A Monday

So...I am sure there was a reason I made this face in this photo, but because it is now actually over a week later that I am posting it...I can no longer remember why...  I guess that is good, hey?!

On Mondays, I have extra-long radiation sessions due to the x-rays they take, but I can't imagine that is why the straight face instead of the smile.  Oh well...it's a mystery.  Here is my Monday photo.

21 down.  Nine to go!

Door Made of Lead

And for today's selfie, I would like to show you the amazingly thick door that stands between the radiation room (is there a proper name for this room, girls?) and the rest of the world.  Here it is...

Kacia and Courtney got out some measuring tape - it is two feet thick!

Here is my selfie in front of this protective door.

So here are my thoughts about this door...I am glad it is there.  I mean, it keeps everyone protected from the dangerous (cancer-causing!) radiation.  The radiation that no one, in their right mind, wants to be exposed to.  It keeps the people outside safe.  For those of us inside, it represents just what we are willing to do to get rid of this awful disease called cancer.  We are willing to lie on hard tables for a half-hour (20 minutes?), while they turn on that disgusting radiation (which is actually only on for 30 seconds at a time, but still...) and close that giant door, thereby trapping us inside with the stuff that no one else wants to be near.  In my worst moments (luckily only lasted for like 20 seconds) on that table in that room I wondered if they have ever had one of the machines malfunction and someone was stuck inside with the radiation and the door closed tightly.  I am fairly certain the answer is "No" but I am still too afraid to ask.  I don't want to know the answer to that question.  I am trusting the powers-that-be that when I get on that table and have my chin strapped down that all will be well and all will work properly.  I am trusting my L1 Girls to hit the right buttons and line everything up proper (though I do my best to distract them) and make certain it is all okay before they shut that door.  I am trusting that door to do its job and to keep everyone outside safe, but I am also trusting that if something went wrong and I ripped that damn (sorry!) strap off my chin and ran to that door that I would, indeed, be able to slide it open and escape that terrible-wonderful room.  And yes, I have envisioned doing that.  And, no, I have never come close to trying.  My arm may have twitched once in response to the thought, but I closed my eyes or looked at the pretty tulips or listened to the fun music and thought about something else.  Because even though the radiation in harmful, for some reason it is supposed to be helpful to me and that means that as I am lying there wondering where my help comes from I can also think about the miracle of radiation and the added percentages it gives me towards a recurrence-free life.  

So, thank you radiation for your ridiculousness.  And, thank you, Froedtert and L1 Girls for keeping everyone safe.  But, watch out people - if that machine buzzes for more than 33-ish seconds, we are gonna find out just how strong I am!

P.S.  Yes, I like to be dramatic.  In all honesty, I don't think that door even locks when the girls leave the room.  And, even though it is massive, I believe it slides fairly easily - I never hear anyone grunt while opening it as they come into the room...  Huh!  Unless it is automatic and locks super-quiet while the buzzing is happening and then slides open automatically so the girls don't even have to do it?!?!  Oh no!!!  Is it automatic?!  No.  No, it's not.  I know it isn't.  It isn't...right?

BFF Selfie!

Beth is in town!  And she joined me for a little radiation today!  Okay, she didn't, of course, actually join me in getting radiated, but she came in the back with me and met some of the L1 Girls.  We had lunch in the bistro after radiation and even watched a bit of the World Cup from one of the lounges while we enjoyed our Portabella Mushroom sandwiches.  What a great way to do radiation!!!

Well, Finally...

Okay, so I got a little behind on the selfies.  I am going to back-post them anyway, since I did actually take the selfies on these dates...I just didn't get around to posting them.

I had wanted to do a "series" this week on the machine and the equipment and all of those fun things, but have been crazy busy between kids schedules, my radiation schedule, and fighting the desire to go to bed every night at about 8pm.  But, here is what I took in preparation for it...

Here is an awesome picture that Kacia took of the machine from my perspective as I lie on the table.  I can't actually see my reflection, but close too it.  I can generally see the warm blanket they place over me (I am a cold-ilocks!).  But, I thought this was a pretty cool selfie for today.

