Well, yesterday was a interesting day, to say the least.

I had my first appointment with the endicrinologist who will be managing my post-op radiation treatments. It turns out the process is a lot more involved than I thought it was going to be.

First, I'm going to have to stop taking the thyroid replacement that I have been on since the surgery, and start on a low iodine diet at the beginning of July. The diet won't be too hard to take, but I'm worried about being off the thyroid pill. I'm already more tired than I should be with the dose I'm on, and I don't know what will happen when I'm off it. The doctor told me that 85% of people are able to get through the day without the pill, but 15 % end up on disability. According to some research A. did online, most of the people who really have trouble are elderly or have other medical problems, but I'm still a bit nervous.

After two weeks of this, I have to do an ultrasound and a scan that is going to make me radioactive for a couple of days. This means I'm going to have to stay at least 6 feet away from the kids. A week later, I have the actual radioactive iodine treatment, which involves taking a pill. I'll be radioactive for an additional five days. A. and I are discussing how we're going to manage this, but the short answer is that I'm just going to have to stay away from the kids for a few days. I'll probably have to drive to work as well, since I don't want to sit next to people on the train.

Finally, I'll have to have another scan a week after the radiation treatment. After that, it should all be over exept for adjusting my new thyroid replacement pill to get me to the right level.

All that threw me into a major funk, so it was a good thing I was going to Fenway to see the Sox play the Cincinnati Reds after work. I hooked up with Bismo, who was having his own problems (click on the link to his blog for more info).

Fortunately, our spirits were raised by the fact Bronson Arroyo pitched a great game, going 7 innings and giving up only one run. The Sox offense was paced by David Ortiz, who had two doubles and three RBI. They won 6-1, sweeping the woeful Reds (now 6-24 on the road this season). Cincinnati played an awful game on defense, with Wily Mo Pena muffing a soft liner to right field (which was inexplicably ruled a hit) and third baseman Luis Lopez getting an error on a fairly easy chance at 3rd.

One new Fenway discovery was the first base roof deck, which is on top of the new addition they made to the park for expanded clubhouse and workout facilities over the winter. The deck is a nice quiet place where you can hang out, talk and enjoy a drink, and it wasn't very crowded. The Sox continue to make great changes to Fenway - sometimes it's something dramatic like the Green Monster seats, but other times it's small things that just make the ballpark a more pleasant and comfortable place to be.