Officially Radioactive........

Took my dose of radioactive I131 today. I can be in the same room with people, but no hugging and have to keep a little distance (arms length). I also have to eat off of paper plates with disposable utensils and drink from disposable cups and I have to flush twice whenever going to the bathroom.

Tomorrow the real fun begins. I only get clear liquids to eat or drink and in the evening I get to start on......

THE CLEANSING......

How in the world could I have forgotten about that?!?! I think I must have blocked it out. There are four little pills and two vials of vile liquid designed to make everything that's inside try to get outside as quickly as possible. Having the big "D" when you're feeling good is no big deal, but this is not just a case of the "trots" but a full tilt run where the stakes of not being quick enough would mean having to clean up a radioactive toxic mess from an explosion that gives "going nuclear" a scatalogical twist. This is the Super "Bowl" version of the big "D" and it comes at a time when I have trouble breathing or walking and every fiber of my physical body feels as though it's been taxed to the limit already.

Come tomorrow evening, I don't think I'll be in the living room. I'll be camped out just a few feet from the "stadium" where this whole drama will play out. At least we hope it all stays in the stadium!

My muscles are so tight that drying off after a shower or putting on a T-shirt feels like the final reps of a shoulder workout pushed to failure. Those folks who've checked out my forearms and the meaty part of my thumbs look at me like, "Yeah, yeah. How tight could they be?" As soon as they touch those locations their eyes widen in shocked disbelief. It's not a mock look of surprise either. They keep touching my arms or thumbs and offering a mix of condolences, sympathy and disbelief. It's kind of interesting that nobody has just felt the muscles once and been satisfied but everyone has to feel them again and again as if to reassure themselves that they really are that swollen and hard. Body builders would probably kill for that, but I'd opt for a softer reality if it meant feeling better.

When I walk I noticed that my feet turn out a lot. I try to turn them in but the swelling is what seems to be causing it and it takes some effort to line them up straight if only for a bit. When I do my inner thighs are pressed hard together and feel like they're about to split through the skin. I keep telling myself, "Just a few days more and hopefully I can restart the meds."

Time to completely type this post? Three hours.........