In Sandra's Shoes

I almost didn't receive my radiation therapy today. It wasn't the weather. It was the machine administering the radiation.

The radiation therapists had set everything precisely. I had been adjusted on the bed.The attachment for the radiation boost was in position. And the therapists left the room to administer the radiation dose.

But this time the machine didn't hum for 20 seconds or so. It made a few funny noises and that was it. And then everyone was back in the room going over the adjustments. Checking and rechecking. This happened three times.

I started getting a little nervous. I was ready for the treatment. I'm too close to the end of the therapy sessions. I didn't want to leave without it.

And then the engineer was called in. He pulled it apart, made a few more adjustments and again everyone left the room. This time it hummed.

I relaxed.

This happened once before during the first week of my radiation therapy when I was still using the breathing machine. That time, the computer system crashed and no one could get it to come back up.

I waited for almost an hour while everyone worked on it, pulled apart cables and rebooted the system. Nothing. I went home without a treatment that day_ disappointed but grateful I'd have more time to practice. I still had a long way to go for treatment. An extra day was added to the back end of the 33 sessions so I'd go through the complete program.

There was no disappointment today.

Countdown...2 days!