Dry Run

Friday was Dry Run Day to finalize position & area to be radiated on my neck. (Yes, I bought a bag of donuts for the techs.)

What to wear, what to wear...

I was led from the large reception area to a spa-like setting with ambient lighting, soft colors on the walls and carpeting on the floor. There were several large changing rooms and instead of big fluffy spa robes, there was a large selection of hospital johnnies to choose from. This solves my personal issue of coming up with 30 different fashion looks for the duration of my treatment. Here's my choice for Friday:

Feelin' groovy

From there, I was led into a room where I was to have a few more x-rays taken and final adjustments made to my mask. I met two more lovely people, Danielle & Erin, who bolted me down to the table & put my mask on. Pictures were taken as I sang my brother Bill's song suggestion in my head: "99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall". I got to 46 bottles of beer by the time I was done. Danielle assured me that actual treatment would take less time.

Danielle & Mask

Erin

As the techs were adjusting my masked self on the table, they were telling me what they were doing. It was mentally painful for me to not be able to speak, as I had the mask mouthpiece in my mouth. There's only so many inflections you can put into a muffled "ummmm-hummm", and certainly no witty quips, which this situation just cries out for.

When I was all done and leaving the spa environment for the big waiting room, I heard the Bell being rung. There is a silver ship's bell in the room & when patients finish their last treatment, they step up and ring the bell. A huge burst of applause & cheers greet this happy peal. Today's bell ringer was a boy of about 9 years old. A large group of his family was gathered around wreathed in smiles & tears as pictures of them with the smiling young boy were taken. It was very moving. His Mom was holding a shopping bag with the boy's mask in it.

Last Treatment Bell

So, Monday I start my own journey towards the bell.