“Belay” is an old sailing term meaning to secure or to hold fast. In the world of climbing it refers to the use of a rope with a friction system to stop a climber’s potential fall. When preparing to start a climb, the climber at the bottom of the mountain waits for the rope to become tight and then asks "On belay?" This question indicates that the climber is ready to begin climbing and wants to ensure that someone at the top (e.g., the "belayer") is ready and holding the ropes securely. Once everything is ready, the belayer responds "On belay -- climb when ready." And then, when the climber is ready to begin climbing, she announces "Climbing!" and the belayer responds "Climb on!"
I had my first radiation appointment this morning. It was ridiculously easy -- about as difficult as lying on a table and having a x-ray ("Ummm... Hi, Dr Port-A-Cath-Surgeon...it's me again...I just wanted to let you know that for future reference, this is what I would call a 'non-event'...") This appointment was followed by my chemo appointment where I was officially hooked up to my chemo "walkman" and the supporting "life line". Again, this was pretty much a non-event -- definitely more psychologically difficult than physically difficult. I am so incredibly squeamish about anything medical and so the thought of having a tube permanently coming out of my upper chest kind of grosses me out. The nurses tell me that I'll get used to it after awhile, but I am not so sure. I am guessing that about the time I get used to the idea, it will be time to stop the treatments. The whole appointment took about 30 minutes plus a few more minutes to schedule our next appointments (I go in daily for the radiation and once a week to refill the chemo pump), and then Pete and I were set free and we emerged from the building and were greeted by yet another sunny, warm, beautiful California day. It's hard to be depressed when the sun is warming me and I can hear birds chirping all around, and so overall, I feel really, really great! The Bitch Must Go campaign has officially begun and that makes me incredibly happy.
So when I heard Pete and my doctors yell down to me today, "On belay -- climb when ready!" I screamed back as loudly as I could, "Climbing! I am climbing!!!!" to which I heard all of my family, friends, doctors (and even a bunch of people whom I don't know, but whom I know are praying for me) scream back from the top of my mountain, "Climb on, Julie! Climb on!"
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Julie's calendar
Want to join Julie on a walk or deliver a meal?
How to use this calendar
When prompted, login:
USERNAME: Juliesfriends@yahoo.com
PASSWORD: goawaybitch
Once you are in:
>Choose the "Yes, add this calendar" option
>Look for open times on the schedule (if there is no one's name on an event, it's up for grabs!)
>Click on the green event box, then click on "Edit Event Details"
>Delete the words "Still Up for Grabs" and replace with your own name
PLEASE NOTE:
Please do not add additional dinner delivery dates to the calendar...just keep moving forward week-by-week until you find a date that no one has grabbed yet. The dates on the calendar were provided by Pete and Julie, who can only eat so much at a time! :)
How to use this calendar
When prompted, login:
USERNAME: Juliesfriends@yahoo.com
PASSWORD: goawaybitch
Once you are in:
>Choose the "Yes, add this calendar" option
>Look for open times on the schedule (if there is no one's name on an event, it's up for grabs!)
>Click on the green event box, then click on "Edit Event Details"
>Delete the words "Still Up for Grabs" and replace with your own name
PLEASE NOTE:
Please do not add additional dinner delivery dates to the calendar...just keep moving forward week-by-week until you find a date that no one has grabbed yet. The dates on the calendar were provided by Pete and Julie, who can only eat so much at a time! :)
2 comments:
Julie - I got too excited to comment when hitting the "publish your comment" under your My Dad's Advice blog... sorry for all the deletions... I hit the "enter" button 8 times! I guess I really want you to know that we are thinking about you and keeping you in our prayers. I am glad that today's appointments went well! XOXO Karen
I love your climbing metaphor for capturing the heroic nature of the physical, spiritual and mental journey you’re on. Your blog entries bring me back to my chemo several years ago, when I would envision an amazingly powerful army going into the bloodstream on a search and destroy mission. And, when I started to feel the effects of chemo, I would remind myself that meant my army was winning the battle. So if you start to feel the effects of treatment, just remember Julie those are the stretches you’re actually running -- racing! -- up the mountain. So climb on, sister, climb on!
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