Chapter 3.2 (original version posted Tuesday, 12 Nov, 2013)

I mentioned that I would share more info when I had it.  You got some of it last week, here is some more that should bring us all up to date.
Monday we went in for the tattoos, and the body art.  I went in expecting that they would be working on me from my waist down since that is where the tumors are, but the lady said to take everything off from the waist up and put on a robe.  I meekly questioned her about that, but she said the instructions came directly from Dr. Hitchcock.  OK, says I, somewhat skeptical, and followed her instructions.
When I took the stuff off and selected a robe to match the color of my eyes, I went to the waiting room,. The technician who came to get me said I had to go back to the dressing room and take everything off.  Again, I protested, quoting the previous lady, but she was even more adamant.  OK, says I, even more skeptical about whether they had the right guy, or if their advanced communications system was really working.  On our way to the lead lined radiation room she explained that the original plan was to go after the tumors in the hips, but closer examination of the MRIs, CT scans, etc showed at least one tumor on my spine they thought they could get at the same time as the other stuff, so they wanted to do it all.
Because one of their machines is broken and now one machine has to do the work of two, they could not give me the complete schedule, only that I should come in today and go through a dry run to verify the measurements and tattoo locations.  Well, the body artists from yesterday must not have done a vey good job, because today I got more.  Circles, squares, trapezoids, and a few extra lines just for good measure.  Many of the circles surrounded the tattoos.  They would not need quite so many circles if they would just make the tattoos big enough that you can distinguish the bear from the eagle from the dragon and the sailing ship.  But, who am I to tell them their business?  I am just the canvas for all their artwork.
So today, after all their dabbling, they went through the process they will follow over the next several days.  The process is controlled by a computer program, and unlike some other people we have heard about in the news lately, these folks wanted to make sure the program actually worked before going live.  At the end of the procedure, one of them wanted to get a picture of their artistic creation, so out came a Canon digital camera and before I could object he snapped a few pics.  They had placed a tiny shroud over the essential location, but if this gets posted on Facebook or Twitter, I will sue!
I now have the schedule for the treatments.  My appointment time varies from day to day, but the actual radiation will start tomorrow, and finish next Tuesday.  I am glad they leave Saturday and Sunday alone;  we have a wedding reception on Saturday. After being a widower for 7 years, our oldest son recently got married to a wonderful girl he knew in his growing up years when we were living in Englewood, Ohio.  That was a good time:  4 bedroom houses sold for $25-35,000, and gasoline was less than a dollar a gallon.  I had an old VW beetle, and got tired of the squealing noise it made, so I took it in to a dealer to see if they could do something about the noise.  They gave it a complete tune up: new spark plugs and distributor points, oil and lube job, the works.  That fixed the whistle and cost me $11.95!  (The decimal point is in the right place.)  Ah yes, those were the days.

This should be enough for now.  My next post will likely be after the radiation is done.  I expect nothing worth talking about will occur between now and then.  I must say, however, that I appreciate your comments, and your prayers.  I am ever grateful for the Lord's tender mercies and for the wonderful friends that have blessed my life so richly.  I must also acknowledge the incredible support I receive from LaRue.  She has been right there with me all the way, and is always willing to help wherever help is needed.  She even offers advice from time to time.

MJG