Gamma Knife & Chemo

I am very glad that all I needed was one round of gamma knife as that was no fun!! Today was my rescheduled session after landing in the hospital when I was originally scheduled.  I was at Roswell at 7am to start with an MRI. I learned that hospital time starts early as I sat there for an hour before getting called back. Patience is not a virtue that I possess.

I finally got on the table for gamma knife around 11:30am. They started by placing a hot mask on my face that hardened to the point where I couldn’t move. This mask was more restrictive than the skull radiation mask.  Only my nose was sticking out through a hole. I couldn’t open my eyes or my mouth. It was a challenge to swallow, my mouth was watering and I really needed to clear my throat…yuck! At one point, I must have fallen asleep and I woke up in a complete panic that I was suffocating. From that point forward, I concentrated on breathing deeply through my nose to stay awake. That worked and I made it through the session, although I felt very squirmy and wanted to crawl out of my skin. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear what sounded like a combination of a violin and the underbelly of an amusement park ride. Let’s not do that again.

This doesn’t look like the medieval torture device that is really is:

It was then on to chemo and that went smoothly. I am breathing better so I think this chemo is working on my lungs. When I see my oncologist next week, my number one question is how to wean off the oxygen. I think it is time which is exciting. In the meantime, I’m breaking the rules and allowing myself hour-long breaks during the day while I monitor my pulse ox. So far, so good!

Here I am today in my new sweatshirt from my Buffalo Mommy friends with zippers and snaps for my port. It is nice to be accessible and covered at the same time! Love it!

My hair is still sticking around. The next week should be interesting!