Settling In

My proton beam appointment times this week have been 7:20 am. This means I wake up at 5:30, drink my 4 cups of water (to expand my bladder) at 6:20, and take the 5-minute drive to the Proton Therapy Institute. By 7:45 or so I’m finished with the treatment. Monday I also had a weekly meeting with my case manager and my doctor. Monday and Tuesday I also had the daily blood draw for the “RadTox” research study in which I’m participating. Tuesday was the last day, and the research coordinator presented me with a $60 gift card for my participation. I had already agreed to the study before I knew I’d get paid, but hey—I’ll take it.

The big question after Tuesday was: Will I continue to get early beam times, or, more likely, will I get pushed back to the end of the line and have to take very late times until I get more seniority? Well, today I had a 7:20 time again, and tomorrow will be 7:50 am. So far so good. This means I can easily leave Jacksonville tomorrow morning (PTI is closed tomorrow through Monday) and extend my Memorial Day Weekend a bit. I’ll know tomorrow morning if I come back here Monday night (for an early Tuesday beam time). Or perhaps I will wait until Tuesday morning (for a late Tuesday beam time). Either way, it’s going to be a good weekend at home.