Goodbye Technology

Tonight as I write I am indulging in grapes, kiwi, and pineapple. Only a few more hours until I'm NPO (nothing by mouth) until around 3pm tomorrow when I can drink water again. Then on Saturday around noon I can start sucking on lemon drops, jolly ranchers, and weather's original hard candies. The reasoning for that is my salivary glands will be hit pretty hard by the radiation, which will cause my mouth to be very dry until the glands recover. That day I also have been instructed to really push fluids. Of course, water will be my only option. Once Sunday comes around, it's back to the iodine-free diet through Monday.

I am so close! The past couple of days have taken a toll on me though. The cravings have been out of control, and I have even asked my aunt a couple times if I can just have one bite of a few things. Thankfully she laughed and told me absolutely not. I stopped at Target quick today and they were popping a fresh batch at the Cafe. Just my luck. Then at another stop, there was the distinct smell of burnt popcorn and I still would have given anything to have a bite. I wasn't kidding about my addiction!

Today and yesterday have been packed full of a variety of things. The first thing I did when I got here was head to the med center for the start of treatment. I had tons of blood drawn for various tests and then reported to the Nuclear Medicine ward. They took me back, went over a bunch of things, and then gave me one big shot in the hip. I have to admit, my bruise today looks pretty sweet. After we left, my aunt and I ran a few errands. One was to Costco for a bunch of fresh fruit. So yummy! I felt good all day until I hopped in the shower around 3:15pm to get ready for the college basketball game we went to last night. Getting ready just takes so much out of me lately. But there was no way I was going to miss the game! It was a blast. Court-side, hanging out in the Club with some amazing people, and then finishing the night at a beautiful hotel downtown to celebrate a birthday. I rocked the title of designated driver and had a great time. The thought of a refreshing gin and tonic with lime kept teasing me though.

Then came today. I was NPO starting at 8am, so I woke up early and loaded up on fruit. Then my other aunt took me to have a massage. The therapist had certification training in oncology therapy. Needless to say, it was wonderful. If you have never had a massage, or it has been awhile, call tomorrow and book an appointment. Yes, while it is a luxury, give up your Starbucks or going out to eat for a couple weeks to make up for it. I promise you won't regret it. Then we headed back to the hospital for round two.

Today shots went in the left hip and then I took a trial dose of the iodine that serves as the base for the radiation. I have already become a familiar face around the Nuclear Medicine area. We're all on a first name basis. For some reason, there was a lot more pain today than yesterday, and the side effects hit me harder afterwards. But, all is well.

Later we went and had our nails done, and then at 3pm I could finally eat! My mom came to town around 5pm, and we all met up at my other aunt and uncles house for dinner with my four little cousins. (I enjoyed a bunch of veggies and yes you guessed it, some more fruit.) After, we loaded up and headed to my cousin's middle school band and choir concert. I was so excited because the entire program had an African theme! I could not stop thinking about how amazing it would be to fall asleep tonight and wake up back in Ghana. I miss the people, especially the children, every day. Oh but speaking of Africa, I ran across a huge internship opportunity in the sub-saharan region of Africa this July and instantly decided to apply!!! The deadline is later next week. Not that I needed anything else on my plate right now, but there was absolutely no way I was going to pass this opportunity up. I am already way too excited at just the thought of getting to go back.

But back to the entire reason for this blog. Tomorrow is the big shebang. I'm supposed to check-in at 11am, but we're going to head down just a little bit earlier in hopes of getting on the road before the worst of this big "thunder snow" (as the weatherman called it) storm hits. I don't know too much more than I did on Tuesday. I just know tomorrow consists of more blood work, meetings with some doctor's , a scan, more time with doctor's, and then once my dosage is calculated, the radiation. Immediately after, I am shipped out of there a sent home. Again, I won't have my phone or computer from about noon tomorrow until around noon on Monday. So call/text/post your little hearts out until then, or forever hold your peace--at least until Monday. I can't imagine the Keri withdrawals you are all going to experience. I promise I'm all yours starting Monday. I will have plllllllenty of time to catch up with each of you.

Tonight with family, the jokes started flying. My mom apparently has a fresh, green plant in my room in hopes that it will help suck up all the bad. I told her I'm going to just kill it in a matter of days. But I guess that will give me something to look at. Maybe it will make up for missing so much microbiology lab sessions. My aunt then demonstrated the scene from E.T. when the flower shrivels up and dies. My uncle decided I should get a goldfish too and run an experiment to see if my radioactivity kills it or makes it grow a third eye. But I can't bare the thought of Nemo dying or becoming deformed just because he happened to get plopped into a bowl in my room. My uncle also asked if I could take home some of his defective Christmas lights and "recharge" them up for him. Also, everyone started laughing at the thought of the baby monitor in my room making a continually buzzing noise due to the gamma rays radiating off of me. And of course finally the name game began:  Glow Worm, Light Bright, Bubble Bright, Glow Girl...to name a few. It was nice to have a deep, tear-producing laugh through all of that.

So I guess this is it for a little while. Watching the Super Bowl on Sunday won't be the same without people to laugh and/or make fun of the commercials with, whip up and devour fun game-day foods, talk smack about the Patriots (mainly Tom Brady and Bill Belichick), and just spend time with friends and family. But at least I am going to be able to watch the game!

Again I want to express to each of you how much your beautiful words, selfless acts of service, thoughts, and powerful prayers mean to me! I am humbled and amazed. I can't put it any other way except that God has blessed me beyond belief. So thank you from not only me, but my entire family.

If any of you plan on traveling this weekend, please be careful! Remember that while having your plans thrown off course due to nasty weather totally sucks, taking the risk anyway is not worth it and won't matter a month from now.

All my love.