life has gotten much better during Week 42. somewhere around wednesday or thursday, radiation side effects seemed to stop getting worse. arts and crafts time started resulting in slightly smaller dressings; more and more mottled pinkish grayish skin kept forming all over. no more itching, and very little dragon skin is left.  i even wore some normal t-shirts. TWICE. amazing.

i got a call from one of dr. d's nurses on tuesday, for some preliminary questions before my follow-up visit on thursday. one of the questions was if i preferred to come in, or to have a telehealth visit? "uh... she's supposed to be checking out my skin?" "ah. well, i guess you could.. show her via video? that'd be weird, huh." "yeah, i'll come in." so it was back to riverside on thursday morning. dr. d was happy with my progress, and was amused by my dragon skin description. we discussed a follow-up appointment in four weeks or so to check up on my skin.

physical therapy was strictly lymphatic drainage massage this week, which was nice, because if i moved the wrong way, or too much, pain would rear its ugly head. because of the pain, i haven't been doing many exercises at home, or moving my arm (or anything else) much at all, so i have definitely noticed a reduction in awesomeness regarding strength and motion. at this point, my arm itself seems mostly fine, but now my pectoral muscle and side muscles need some extra stretching out. my ever-evolving physical therapy needs... who knew?

there have been some beautiful days lately, and though i can't remember which evening exactly, i know i took a walk on one of them. unfortunately, even just a very short walk resulted in pain enough to turn back, though we enjoyed the cooler temperatures and playing a new Which Houses In The Neighborhood Have The Same Design As Ours game. (the answer: more than we realized).

saturday was another day of perfect temperatures, and good timing for a niece's outdoor birthday party. it's always nice to see other humans nowadays. my hair continues to grow out, actually started getting a little unruly and fuzzy. i don't really know what i want to do with it ultimately, though i am totally enjoying the current length in general; it looks very much like an on-purpose haircut at this point. no styling! i can run my fingers through it! super cute! on sunday, i took andy's clippers and cleaned up the sides and back a little, and managed to snip around my ears with tiny scissors. i didn't take much off, just enough that i don't look quite as disheveled anymore. i think i did pretty good. maria do it by maria self!

i have to admit that i was partly compelled to post an update simply because it's Week 42... the title really just writes itself for any douglas adams fans out there. we'll see how long it takes for me to break the habit of weekly blogging. by this time next week, i should be free of the tyranny of silvadene and mepilex dressings. let's do this!