So that window that you see my reflection in is where the radiation comes from.  There are like these keys that line up to allow the radiation through in the correct pattern for my body.  Those tortuous CT scans and x-rays I have had make certain that the radiation is pointing at the right stuff and not too much of the wrong stuff.  Dr. Wilson showed me a nifty picture of how the radiation hits a small slice of my heart and lungs, but not much.  They do their best to minimize that - thank you - we appreciate that, kindly!

The round can-lights are where the lights that create the numbers and axes on my body to line the machine up shine from.  Once I am radiated from above, the machine moves to also radiate me from below.  Then I see this above me, instead of the machine:

Unfortunately, this peaceful scene is just slightly out of my eye-line, but if I squint enough I can enjoy the thought of siting in a tulip-filled garden.  For some reason, it reminds me of my grandma's backyard.  I think it is the trees that remind me of the woods behind her house.

But, this is more accurately what I can actually see.  Darn.  Oh well.  The girls have fun playing different music for me, so I enjoy that, instead!

The Damn (Sorry) Chinstrap

Is chinstrap one word or two?  My spellcheck is not catching it, so we are going to go with one. 

Here it is, folks. The infamous, damned (sorry) chinstrap. 

I have to tell you, smiling in that thing is not easy. Not because it pains me to smile with it on, but rather because it actually hurts to smile with it on!  It digs into my chin and neck. Still, it was a lot worse before they cut the bottom away. It used to feel like I was choking. So glad we got that fixed!

And here is a picture of the lights they shine upon me (with appropriate parts covered or cut from the frame) to line my body up with the machine. If you look closely, you can see my dot tattoo in the center where the axes meet. 

If there's time, maybe tomorrow we will get some video. If not, maybe my view from the machine. Fun!

Vlog Brothers Selfie

Over the weekend, I started the post about how we adopted a puppy, and then...I don't know...  Life happened, or something. I am working on it, I swear.

I wanted to start a series this week focused on the actual workings of radiation, but I was not in the best mindset today. Matt's grandma Eileen passed away last week at the age of 94 and her funeral was today. I missed most of it (due to radiation), but got to attend the meal with many Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. It was quite an event!  She was quite the lady.

So, instead of a radiations-workings pic, I took a Vlog Brothers-esque Selfie. You may not think you know who or what the Vlog Brothers are, but if you have read the book or seen the movie "The Fault In Our Stars", then you know half of the Brothers Green - John. Hank is the other brother and they have a  YouTube video series they began back in 2007. They are excellent videos. I encourage you to watch some (it would take a lifetime to watch them all). One thing they often do, is cut off most of their faces and just show their eyes. So, without further ado, my Vlog Brothers Selfie:

I feel like my eyes look beady... Or cross-eyed or something. Not my favorite, but oh well, here it is. 

Another Day

Since it is another busy day in the Kons' House, I am posting this even before I go to radiation.  A.k.a. I have the time right now.  On today's agenda - another Pine Lake Camp trip as it is already time to go back and get Kyrie.  I feel like camp should be a bit longer than two days when you are talking about a four-hour total car ride to go and get her and bring her home.  Maybe one extra day between those car trips would've been nice.  But, that's what's gotta be done today and so I will head to radiation again, this time with Sue to accompany me and then we will go and pick up Stacie, and the three of us will head out to get the girls.  Because there is a short program at pick-up, we will likely need to stop for dinner on the way home and thus our arrival time back at the 'stead won't be until at least 7:30pm at my best guess.  

And, I think the radiation fatigue has started to kick in.  I find myself yawning profusely at around 6pm these days.  I turned the light off last night at 9:30pm, but then had trouble sleeping - that doesn't help matters!  I don't think I got to sleep till at least 11:30pm, which isn't so bad, but I could've used those other two hours on top of it.  Oh well.  We soldier on.  Maybe there will be some rest this weekend (ROTF).

Happy Half-way!!!!!  Only 15 more to go!

It Never Rains, But...

Lariska woke up with a sore throat again yesterday.  I had such a busy day ahead of me; I knew there was no way I could fit a visit to Dr. Grunske in there.  So, I had my mom take her to Walgreens for the quick test for Strep throat, while I packed Kyrie up for camp.  Yup, sure enough, she was positive.  She stayed home from Day Camp, I ran to radiation, then came home to pick up Kyrie, Breanna, Amy and their moms and we all drove to Pine Lake Camp to drop the girls off for a couple of days of Treehouse Adventuring.  I returned home around 6pm, put the kids to bed while Matt was at Puppy Training Class (uh-huh), and then came downstairs to deal with said puppy.

