One Week Post Radiation

Well, don’t I just look like the perfect ass? Not only was the radiation more difficult on her than we all expected, but the symptoms have continued to progress for the entire week following treatment. Radiation has agitated her esophagus severely, making swallowing very difficult. Sandy chokes down each individual pill that she takes, gagging on each one. She paces them to make sure that they won’t come up when she hurls. The good news is that this should resolve itself. The hiccups appear to be gone, so that is one annoyance that seems to be over. Now if only we could get rid of the nausea, too. The doctors suggested that it could take a couple or few weeks for the symptoms to resolve completely.

What else is going on?

On a happier note, Hannah just swam in the Maryland State All Star meet last weekend. This is a four day meet at the US Naval Academy that requires qualifying times to participate, so she was excited to go. This is an impressive meet. There were a number of US national records that were broken, and Olympian Katie Hoff swam, as well. Hannah had a great meet, despite straining her shoulder during her first event (500yd freestyle). She went on to record personal best times in all but one event, including that 500 free. Most impressively, she never once complained about the shoulder. As one great swim coach once told her (George), the secret to swimming is, “Just keep getting faster.”

Haley leaves on Friday for a gymnastics meet on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I don’t ask why they have to go to Baton Rouge to compete…I just write the checks. She is so excited about the trip—four days away from home with no parents doing what she loves with a bunch of kids that she loves. They will be bunking up in hotel suites on campus. They will compete for a couple of days, go on a swamp tour by boat, and will also see the LSU gymnastics team host a meet of their own. And no parents to badger them about getting to bed early! Gee, I wonder how much sleep they will get?

We’ve just started lacrosse season here. Baltimore comes alive in the spring with lacrosse. Hannah and Haley are on the same team this year, a rare treat and a great achievement for Haley, given their age difference. And, it sure makes things a lot more convenient for us. This is a rec(reation) league team in the local Towsontowne program. I am coaching this team along with two other coaches. I have not coached Hannah in a couple of years, which is fine, but I will enjoy this. They are truly best friends and are very supportive of one another on the field. It helps that Haley plays in goal and Hannah in the field…I’m sure it makes it a lot easier to be supportive when you are not in direct competition against your sister.

Sandy will enjoy watching them play together this year, for sure.