Water

To prepare for today’s procedure I had to take two extra strength Tylenol before the procedure, nitrous oxide during the procedure and two extra strength Tylenol after the procedure. I am very appreciative of the nurse whose primary function during the procedure was to keep me distracted.

I learned that she has twin daughters and a teenage son. One thing that we have in common was her education was funded through the GI bill.

The doctor that performed the procedure this morning was Doctor Nancy Mendenhall. This is Doctor Bill’s wife. Now I know why they call him Doctor Bill.

I arrived at the institute at 7:30 this morning and I got back to Third & Main about 10:30. I go back to the institute tomorrow morning and they’ll check the results of today’s procedure and they’ll fit me with a body cast. I should also receive the dates for the proton therapy.

All the procedures that I have been going through in the last couple of weeks were designed to improve the accuracy of the protons and to prevent the protons from hitting any areas other than the targeted area. At least that’s my simplistic understanding.

So, one of my questions to the staff was where do you get these protons? I imagined people in hazmat suits carrying radioactive labeled boxes delivered by helicopter. Wrong! They get the protons from water. I’ll learn more about this when I take the tour that they offer.