Raves, Bowling & Karma

Friday, I went for my MRI. It was a pretty straightforward operation although it took a while longer than I expected. I was there for a little over two hours. The MRI itself only took about 20 minutes, but there was paperwork to be filled out, they had to figure out where they were going to put me, getting the IV for the dye in, and a lot of waiting in between. Good thing I’m a patient person! Hehe....

Once I was in the room, it was easy, peasey, lemon squeezy! They had me lie face down on top of a support, where there were two openings. Gee, I wonder what they were for? Yes, I had to put my rack in the rack. Only they wouldn’t fit in the first rack. No no no... They had to get the bigger rack... the MUCH BIGGER rack. I still had to adjust. I assumed the Superman pose.

Because I was facedown, my head was supported with a mirror underneath pointed at the window at the other open end of the tube. The problem is that the window had the shades drawn. Now, that’s awesome because I really wasn’t in the mood to be showing the world my goods in that awkward position. However, if they were trying to relieve a sense of claustrophobia, I’m not sure that was the best way to go about it. Luckily, I’m not severely claustrophobic.

I chose the “I’m relaxing and pretending.. a lot” route to getting my image done. The nurse gave me a pair of foam earplugs. They hooked up the IV and slid me into the tube. There was a breeze that went across the arm that had the IV in and a bit across my face. I think it made the experience a little easier. Because it cooled my arm, I don’t think I felt the fluids going in as cool as I would have otherwise. Feeling it across my face made the tube feel more open as well, not stuffy at all. The scan started and it was very rhythmic... very Techno or Trance. I imagined myself at a rave each time the pattern changed. In between the changes, I could doze a little. What a party! :^P It was over before I knew it.

I felt fine when I left the office. I even went home and cleaned a bit. But about 2 hours afterward, I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t throw up... just felt a lot of nausea. I laid down for about an hour and felt better after I rested for a bit. I’m thinking that I had a reaction to the dye. I’m going to have to mention that to the Doc.

On Saturday, I got to hang out with my Karate Family*. For those that don’t know me well yet, yes, I’m learning Tang Soo Do along with my husband & son. I’m currently a yellow belt. Through the school, we’ve met other fantastic families. They have been so kind and supportive through all of this. We like to hang out together a lot, so expect me to mention them often!

So, anyway, we went to Don Pablo’s for dinner. Gotta say, the margaritas & sangritas were marvelous! Afterward, we went bowling. (Expect a couple of pictures to show up in this post before long!) I managed to make it through two games before I got too tired. I’m not even going to repeat my scores. It was sad. But I had so much fun playing badly!

I did have a rough spot during the end of the evening. I went to the restroom, where I was followed by a group of girls, aged about 20-24, if I had to make a guess. They were being snotty, making disparaging & racial comments directed towards me. I suppose that they were trying to act big & bad in front of each other but they sure booked out of there before I got my hands washed. I blew it off at the time, thinking “it’s only words”. But hindsight being 20/20 and all, I kept replaying it in my head. Did I handle it right? If I had said something, would it have made a difference? Part of me wanted to yell, “How dare you?!? Don’t you know? You stupid little girls... I will be losing a part of myself! I will be pumped full of chemicals and irradiated! My children will watch their Mother fall and not be perfect or Superwoman in their eyes anymore!” at the girls who were long gone.

It was painful to have these thoughts. I cuddled with Aaron that night and cried and thought. I’ve come to the conclusion that even if I had said what I felt, even if it had an impact, I would have been doing harm. It may not have been immediate, but maturity & memory have a funny way of intertwining. It makes you remember all the dumb-ass things you say and do when you are younger. My saying something only would have scarred them. Doing harm because I got my feelings hurt does not make it right. Karma has a way of making things right and there’s a bigger power out there that will take care of things without me having to take a negative karmic ding.

On a happier note, we got to be lazy bums and watch the kids play today for a while. In the afternoon, we visited with other members of our Karate Family. Then, I had a nice long chat with my longest, bestest childhood friend & sister, Traci. We’ve been friends since third grade. It was so nice to hear her voice. She lives in North Carolina and she's hoping to come visit, along with another school friend, at the end of May. I wish she could stay with us, but it’s looking like I may have a houseful already. I miss her though.



I’m almost done reading another book. It’s called “Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls” by Marybeth Maida and Debbie Kiederer. I was looking for a book to give me some tips on how to do my make-up once I go through chemotherapy. This book is so much more than that. It relates stories from survivors, tells you what to expect during a chemo session, what some of the side effects to chemo are and how to take care of them or what to ask your doctor to make it better. It’s a book worth holding onto for reference well after the first reading.



*Note to self: Make sure to get permission from friends & family before posting names and pictures. No, it hasn’t happened yet. Just covering my bases. :^P