Finding the new me after the storm...

So I haven't blogged much since my initial surgery on August 29th and there are many reasons for that but all in all I just didn't feel up to it emotionally and physically.  The months of September and October were probably the hardest on me by far.  Which may surprise many since people always think the chemo treatments are the worst part of cancer.  But during the 2 months after my surgery I found myself discouraged and emotionally drained and frustrated that physically I was not healing as well as "I" wanted and the whole combination of things really sent me through a rough patch, the meds they had me on didn't help with that situation.  It took 10 weeks and 2 surgeries for me to finally get the okay that I was healed enough for radiation and during those weeks leading up to radiation I started having terrible anxiety.  I was terrified of getting radiation - laying on a table that's raised up and as still as possible in a pillow mold while a machine would shoot radiation into me.  I even considered not doing radiation but I have 3 kids that deserve more than their mom quitting when I have come so far.  So my doctor convinced me to go to radiation and take some meds that would make me calmer.  I did that the first day and the second day, between the meds and a towel over my face and my play list I made it through.  By day 3 I was thinking I can't have people drive me to radiation every day through the middle of December and I hated being out of it for 3-4 hours after wards when my boys were home from school and need their mom most.  So on Day 3 I went in first thing and asked if I could just see if I could do it without meds.  I did it!!! This was a huge accomplishment for me. 

So Radiation officially started on Halloween and I went to my first one dressed in my Halloween costume because I have found if I don't make myself laugh I will cry so I would rather take life and enjoy it.  My costume was a cancer patient, I know very original! I actually borrowed a lovely gown from one of the places I go - I say borrowed because I don't want anyone to think they need to nail items down before I come to their houses ..and because I did return the gown after my day of fun.  I wore long cancer socks and slippers with it and well when my friend picked me up she also made me put some shorts on under it - I originally was going for the full effect of a patient she didn't think that was quite appropriate for going out. 

I just finished Day 15 of radiation, I go every morning as soon as I drop the kids off at school and it takes about 15 minutes or so sometimes longer if they need to work on getting the machine lined up with all my markings (my one side is covered in black X's and marks).  Then on Monday's I also see the doctor.  My skin is burned and sore now and I just made it half way through these treatments so hopefully my skin will survive the 2nd half without major issues. 

I am starting to feel better everyday and do more and more everyday.  Just over a week ago I went to a Cancer Retreat and it was all women and at the end you could share - the only thing I shared was that I had thought it was a Spa retreat and the Meditation and Yoga like activities were a little out of my comfort zone, I am not one to sit still or be quiet for long so the fact that I made it through the day was amazing.  But one older lady said that she learned that day that she needs to love herself again.  Over the past week I have thought about that more and more.  Cancer changes you so much, your looks, your perspective on life, your kids and when its all over and done I think we can probably look at ourselves and not be happy with how we come out of everything looking.  I know for me it was hard when the pounds kept stacking on during my chemo treatments and by the end of those I was 30 lbs heavier, then you lose your hair and you lose it a lot faster than it comes back in.  For me that's probably a tough area I am in now, wanting to have back longer hair and looking at it just coming in very slowly and a tad greyish I tease and say cancer aged me 20 years.  Then there are the scars from any surgeries you endure and although they fade over time you still have them.  But, this learning to love yourself hit home to me more than just with my cancer.

As the holidays approach and I am faced with having events and times where my kids will be with their father and not me I thought about how I need to accept what I can't change and learn to love myself as a single person.  As hard as that idea is and scary.  So I have thought back how over the years I have always put everyone else first - which I will still continue to because that is me.  But, I also now realize I have to do things for me.  I need to get a pedicure once in a while, go out and have fun even if it means going out by myself because it's hard when you no longer have a spouse in the picture but everyone around you does.  I also need to focus on things I love like woodworking and painting and go places I want to go.  I have realized that I can't just sit around I need to pick up the pieces of my life that have been broken over the past year between the cancer and my marriage ending and find a way to make new pieces and go on. I am so thankful for good friends, my faith and my kids. 

Last month a friend gave me concert tickets to see Casting Crowns.  If you have read any of my previous posts you know that the song Just be Held was one that I would play as a reminder of why I needed to stay strong and despite all the hardships I was facing over this past year that God has held me through them all. Well I will be honest I am not much of a music person I listen to songs couldn't tell you who sings them or anything about the groups.  These tickets were given to me in the midst of my time when I was struggling with not recovering well and the timing could not of been more perfect.  So me and my best friend went to the concert and I never knew the lead singer had battled cancer a year prior I remember people talking about praying for a Christian singer I just never put anything together - so halfway through the concert he starts to talk about his cancer and how hard it was to tell his kids and well it was all over for me I was bawling.  The song Just be Held he had wrote several years prior and unlike most of his other songs that were written from some experience there was no reason for that song.  But, he said it was one he went to when he found out he had cancer.  During his cancer diagnosis he also wrote a song called Oh My Soul ... I think I live under a rock as I felt like I was hearing the song for the first time but the words spoke to me its now on my radiation play list.  The concert was very emotional for me but spiritually it gave me that lift I needed. 

As I close this post I hope I will be more regular about my postings, but I ask you to think about one thing that has really stuck with me lately is when we look at one another we never know what someone is experiencing in their life, be kind.  Just simple words of kindness can go a long way for someone experiencing hard times.  Two weeks ago I found me reminding my daughter of this.  She was out and a fellow student tried to talk to her and she blew him off and was a snot and I was appauled.  I have always taught my children to be kind to everyone so I had to explain to her that just saying hello to this student and acknowledging them may of made his day that she doesn't know what he is experiencing in his home life just like many do not know what she is dealing with.  I hope she remembers that talk because we sometimes fail as humans to be kind and speak kind words to one another.  Some things we are going through people may never know. It wasn't until I had my cancer diagnosis that many people noticed something wasn't right in my personal life too.  I had kept quiet about the fact that last November one day my life turned upside down and I was asked for a divorce, no one noticed over the holidays because its sometimes easy to cover up our problems to people.  I still wonder if I had gotten cancer would people other than a few individuals know that I was going through so much more in my life.  I am glad for the lessons I have learned this year I know that I will come out of all of this a better person. 

If you have never heard the song Oh My Soul just take time to listen and hear the words. 

An Update and How can I help?

I have been wanting to write a blog post for a few weeks but unfortunately my right arm has lacked strength and so I just haven't picked it up. So I have posted tid bits on facebook but really wanted to write more.  Its hard to believe that its been 6 and a half weeks since my initial mastectomy.  I have to say that I had high expectations of what I would be able to do at this point, many people are fully released to go on with life and start radiation if that is part of their treatment plan.  Instead I am still recovering after having to have a 2nd surgery less than 2 weeks ago to remove necrosis and infected areas.  This surgery meant that all my original incisions were recut through the issues all cut out and my skin stretched to restitch in hopes that when they connected my skin this time the blood flow would be better and no additional issues would arise.  So as I sit writing this I am still sore, I still have stitches, I still despise sneezing because the pain is unbearable but I finally feel like I am starting to heal.  I have slept a lot, taken plenty of meds and really tried to rest which if you know me that is hard but I have realized I need to heal SOON.  I need to be able to resume simple activities that are still hard to do some days.

I have tried to express how I have honestly felt during this battle because I think it's important for my friends to know that and a few weeks ago as I was encountering complications, getting frustrated over my lack of recovery and just felt like every doctors visit brought on a new issue for me I really had some emotional breakdowns.  Until this point I hadn't really had any major issues with dealing with my personal issues and medical issues.  Because of the delays with my recovery I also am taking some additional meds that affect my moods and I just had enough.  I hadn't lost my faith but I had several days when I wasn't sure if I would laugh or cry.  Not only was I emotionally a mess I was feeling down with the weight I had gained from meds and living in yoga pants and tshirts all summer I just had stopped caring.  My eyebrows and lashes were returning but my hair has been slow to want the return so its not quite at a point that I am confident to just go hat or wig less yet.

