The final countdown

We shall start off with the good that happened over this past weekend, that being Bowens first foray into an actual soccer tournament.  His team didn't win the whole thing, but he played amazingly  and was definitely one of the main reasons that they did as well as they did.  I am so very proud of him when he is out there giving it his all and I can't wait to see what sports he settles in on and the experiences that await him in all his pursuits.  He had two games Saturday and one on Sunday and while it was great to get out for a little while, it also served as a good reminder that I still have a long way to go before this while thing is finished.

Other than the tournament, the weekend was not all that great from my perspective.  I had to start taking pain pills, which I hate to do, but the pain level really started to ramp up on Friday and didn't really let up at all by Saturday.  It is mainly pain in the base of my neck and shoulder on the left hand side that get significant radiation and then my mouth is starting to bother me much more as well.  I will say that I am glad that I don't have feeling in the majority of my neck, because I imagine that the pain would be much worse if that were the case.  My neck has become very stiff and the mobility of my head is very much impacted.  When I don't have Aquaphor on my neck it feels like the skin is going to split in half when I turn my head.  The mouth issues are getting bad enough that it is very much impacting my eating, but we are working through what I can and can't eat on a daily basis.  I have found some vegetable dishes that I am a big fan of and the ageless classic of Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup is becoming a staple.  

Gnarly neck

Words can not begin to express the feelings that I am having now that I am only two days away from finishing.  When I started, it felt like this would never end and now that the end is here, I can't believe how quickly it went.  It is also weird to think about waking up Thursday and NOT having to go in for radiation.  I am now filled with these feelings of 'OK, now what??'.  It just feels like I am once again entering into the undefined realm of the unknown and I suppose the prospect of that is a bit scary for me again.  I want for this to be the end of it.  I want my beard back.  I want the pain to stop.  I want, I want, I want...  I sound a lot like A.J. right about now.

On to the big news of the day...I now have my shirt picked out that I am going to wear for my final day of radiation on Wednesday.  It is amazing and I think that everyone there is going to very much enjoy it.  Consider yourself lucky, dear blog reader, for you now get a sneak peak at what I have in store for them.  AND HOW!!!!