, neck, and shoulders, and it was no problem whatsoever. Today, they clamped me onto the table in this mask for less than 10 minutes and I felt like I was going to lose my mind! It's a lot tighter than I remember it being and I'm not normally claustrophobic but I was silently talking myself into calmness the entire time I was there! Since I'll be doing this every day for 6-7 weeks, I am hoping I will adjust to it pretty quickly and not struggle internally for too many appointments in a row. We'll see. (I mentioned to Jer that keeping a bottle of tequila under my seat in the car and doing a shot before every appointment might be a viable option. He gave that plan the thumb's down. Urg.)

I talked to yet another doctor while I was there. We basically just reviewed what to expect. Dry mouth, difficulty eating, ropey saliva, red skin, weight loss, etc. In regards to the weight loss, I told her that I would really like to lose a total of 26 pounds during this process to hit my perfect weight and asked her if we could aim for that. She laughed and said it was definitely doable but they would prefer I lost as little weight as possible. <sigh> Work with me, people, work with me!

I was so busy buying myself some new tops to wear back to work that it didn't even occur to me to look for pants. The capris I wore today were falling off my ass all day long! I felt like I should join a rap group or something. Finally at the end of the day I complained to Lis about it. Instead of investing in belts, she showed me where to put a safety pin and have my pants stay up while still looking stylish. I have now put 5-6 safety pins in my purse, just in case.

I also wore my leopard skin sleeve today. Some lady stopped me in the parking lot to tell me how adorable it looked. Didn't I tell you I was going to set a new style trend?? Don't be surprised if I'm featured in Bazaar or Cosmo in the next couple of months! You can all say you knew me when..........

When Sammy and the kids were up to visit, Sam mentioned a couple of times that she was pleased and relieved that I looked so normal and like myself. She said that she had been really worried that I would look 'sick'. I walked around for two days trying to figure out how she was picturing me. I finally gave up. Then I spent this past Saturday at the Renaissance Festival with Patilda and she commented a few times about how great I looked. Just out of the blue, she would be looking at me and comment that I looked so much better than when she last saw me (in the hospital). Then all day today coworkers' faces were lighting up and they were exclaiming over how fantastic I looked. I told Lis I was kind of baffled. She said that people hear the 'c' word and they picture people all pale, and frail, with dark circles, etc. She said I have great color and am looking very healthy for someone who just had cancer. Plus she said when I was in the hospital I was all puffy and swollen and now that things have calmed down, I look a ton better. Okeydoke, I'll buy that. :-)

Other than that, I've been a bit frenetic as of late with my social life. I'm trying to do as much as I can with as many people as I can before I possibly take a swan dive into exhaustion 2-3 weeks into radiation. No sooner did I get home from the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, I went to the movies with JT to see Ted (again!). It was just as hilarious the second time around! Sunday I went to see the Batman movie with Luke.
This week is full of appointments, hair, vet, etc. This weekend is my 25 year class reunion. Not all that interested in going but I def want to meet my FB friend Karen. I went to school with her hubby from grade school all the way through high school. Tracked him down on FB but fell madly in love with her instead so we've been chatting off an on for 2 1/2 years now without ever having met! Still trying to work out a plan to make that happen this weekend. I'm also hoping to have my financial shenanigans in order this week so that I can take a drive to look at that piece of land this Sunday and possibly put an offer in on it!

Okay, I'm tired just talking about cramming all that stuff in this week. My glass of wine and I are headed up to bed to watch a couple of episodes of either Wings or The Vampire Diaries (needed a bit of a break from Dexter) and then it's lights out so that I can continue kicking ass and taking names at work tomorrow!

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