To top it off for the first time since my cancer diagnosis I was seeing it really affect my kids and this has been by far the hardest thing I have dealt with, The second surgery did not help matters where Hannah seemed to take things well and continue to think she was my nurse and needed to take care of everything my boys were starting to get emotional and still are having some rough days dealing with the fact that I have not been my usual active person and they just don't understand.  For the first time I felt like I was failing, forgetting things, not being able to keep up with what they were doing in school and with all my stitches they just couldn't snuggle with me.  They have been sad and very needy for their mom and I have woke up many nights and cried over how this horrible disease has hurt not only me but my kids it took their summer vacation since I had chemo, I have guilt over what I can or cant attend at school then I think ahead to my next surgery a hysterectomy that will hopefully be done by a robotic version on December 22nd so that I only spend 2 days in the hospital, but I have to be aware with my situation if they can not remove everything needed that way I will endure a traditional abdominal cut and have to spend Christmas in the hospital then I think to myself how they have to endure another school break with their mom recovering yet again from something and unable to do things.

So this week I have still had some ups and downs and most of them are really just because my heart is breaking for my kids and some days its just because its hard to be alone and facing so many hard decisions and procedures.  Medically I feel better than I have in weeks despite the fact I spend 2-4 days a week at appointments and the time I am not there well I have spent napping more than often not something I would normally do.

During all of this so many people have helped in so many ways and I know before my cancer I never knew what to say or how to help someone I mean I will be honest if you say to me call me if you need help with anything I probably will never call you.  That's just me I am used to doing things myself whether I should or not.  I recently explained to a few close friends whom said that people want to help but I wont let them that it is not that I wont let them its just if someone wants to help me they have to say I am stopping by Tuesday at 10 am and would like to sit and spend time with you and help with anything you need help with.

So for those of you wondering how you can help others in similar situations here are some things people have done or just ways to approach helping. 

1.  Pray for the person but not only the person, their caregiver and their children. I am so thankful that despite all of this I have my faith I just don't know how someone that doesn't know God gets through some of the struggles I have encountered this year.

2.  My hardest thing was to let people clean my home - seriously who wants to scrub someone elses toilets but a group of ladies sent me a text and said they would be at my home at a certain time and to have a list of items that needed to be done,  The best thing was that I had an appointment so they came in and did things while I was gone because if you are an OCD freak like me its just impossible to sit and let others to something like this.  But, I am glad I let these special ladies do this for me.

3. Food, I hate putting people out and meals are hard but they are such a blessing.  The first few weeks people brought meals every day or so - one suggestion is put your meals in containers that don't need to be returned.  I also tried to make a list of what my kids liked and did not but I wastnt worried about me for meals because honestly I wasn't always feeling well.  Then at the end of this a friend dropped off several sets of frozen meals so as I was able to get up more but not recovered enough I had easy meals that just needed to be warmed and served. Another thing that some amazing ladies did for my kids was they gathered easy breakfast items for them to grab to eat so when I was having a rough morning my kids could grab something easy, they were simple things pop tarts, mini muffin, etc but this was a HUGE help since I take pain meds mainly at nightwaking up in the morning is rougher.

4.  Cards - I can say there are a few individuals that have sent me a card every week since my diagnosis.  In the beginning of your sickness you get lots of cards but as the weeks and months go by they subside and its during that time you sometimes need the cards the most.  I have saved every card I have received sometimes I just pull them out and read through them for encouragement.  Also consider sending a caregiver or children cards.  I never thought about this until recently when Hannah was taking over this mother like role and so many responsibilities and so some special ladies sent her cards and even a few gifts to let her know how proud they were of how she was helping.  I can say she has felt so special that people have thought of her.  I even think my boys would love some cards.

5.  Gifts - I have rcvd so many gifts during these past few months from pizza gift cards to order pizza on a night when I am too tired of cooking (one thing to think of when doing this for a friend is what places deliver to a person;s home).  A few individuals have given me gift cards to food places my kids love so on days when I felt well I could take them out for a meal at a place they love this has been such a blessing for them because sitting and having dinner at a special place with their mom is huge.  Other gifts have been my favorite candy, books, flowers, pajamas for during my recovery and so many other things.  I have also had an individual give me a gas card I can say this is a huge gift for someone with medical issues, it takes me a little over an hour to get to where my care is at.  Right now I travel there 2-4 times a week this is something that becomes a huge expense for people.  Cancer is not cheap, this year I had to pay over $14,000 in bills before my insurance covered things 100% and I still have to fight on expenses, there are also the special bras, the medical supplies and more that don't get covered by insurances like mine and then hats and wigs.  A huge blessing was individuals helping with my hats and wig these items add up tremendously and when I no longer need these items I hope to bless a special person with some of these because I truly believe in returning the blessings I have rcvd.

6.  Rides... I don't like to ask for them but offering to drive a friend to an appointment or just to keep them company for the drive they make is also great. If they have kids offering to drop/pick up kids this has been huge because it has allowed me longer lengths of time to rest or saved me when appts get delayed.

7.  Encouragaement - with my downs recently friends have had me go to breakfast with them or shopping for some new clothes to make me feel better, just a text some days goes a long way. Just a visit and a talk can make a world of difference.

8.  Pictures - with so many appts I have missed a lot of time with my kids and the one thing I am so grateful for is those that realize and see I am not at events and take pictures of my kids and text them or email them to me I cant even describe in words what this means to me.  I have always been there for everything and now I am rarely able to attend anything and it saddens me more than anything because my kids miss having me at events but I have had to put appointments and treatment first and before them on many occasions. 

So no matter what you do for your friend any little thing helps but sometimes you just have to step in and do what you think they need help with if you are dealing with someone like me that is used to taking care of everything themselves.

I am so grateful for the help its been huge I am hoping in the next week that I can get back to painting and creating because that gives me a peace my lymphedema therapist has been working on my right arm and I finally have some of my movement back and feel asthough I can go create something.  I know that once I can get back in to doing some creative stuff my spirits will rise but my evenings I am tired and I have felt that spending time with my kids has been the most important thing so we lay in my bed and watch shows or have 15 min of me and just one of them time to talk about their concerns and fears. 

Everyday I have a fear, the fear that with my genetic testing that my cancer will return no matter what I do, I am terrified of radiation, the machine, the laying there on your own while it sends beams at you scares me but I have to trust that if I do everything possible things will work out and that this year is just a year of my life that I am learning how to deal with struggles, how to rely on God and people more and how to show my kids that no matter what the odds are you can be strong and do great things.

I apologize for those days whe I write a post that is discouraging on facebook, the one thing I vowed was to stay positive during all of this but sometimes we need to get things out.  I am angry there are lots of things I am angry about but I am trying to realize I can't live my life being angry about things I cant change instead I need to live each day to the fullest because we are ot guaranteed tomorrow. 

This past 7 mths has been a long road and its far from being over I still have several procedures I have to endure over the next 6 mths and treatments and I know I will continue to have good and bad days I have found humor to be my way of helping me through all of this. As I close this post I ask that you continue to pray for me and my kids especially my boys whom emotionally have been struggling lately but pray for Hannah too she trys to take on everything and she is a kid too and that is not her place.  Pray that my slow recovery will start to speed up so I can be more of myself again.  There are friends around me experiencing far worse situations and pain than I am and so I have to learn to be more grateful for those little things.  But I ask that you understand that somedays are not good days - just a small comment might leave me balling and do not take offense to it - some of my meds unfortunately have that side effect with them but I have no choice and must take them.  I really try hard not to let my children see me emotional I don't want them to worry more and my boys are still unaware that I am dealing with so much more than just cancer in my life and that somedays its just hard to accept.

As always I appreciate every person and hope that in the future I can take my list of suggestions and help someone else in need.  I think daily how grateful I am for wonderful friends, incredible school staff and strangers that do so much tohelpme through this time. 

Then it all started..

