Round 3, Day 18: Finally

Finally ~ I took a walk again, this morning -- had not walked since Tuesday!

Finally ~ Started feeling really "better" on Friday, Day 16.  Day 13 did not work its magic this time around.

Finally ~ my "halo" came in.  Was supposed to take 2-3 weeks, took five weeks.  A halo, or "fringe," in wig lingo, is where they take hair and sew it to a headband so you can wear it under any hat, scarf, etc.  For some reason, picking up the halo was more traumatic than getting my hair shaved off in the first instance.  I think because I had such high expectations that with the halo on, I would look just like me again.  But I didn't.  The halo is one layer of thin, straight hair.  Not my normal wavy hair.  But after picking it up, had lunch with some friends who thought it looked just fine.  So that was comforting.  Which leads me to...

Finally ~ a lost pet story with a happy ending!  Driving over to my friends' house from the wig shop, I happened to see a small, gray dog on the road, who made his way over to the sidewalk.  I didn't stop because there were cars behind me, and at the moment, I didn't know what I would do with the dog or if I should even be picking up a strange dog while on chemo.  Later that afternoon, my friend emailed me.  A  good samaritan saw the dog, posted his picture on the local community list serve, and he was reunited with his owner!

And speaking of the halo -- after fussing with it and getting it all set up under my hat last night, went to a friend's birthday party.   Which happened to be Vegas themed and came with black hats for all guests to don.  Upon my arrival, an unsuspecting guest immediately told me -- here, remove your hat and put this one on.  But, um, no, I stammered (do I blurt out, "I can't!  My halo is most unflattering without my hat!"???) ... friend AB to the rescue -- "she brought her own hat."  Problem solved!

And finally ~ pinned down a vacation plan for post-chemo!  Will visit some of the best Virginia has to offer ... barrier islands with wild ponies, mountains in the fall and cool caverns.  Yay!  Something to look forward to while undergoing these next and last nine weeks or so of chemo!