I am not sure I had a moment to breathe, so I am glad today was a bit more calm.  By noon, Lari had been on antibiotics for 24-hours and she was desperate to go back to Day Camp again for the pizza party that day.  Here we are on our way to camp (after which I went straight to radiation, but upon my return home I got to sit down for an hour and relax before Lari got back again and I took her to the pediatrician to make sure everything was okay.  Sheesh!)

Happy She Feels Better

Crazy Town

It's Crazy Town at the Kons House.  Read tomorrow's post for more details.

Skipping

Since I still do not have enough time amidst the packing kids for overnight camps, day camps, play dates, t-ball,

lessons, and radiation, to tell the story of our puppy, I will instead tell you about the musical adventures of radiation. 

My L1 Girls know I don't like Country now (thank you, Dena). As such, they have been having fun mixing it up with the music every day. One day last week there was some new-age-y spa music, yesterday I got to jam out to some John Mayer, and today...today they found a Gray's Anatomy Soundtrack in their musical left-behinds closet and put it on for me after realizing the Country was still playing. It would have been an interesting listen had it not been for the rather large skip in the CD that kept this discordant guitar playing for two seconds, followed by five seconds of silence, then two more seconds of guitar - you get the picture. At first, I thought it was supposed to be some kind of artistic thing, then I realized it was just awful. Luckily, as soon as the girls came in they heard it as well and switched it to a new song. Or maybe, luckily today's radiation went by very fast because that CD had some major problems. Bummer, Courtney - listening to Gray's Anatomy would've been interesting. But, I'll take the spa music back if it's all the same to you. So glad that radiation continues to be joyful!

Today's selfie -- No time for makeup, too busy potty-training puppies!

"Sigh"

 

Lost Our Minds

To put it in a nutshell for you - Matt and I have lost our minds. Over the weekend we "accidentally" adopted a puppy from the Elmbrook Humane Society. I will explain this misadventure in another post on another day hopefully very soon, but right now we are dealing with the craziness of having a new pup in our mix.

 Meet Watson

Lest ye ever doubted our insanity, there is now concrete proof. 

My radiation face today - What have we done?

Crabby

How is that I can be having a not-so-great morning, dealing with rambunctious boys, tiredness, and just the general ick that comes with having (had) cancer and then when I got to radiation, essentially not the place I wanted to be, I was completely cheered up by "the girls" simply by talking about books?

It isn't fun to have to leave the boys (and soon all the kids) on a daily basis, and driving in the construction traffic is not the most desirable thing, and I definitely don't love the idea of being in the vicinity of radioactive substances and having those substances directed at my chest, but it sure is nice to know that if you have to do those things, that you can count on the people who are there to have a smile on their faces and kindness in their hearts. 

Something that has gone through my mind repeatedly as I stare at the ceiling during radiation is, "Where does my help come from?"  It is from the 121st Psalm and goes like this:

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

After a further discussion with these girls post-radiation about churches, I know that my help has indeed come from the LORD through the L1 girls.  Now when I stare at the ceiling and wonder,  I can also remember thank God for their sparks of joy that have help to re-kindle my own. 

Pre-radiation. Crabby:

Post-radiation. Better:

Froedtert Fun

Today, being Thursday, means that I had a Dr. Appt. to accompany the usual radiation and as such my wonderful husband was nice enough to come with me. 

Dr. Wilson said that everything looks great. You still can't even tell that I have had radiation, so that is good. The longer I can go without getting pink, the better I assume it will be in the long-run. 

And here is my whole team, all together, affectionately known as "the girls" in my mind. 

Courtney, me, Barb, and Kacia. We definitely need to get a shot that does not involve all of that blue gown. 

As if I don't get enough of Froedtert, I also returned in the evening for a Young Survivors Coalition meeting. It is great to get together with a group of gals who can answer questions as well as know what it's like to go through this adventure. 

On my way out there was a beautiful moon so I attempted to snap a shot of it. I would call it "Moon Over Froedtert" but really it's more like "Moon Beyond Froedtert". 

