Radioactive

Wanna see what "radio-surgery" looks like? I followed Dad into the treatment room on Monday, where they got him on the table,  covered him with warmed blankets, and bolted his masked head in place. That big machine hovering over the male tech spins around to orient to the three targets on Dad's mask; I didn't stay for that.

After Dad's third and last radiation treatment Monday, the staff clapped and cheered, pinning a daffodil to his vest. Yes, he got to keep the mask as a souvenir!

Now the predicted fatigue is setting in, although not yet as bad as his doctor warned it could get. This last week that I'm here could end up being pretty quiet. Today is quiet because the handymen who started the bathroom remodel yesterday had to be elsewhere. Hope they can still finish by the end of the week as estimated. And I hope Dad has some quality months left after the post-radiation fatigue, for all our sakes. My step-brother has arranged a ride up this weekend for a short visit (he lives in a nursing home six hours away), and my sister is driving down from Lincoln, NE with her boy less than a week after I leave. She and I will be coming back for visits as often as we can; I already have a plane reservation for two weeks in late April to early May.

This is the fourth turtle I've finished here

Today I finished spinning the last of the fiber I brought with me so of course I did the only sensible thing – I ordered more. Actually, my sister ordered it because she has Amazon Prime – and then wouldn't let me pay for it. She said it was a little thank-you for all I'm doing here. She has been a huge help as well, researching things, sending links, ordering things (like a bedside commode and wheelchair, not just my fiber 😉), and most of all giving me a ton of emotional support, empathy, and a chance to laugh at some of the absurdities that have been a part of all this.

If I let myself dwell on things at home – my dog not getting fed because the two men in the house each assumed the other was doing it; my horses – particularly my young, hot mare – not getting turned out; my ewe(s) that are on the verge of lambing; all my houseplants that are possibly/probably dead; I would be an emotional wreck. No dwelling; it is what it is.

Last night I caught some color through one of the windows, so grabbed my iPhone and headed outside to capture this:

As I moved to catch a better view, I started up a jackrabbit. Aw, fond memories of my adolescence here; I love these fast, flighty creatures. I tried for a photo in the fading light, and was surprised to catch an almost-recognizable image as s/he bounded across the field:

That's another update far, far from . . .