Five Minutes at a Time

The countdown officially starts Monday.

In just two days I’ll begin radiation treatments. As most of you already know, it’ll be five days a week for six weeks…30 treatments total.

I’ve been told the first two or three weeks are usually the easiest. After that, the radiation has had time to build up, and that’s when side effects tend to show up. So naturally, there’s still a little apprehension about all of this.

I’m also not exactly thrilled about the fact that every treatment involves being strapped to a table with my custom-made mask. 😬

But…I made it through having the mask molded, so I figure I can make it through this too. I’ve already been planning how I’ll use Reiki beforehand to help manage my anxiety about having something over my face, and honestly, having that practice feels like a huge gift right now.

The reality of everything still hasn’t completely sunk in.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that…I had brain surgery.

That sentence still feels surreal.

And then I think about everything else this meningioma has brought into my life this year. Some of it has been incredibly difficult. Some of it has already passed. Some of it I’m still working through.

A friend of mine is always reminding me that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

It’s a funny analogy, but it feels incredibly fitting right now.

Brain surgery and rehab were one pretty big bite of elephant. Radiation is just the next bite.

I’ll learn more on Monday, but I do know that each treatment itself should take less than five minutes.

And we’re all capable of doing just about anything for five minutes…right?

My biggest question right now is what the side effects will mean for my ability to keep working.

The current plan is to have my treatment before work on Monday so I’m not completely changing my schedule. The rest of the week my sessions will be around 2:15 or 2:30 in the afternoon, which still allows me to work and then head home afterward if I need a nap.

I’ve heard so many personal radiation stories over the last few weeks. They range from, “I barely noticed any side effects,” all the way to, “Make sure someone can drive you toward the end.”

My radiation oncologist told me he has no reason to think I won’t be able to work through treatment because most of his patients do.

But…are most of his patients standing behind a salon chair all day?

Probably not. 😂

So I guess we’re about to find out together.

The following week I’ll also be meeting with a neuropsychologist to hopefully figure out why I still can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep. If we can improve that, maybe I can finally get a little ahead of this neuro fatigue.

Who knows…maybe he’ll even have some ideas for how to turn all my fun new forms of fatigue into something useful. 😆

On another exciting note…

I’m officially working on launching my Reiki practice!

I’ve started building my website, and I’m hoping to make some serious progress on it today.

This won’t be changing my salon schedule at all. But Reiki is something I can offer from home, and giving Reiki sessions doesn’t drain my energy the way doing hair can. It feels like the right time to finally begin offering it professionally.

So if you—or someone you know—has ever been curious about Reiki, is interested in receiving a session, or just has questions about what it is and whether it might be helpful, I’d genuinely love to talk with you.

I’m also going to try to get back into a more regular update schedule while I’m going through radiation. And for anyone who’s curious, I fully intend to get a picture or two of the setup…including the lovely custom mask that literally pins my head to the table.

Because if I’m going through all of this, I might as well let everyone see what modern medicine looks like. 😂

For now, though…go enjoy all the fun Fourth of July festivities.

And thank you, as always, for continuing to follow along, cheer me on, and humor me by reading all these updates.

One bite at a time.