Treatment Day Seven 12/6/11

I woke up feeling like a new me. Treatment was scheduled late today, 1:30, so I hadn't set an alarm. I woke up around 10am. Old Stephanie would have just stayed in bed until I had just enough time to shower and get out the door. New Stephanie was excited to begin my day.

I cleaned up and was out the door by eleven. I had decided to visit the local Habitat for Humanity Restore, both to shop and to discuss volunteering. My great find was a little Charlie Brownesque Christmas tree to brighten up my apartment.

 



Habitat also told me they would be happy to have me volunteer. Conveniently, I didn't have to schedule my volunteer time, just show up and be ready to work and they'd put me where needed.

I headed towards treatment, but was running early so I wandered a little down King Street to kill time. I went into a consignment shop called Butterfly, but left quickly after seeing a $380 price tag on a used dress. I decided then to walk to treatment from where I was (I had driven because of my Habitat adventure), so I took a scenic route to MUSC.

Treatment was unspectacular. The 37 minutes felt incredibly long, but I didn't even really have any discomfort today, just boredom. I learned that chewing gum during treatment helped with the teeth chattering problem, and left me with minty fresh breath.

After treatment, I headed to the beach. The temperature was in the mid 70s and fabulous. I pondered on the insanity of my not living closer to beach, as I feel most at peace there. I spent some time hunting for seashells for my boyfriend. He grew up closer to the Pacific coast, so he only discovered snorkeling and finding great shells this year with me, on his first trip to the Gulf. His childlike excitement made me want to find some amazing shell for him, but the cold temperature of the water kept me from wandering in far enough to find anything great. I compromised by incorporating smaller shells into a message in the sand for him, a gesture far mushier than is typical for me, and perhaps another indication of my improved well-being. I call him Slim.

Showing affection is unusual for me, but making it this public is unheard of for me. I know this separation is hard, though, so this is me letting him know how much I miss him.



After beach time, I returned to the apartment, planning to help teach a class for work via Skype. Unfortunately, we had technical difficulties, so my evening was open. I watched Limitless, a movie with an interesting concept about unlocking the full potential of the brain. It seemed relevant to my situation, as I think of my treatment as unlocking some forgotten areas of my own brain. The movie was mediocre. My treatment, however, seems to be going so well that everyone I have spoken to who knew Old Stephanie has noted the beginning emergence of New Stephanie. That makes me happy.