No Country for Young Women

Radiation went great today. I am learning a lot about how the machines work and what they do, etc. One of these days when I "have more time" I will do a post on it, hopefully with some visual aids. 

Here's my selfie for the day. 

In The Dressing RoomThis is where I change from my clothes to a gown and then back to my clothes again. 

It was funny today when the girls pointed out to me that the radio was playing Country. I hadn't even noticed!  In the middle of my second radiation I heard the station switching. Thanks girls!  You guys are awesome!!!

Losing Track

Okay, I am already losing track of not only what day of the week it is, but also how many times I have done radiation. When you do practically the same thing everyday it starts to run together. 

But, I really didn't do the same thing today. I was fortunate enough to get to go out to lunch with Erin Ledlie and Sue Brandel before radiation. And they were also nice enough to humor me with a stop off at B&N so I could accomplish a few errands...which also meant they had to listen to me talk incessantly about the books I read. Poor them. 

Anyway, we had a really nice time. But I forgot to get a picture of us!  Darnit! (I spell it like that so it is more akin to a swear word.)  So, instead of a new selfie, I offer you the following one that I took right after doing one of the longer set up radiation appointments. I think it was the dry-run one, which may be called a SIM....or may not be. I am unclear. 

I took this to share my drawn-on body, but I don't think I ever shared it. Now I have. 

Seven down. Twenty-three to go!

Six Down

Day number six, done!  Only 24 left to go!

I had another fun time today with Barb, Kacia and Courtney.  We talked books this afternoon.  Doesn't get any better for me.

By the way, Barb - remember how I couldn't come up with the genre for the book I was reading - I thought of it the moment I got into my car.  It is a mystery, but to be more precise it is a Detective Novel.  Except, it has the twist that the detective is a wizard.  I know, weird.  But, this series is very good.  The author, super-creative with a writing style I admire.  The main character, a good person with good values.  He just happens to be able to also do some magic.  Weird, I know.  But, I think magic exists of a sort in this world.  I think radiation is a form of magic - rays you can't see or feel (when you at first receive them, anyway) that zap cancer?  Pretty sweet!  (Okay, science.  Fine.)

Anyway...(if you don't like Fantasy Fiction ignore that last paragraph)...no Country again today. Thanks girls!  Every Monday I have x-rays taken, so it takes a little longer.  My arms go into that nasty tingly sleep, but now I feel like I am being a wuss.  Still, I have to say it is a bit of torture.

Actually, in retrospect, I think the torturous part about the whole situation is that you are put into this uncomfortable position and granted, that is not very fun, but then when the actual x-rays or radiation happens everyone has to leave the room and you are left alone there with just your cold Girlfriends taped to a table and your thoughts.  I think that's why these posts have taken a turn toward the bizarre.  I start to think weird, strange, ridiculous thoughts while left alone in a room with whirring machinery, while not able to move.  You might, too?!

Today's selfie - It's Monday!

Some Awesomeness

I have quite a bit of awesomeness to catch up on and I know I am going to forget quite a bit, but here is what I have to tell you about at this moment:

Thank you Lilly Becker family for the delicious chocolate chip banana bread!  Yum!  We gobbled that stuff right up.

An amazing Greek salad from Erin Wurtzbacher. SO good!!!!

Flowers from my wonderful husband for finishing a week of radiation.  Awwww!  Thanks, hon!

A radiation tree!  My mother-in-law, Linda, had this Easter tree and thought it would be fun to use it as a countdown for radiation. There is something taped to the bottom for me to open when the 30-rounds are complete.  Fun!  Thanks, Linda!!!!

Week One - Done!

Despite it's somewhat inauspicious ending, week one is done!  I say it was inauspicious, not because I did not do yesterday's radiation (I did!), but because I got tested for Strep and was, unfortunately, positive.  Despite those results, when we went to pick up my Rx, it had not been called in yet.  The next morning (today), still no meds for Kelly and I was starting to feel quite bad.  After calling the triage nurses at Froedtert and getting an answering machine, I finally decided to call their "emergency" answering service - shows you my level of desperation.  I got through there and they were super-nice and understanding and within a few hours I received a call from Walgreen's that my prescription was in.  Hallelujah!  I am now on the road to feeling better.

