It was snappishly cold for early October. So cold that I had on my winter coat, but I shucked it for the Cause and donned Firefighter Justice's coat. (Holy crap, that thing's heavy! And warm. Toasty warm. WAAAAAYYYYY too toasty warm. Oh. Hot flash. Swell....)
Next, the air tank was strapped on my back. It was stinkin' heavy, and the weight of it made me tip backwards a little and YOWWWWWW!!!! Six months later, and that tram flap incision STILL pulls. I had to lean forward to counteract the weight of the tank, like this.
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| See my cute shoes? |
Then Firefighter Justice asked if I were claustrophobic. NOW he asks me? He helped me put on a fire-retardant hood, pulling out some of my hair in the process, then showed me the respirator I would put on next. His next words frightened me, "This forms an airtight seal and you're going to think you can't breathe. Just suck in air and you'll be fine." Wait, what? A little more hair pulling and on went the mask. It did just as he said, and I did indeed think I was going to die. I sucked in air (which made a creepy Darth Vader hiss, and which would have been cool if it weren't for that fear of death by asphyxiation) and tried not to pass out. The double-edged sword here is that it was very reminiscent of the anesthesiologist putting the mask over my face before my surgery (make that surgeries) and getting that panicky feeling that I couldn't breathe, right before slipping off into la la land.
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| Saved my hair from infusion chemo, only to lose it to a helmet and mask. |
While I was still debating with myself whether or not I was going to suffocate, Firefighter Justice put the helmet on me...
...and TA DAAAA!!!!
I rocked it, baby!
Now, get it OFF!
That mask was the creepiest thing ever.
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