The first week after my surgery I felt fine and the second week I did okay.  Then I had all my drains out and could drive so for the first time in a long time I decided to drive myself to appointments the hardest thing for me during this is asking for help or feeling like I am bothering someone.

So the first appointment I went to I think Carla actually came with me too I knew something wasn't looking right in all my stitching areas and I found out I had some necrosis developing my skin was turning black and basically some had died during the surgery the blood flow when sewn back together just didn't come back.  Of course as soon as the doctor says this my anxiety starts to kick in and I am wanting to know what we need to do about it - he explained that sometimes it requires going back to the OR and removing the areas that are issues.  Of course I had this happening on both sides I started to panic more surgery ... But he wanted to wait 2 weeks because there was so much swelling and other healing going on around the areas they needed to see if some areas would improve.  Then I had an appointment the next day with my lymphedema therapist, I haven't mentioned what my pathology reports came back as but in all I lost 19 lymph nodes - 16 on my right side where all the cancer was with 3 of them having cancer and one the cancer was protruding out of.  On that right side the chemo had shrunk my tumor to about half its size so it was just over 2 1/2 cm by something ... when removed however they also found cancer in the ducts this had not shown up on previous testing since it was smaller areas.  My left side came back clear however they removed 3 lymph nodes from that side to test and all was clear,  So as a result of losing s many lymph nodes on the right side I have experienced some issues with that arm, some swelling, movement issues and very very sore. 

At this first therapy appt I had only been in there 5 minutes and started balling - no idea why just was an emotional wreck.  Then she starts my therapy and feels a lump area under my arm and shoulder area... so she calls down to my oncologist and sent me down there right away to be checked.  Yet again I cried my eyes out to my NP oncologist - still not sure really why.  Then they sent me for an ultrasound and the lump could not really be confirmed as to what it was so my oncologist requested an MRI.  I cried the whole drive home all I could think about was this was cancer again and was I now after everything going to find out that my cancer had spread - where my kids going to have a mother a year from now and how would I answer my little Andrew who is 6 and had been asking me each evening if the doctors had cut out all of the cancer. 

The next day I had yet another appointment this one was a CT of my chest there are 3 nodes that they wanted to check they could just be left from a bout of bronchitis earlier in life but they could also be something else.  I had been an emotional mess all night and went to the appointment on my own and get to the CT room and start to cry thank goodness for the wonderful medical people at the facility I go to - I was worried about the results. 

For some reason this week really brought me down I did not want to talk to anyone and despite that fact that everyone may of thught I was okay I actually was spending most of my days crying.  It doesn't help that during all this you are on so many drugs that affect you and then unfortunately I have not gone through the change and so my hormones were raging. 

I am not sure why I spent hours crying, but I know during these 6 months I have kept it together I haven't really been angry or had any melt downs and apparently I needed to have some good crys I wasn't upset that I had lost most of my boobs but I do know I was starting to get depressed about the way I looked.  I had gained over 30 lbs on all the meds and steroids during treatment and I felt like none of my clothes fit I looked horrible and I just wanted to look normal again and feel normal.

To top it off I am not used to being stuck in bed and not doing everything for my kids and it was taking a toll.  The fact that Andrew needed hugs and his mom and I could barely be touched was breaking my heart.  I have a few weeks I have no idea what my kids did at school then to top it off I wanted to support Hannah and show how proud I was that she tried cross country so I was trying to go to meets and by the time the meet would be over and I was driving home I was in horrific pain but I would of never told her that because I felt I couldn't miss these events.

At home I couldn't clean, do laundry or anything and it was slowly making me angry and sad I even was a tad mean to a few friends because I just wanted to be left alone. 

I never realized I would have such a hard time post surgery that I would drop my child at school and cry as soon as I left the parking lot that I would be so mad over my home situation and feeling so alone despite having so many friends that have helped in so many ways but I did,  I am not depressed just having off days.  I am down to only crying 1-2 times a day from most of the day and I have realized that its okay to cry and release some of my frustrations however I do try and keep it private from my children. Its been 5 weeks and I am still frustrated because I am not healed and can't do all that I expected I could do at this point.  My Hannah even took me for a pedicure and paid for it - she felt I needed something to feel better.  She refused to hear no and to know she would do this just warms my heart she has been such a huge help she has helped to dress me when I cant get a shirt on, change banadages, help me with her brothers and so much more I find myself upset knowing she should not have to do all this but she wants to be my caretaker.

So currently I am waiting to find out what is going on with the complications with my skin healing that I will find out tomorrow another surgery will put me down another week as far as recoverty but at this point I should be so much further along the recovery point than I am.  I also feel exhausted looking at my calendar and all the appointments the driving and time to get to them all is exhausting and I am to the point that I would rather drive myself because people have lives and they have done so much for me that I hate asking anyone to do anything more.

As I write this the thing that brings me to tears the most is how so many people have stepped in to help me or with my kids - the meals, the rides, the gifts, the cards and even cleaning my home its just been incredible and I can never thank people enough for the things they have helped me with. I have had a hard time allowing others to help me but realized that despite what I think I am not super woman and I have no choice to allow others to help. 

Thankfully my lump is not cancer, God is good and answered prayers I know he will get me through this tougher time and that hopefully I will start to recover and these issues will resolve,  Because of these issues I wont start radiation until later than we originally expected and my hysterectomy is scheduled for December 22nd I will have to spend 1-2 days in the hospital but will be home for Christmas.  I hate to say but I cant wait until this year is over I just feel like next year has to be so much easier. 

The Surgery Day (August 29th, 2016)

Tomorrow it has been 5 weeks since my double mastectomy I haven't really posted many blog posts just little tid bits of updates on facebook.  I have wanted to update more on the good and bad and in between but I will be honest my recovery has been ten times tougher than I could of ever imagined and so when I find myself laying down I have generally taken meds and fall asleep within ten minutes.

So my post might ramble on a little but I have several things I wanted to talk about in this post and we will see how long I can write before the words start to make less sense (took my nightly heavy meds).  One of the reasons I started this blog was to talk about my feelings but also to talk about those things with cancer that no one wants to ask about or talk about. 

Before my surgery, many people had said you did so well through chemo that surgery will be a breeze.  I think of this statement daily because there is no comparison at all between chemo treatments and this surgery.  Don't worry if you said this to me you wouldn't know but chemo was different yes I had bad days but I was able to just march through them with the surgery my bad days are generally painful and I can't just march through them instead I have to take meds and sleep/rest.

The day of my surgery I had a peace about it my only fear was a 4 hour surgery in which I would have a breathing tube and be placed on a ventilator when you are told that you start to freak a little. 

But, I really did very well all morning until 5 min prior to them taking me back then I had a little anxiety about everything fortunately the anestegelogist took care of this by giving me some good stuff that I don't even remember leaving the prep room.  As I woke up I am not sure that I felt like I was in horrible pain they place a very very tight compression bra on you so I didn't really see any bandages or such. For me also even though I lost all my original breast tissue I elected to have direct implants done this is not an option for everyone but I refused to have reconstruction done and multiple surgeries and honestly I had no problem being a much smaller size so I have found that people look at me weird when they see me not realizing that I do have a little something I am not flat and that is because I had small implants placed in at the time of the surgery.  This is a picture of the compression bra - hold your breathe its very fancy and don't all run out to get one! As you can tell someone had already decorated my eyebrows - I believe this was Hannah's art work, 

I just don't remember much about the recovery room but when it was time to move on to my regular room there was no lets roll your bed over it was you are getting up and in a wheel chair.  Getting up required that you use your stomach muscles more with the assistance of the nurse - I guess I should of focused on getting those in shape more. I can recall a few things once I was in my room for the night that was falling asleep on the toilet and at the sink and my nurse telling me to wake back up.  Once that was done and I was in bed and the compression things were on my legs to help avoid clots they let my visitors in.  Of course my best friends Carla had been there all day getting updates from doctors, texting or posting updates to people and just being my person like she has for the past 6 months.  Hannah also came to visit me I don't remember much of her visit she tells me she was feeding me cheez its and I was falling asleep she did not stay for long but she had wanted to see me and make sure I was okay.  Then my friend Crystal came and brought a diet coke for me let me tell you I have heard that watching me drink the soda was quite entertaining I apparently enjoyed the soda more than my usual daily drinks.  I also enjoyed my dinner after no food since the night before.

