Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments 18 & 19 (Plus the Weekend Between)
**This post was transferred from the now defunct "The Long Ease" blog.**
Last Friday:
Treatment Day: 18
Honestly? There's really nothing to report. Which probably played a part in my forgetting to post about it before now. The treatments have become routine. They feel like just a normal part of a normal day anymore. Which means I may get a little less vigilant about posting about Every. Single. Day. (Unless there are things to talk about, which, then, by all means, I will be here.)
But Friday was uneventful. I don't even remember what was on HGTV at this point.
What I do remember is that I took a wee detour on my way to work. It had been way too long since I paid a visit to Lake Erie. So I decided to just go sit out on the pier at Edgewater for a moment to enjoy the beauty of the day and feel the healing power of the water.
While I was going through my cancer treatments, Ryan and I tried to go for a walk every day by the lake. It made me feel better somehow. Until, of course, the point came when I couldn't handle the walks anymore. But Edgewater and Wendy Park were a couple of my favorite walks we took together. And just seeing and hearing the lake - there's healing in that. I know it helped. And so hopefully it helped on Friday as well.
Once I got to work, I didn't stay for long. They were stripping the floors in the room adjacent to me and the smell... my god, the smell. I am hyper-sensitive to smells of any kind - good or bad. But chemical smells - NO! Not just because it stinks, but BECAUSE of cancer, I am all the more vigilant about staying away from stuff like that. So I bailed. But it was good, because I went home and worked on my first piece of art for an upcoming "show" at a wine bar here in Cleveland, called Toast. I worked on it all evening and ended up finishing it on Saturday:
Aside from getting back at the artworks this weekend, I also had a full plate with a trip to the dentist (I LOVE Dr. Nesbett), some freelance work for the gallery I used to work at, grocery shopping, frame shopping, a very special night with some girlfriends I haven't seen in far too long, breakfast with my parents before they ran off to Yellowstone for the week, and some very rare quality time with my husband.
After all of which, I completely crashed last night and woke up this morning for...
Treatment Day: 19
I have to admit, the feeling of "I'm feeling so much better" has started to fade. I had some cruddy pains this weekend as well as this morning. Tried very hard to focus on sending myself healing vibes, but it was difficult while I was so busy hating Farnaz & Neema, who were house-hunting with Egypt on HGTV's "Property Virgins". (This is one of the WORST shows I've had to watch, and it, of course, the only one that has repeated more than one day since treatments began. Blech.) But I got away from my point. That being my loathing of Farnaz. She really was the worst. Even the nurse picked up the handset they use to talk to me and was like, "I want to punch that girl in the mouth." (That was kind of awesome.)
As for how I'm feeling overall, I think seeing my weight at the Dr. Kebria appointment has really thrown me off. I'm so inactive right now - and that, more than anything, has been where I manage to keep my weight under control. But still being kind of afraid to get back to workouts and even vaguely strenuous movements... I just feel fat and gross. I am struggling to eat well, too. My usual salads are really upsetting my body right now, so I guess I just feel like I'm not eating as veggie-heavy as I would like. I don't know. It's difficult to explain. Hopefully things will get back on track soon, or I will start feeling a little better or a little less afraid to get more physical. It's so hard to stay still once you start getting used to being more active. Maybe I'll go for a walk around the park this evening or something...
Other than that, I guess no news is good news. I may or may not opt to write again tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see.
Until whenever I DO come back for another round,
Xxo.
Phoebe Marie
Last Friday:
Treatment Day: 18
Honestly? There's really nothing to report. Which probably played a part in my forgetting to post about it before now. The treatments have become routine. They feel like just a normal part of a normal day anymore. Which means I may get a little less vigilant about posting about Every. Single. Day. (Unless there are things to talk about, which, then, by all means, I will be here.)
But Friday was uneventful. I don't even remember what was on HGTV at this point.
What I do remember is that I took a wee detour on my way to work. It had been way too long since I paid a visit to Lake Erie. So I decided to just go sit out on the pier at Edgewater for a moment to enjoy the beauty of the day and feel the healing power of the water.
While I was going through my cancer treatments, Ryan and I tried to go for a walk every day by the lake. It made me feel better somehow. Until, of course, the point came when I couldn't handle the walks anymore. But Edgewater and Wendy Park were a couple of my favorite walks we took together. And just seeing and hearing the lake - there's healing in that. I know it helped. And so hopefully it helped on Friday as well.
 |
| From one of our walks at Edgewater in November or December of 2011. |
 |
| "weary." collage, ink, pencil, vinyl and embroidery floss on paper. 17 x 11 |
After all of which, I completely crashed last night and woke up this morning for...
Treatment Day: 19
I have to admit, the feeling of "I'm feeling so much better" has started to fade. I had some cruddy pains this weekend as well as this morning. Tried very hard to focus on sending myself healing vibes, but it was difficult while I was so busy hating Farnaz & Neema, who were house-hunting with Egypt on HGTV's "Property Virgins". (This is one of the WORST shows I've had to watch, and it, of course, the only one that has repeated more than one day since treatments began. Blech.) But I got away from my point. That being my loathing of Farnaz. She really was the worst. Even the nurse picked up the handset they use to talk to me and was like, "I want to punch that girl in the mouth." (That was kind of awesome.)
As for how I'm feeling overall, I think seeing my weight at the Dr. Kebria appointment has really thrown me off. I'm so inactive right now - and that, more than anything, has been where I manage to keep my weight under control. But still being kind of afraid to get back to workouts and even vaguely strenuous movements... I just feel fat and gross. I am struggling to eat well, too. My usual salads are really upsetting my body right now, so I guess I just feel like I'm not eating as veggie-heavy as I would like. I don't know. It's difficult to explain. Hopefully things will get back on track soon, or I will start feeling a little better or a little less afraid to get more physical. It's so hard to stay still once you start getting used to being more active. Maybe I'll go for a walk around the park this evening or something...
Other than that, I guess no news is good news. I may or may not opt to write again tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see.
Until whenever I DO come back for another round,
Xxo.
Phoebe Marie
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