Monday, August 02, 2010

Not so fast

So if you're the wincy kind, this post is not for you.

Radiation burns peak a few days after the end of treatment, from the cumulative effects. Dirty little secret! You're done. But you're going to hurt MORE next week! Congratulations! Thanks for playing!

Oh, and you will need to drink gallons of water to help your body try to repair all those cells. You will not stop being thirsty, 24/7. Cheers!!

Currently I get the sensation every few minutes that a long ultra thin needle is piercing my skin. I can be sitting very still and ka-chaaaaa!!! It's fun sitting with my droids and trying to remember NOT to grab my jumblies when I feel the piercing pain.

The burned, crispy skin is cracking, and here and there a slab lifts up and looks something like a bit of highway that didn't fare too well in an earthquake. Mother of pearl, it hurts when one of those attached flakes gets jarred.

Saline soaks are da bomb, yo. It was funny when Doctor blue eyes asked one of the newer nurses if she knew how to teach a patient to do saline soaks. She looked at him, looked at me and said, "here is the saline, you take some of this gauze... And soak it." Then she and I cracked up at the same time. Pour saline on gauze, and apply it to your parched desert skin, and admire how it soaks into the cells and makes them un-crispy... for a little while.

In other news, I apparently can not tolerate Aquaphor ointment, which they hand out at DBE's the way a dentist gives out floss. It turns my skin a weird flaming red. Zexy!

Good times! Maybe I should run off and join a carnival. I'll keep you posted on that idea.

1 comment:

Trish said...

ooh, wow on the aquaphor...might be the camphor?

have you tried lanolin? after my surgery they gave me nipple cream than includes lanolin that nursing mothers use for cracked nipples---babies can suckle and not be affected by the stuff, so it is pretty bland. Go to the pharmacy, baby aisle and check for it---around here it's a little purple tube.

good luck with the bits...they will heal. but, if you need to grab them when they sting, think of it as payback to any of the droids who grab their crotches now and again without a thought! ;-)

Things will get better... right?

I distinctly remember a day in... maybe February?  I remember the moment, but not what day it was. I was sitting at work thinking about plan...