Then it was time to empty drains I had five drains attached to me through tubing into my chest that would drain extra fluid and stuff during the first days to weeks of my recovery.  These really look like a bunch of grenades in my opinion. You can see a few of them in one of the pictures above.


After this and eating some food Carla went and got me a twix and a strawberry shake - your bff always knows what you need even though I fell asleep in the midst of drinking the shake.  Prior to my surgery Carla and I thought it would be fun to draw funny eyebrows on every few hours to freak out my nurse.  Can you tell I was on some heavy drugs in this picture the things your friends do to you when you are out of it but my eyes tell you that I am not with it - that's okay one day I will be caring for my friends and the fun I will have with them and if you know me I am always up for entertainment.

Overnight I know I got up a bit the biggest issue was my itching and I was maxing out the Benadryl my poor skin doesn't do well with adhesive and all kinds of things. I actually got up around 3 am and walked for 15 minutes and the best thing was I had my own personal nurse can you believe that a nice suite and not having to share anything with any other patients, I did behave and only hit my call button a few times.

The next morning after the Docs checked me I was ready to go home its amazing to think I had a 4 hour surgery the day before.  We were able to get Dr. Curtis my plastic surgeon to pose for a picture however he said it was creepy and with my crazy eyebrows he felt like he was hanging with some of his uncles.

My nurse Shelly was AWESOME and I am sure she loved having me as a patient I mean who wouldn't but it was time to kick me out.

The ride home well have you ever been in a vehicle with Carla sometimes I have to put my passenger breaks on but she was fairly good to me ... we hit a few bumps on the way home that were painful but I think she wanted to just keep me on my toes.

Finally I was home - but I will say the first few days I wished I was back in the hospital with the beds you can move up right the hardest thing was to get in and out of bed.

Also once you are home those drains you have to empty and measure daily yourself I had some awesome friends take care of most of my bandages and drain work but look out my future doctor decided she needed to take charge of some of my care too,

Honestly the first few days I felt pretty good I rested but I also went out places with the assistance of friends driving and caring for me.  So I thought wow this is a piece of cake for the most part but then after 6 months of fighting this battle, chemo, surgery, the emotions came out and well I will be honest I had a few struggles that will be discussed in a separate post,


PS the spellcheck doesn't want to work on my blog so you will just have to bear with any spelling and  grammar issues and also realize that I took some meds too.

The Obituary of "The Girls"

The Girls , a set of identical twins with one slightly bigger than the other were taken peacefully at Clayton Clarkson Medical Center at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, August 29th, 2016 surrounded by a number of doctors and nursing personnel.   They grew up during the 1980's as first teeny weeny twins that developed into much larger and maturer twins by the late 1980's.   During these years they were known for just hanging around and showing off their beauty by sporting many of the snazzy 80's styles outfits.  They spent many years just on display and being held in place by boulder holders of all looks and sizes.

By the mid 2000's they had a new purpose that was short lived when Hannah, Caleb and Andrew arrived.  Unfortunately they didn't seem to like their newest occupation of milkers and quit their job fairly soon after starting. They filed for workers compensation feeling as though they had been injured on the job.  Unfortunately their claims were denied and no financial compensation was provided.

As they started to age, the twins considered retirement and felt a life of leisure was deserved.  They matured and needed to be less in the open and more constrained during workouts for the safety of all others at the gym.

On March 16, 2016 doctors had warned that their health was declining and death might be on the horizon. Their make up had changed and although their decline was not visibly noticeable at this time their insides were starting to be overtaken by cancer.

After 4 months of treatment they knew their time was coming to an end.  On Friday, August 26th they had a celebration of life.  They left behind many material items in unmentioned sizes that will be cremated at a later date.  Just moments before their death they lost a good amount of excess skin and tissue.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of their death the girls had to be donated to science for further examination, 

"The Girls" will be fondly remembered for their style, interference with workouts and for making button up shirts and strapless bras quite a task.  They are survived by a new little set of baby girls that are much younger, smaller and perkier in appearance.

Visitation for the new girls will be announced at a later date,  In leiu of memorial donations we ask that you donate your time to checking your girls for lumps no matter your age.

How has your life changed?

The past nine months have been the hardest months of my life but amazingly enough its been the time I have felt the most blessed in my life.  I like to look back at this picture of me and a few of my close friends on New Years Day waiting for the Dillard's doors to open for their annual sale and see how much the physical appearance of a few of us has changed since then but what we don't always see is what may of been going on inside of us and changing. For instance look at me I had hair, a smile on my face like everything was great and probably had my cancer already at this point.  But I had trials going on within my personal life that you couldn't see in this picture. Trials I had yet to even share with my closest friends even though I had been facing them for weeks at this point.

My personal trials were kept secret from many, finally revealing them to just a few close friends because you eventually need an outlet and "your people" along with God to get you through those tougher things.  As my close friends supported me with my trials I had no idea that God was about to throw another trial in to my lap when I discovered I had cancer.  I remember thinking on that Wednesday after my biopsy what did I do to deserve all of this - I kept it hidden but I felt my life was falling apart and I was waiting to see what was going to happen next because I wasn't sure I was strong enough to handle anything else in my life - I didn't think I was even strong enough to handle what I was already being faced with which was cancer and dealing with the fact that after 16 years my marriage was potentially ending.  

I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to get through all of this.  I looked around me and I have such a wonderful group of friends that have been such examples through struggles in their lives and I told myself I want to be like that.  So I vowed not to mention about my marriage to people I would just I guess ignore that issue because I had a bigger battle and that was getting well and I was going to do it and without complaining.  Anytime I start to feel just a little down I remind myself there is someone out there that is facing far more than myself.  Every time I have worried about something whether its my kids, a need or a test result it has been taken care of.  I have God to thank for this! Some would say how can you keep your faith when faced with this, many would of turned away.  But, I have seen over the past few months how EVERYTHING that has happened to me is part of God's bigger plan that I can not  - nor will EVER understand but I must trust in.  

A few blog posts ago I mentioned a song that really has meant a lot to me during the past few months its by Casting Crowns they are a Christian group and the song is called "Just be Held".  If you have never heard this song or even if you have I ask that you go to this link and play it really listen to the words.  ... Your world is not falling apart it is falling into place ... has really stuck with me throughout these months.  This song has come on the radio at the right times and been such a comfort to me. 

I struggled with whether to write this specific post for a few weeks now, I know so many of you knew that I was struggling with more than just my cancer diagnosis and you never once brought up the other struggles knowing how hard it has been for me to deal with.  I also refuse to have sides taken, we all make mistakes and the decision regarding the marriage was in place before my cancer.  My children are naive to why their parents reside in two areas of the home and barely talk (or at least I like to think they are - so I do ask that you be mindful of not saying anything about this in front of them).  They are not aware of what will happen when my surgeries and treatment end and I am able to find a job.  I pray every day that they will be comforted in my recovery and not dwell on the changes that will come to their lives in the next 6 months or so.  I ask as my friend that you continue to pray for me and my family.  Do not feel sorry for me, I have not been alone, I have God, I have amazing friends and the support of so many and all of this helps me get through everyday.  I won't lie and say some days are not hard or scary - they are! 

There are so many people that have helped me these past few months that if I listed names I would leave someone out and I hope if you have I have thanked you personally.  I have never ever felt so blessed.  I also ask that you pray and keep my parents and siblings in mind.  During all of my testing I was found to be positive for several cancer genes.  They are awaiting their results that will show who else in my family might have these genes (BRACHA & Colon Cancer).  My parents are also dropping everything - for my mom the time will be during her busiest work time to come and help me during my surgery.  I am so grateful my mom said she would come, I don't like to ask anyone for help.  My friends know that and so that has made this time period tougher because there are days when you simply can not do it alone.  I am so thankful that I have faired through chemo fairly well.  I wouldn't say its been easy because it is not - its not like a cold and just being under the weather.  There are side effects that occur from the drugs that I can't explain how they feel to you - like when it hurts to walk because of the bone aches or your hands and feet are tingling from the neuropathy, but I refuse to sit around and complain I just do what I need to and deal with it.