Even though I had chills yesterday and an extremely achy body, I still had a nice time at radiation.  A nice time, you say?!  Yes.  After completing the day's radiating the girls confronted me saying,
"We hear you don't like Country Music?!"
Uh-oh.  Whoops.
I said, "You got a hold of my blog!"
"Nope", they answered.
Dena came down and told them, "No more country music!"

DENA!  You wonderful, hilarious, sneaky, awesome friend!  I love you to pieces.  And, boy are you devious!

After that, the girls (we need to come up with a name for this awesome team of women) and I talked for quite a bit about my blog and what was on it, etc. I also learned a little bit more about them and I feel so very privileged to have them on my team to make certain we rid my body of any lurking cancer cells.  The thing I love the most about them is their huge smiles when I walk in every day.  No matter how much you love your job, there are always things that happen that can get you down or distract you.  But, these girls are always smiling.  They made sure there was no Country playing today and Courtney even fixed my damn (sorry) chin strap so that it's no longer choking me.  They make sure I have warm blankets not just around my legs, but also each of my arms, and they laugh at me when I throw up my eyes everyday at the taping down of Girlfriend No. 1.

I am very thankful to have them.  And now, I will address them directly:

Dear Barb, Kacia, Courtney, Kim, that dude that was there that one day (ha! sorry, I don't remember your name!), and anyone who happens to be there in the future:

Please don't take anything I wrote previous to this day as something against you.  If I complained, it was about the situation.  If I griped, it's because it's what I do when I find myself in strange situations - I find a way to complain about it in a semi-humorous way and then I move on in life.  If I swore, it was not at you!  You have all been nothing but professional, helpful, kind and understanding.  The torture you inflicted upon me was simply your job and something I completely understand.  I signed up for it because I want my best chance at being rid of the C-word for-ever.  I mean this truly when I say to you - I love you all.  Can we be best friends?!

Sincerely, 
Kelly Kons

Today's selfie (from left to right): Kacia, me, Barb, and Kim (not pictured Courtney)

Courtney - don't let me chicken out from asking you for a picture!

Really?!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. I went to bed early due to not feeling so well myself. Now this morning my throat hurts worse when I swallow. I think it may be time for me to get tested for Strep as well. Grrrr...  I can't believe I made it through six months of Chemo with one small cold (that did knock me out, but still...) and now that it is almost Summer I get sick?! Crazy. 

Here is yesterday's selfie. 

This is my friend, Erin Ledlie. She was kind enough to go to radiation with me yesterday. It was especially nice of her as I had my first weekly doctor appt. and didn't know what to expect. But, because t was the first it went very quick. Still, kinda boring for people who come with me to just sit in the waiting room for a half hour. It sure does make the car ride more fun, though!  Thanks, Erin!

Afternoon selfie:

Come A Little Closer

Day Three and also the third day that I heard the song "Come a Little Closer" on the radio as I was getting radiated.  I thought "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons would be my theme song for these weeks, but now I am thinking that maybe I am inviting these rays to come a little closer, or maybe I need to listen to the entire song thoroughly for the message I may be missing out on.  (Nope.  Just looked it up and I gotta say I don't think I am missing out on any hidden messages there.)

Here is my selfie for the day:

Frustrated

Titled, "Frustrated" because shortly before I took this picture I received a call from Matthew that Lariska came home from school today sick.  I left for Physical Therapy at Froedtert at 10am and then stuck around the hospital for 1:15pm radiation. I got out of PT to find like four missed calls on my phone.  One from the school nurse, one from my mom, one from Matt, and one from...I am not sure...it probably wasn't related to Lari being sick.  Anyway...Lari has been complaining of a sore throat.  Matt has tonsillitis and is on antibiotics for it and you may remember back in February that Lari ended up in the hospital from being dehydrated due to Strep Throat. Well, I was not going to take any chances, so I called the pediatrician and waited on their Nurses Line for quite some time before finally getting through and made an appointment for 2:45pm.

I was not particularly looking forward to having to sit in the hospital between appointments for an hour, but I didn't mind that I was going to get to read my book for awhile.  Well, between calls to Matt, my mom, and the Ped. I had five minutes left before I had to be at radiation.  Sigh.

