Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear)

I took a short break from blogging. Not because I was tired of blogging, but because there wasn't much new with Karen's treatment. Up until this week, we have been in a sort of a holding pattern as we wait until chemotherapy begins on July 9th. But we have started to use this time to prepare in a few ways:

• On Monday, Karen had a port implanted in her chest. This will make it oh so easier to infuse her with her chemo cocktail every two weeks. No need to try and find a good vein or poke her with a needle every time she has a treatment. Instead, the port will allow the oncology nurses a direct line right into her chest and right to her jugular vein. The Cytoxan and Adriamycin will get coursing through her blood stream in no time! The procedure to install the port -- though a short one -- still took the better part of a day between prep, procedure and recovery. And her recovery left her in more pain than she had expected. Karen doesn't have any fat on her chest. So without any "padding", the port and line is anything but comfortable.
  
  
• We also did some wig shopping together on Saturday. I've driven by the Wigwam (cute name, huh?) literally hundreds of times in the past 10 years. Never did I think I might find myself inside actually shopping for a wig with my wife. But here I was -- assessing whether the "Emma" or the "Sandra" was the right look for Karen. Or maybe the "Miranda" would be better...more hip and youthful, perhaps. And color? Would brown with cinnamon highlights be flattering or should we stick with blond highlights? The platinum blond wig on the mannequin was an interesting look. I'm sure that would turn some heads. Imagine the fun you can have in a wig salon! Though we settled on one (which one will remain a secret, of course, until it's unveiled), I'm thinking we may pick at least one other...or maybe several more so Karen can have a different look every day. In the end, we had a little fun with our adventure and Karen took one step closer to confronting one of the most difficult side effects of chemotherapy.