Before I close I of course have to reveal a new look... never say never... I said in the beginning I would NEVER wear a wig well I was wrong - when you have no hair and no eyebrows and you wear hats and you feel like people are always staring then you look at your face that is blown up from all the steriods and fluids then get on the scale to see you are 30 lbs heavier well it starts to wear on you. I felt like I looked normal again on Saturday for the first time in months.  Of course, my bff had to come with me to pick out a wig.  My bff has been there for everything for me over the past few months.  I could not of gone through my biospy without her holding my hand, my MRI she held my hand, my port surgery she held my hand and took care of me for my tougher chemos she sat through and then came to my house overnight when I wasn't feeling good and the things she has helped with for my kids.  I will never forget all that she has done for me.  If you don't know my bff then you are missing a blessing.  We love to do fun and crazy things I am really hoping that HGTV will pick us up for a show we want to name it "Too much Junk in my trunk" ... (and we are not referring to the sizes of our backsides :) 

Thank you for reading all my babbling I have said it many times I am not a writer by any means ... my fun is painting, creating and junking!!! But, I want to share with my friends so I can help others along the way. 

PS ... If you want to happen to write HGTV and tell them what a great show idea I have ... Carla and I are all up for having a series.. :)

How time flys...

Its hard to believe tomorrow is my 7th chemo treatment and after this one I only have 1 more chemo to go!!! I have been slacking with blogging I always have good intentions but I will be honest I am NOT a writer. 

The chemo that I do right now - for cycles 5-8 is so much kinder to me.  I don't get nauseous nor as tired, the bone aches are a little worse generally on the Sunday/Monday right after chemo I ache the worst.  The bone aches are tolerable and I feel extremely fortunate to have minimal side effects throughout all of my chemo.  When I started chemo I would ask that those praying for me would pray specifically that I would have minimal sickness from everything and your prayers have worked.

Although my chemo is coming to an end this battle against cancer is not over.  On August 29th I will have to endure surgery and a double mastectomy.  This part scares me the most, I keep thinking about the 3-4 hours I will be under and the surgeon cutting up my chest wall to remove all the tissue.  Along with that I will have roughly 8 lymph nodes removed too, originally they had hoped to salvage my nodes but they can still see cancer in them and honestly I feel better with some removed. 

Throughout the past 3 1/2 months I have learned so much about breast cancer and all the options, for me my options were taken away when I tested positive for the BRACHA gene.  When my surgeon initially said I needed to have genetic testing done I thought well we don't really have much breast cancer in our family what are the chances.  So I was a little surprised I was positive and that result impacted more than just me since now my parents had to get tested and see who has the gene and to top it off I had to be an over achiever like always and tested positive for a colon cancer gene too. 

When I went to visit my plastic surgeon I was against having multiple surgeries.  Really how bad would it be if I choose not to have reconstructive?  I know many women want to get larger boobs but I will be honest I always teased about having mine reduced and here was my chance.  I was still a good patient and listened to the options... ok not that good because I did play with all the implant toys when the doctor left.  However, after meeting I decided to do a direct implant option so what that means is my breast surgeon will remove the tissue and my breasts and then the plastic surgeon will come in and place a mesh and small implants they will also tighten all the tissue ... (wish he could do this with my stomach while I am under).  So I will hopefully only have one surgery.

I am so thankful for everyone that has prayed, sent cards, meals, and much much more!!

I like to think I am super woman! (Round 4 of chemo)

If you know me personally then you know how I am not really a sit down and relax person.  I like to be one the run doing 50 projects at once rarely asking for help from anyone.  Well over the past few months I have come to the conclusion I am not super woman I need help.  I have been struggling with many hard decisions and issues for months now and it has not been easy at all.  But everyday I try to remember there are others in harder places dealing with so much more than what I am dealing with or going to deal with and they might not have people to help them.  The one thing for me that has been heart warming and really gets me emotional is the amount of friends and people in the community that have stepped up to help me with my doctors appointments, meals, things for my kids.  It's hard to ask for help when you have a personality like mine but I am seeing I can not do this alone. If I have not thanked you personally or sent you a card and you have helped me or my kids please know that it was not forgotten or unappreciated.

When I found out I had cancer I had to think of many things, like will I die, how will I take to chemo, how will I take care of things and would I have to stop doing my little creative business that I created as a creative outlet to make just a little money on the side.  I refused to stop doing it  - me and my bff were having so much fun finding things to repurpose or creating new items and I knew I would need something I could still do it was always a dream to have a little store and create items to provide at decent prices my cancer was not going to take away that dream that wasn't coming true but was at least coming to something.

So this week yet again I have been reminded by God that my life is NOT falling apart as more stress was placed on my plate it really is FALLING INTO PLACE!! That falling into place is not going to be easy and includes more than just my cancer but it will happen and I will be stronger than any super woman you know. BUT, I ask that all of you that read my blog just pray for me and the situations and decisions I have to make over these next months, pray for my kids all of this is hard on them whether they say or not but they are used to their mom being there for everything,

So on to Chemo #4.. after the rough round that Chemo #3 brought me with no energy for days I was a little nervous to start this next round.  Up until round 3 I had not really had a pity party for myself but I also had not spent days in bed and well that did me in. 

So Wednesday we headed to Chemo with the usual storming forecast - because it has been brought to my attention that every time I go for chemo we get bad storms and hail - I don't think it is a coincidence.  But it makes for a tough commute sometimes on that hour drive.  We had a new partner along for this chemo, my daughter Hannah.  Hannah is such a funny soul and wants to be a doctor so she has been asking to come along for a while to see how things are done.  She was a trooper and loved it I think she came for the food since after treatment she insisted on stopping at her favorite place Quodba for lunch.  Below is me and her prior to my appointment, thanks to April for our cute shirts and yes I will say it so you don't have to think it .. if you look at pictures over the last few weeks I am chunking up some not something I like to see prior to this I had been at the gym and trying to eat better but although I am allowed to go to the gym when I feel up to it I am not allowed to diet .. and the steroids I take on days 1-3 really make me hungry not to mention the fluids I get pumped so yes I am 10 lbs heavier.. (that is a tad depressing) but I am hoping when I have my surgery and after I recover to get back to where I was before the cancer. 

My meeting with the doctor was uneventful the best news is I got permission to go away.  A few weeks ago when I was having my pity party after round #3 I thought I have always wanted to see the California coasts so I am hoping to make a trip out there with my bff in between my chemo and my surgery however the doctor said if I continue well with my treatment that she is fine with me taking a trip in between rounds.. problem is you can never predict how you will fee so I would rather wait til the end of July when I have 3 weeks between the last treatment and my surgery and to give me time to save.  One thing is I want to do things that I have always thought about it you never know how fast your life can change so we will see if I can make the trip happen or not.

I was a little down with some news the doctor gave me my mass shrunk after the 1st round but since the 2nd and 3rd round they have not felt any further shrinkage.  But, lets look at the bright side its not GROWING .. and still about half the size it started at so who can stay down for long when you think of how God has taken care of at least keeping it under bay.  I have two Ultrasound exams coming up, one on Tuesday, May 31st to look at my ovaries during my original CT scan a little something showed nothing that concerned the doctors too much but a little cyst that they felt needed be relooked at in 6 weeks so I will have that scan then my next Chemo #5 will be on Thursday, June 9th this will be a LONG day I need to be at the clinic at 8 am to have a scan of my breast and lymph nodes this will give enough time for the pictures to be with my doc for my 9:45am apt then at 10am I will head to chemo this will be different #5 starts a new drug and the first infusion will take about 6 hours.. yes imagine me laying/sitting still for 6 hours.  My friend and I like to call her my other mother will start to escort me on my next 4 chemo trips since they are so long and Carla will take over helping watch my kiddos since it is summer time.  So Fawn and I will probably have a few adventures this infusion will also make me sleepy and I will have to eat lunch there each week .. hopefully Fawn will go grab us yummy food to eat.