But, on the plus side, radiation was super-fast today.  On Monday and Tuesday they had to take some x-rays (I don't really know why - it has something to do with making sure the radiation is going to hit the right part of the body and not the wrong stuff.  You know...we wouldn't want to get extra poisonous horrific stuff places it doesn't belong, but it's okay to put it where there once was cancer?!?! So weird.), but today they didn't need to take any and so it was just positioning and re-positioning and taping and such.  I think it took maybe fifteen minutes.  And a few of those minutes were the "pleasantries" where we all asked each other how we were and that kind of thing.  It is kind of fun getting to know Barb, and Kacia, and Courtney.  They are all super-nice and answer all of my questions very easily.  And, they said I can bring my camera in any day I want to so I can add some visual aids to the blog.  I am going to try and do that tomorrow.  Yay!

After radiation, I headed home, grabbed Lariska, went to the pediatrician, found out she does indeed have Strep, went to the pharmacy, got her prescription (and eight new toothbrushes as well as some Children's Advil), went to Panera Bread and got some soup for her for dinner and then finally came home.  By the time I got here it was 4pm.  Sheesh!  Long, crazy, frustrating day.  I am glad it is now almost bedtime.  I, for one, am ready for bed!

Three down, twenty-seven to go. 

Day Two

After attending the Burleigh Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, Sue Brandel accompanied me to radiation. I asked her kind of spur of the moment if she wanted to come with me and was thrilled when she said, "Yes."  Radiation is not like Chemo where attendees get to sit with me. I go in a back waiting room and everything, so friends sit in a separate place from me. And then I spend the next 20-25 minutes receiving the radiation, which no one would want to be near, anyway. So, it was awful nice of Sue to go with me. It made a dull car ride a lot more fun!  And, we had a short lunch together in the hospital bistro afterward. It had been awhile since I had been there, but next time we need to go somewhere more fun!

Thanks, Sue, for going with me!  Day two was a lot better than I thought it would be!  Two down. Twenty-eight to go. 

Radiation - Day One

I have been trying to come up with something creative to make my thirty days of radiation more fun. Originally, I thought I would get something for each day and fill a jar with those somethings.  Or hand them to the radiation people every day.  Or have them hand me something.  Yeah, nothing really came to mind.  And then the weekend was over and it was Monday and other things in life seemed more important.

So, when we were on our way to my first real radiation appointment today (Matt came with me), I was disappointed I had not come up with something to make this more "fun".  (Let's be honest, for the last two weeks I have been turning to Matt and saying, "I don't want to do this." at random intervals.  I mean, come on, who, really, would want to do any of this?  But, with Chemo I had just been newly diagnosed and was desperate to do anything to get the cancerous sh#! out of my body and my friends came with me every time and made me laugh.  And then with the surgery, while something I so-did-not-want-to-do it was just an obvious necessity to get past - twice.  But, with the radiation, it feels superfluous and silly, and really, all I can think of is "Project X"  and that silver arm coming out of the floor and I don't want to be some monkey flying a simulated airplane just to see how long my brain will function!...  Okay, did that just get weird?  Forget that part...  Can we just make radiation fun somehow?)  So, finally I decided I would take a daily selfie in an attempt to document my feelings for the day.

Day One:  Trepidation (Fretful?  "I don't want to do this!")

As it turns out, Day One was not so bad.  If you can get past the part where my arms were back above my head and slightly raised, and Girlfriend No. 1 was taped to the table.  If you can get past the damn (sorry) chin strap that chokes me out and irritates my ear.  If you can get past the fact that they had to take an additional x-ray before the thing began.  If you can get past the part where I chickened out and didn't ask them to change the radio station (Country again).  If you can get past the hard table and the drawing on the body and the cold exposure of my self to the colder machines.  If you can get past all of that...then...yeah, this was the easy part.

The actual radiation?  Takes like 30 seconds three or four times over.  There is a quiet clicking noise while it is happening and it is very short.  Can't see it.  Can't feel it.  The majority of the time is taken up with the drawing, the taping, the positioning, the re-positioning, the checking and double-checking. My arms still fell soundly asleep.  My psyche still felt like I was trapped in a choke-hold.  And my modesty still had to go out the window.  BUT...it was much shorter and I have now met these people before.  I can see how they will become friends over the next six weeks.  Dr. Wilson is still not safe from the cursing, but at least I can see that it is now going to get easier.

And the countdown begins.  29 more to go.