whoa oh oh oh oh... whoa oh oh oh I'm radioactive, radioactive...

Hello friends. Long time no blog. It has come to my attention that some of you (most of you?) thought I was the kind of girl that would proudly show off pit hair. While yes, my armpit hair has started to grow again, that is not what I was flashing in the picture I posted on facebook last week.

The reason my arm was up like that is because I was trying to show my neon red radiation burn, which in my mind was completely obvious. That's the position I have to hold my arm in during treatment. Please note the perfectly straight burn line which indicates precisely the area being treated. What's funny is that I made sure that my armpits were freshly shaved prior to taking this picture to avoid this very confusion. FAIL. Ever since the surgery, the tendon (I think it's a tendon...? I didn't take anatomy) that connects my chest to my arm has been super tight resulting in an actual pit in my armpit, that apparently likes to live in the shadows and look like pit hair. SIGH.

Anyway, I hope you weren't too grossed out, like my mother. I thought at the ripe old age of 31, that I was out of the phase of being embarrassed by my parents... turns out, all it takes is accusations of distracting pit hair in one of your photos. Who knew.

So, for a real update.... I have now finished 25 out of 33 rads. (That's street lingo for radiation.) The radiation itself only takes about 10 minutes, but driving out there every week day, changing into a gown, getting my tattoos lined up, and waiting my turn when they are inevitably running behind takes about an hour and a half each day. I will be glad to be done with it on February 18th!! It's time to get the heck out of DFW, since I have been tethered to Baylor Downtown for the last 9 months.

In other news, I am very seriously considering turning my radiation tattoos into a real tattoo. Currently, I have 4 tiny blue freckles in the locations shown below. Any ideas? I want it to be subtle and meaningful, but I haven't been able to come up with anything good...

*'s indicate radiation tattoo locations. Let me know if you think of something brilliant.

I may end up doing something not connected to the freckle tats, because I don't really want to turn my entire chest into a canvas... and how else would you use dots in those locations. My favorite idea so far is three tiny little birds on the inside of my right ring finger, so I can remember to not worry about a single thing. Subtle, yet something I can always sneak a peak at when I need a little boost. Anyway, stay tuned for that.

Man oh man, I am so excited to be almost done with treatment. It feels so good to feel good again. You know what I mean? I love the feeling of being wide awake! I love going out and about with my ultra pixie cut! I love waking up in the morning with bed head. I love getting to wear scarves around my neck again. Life is good, friends.

Love y'all,

Jess