Back to this week though.  I always save and take along something special to my chemo this round I took a stack of Kindergarten cards that my little red's class made for me and they were so creative and fun to read.  You have no idea how little things like this can bring a small to ones face and I have saved EVERY card form every person.

So .. what else went on at chemo... I got my usual corner seating which my new chemo buddy and his wife were a little disappointed .. they enjoyed the chatting from the previous week so his wife did have to come and visit my area and chat some.  Its so nice meeting people at my chemo and feeling like you have some "friends" there.  They are a sweet couple.  Other events including my allergic reaction to my skin from either the lidocaine or saran wrap I have to cover it with for an hour before my port entry,  My port also got bruised during this access but I think other than that and a HARSH game of Boggle between Carla, Hannah and I all was good - note Carla hates Boggle the things she does for her bff with cancer!

So its been two days since my chemo and I have been on my steroid high or as I like to say feeling like super woman.. very little sickness I have taken very little meds but this weekend will be the hard time they don't taper you off steroids so I go from having to none and well my energy goes from having plenty to basically none so I will probably rest a lot this weekend as I recover this round despite the long list of things I have that I want to get done.

I also want to say God always hears us and provides I had a huge need and it was stressing me out and amazingly he provided for that huge need.  No one knew about this need except my bff so it brought goosebumps to me to know its been provided for next week.  It makes me remember how awesome our God is and that in our time of need he will provide. I am so thankful he is putting my life in PLACE and not actually breaking it up as it may appear from the outside.

Thank you so much to each of you that reads my posts, prays for me, sends cards and more, provides meals, takes my kids, helped with things around my house, given me shots and just been there for me!!! You are all the reason I am doing so well!!!

Round 3 Chemo - No one puts BABY in the corner today!

I started writing this post the day after my 3rd chemo but here it is almost a week later .. For some reason the spell check is not working for my blogging and as I read through this it was obvious I was on my loopy meds so hopefully I caught most of the grammar and spelling mistakes but probably not.

Thank you for returning or visiting my blog for the first time.  My last chemo post had almost 500 views and that excited me most of them may be my friends but maybe there was just one person going through something similar to me and was able to read and take something from it.

I must start this blog off mentioning how thankful I am to my many friends that have taken me to appointments, provided food or gift cards, help with my kids, prayers and concerns the love of all of you is so overwhelming and this time I had some wonderful cards from some 3rd and 5th graders that cheered up my chemo day!!

So yesterday (last Wednesday) was a very eventful day, no issues really for me just a good fun day and we all need those so this post will be lengthy as I share all the fun things that occurred on my chemo day and many were blessing!

My week had started with kids puking every other day leaving me in a panic that I might catch something so my days prior to chemo I had to re - disinfect my house quickly I still don't dare go down to the TV room area. 

So I dropped my kids at school like always when I got to reds school I realized I was wearing my house slippers (are you serious and not even my good ones it was my horrible old ones with paint all over) and I need to drop a check in to school so I proceeded  in hoping no one would notice and really it was my "chemo brain"  I ran home afterwards to pack my chemo bag and get my lidocaine applied to my port area and cover with some fancy saran wrap - before Beth arrived,  Carla has a sick household too so we made some changes to my chemo buddy this week.  Also as we left I walked outside in those darn paint ugly house shoes again ... Beth looked at me and says are you wearing them? Could you imagine ... I had to change I would of been the talk of the town in Ladue wearing those to my treatments. 

Since we were a little early leaving and I don't eat much for the first days after my chemo we planned to do breakfast no I will admit I am NOT a huge Bob Evans fan but Beth loves there however I secretly was hoping she wanted to go there I was craving white gravy with hashbrowns dipped in them ,,strange but my chemo cravings remind me of pregnancy cravings.  We sit down and our young waiter brought our drinks and no more than a few minutes later a older couple come in and their seat was right across from her I had my back to her but Beth could see and I soon heard the commotion and we see she was puking... can I not get away from puking people!!! So we moved our seat and explained my situation to the waiter who also sweetly said I didn't look like I was going through chemo. Breakfast was yummy - we wore our FIT-ISH shirts for the occasion because we are work out partners but our biggest downfall is we LOVE FOOD!!!! So my friend April made these adorable shirts for us to wear and remind us why we are only FIT-ISH!!

Bellies were full so it was time to head to Chemo my location is on 141/Clayton/Clarkson area and it was Beth's first time driving Ms. Daisy and Carla had not forewarned her of my antics as a passenger.  I was behaving well until I noticed we were in the far lane and there it was the 141 exit... So Beth dashes across all 4 lanes I am holding on for my life and normally my feet would of been up on her dashboard in my panic but she has a fairly new car and so I was scared to do that, I will report we made it over the exit and the rest of the day her driving was up to par :)

Upon arrival at my chemo clinic I see my oncologist first Beth stayed in the waiting room doing work, the pro of going in is you normally get to see a little show of my goods I am not sure Beth was ready for that after her big breakfast.  Everything appears to still be shrinking.  I will have another scan after my 4th chemo to take a more accurate look.

On to the chemo room.. (aka the party room) I arrive and I am always in the corner .. from my 1st time the nurses must of seen some mischevious ways about me but ...wait they stopped me and said I had to sit in the front section, perhaps I was being punished ... but I think Nurse C, thought no one sits Baby in the corner and wanted to give me a chance in the main aisle.  Of course all those Dirty Dancing songs were going through my head and I was hoping Beth wouldn't bust one out during my treatment I had already mentioned that iv poles are there to hold meds and not dance around.

So lets start my treatment - I took off my fancy cling wrap and we don't know if that or the lidocaine made me extremely red so once my port was accessed they didn't do the usual port cover since my adhesive allergy crud seemed to irritated by the saran wrap already.  I also like to have my meds administered in the same order each time I feel like a change will have me worrying about anything that comes up - I know my little OCD tendancy coming out there but my nurse accommodated me.

All is in and it is ready for me to work on my chemo chalkboard I always have to have a smart comment about the day to include in it - My nurses always like to see what I am writing and an older couple were seated in the next area from us lets  call him John and wife.  They were a hoot!! In their 70's they still worked and he was doing well with his treatments.  We had a fun time chatting and laughing until he was finished.  At one point I asked them what they did and as serious as can be his wife whom was dressed all proper in a jacket and skirt says I am a "porn star" Beth and I could not keep the composure we laughed I am grateful I did not pee myself so I asked him if he sold the videos or what and he said know he owned some lighting fixture company I believe.  What a fun couple with GREAT humor we had a ball with them and I think it cheered John up he was going to lay down but enjoyed talking about our kids and sports they played and asked how my treatment was going.  I do believe we return on the next day .. next time.  I mentioned we would find both of us sitting in the corner that time. After they left my nurse told me she had a new patient coming in that was very nervous so I said oh are you planning to sit them next to me .. she said very fast "NO".  As she brought back this new patient whom was probably in her 50's she sat her up from me (not next to me) and said that she could not sit her next to me on her first time despite the fact that I promised Charlene I would be good and that I wouldn't say anything scary.

So when it was time for the red devil shots in to my line I told Charlene that I hoped she had her hair and make up done for our photo shoot today, I had spent endless time on my hair.  So we had a fun picture with my board.  I am looking a little chunky in this picture .. I had lost 6 lbs my first cycle and gained 6 the next the steroids are part of that.  My nurses will say you generally don't lose. 

Each blog post I want to leave you with a song that you can check out if you want but it is generally a song that I have listened too and really listened to the words in that week and it has spoken to me in some way - this week it is Mandisa's Overcomer.  If you are unfamiliar with the song take a listen to it and REALLY listen to the words!

