Turning a Small Corner -

Last week was the toughest week we've had so far. Faith would wholeheartedly agree. By Friday night she was online trying to find whatever she could find to bring some relief.

With no saliva being produced (glands wiped out by the radiation, temporarily we hope), the mouth fills with thick mucous. All I do is hold a glass of water in one hand to swish and a bucket in the other in which to spit. And then a towel to clean up the sticky mess. Not very polite company. Swallowing is not an option, and if you don't get rid of it, breathing is not an option. And it goes on pretty much around the clock.

So come Friday, Faith is looking for anything. So what does she find? 1) There's really not much you can do but swish and spit, and 2) some patients report the condition lasting for six weeks! So much for some good news on a Friday night.

But Saturday night, we turned a corner. Finally a good nights sleep. Only up a few times to clean out my mouth, and then back to sleep. I slept until 9 Sunday morning! I was so shocked I couldn't believe it and certainly uncertain about how long this improvement might last. Then Sunday night was the same. So now I'm thinking it's for real. Less mucous, less spitting, throat is better, and more swallowing. I even ate some soup for lunch today. So after two improved days, I decided I could share it without jinxing myself into some kind of relapse.

My neck is looking much better, too. At least that's what everyone says, but there's a whole different reason for the neck change.

Everyday I pick away all the loose, dead skin from the burn. I peel off the crusted, burned, darkened outer layer. It's the kind of picking-at-a-wound that my Mom would insist I quit if she were here, but she's not. And so far Faith hasn't caught me. So everyday I pick and everyday I'm told my neck is looking much better. I really think it is.

The last two days have seen a huge improvement and I know I should be patient and not expect this healing pace to continue. Unfortunately, patience is not exactly my strong suit. So we'll endeavor to take it one day at a time, and every now and then skip a day.