In the aftermath of radiation (yes, I’m finished) and the water crisis (it was fixed within a week) I’m celebrating the regrowth of my eyebrows and eyelashes.

Radiation went smoothly with some mild side effects the worst one being fatigue. I just don’t have the energy to do as much as I used to. I also have some mild radiation burn with a little peeling. I used what was recommended so it’s not too bad.

The Corner Restaurant in Westport. Kansas City, MO

The hardest part of radiation was living in Lawrence/Kansas City during the four weeks of treatment. For the first week and a half I stayed with Roderick in Lawrence but for the last two and a half weeks they had someone who had planned to use the extra room, so I moved to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge.

The Hope Lodge was much closer to the treatment center, but I had to have a “caregiver”. And since I had lost Mike I had to find someone else.

For the first two nights, I took John. He felt like he was in prison since if I was there he had to be there. Fortunately, I took him shopping the one day he would have had to stay there with me and then we went back to Roderick’s to eat. So, he only had to be there through the nights.

The next two weeks I had to find someone. It is hard for me to ask for help so this was a difficult task. I had two dear friends who insisted on staying with me without my even asking.

Two of our friendly servers at The Corner in Westport.

The first day we found a great breakfast place, The Corner Restaurant in Westwood, that wasn’t too far from the treatment center and that is where I had breakfast for the next two weeks. Some evenings there are volunteers who bring in or cook dinner at the Hope Lodge so often we would have dinner there. That made the weeks much easier on my bank account than eating out.

The best part (maybe even better than finishing treatment) was coming home last Friday and knowing that I wouldn’t have to pack again on Sunday to drive across the state on Monday. I’m glad to be home for at least a little while.

Besides celebrating being home, I now have eyelashes and eyebrows. It had gotten to the point where my eyelashes were so thin that I was having trouble putting on eyeliner and mascara. It seemed my eyeliner went everywhere and the mascara I was putting on my very sparse eyelashes covered up the eyeliner and I had to do a lot of clean up. Why bother?

Even as a baby I had thick brown hair and eyebrows.

Then my eyebrows which have always been thick and dark were very sparse and light. I thought they would come back in white like my hair was and I would have to use a pencil on them from now on.

The eyelashes are back although they are still shorter than before but it’s much easier to apply eyeliner and mascara. The eyebrows are much darker and thicker as well as short. And my hair that first came in white now has some brown under that and I’m still waiting to see if it will be curly like everyone says it will be.

It’s a Celebration at my house.

Onward! I’m moving into Uncharted Territory.

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