What I hate about cancer!

So I had heard the 3rd treatment was one to watch out for that it sometimes hits people hard, but I thought well I have done well so it won't be any issue for me.  However, it's been a tough one.  Three treatments and six weeks of having my "freedom" somewhat taken away took a little toll on me and I not only felt cruddy but I  had a little pity party for myself too something I said I would not do.

So as I lay in bed Friday night feeling yucky and lacking energy I thought about all the things I hate about cancer and there are MANY!!

I hate that cancer is making me miss some of my kids events - in the past I have always been there for everything and to not be able to see them do things is hard.  I hate that cancer has taken my energy - some ... actually 90% of my energy and so I can't do things like I normally do sometimes just running a load of laundry feels like I have been cleaning all day.  I hate that cancer has taken my looks - I can deal with no hair which is often the biggest issue for most but honestly throwing a wrap or hat on and going is so quick and easy but what I really hate is the bloating and weight gain from the steroids and fluids I worked so hard to lose body fat and get in shape and now I am up over 10 lbs.  I hate that cancer makes me feel like a drug addict - yes I have a container and a sheet to keep track of all the drugs I take.  I hate that cancer helped itself to my savings account - because it's not cheap to get cancer.  I hate that cancer - makes me wake up 5 times a night because my port is a pain or I have night sweats. I hate that cancer ... I could go on and on and on but I won't because although I hate cancer I am reminded that God is greater than this cancer. 

So as we start this Monday with a rainy morning I was able to get up and feel a little better! Each day after chemo you start to feel a tad better I generally know because days 2,3,4, things taste cruddy then slowly they start to taste better then each day I slowly start to get a little more energy.  So today is day 5 and I am hoping I am on the upside but I told myself my pity party is over with.  From the beginning I have vowed to stay positive because there are people in far worse situations than me and people that have no one as they go through their cancer.  I have a whole village helping me and supporting me.

As I reflect back on to my weekend of frustration I can smile because of so many blessings.  One was a friend from church telling me that when she is having a bad day she looks at my posts and it helps her get through the day.  Then I think about Saturday morning despite feeling sick I did take out all three kids (I actually had planned to just take one but they all wanted time).  Friday evening my bff coming to bring me a milk shake.. without the milkshake though.  She knew I wasn't feeling good and headed my way - but funny thing was she forgot her wallet she ordered shakes and didn't have any money to pay so cancelled the order and headed down.  I was asleep and she decided to be crazy and scare me but as soon as she mentioned a shake it sounded so good we headed in town with some money.  I normally can not tolerate shakes and such with my lactose issues but that was the BEST strawberry shake with whipped cream from McDonalds that I have had.  We then had to go get a new lint roller... I don't have any hair really left just a few pieces (I refer to it as my emu head) anyway rolling a lint roller on my head feels like a head massage .. you can laugh but I am going to event something like this for cancer patients. 

The last thing I will share is a huge blessing from yesterday that a stranger gave me.  Have you ever sat somewhere and wondered what others are going through?  Yesterday I could tell my girl needed some girl time so I mustered enough energy to take her out to a few places at first I was trying to be an overachiever and thought we would head to Arnold, but once in Festus I knew that was going to be too much.  We just went to a few places in town and then I took her to her favorite restaurant (Taytro's).  She loves that place and so do I.  So we ordered our drinks and our waiter was so good I actually considered a diet coke and when it came YUCK it tasted horrible, he switched it out for a Sprite right away.  Hannah loves the chips and cheese and well they are normally a hit with me but these days I never know what I like so we ordered and enjoyed, I didn't order any meal she got her toasted raviolis and fries which I did enjoy some fries with ketchup (not a usual thing for me).  When it was time to pay our waiter said that a gentlemen had taken care of our bill.  I was so touched because this person had NO idea how much Hannah needed mom time and how much energy it took for me to go and enjoy the food.  Our check wasn't that much in cost but what he did was worth a million dollars,  It made me think do we look around when we are out and do we truly see others and wonder what is going on with them.  I can't wait until I have an opportunity to find that right person (s) to give such a blessing to.

Today I will remember all of those LITTLE THINGS!!

Stay away from me & Blessings

This week has been fairly uneventful - its my non chemo week but I did have iron fusions. Mainly I have been dealing with one child or another being sick of course it all takes place during that time period when my white blood cell count is at its lowest. 

Its hard to stay away from your kids when they are sick especially red he just wants some snuggling! But, I can not afford to catch anything a simple cold for them or you could be much worse for me.  So if you happen to see me sitting away from the crowd of people at softball games its not that I am being anti social its just I am being extra cautious around crowds and especially kids since they are little germ monsters.  A few weeks ago at church an individual I did not know was sitting by me and I think I slightly offended them by not shaking hands during our welcome time - I apologized but I am trying to avoid contact when I can just to be extra safe.

My next chemo is on Wednesday the 11th (I moved it back a day due to reds Kindergarten graduation on the 10th).  So I expect to be out of commission for the 11th - 14th.  I am finding my off week I do much better but still sleep more than I normally do and have days where I ache a little more. 

I feel really blessed so many friends and family have helped with so many things as I undergo treatment.  I appreciate everything - everyone has done.  One of my friends has been visiting me on Friday's and cleaning my toilets, now that is a true friend.  With the chemo you have to be careful around chemicals and fumes and germs and so some of the heavier cleaning like that is difficult for me to get done and if you know me I am a little OCD about things (I am really trying to let it go.. and not worry if something is not clean).  This cleaning help is huge especially since down in our area there is no cleaning assistance available for chemo patients.  In the city areas there are several cleaning services that offer free cleaning sessions to chemo patients.  I have found I can get all the general stuff done for the most part and my kiddos are supposed to be doing extra chores - however they are not always cooperative.

The other thing that has been a blessing is having extra snacks on hand.  This week two individuals gave me a box and a basket of snack items some for the kids - some for me its so nice to have around for the kids to just grab after school without me having to find something.  Then breakfast items this was something I never thought of before but after my first treatment I realized mornings are really rough on me that its hard to get up and move and so my kids are pretty good about getting themselves ready I set out their stuff the night before and then having easy to grab breakfast items has been perfect they can take care of that - sure its not the usual biscuits and bacon I had cooked for them but they are enjoying it all the same (my boys have especially loved the chocolate chip mini muffin things some have dropped to them).

I am grateful for my bff.  She has become my nurse/caretaker/driver/partner in crime.  Just because I am getting treatments does not mean we can't have fun and we make the most of every outing.  She also has been coordinating meals and other needs that might come up (thank you for the meals on my chemo weeks they help tremendously). Also my 2nd mom .. she's my back up girl for driving and my voice of reason - always keeping me in line.

I am also grateful for my work out girls and trainer, I couldn't work out as much this past cycle due to sick kids and extra trips for iron but these ladies make me laugh so much and well I may only be able to do 1/2 a work out these days but its more than nothing and its just good to get out and have fun.   If you haven't seen the shirts that my trainer is doing, I have attached a form.  They are placing the order Tuesday so forms and payments need to be in within the next day or so if you are interested. 

I can't forget the countless number of people praying for me and how blessed I am to have these prayer warriors on my side daily. There are so many blessings and things people are helping or have helped with that I have not mentioned - but I am grateful for EVERYTHING!!

Appreciate the GREAT days you have - before this I was so busy I failed to take time for little things now I have to slow down I am noticing so many things that I overlooked.

Keep the prayers coming!!

Inquiring minds want to know...

I have to admit I was that person that just didn't know what to say to someone diagnosed with cancer .. sure I would tell the person I was praying for them and would pray for them but I never said much more out of fear of whether I would say the right words or not and I never asked any questions. 

