The weather was very stormy for the majority of our ride from Atlanta but we managed to avoid an incredible 130-car accident on our route. Click here if you want to learn more about this absurd incident or if you don't believe me and require proof. It was historic. The local news is still talking about it.
On Sunday night we checked in to a hotel for one night which set our six-weeks off on a, umm, an interesting note. Devin noticed the trashcan still had trash in it and I spotted a few stray hairs on the walls of the shower. Oh well, we thought, a lazy housekeeper but nothing we couldn't handle. We were packing up to leave the next morning when I discovered something interesting peeking out from under the skirt of the bed: a snakeskin raincoat. And it wasn't in a wrapper. Yes, seriously.
Upon checkout we politely suggested they pay extra attention to cleaning our room and explained why we felt compelled to make this suggestion. They volunteered a full refund which is why I'm not name-dropping the hotel chain. I assume the gent tent was used considering it was out of its wrapper on a hotel room floor but I didn't take the time to do a forensic analysis. I was also more concerned about the hole I'd left in the ceiling after having jumped 10+ feet in the air when I first discovered it.
The fear subsided when we checked in to the Extended Stay hotel from which I'm writing this as the clerk revealed our friends Justin and Tyler had somehow discovered where we were staying and had fully paid for our two weeks here (Thanks again, gentlemen!). There's a good chance I will develop carpal tunnel from writing "thank you" notes over the next few weeks in response to all of the thoughtful gestures we have received. Glass half full: I'd much rather keep a blog chronicling my struggles with carpal tunnel than a brain tumor. Once we got in the room I received a phone call stating we'd been approved for a grant covering part of our hotel stay at the place we're going for the final four weeks of our time in Durham. The grant is great on its own, but I'm more excited to finally have something in writing which proves I'm poor enough to qualify for a financial aid grant.
Our good fortune with financial matters did not last long. On the way back from my second treatment the serpentine belt on my car broke which lead to overheating, a loss of power steering and a loss of output from my alternator. With help from my dad (via phone) we were quickly able to identify the source of the problems and then find a mechanic who had it repaired by the end of the day. It was a setback of a few hundred bucks but I was more relieved that we were never stranded on a major road and that we were able to nurse it to a mechanic with relative ease. I don't have anything witty to say about this experience so here's a link to my 14th annual college basketball Tournament Challenge bracket group for those who are reading this before Thursday 3/17 at Noon and want to participate. Enter "gthc" when prompted for a password. It's free to enter and you can submit up to 5 different brackets but there are no prizes for winning unless you count the lifelong joy which comes from beating me at this. This is a joy felt by literally everyone who enters so, you know, cherish it. Contrary to popular belief I will not be picking Duke to win it all this year. Next year, though, next year I'm definitely picking them.
The radiation treatments themselves have been quick and painless. On the first day I didn't even know I had received my treatment until the Radiation Therapist who administered it told me after the fact. The Radiation Therapy team at Duke Medical has been really great. The closest thing I've had to a side effect so far was mild nausea after one of the treatments but even this might have been coincidental. I have no idea what kind of impact it has had on BKP so far but I'll be seeing my doctor every Friday and I suspect he will know. Regardless, I should have ample time to amass a list of questions each week so I can bombard him with important things like "where am I?" and "why is my head still enormous?" and "where am I now?"
In closing, if you're still not sure what I meant by "snakeskin raincoat" or "gent tent" then, uhh, let me Google that for you.
4 comments:
Tyler and Justin are pretty awesome.
And for a more appropriate villain comparison, you could be Radioactive Man.
Thank you, Tyler and Justin, for doing something so unprovoked and amazingly generous for my son in law and my daughter. We are all blessed that they have friends like you! !!!
anaesthesia machine manufacturersI just wanted to make a quick comment to say GREAT blog!….. I’ll be checking in on a regularly now….Keep up the good work
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