Beach Therapy

I am feeling about 95%. Feeling very strong, very normal, very me. With each recent treatment it seems I'm recovering further, getting much closer to my normal self before the next treatment. Much improved over the first few treatments. Let's hope this trend continues. I know I had several days of fatigue and acheyness, but it seems like forever ago. 

This weekend my parents "kidnapped" Craig and me for a day away in Rhode Island. My little brother (who despite being seven years younger than me, towers nearly a foot over me) joined in on the road trip too. So it was me, Mike and Craig getting nice and cozy across the back seat of my parents car, Dad behind the wheel, mom manning the music and AC/open window swapping. 

Like three five-year-olds we entertained ourselves in the back seat by pinching a clothespin onto odd places like my mom's ear or the back of each other's arms. Though I was squished between two grown men, I couldn't pick two that I'd rather be rubbing sweaty shoulders with for two hours. 

We stopped to stuff our faces with fried goodness at a forever family favorite: Cap'n Jacks for fish and chips, fried whole-belly clams, scallops and greasy French fries. It certainly hit the spot - the perfect antithesis to my collard greens and rice cakes diet of late. 

Then it was to da beach. The weather was perfect - 80s, but a nice breeze so you didn't feel like a sweaty mess. Narragansett Beach was packed, beach chairs and blankets with scantily clad bodies packed in tight like sardines, but we found a spot and settled in. 

Michael and I headed for the waves, despite the bone-chilling temp of the water. I came to the beach to swim and having grown up on many years of cold Cape Cod waters each summer, I know the trick of a quick dive under the water to shock the body into adjusting to Atlantic Ocean temps. I LOVE body surfing. Anticipating the right wave and timing it perfectly so that you ride the crest all the way in, then getting your body wrecked as the wave crashes and forces you into the sand is one of my favorite activities. 

I had my white bandana tied tight on my head to block the rays and not freak people out. I don't know what made me think that would stay on. It's been raining like crazy for weeks so the ocean was particularly tumultous. After the first wave took me under that sucker was long gone. Suprise everyone! Bald girl riding the waves. 

"I'd rather you lose your bandana than your top," says my brother after I muscle my way back out to him at the wave break line. True that, I thought. 

After a walk with Craig to the breaker it was max and relax time. Surrounded by my favorite people in the world I spread out on the Mexican blanket and fell asleep to the sounds of my mom and dad talking and Craig and Michael tossing the aerobie. So content. 

Then we mozied back to reality stopping for ice cream and iced coffees then take-home pizza along the way. 

My belly was full. My heart was happy. My skin tight from the salt and sun. My bathing suit and bottom full of itchy sand. A perfect summer day. 

Unfortunately, I know these feelings won't last. After Wednesday it'll be several more days before I can think about body surfing again. Wednesday is going to be a very big day. At 7:15 a.m. my mom and I will be at Jefferson Radiology to have my port-a-cath surgically placed in my chest. I had a consultation today which helped calm my nerves some and helped me to better understand the great advantages of this creepy little device. From the "twilight" state I'll be in after the port insertion, it'll be a drive over to the cancer center where I'll jump right into my sixth chemo session ... this time through my newly minted port. If all goes well, the whole process will be faster and there'll be no pain from needles or the drugs themselves. Thank God I have my mom to make sure I make it to where I need to be and get through the day in one piece. It's sure to be a woozy whirlwind.