However, people are curious and I think asking questions helps our friends and loved ones understand more about what we are going for or feeling so I have been fairly open about what I am experiencing thus far and want people to know they can ask me questions that they are curious about, it is okay!! I will say that many things I am going through I like to make jokes with or humor because that is me and I am fine with my friends sending me pictures of crazy eyebrows and comments. Some might cringe but humor is the best medicine and I am determined to have fun every day that I can.

So perhaps you are curious about some things to do with my cancer or treatment, feel free to ask away but as I blog I will post things that come up that people have been curious about.

So here is the big one - hair! Yes you lose it everywhere with the chemo regiment I have.  Not all at the same time and some areas take longer to loose than others but it happens.  I am on day 19/20 now and my head is a patchy bald mess it was very hard to look at but I have adjusted to the shock of it. This week the little pieces left were falling out all over the place so I had my bff take a lint roller to my head.  Yes you read that correctly you know the lint rollers you use on your clothes, well this felt so GOOD.  When your hair starts to fall out the follicles start to hurt and itch and I was like a dog having their winter coat brushed away, it felt so good.  So when you lose your hair some people do wigs and some insurance companies will pay for a wig - mine does however I just don't think a wig is quite me.. so I have opted for scarves and hats to cover my head.  It would be nice if insurance companies would give a choice of a $ amount to use on a wig or hats. They don't give anything towards head coverings and I am finding out that not every hat is great for you. First head coverings fit differently and different materials breathe better than others on your head and most you have to order online so you can't really see if its a great look for you until after you order.  Not to mention the cost per a head covering runs about $20-30 for decent ones that are made of a material that is comfortable for your head.  Several people have mentioned about eye brows and some people lose them completely or part of them I haven't lost mine yet I keep checking them daily and I am waiting for the day I don't have to shave my legs because I mean if I have cancer at least I can have the perk of not having to shave my legs. Enough hair talk...

Costs.. this is something a few people have asked or commented on.  This is something that varies depending on what type of insurance you have.  The one thing I found out quickly is that my insurance is apparently a pain for requiring authorizations.  The one thing I had a tough time with at first was the amount of medical EOBs in my mail each day and then bills.  I actually threw them all in a pile for a few weeks fearful to look at them! Being on a high deductible plan I knew first I would incur my family deductible before anything was even paid out, that was $4,000.  Then I knew I would incur expenses until I met my maximum family out of pocket for the year,  $8,000!! With the cost of scans, tests, chemo, injections the claims added up very quickly, in less than 3 weeks I had already met the $12,000 of expenses I would have to pay for.  I am not freaking out, yes, that's a huge chunk of change but it could be worse I could have no insurance. So I wont be getting a new vehicle this year  - but that is okay with me.  So now I have met these amounts my out of pocket costs should be fairly minimal.  There are however those over the counter med expenses not covered by insurance, the cubby by my bed is filled with Tylenol, Claritin, Mylanta, Stool Softner, Biotin, Zantac, Probiotics, Vit D, Iron ... then there is the mouth washes and some glad saran wrap.  So perhaps you are wondering why I would need all those items!! Lets just say you never know how you are going to feel from your chemo .. one day your body is constipated the next day its not, you get the drift.  Then mouthwashes I am not talking about those $3 bottles of scope .. with chemo you can get mouth sores so you have to rinse your mouth out numerous times a day there is a recipe for a rinse and I am very frugal but decided I have enough to mess with and I splurged and purchased the recommended stuff.  I have never paid over $10 for mouth washed before so I feel like this stuff is like gold.  Then the saran wrap.. well when you go to get chemo or need your port accessed you place a numbing ointment on your port area so you need to cover that ointment so it doesn't soak in to your clothing.  You simply rip a piece of saran wrap and cover the area... sure you get weird looks when you stop places prior with plastic crinkled on your chest area but it works to keep that mess in place since the ointment has to be placed on one hour prior.  My port has also been something that has come up in many questions too.

I personally do not like having a port -  I tried to negotiate with my oncologist and surgeon that I did not need this but they did not go for it. I need to brush up on my negotiating skills because they have been lacking lately.  So the port is a gadget placed under my skin mine is under my skin on my upper left side of my chest.  I was put asleep to have it placed in you get some adhesive like stitches after wards and it can be felt (feel free to ask to see where it is or to feel it if you want .. don't worry its high enough up that I wont be flashing you to show it off).  When I go for treatment the nurse accesses it they have a magnet piece that lines up with it and that way the needle piece goes in the right area each time.  Like I said previously you numb the area about one hour prior I can feel the pressure when they enter it but my blood is drawn from there and my chemo goes in through it and my iron fusions.  The worst thing is the flushing of the port you can smell and taste the alcohol like stuff so it is best to be eating a piece of candy of chewing gum when they do this or else it makes you feel a bit yucky.  Normally my nurse has me chat with her while she is doing all this so that I am not thinking about it too much.  I find my port very uncomfortable especially at night and how I want to lay they say you get used to them but I don't care for this weird object hanging out under my skin but I do realize the importance of having this since all the treatments will reek havoc on your veins. (If you look at the pic below you can see the cover over my port area at the top of my chest).  I have started to purchase cotton vshirts since they work best for easy port entrys. 

I am trying to recall all the questions or things that friends have asked about thus far.  I know the Claritin has been something people have asked on.  I take Claritin the day before my chemo and for 7 days after.  The day after my chemo I get a shot, this shot boosts production of WBC and you can get aches from it so apparently Claritin helps with that.  I had 1-2 days last time around day 10 that my tail bone ached and I was sore when I bent but nothing too terrible.  Another subject that comes up is food. YES, things do taste different,  I currently hate diet soda, skinny popcorn, chocolate and the idea of anything sweet... I love watermelon, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers and crave turkey sandwiches with tomato on them.  I also have one day cravings, my motto is if I crave it I am eating it! My appetite has been fairly good I have a few days I eat soup and crackers then a few days when I am starving (most likely due to the steroids you take on day 2 and 3 after chemo). 

The fatigue is the toughest side effect for me as a person that rarely sits still for long laying in bed and sleeping a day away is tough for me.  But, I am going with the flow and if my body needs to rest then I am giving it rest. 

The best thing about my treatment is the time I get to spend with my bff and others during my treatment, we make the time FUN for not only us but the oncology nurses and I know that my weird and fun antics may actually be what someone at the infusion center needs to see one day.  Right now I have always been the youngest patient there on any of my chemo, iron or injections and if I can laugh and have fun being young and with young kids despite my cancer than anyone can!! When me and my bff left last week I told the oncology nurses I would make sure she behaved the next time I returned.. they said please do not.  So who knows what adventures we will get up to at my next appointment (I have several this week for iron fusions).

As I close this lengthy post .. I am left thinking about a lesson at church today where it started on songs that bring something to mind from our life.  I am not much of a music person I have no musical talents and can never remember what artist sings what song (ok .. I do know my Adele).  But, over the past few weeks I have really started listening to the words in songs more and I have 2 specific songs that the words have really spoke to me recently.  The first was during my MRI I am terribly caustraphobic but I also hate to take anything to make me out of it and I was not sure how I would get through the MRI.  With a lot of prayers, some hand holding from my bff and JOY FM on the radio I did it.  About half way through the MRI they were ready to start the contrast and the tech told me I had to stay still for about 12 more minutes and I was doubting I could stay in that machine for even a minute longer and the song "BREATHE" by Jonny Diaz came on - it was perfect timing and I did that and was able to get through those 12 minutes.  Check it out below with the words, I never paid attention to the words completely until that day!

Another song that has played just at the right time lately is "JUST BE HELD" by Casting Crowns.  Again, another song I heard many times but never really listened to all the words until recently.  I started to really think about the part that says your "Life is not falling apart it is falling in place." We just never know what tomorrow holds for us.  On March 17th my life changed and I could do nothing about it, but I realized what I could do is to realize there is a purpose for my life and what is happening and I was not alone!!  Check out the words and video below and really pay attention to the words.  My life is not in my hands, it is in God's hands and knowing that is allowing me to be positive and have humor in this time in which I have the hardest obstacles to overcome. 

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts and humor with you!