I was not on the radiation rotation schedule today but my poor niece had been sick all night. So rather than expose my mom to germs, I got the call that most pitchers dream about in the big league. I was being called from the bull pen to head to the mound!
I scurried through the house exchanging my bunny slippers for tennis shoes and out the door I went. I arrived at Casa de Longo to find a weary woman ready to crawl back into bed and just pull the covers over her head. Mom looked tired and the side effects of the radiation had really kicked in today.
Unfortunately, anytime you are having your stomach or abdomen irradiated, you can get nauseous and at times it is very similar to chemo. Mom was beside herself with worry as to whether she could make the thirty minute drive without the “chunkage.” Now here’s where a true blue ChemoSabe can either take a situation from bad to worse, or from bad to better. Without skipping a beat, I grabbed her pink “chunkage” bucket, a roll of paper towels and a back-up shirt. Then I looked her square in the eye and said, “whatever you toss my way, I got it covered.” So after a few minutes of composing herself and downing a Zofran (a Cancer patient’s best friend) we were on our way.
Since we were running late, I was traveling down the Tollway at a pretty good clip, when I heard the sounds of muffled sniffles to my right. Now, anyone that has been around a Cancer patient can attest to the fact that it is sometimes a roller coaster ride of emotion. So as I asked mom what was upsetting her, she managed to squeak out something about me being on a shelf somewhere in the Stork’s factory with “Reserved for Ida Longo” affixed to some appendage on my person. It took me a few minutes to process what she was trying to say, I thought it was that pesky ChemoBrain again! :o) But then she uttered, “thank you for being my daughter” and I understood in an instant what she was trying to say.
Cancer is not an easy foe to wage war on. But no matter how bad it gets (both physically and emotionally) if you are able to keep your composure no matter what situation arises, you can weather the storm and ride the wave to calmer seas. That’s’ the key.
As we got closer to the hospital, mom said I could probably drive to Medical City with my eyes closed. And no sooner had she finished that sentence then a Stevie Wonder song started to play on the radio. How ironic is that? As I belted out my rendition of “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” I thought I would perplex the people driving beside me by swaying my head side-to-side ala Stevie. Let’s just say it caused people to do a double take, which in turn made mom laugh.
We got to the radiation appointment on time and after thirty-five minutes, we were good to go. I had totally forgotten that I promised to take mom to a wig boutique that specializes in cancer patients. But as we headed out the door, she asked if we had time to go – Zofran is a miracle drug my friends!
Mimi’s Boutique is a Cancer patient’s dream – wall to wall wigs and head coverings in every style and color one could imagine. The stylists were wonderfully compassionate and understanding and after an hour of trying on hair, momma got a new look. Her new doo is not only stylish, but I was surprised to see her embrace one with highlights. She said she wanted something with pizzazz and indeed she got what she asked for.
Of course, when you are used to looking at a shiny cranium for the past three months, the wig does take a bit of getting use to, but I think she looks B-E-A-UTIFUL!
On our way home, we stopped off at a local restaurant to get a salad for lunch and what started out to be the day from hell, turned out to be salvageable in the end. As we exited the restaurant, I spotted a giant chili pepper and told mom to strike a pose. Can you guess which one is hotter!?
My lesson for the day is no matter what happens, don’t wig out! It does not benefit anyone, especially a cancer patient, to get upset, angry or to lose your composure over something that they have no control over. Remain calm and stay focused on the big picture – doing whatever you have to do to get them over that hump.
Val
(Mom's new Scooby...Dooby....doo.)
(Ida pecked a peck of mammoth peppers.)
