I have a date for radiation – I will start Monday of next week. I am disappointed that it will be so long until I begin to get relief. I am glad to have a date on the calendar. My life still revolves around pain; I am hoping that not having to bear so much unknown about when I start will make me feel a little better. I’m also going to hit the pain meds as hard as I need to, knowing I get to wean off them soon.

I did increase my pain meds late last week and it made a huge difference. So big, in fact, that I worked my body too hard on Saturday and didn’t realize it and had a rough night as a result. Since then I’ve been doing a pretty good job of hitting the timing on bedtime meds so I can get real rest overnight.

My joy from last week was playing Animal Crossing – a video game where you build a life on an imaginary deserted island. My entire family is playing together and it is really fun to plan for the entire island together, buy each other little gifts we know will be a hit, and see each of us build up own own area to our specific tastes. It is really pleasant bit of escapism for this phase of my life.

That’s it for the last week. Looking forward to reporting next week that pain is decreasing thanks to radiation treatment!