do you see the blue sky?

CT scan day is no longer a stressful day for me (well... maybe just a little) but I remember how scared I used be and how I was able to relax when I stared at this painting.
I have to find out the name of the artist who painted the clouds and sky at Dana L1.

Today is Berrium Smoothie Day, again.

In other words it is the day that I have to drink that creamy white stuff (to make my insides glow like a radioactive lamp).
The day the CT scan nurses ask me if I want apple or berry. I don´t know why I always answer berry. The Barium Sulfate Suspension is terrible no matter what.

Meanwhile I have learned a few tricks:

#1
Since we can´t eat anything 4 hours prior to the time we begin drinking "that stuff", it is best to schedule the appointments around noon. Like this I can have a good breakfast and then fast for four hours. For me this works best because I hate to skip my morning coffee.

#2
The non-verbal communication that goes on in the waiting room among patients holding the contrast drinks is great. With our eyes and a few gestures we comfort each other:
I know how you feel.
yeah it is awful
good luck
Yes, you only have one bottle left...
However I still prefer to sit outside (if it is a nice day) while I try to get my Berry Smoothies down. When it is cold I find another waiting area to sit and drink.

#3
I ask for a straw. It is easier to finish the 2 bottles with a straw.

#4
I try to drink as much as possible, but I don´t stress if I can´t. C´mon they give two bottles to everyone. Even the big guys get two bottles, I figure that since I weigh 37Kg I don´t have to drink the same as someone who weighs 150 kg.

#5
I wear clothes with no metal. In this way I don´t have to change into the beautiful hospital gowns.




#6
I try to convince my friends, my husband (anyone ;-)) to try my berrium smothie
(I think Sara liked it!)

@ room 12, 11A Brigham & Women's

this is after surgery #8, I was here nine months ago for surgery #7
in the same floor, the same tower, the same room and the same bed!



... and I got to be spoiled by Josephine once again.

do your best

...drink 8oz every 10 minutes.
I am trying hard to do my best. It is 4 in the morning. I still have another hour to finish my 2 liter drink.
Would you like to have a HalfLytely, with orange flavor, shot with me?

Yes it is that time of the year again... but my dear Intentional Reductionist will keep you updated on my 8th surgery.

A Cure In Our Time

(via Sarcoma Foundation of America)

I still keep my fingers crossed
while my body is scanned.

Ontem foi dia de mais uma TAC. Já nao tremo antes de fazer o exame. Já não choramingo porque nao quero beber o líquido com contraste... mas ainda cruzo os dedos.

Carolyn Charron, one of my nurses at the
Dana Farber, wrote this poem and Maya,
my six year-old daughter, loved it!



Study Buddy

Study Mouse, Study Mouse
Will this drug be the cure?
Will it kill off the cancer,
And my body restore?

Study Mouse, Study Mouse
In the lab, this drug worked for you
Here in the CRC, will it work for me?

Study Mouse, Study Mouse
Come help me cope,
Give me Strength
And Infuse me with hope.


To bring us good luck with our Phase-One treatments,
Carolyn makes these colorful mice.

I shaved my head
I put on robes
I sleep in the corner of a cabin
sixty-five hundred feet up a mountain
It's dismal here
The only thing I don't need
is a comb

Leonard Cohen
The Book of Longing