It was an honour to be able to take Yvonne to her radiation appointment yesterday. She agreed to allow me to go into the room with her and take photos of the process (well, she had no choice actually...!).
We left Yvonne's home in Coatesville at 12pm and arrived for her 1pm appointment at 12:40. We waited in the waiting room with a variety of people from all races, ages & states of mind. As we giggled like school girls I couldn't help feel for the people who were there alone or quite obviously feeling like shite.
Eventually at around 1:30 we got called through to the treatment rooms. This starts with Yvonne getting changed into a sexy hospital gown and puts her clothes into a supermarket shopping basket! We then waited in a separate waiting room for about another 10minutes. The nurses made a great fuss of us as they were telling us about the North Shore Times article that is on their staffroom wall! They were also curious and questioning about the ride to conquer - very cool!
As one patient came out of the treatment room we were then called through. This is where I finally felt a deep sense of helplessness as Yvonne got up on the bed and had to nestle her head into the groove on the bed. They then put a tube into her mouth for her to breathe through. Once into place the mask, which goes down to the top of her chest and looks like something from Silence of the Lambs, gets pulled over her head and screwed into place to keep her super still. The lazers are then used to pinpoint her spots to be radiated. The precision and care of the technicians is to commended. They really did everything they possibly could to keep my severely claustrophobic friend at ease, comfortable and relaxed.
Once they were satisfied everything was in place we all then left her alone, strapped to a bed in the middle of a room the size of an average classroom. I sat back out in the waiting room and could hear, once again, the incredible care and attention being given to Yvonne through a speaker system as the radiation was doing its thing. This took about 10mins. Once it was over they unscrewed her mask and she walked out into the waiting room with the biggest smile on her face. A total contrast to the others I'd seen coming out of the other treatment rooms while I was waiting for her. AMAZING attitude and outlook!
Then we were off to another part of the hospital so she could see her Oncologist. This is something they do once a week to check everything is going the way it should be. By this time it was about 2:30 and we were off to a Lab on the Shore for Yvonne to give a blood sample which will check her white blood cell levels for her chemotherapy session next week. So all in all by the time I dropped Yvonne at home it was 3:45pm. I got to go home for the night and not worry about having to do it all again tomorrow and the next day for another 16 days.
Yvonne you really are 'gifted'! Your positive outlook is holding you in good stead. Almost there and what a bloody good celebration we'll have at the end of it.
Kia Kaha my friend.
Radiation Treatment
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