Saturday, December 20, 2008

TBI Day 3

3 days down, one to go! Went through both sessions of TBI today without any problems... I started using the custom designed lung blocks for my afternoon session which were made of lead and around 3 inches thick. They kind of looked like slices of cantaloupe... The blocks were taped onto a piece of plexiglass and attached to the "rack" which holds me steady while they zap me. To make sure they were lined up properly, an x-ray was taken prior to the session. The tech then came in and made a mark on my chest with a sharpie to make sure I was properly alligned. All of this seems pretty low tech if you ask me... I mean the blocks were taped to the plexiglass with masking tape and he positioned me by using a sharpee! I did my best to hold as still as possible for the 12 minutes I was in there but sure I moved a little bit. Apparently, the idea is to protect (the best they can) the portion of my lungs that has the highest capacity (mid to lower portion). I guess I'll find out how the blocks worked once I recover from this mess and go biking or running for the first time...!

My other excitement for the day came from yet more snow here in Seattle. I dropped my Mom off at my place after my appts. so I could head back to Jackie's (wanted to be close to U of W as we're supposed to get hit again tonight). It took me at least25 tries to get out of my little subdivision! I would get halfway up the hill and that was it... I finally got enough momentum to get up the hill and made it over to Jack's safely. On the way, I checked the auto parts stores to see if they had any tire chains and all of them were sold out. I then went to a tire store and could've grabbed a set but the guy was totally capitalizing on the weather situation and selling sets that normally retail for $39 for $100!! People were still lined up to buy them, capitalism is alive and well here in Seattle...

I also wanted to mention that I've found an energy healer who's been helping me. My buddy Lee down in L.A. has been fighting an extremely aggressive brain tumor (Glioblastoma). He'd been through surgery, chemo, radiation and not too long ago had an MRI that showed his tumor was growing still. He then switched to an experimental drug called Avistan. The drug has some pretty bad side effects so he decided to stop the drug and go a different route. In came Ron. Ron is an energy healer who promotes the power of natural healing. I'll comment more later regarding some of Ron's techniques and methods. Back to Lee... He's gone to 3-4 sessions with Ron and told me he hasn't felt this good since before he was diagnosed. He has more energy and has been working and living a pretty normal life. The best news is he just had an MRI and found out his tumor is shrinking!! To me this is incredible as he stopped taking the Avistan (tumor shrinking drug). Can't say how happy I was to hear this for Lee!

In no way do I plan on stopping my treatments... I want the chemo and radiation to kill all of the cancer cells in my body. Where I think Ron can help me (and he agrees) is how he can help my body (and mind) heal so the disease doesn't come back. I think that's one thing that's lacking in the cancer field today is assisting patients in their healing post treatment. I'm excited to find out ways that I can participate in this healing through future conversations and eventual face to face meetings with my new energy healer!

The more tools I can put in my box the better...

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