Super Powers?

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope you ate too much, drank too much and laughed too much!!

Well I started my radiation treatments on Tuesday. Here is how it happens: I walk down the hall with the special "Radiation Signs" along the wall, and enter into the treatment room. I see in the middle a huge machine, similar to a CT or a PET Scanner with the name Tomo Therapy on the side. The nurses lay me down and bring over my mask......

I have to stop the scenario now to describe this mask. When I was fitted for this special contraption they took a flat piece of warm plastic that looked like a large fish net and put it over my face. They fitted it to the contours of my face and shoulders, let it dry and cool down. It stuck in the shape of my face. Once they took it off, i realized that my nose really is crooked and that I am going to be seeing a lot of the net mask in the following weeks.

Back to the story.. So they secure me down with my mask and proceed to move me into the big tube. I usually think about doughnuts when describing the CT, PET, Radiation Tubes. (Yum) They take a scan to make sure they line everything up correctly with my tattoo (which is just a tiny dot in the middle of my chest). Then the treatment starts- I lay there still for roughly seven minutes while something in the machine circles around me. After being in these tubes alot lately, the one difference during the treatment is the sound. Imagine when you get to go to a fancy Italian restaurant and the server comes over to offer some fresh ground pepper for your salad. It sounds like a very high tech pepper grinder! It goes around my body so that they can pinpoint and avoid hitting my lungs and heart as much as possible (which i really appreciate)  Then I get up and go!

I have a total of 17 treatments and I am done with 2. So, I'm scheduled to be done before Christmas. (didn't even have to wrap that gift)

Couple things that stink about this are that I get to go everyday (minus weekends) for treatments and my Super Powers have not appeared, yet. I tried to turn green and huge, but Erin said I just looked constipated. No jumping over buildings, except for the ones that Carter builds with his toy blocks.

Prayer requests and challenges:
I challenge you to come up with a Super Power that you would want to have! (Super Speed, Flying, X Ray Vision are some examples)
We are always needing prayers for patience with treatments, schedules, making sense of bills.

The end is in sight!!!
Love
Nate (formerly MM)