The first two rounds of radiation are in the books. So far, it has been way easier than I thought. I was told it wouldn’t be bad, but it’s even better than people led on. Patients get to work with minimal supervision. We wave at the lady who sits at the front desk, go around and grab a gown from the drawer full of them, change and leave our stuff (including phones) in a locker, and hang out in the inner waiting room until our turn. When it’s time to go, after we verify our identity, we climb onto the table, while they make sure we are lined up correctly. Then it’s about five minutes of being center stage in an empty room. The table moves, and then the machine twirls around you. Three red laser pointer lights shine in your eyes, and for a few seconds at a time, about five or six times total, a white light on the wall on turns on, and there’s a buzz. That’s it. You don’t feel anything except your muscles tightening up from holding perfectly still. Wait, that’s not entirely true. I felt amusement at spinning around the room under mood lighting, half-dressed, in the worst champagne room ever. Maybe I need to come up with an exotic dancer name. “Next on the main stage... put your hands together for Semi-Busty Betty!” (Okay, so that sounds like the kind of stripper you tip with change. I never said I’d be any good at it.)
I was a little tired after each session, possibly from not sleeping well last night, possibly from the radiation itself. So far I am not feeling the sunburn sensation they all told me to expect. I put on aloe after the second round, but forgot for the first. It will become more important as the week wears on, I’m sure. I think my biggest regret has been scheduling it so that I have to drive through a school zone while the lights are flashing on the way there both times. I should have thought that one through better, because obviously leaving the house three minutes earlier to compensate isn’t feasible.
I promised my friend I’d write out the recipe for the sauce I made up yesterday, so I will conclude with that. It was really yummy, but my day was just tiring and anxiety-filled enough that I couldn’t get enthused about leftovers of it. If you didn’t read yesterday, this was a substitute for the kind of sauces made with cream of mushroom soup, specifically for broccoli rice casserole.
For about six servings, I sautéed a quarter cup of finely chopped onion and a stalk of celery (also chopped) in about two and a half tablespoons of butter until it started to turn translucent. I added a rounded teaspoon of minced garlic, and let it cook another minute or two. I added another tablespoon of butter, just to be sure I had enough, and sprinkled in chickpea flour until all the butter was absorbed, maybe two tablespoons. I let it cook for several minutes (to get rid of the icky raw taste), and then stirred in a heaping tablespoon of arrowroot powder. Slowly I added chicken stock, stirring constantly, until it was a smooth, soft paste. I switched to milk to thin it to a sauce. I stirred in a half cup each of sour cream and mayo, and then seasoned it with salt and pepper, dried basil, thyme, and nutmeg. For the casserole, I blended the sauce with about three cups of white rice (precooked), chopped broccoli, and shredded cheddar cheese. I baked it for half an hour at 350. My only regrets were that I used too much nutmeg (a little goes a long way), and not enough broccoli.
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