Saturday, August 9, 2008

I am very excited because now it seems official that the cancer is gone. I got my port removed on Wednesday. It was a 20 minute procedure that entailed numbing the area, cutting it open, taking out the port, and stitching it back up the area. It was hard to go through the whole process and be awake (because I don’t like needles and blood), but Tim was there to hold my hand. However, after leaving the “surgery” room, I had to lay down on the lobby floor because my body was having some sort of vasoconstriction reaction. The nurse said it as common among patients. It is just my body’s way of reacting to the “trauma” or shock of what happened. For those who have never had this experience it goes something like this: your vision starts to blur and then the peripheral blacks out, your head gets really hot and your ears start to ring. Then your head cools down and you feel like you are going to faint or pass out. Needless to say I was wheeled out of the hospital. Once in the car I was fine.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

So we had a busy 2 weeks because we went with Tim on a working trip. In the middle of July we spent a week in Idaho. While Tim was working, we went to the zoo, the children’s museum, watched a lot of cartoons in the hotel room and went swimming. McCabe was kamikaze when it came to the water. He loves to splash and jump in it. He really kept me on my toes. Thank goodness Jacinda was a bit more calm and a good listener.

The second week of our trip was spent in Utah. I was able to visit my sisters and therefore the kids were able to visit their cousins. I was also able to visit some old friends. Unfortunately I did not get to see everyone so for the ones I missed I will visit you on the next trip.

Utah was hot but fun. We went boating and Jacinda loved it. McCabe was ok as long as he could see both mom and dad. However, when his dad was in the water waiting to be pulled by the boat McCabe would cry until he saw him. For all those wondering no I did not try water skiing. At the moment, I do not have enough strength. While in Utah, I got really tired in the afternoons and many times took naps when the kids took them.

We went to the children’s museum and had a gondola ride at the Canyons ski resort. These were fun activities but as previously mentioned, I got really tired after 2 hours of participation. I had to sit and rest. The highlight of the trip was July 24th. We had a barb-e-que, the kids got to ride horses and ponies, and watch a firework show.

As the trip came to a close, we left Saturday at 4:00 am and made it to Washington by 8:00 pm. Tim and I traded off driving. Needless to say, the next day I had to skip church because I had a fever of 102. It finally broke in the afternoon.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Life is grand. I finished radiation a week and a half ago and just met with the oncologist today. He gave me a clean bill of health. My PET scan was cancer free (YEAH!). I am so thankful to all the people that helped with my cancer battle. I guess it is time to blog about my family.

I just hit my 9 year mark of marriage (that is amazing considering I thought I was going to be a career woman). I have 2 kids, Jacinda 3.5 and McCabe 1.5. They are the joy of my life. I want to have another one but at the moment (and if this persists) I have little strength and energy to do daily tasks. I constantly need to take naps and my zest and enthusiasm is fading. It is weird at times I feel like I am dying because I get so light headed or dizzy and I sit still and the world keeps going. I hate that feeling. Jacinda will start pre-school this year. She is learning her alphabet and becoming indoctrinated early with gospel teachings. I love it when she tells me about the word of wisdom (i.e. don't drink tea, coffee, beer, etc...) She is also able to recognize the first presidency and say their names if you point to them. However, the best thing right now is that out of no where she will say, "mom, I love you." It melts my heart and makes parenting worth every back ache and head ache.

McCabe is my beefy little man. He is 33 pounds of pure boy. He loves to sit in puddles, throw rocks, and wrestle especially with his daddy. He is a little cranky right now because his top canine teeth are coming in. However, on the bright side, he is learning to kiss. He will blow kisses and pucker. It is the best feeling to have "loves" from my mister McCabe.

Now the man who made all this fun possible is Tim. He is a hard working good humored man. He works for Sprint doing a phenomenal job setting best practice trends and other important and praise worthy stuff. He has been a true friend helping me through the cancer ordeal. If I sit and think about it too long I start to cry because he loves me so much and it is so refreshing to find a good person like that. He is a man of strong character who does not run at the first sight of hard times. And even though at this time I feel like "damaged goods," (because of the scars, lack of hair, and the ugliness from cancer) he treats me like a rare gem.......He really is a good man. I am so blessed to have him.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

I have few moments to post an update. I am finished with radiation (thank goodness) and getting over the burned throat. It hurts so badly to swallow. The doctor prescribed some lidocaine with an anti-acid mixture. It is horribly disgusting. I just muddle through eating. It takes me twice as long as the rest of the family (oh well). Now that radiation is over, I am so tired. I guess my body is trying to recover from 4 weeks of *&^%.

On the brighter side of things, my hair is coming in nicely and I will be going to Utah in a few weeks. I am very excited to take a vacation and have a change of scenery. I hope you all have a good 4th of July.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

I know it has been a while since my last posting. Last week was very busy with the in-laws in town. It was great. We celebrated Ashley's (my niece) high school graduation. Then it was time for some adventure as we explored Ape cave with the children. On average, the cave is 42 degrees so we had to dress really warm. In fact there was snow near the entrance. After our cave expedition we played zoolaretto and reminisced and laughed about our childhoods. It was great having the family at the house.

Only 6 more radiation treatments and then I am finished. I am having difficulty swallowing. That is a bummer because I like to eat and now eating is not fun. It is really difficult to swallow meat. It feels like I just had my tonsils out again. I had those taken out when I was 21 and it took a long time to recover from the cauterizing. Well that radiation is burning my throat. However, it will go away once treatment is finished.

I hope all you fathers had a great father's day. Tim got a tracking of his priesthood lineage and of course a tie with some yummy caramel popcorn.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Radiation is going well. There are virtually no side effects (yet, who knows what the future holds). I have 16 treatments left. My hair starting to come back and I have my strength. I feel great. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and encouragement.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The photos I posted are of my markings for radiation. They are not permanent (thank goodness), but I am wondering if it is just me or does anyone feel like wearing a turtle neck? Yesterday was my appointment to make sure the markings were correctly positioned and the prep for radiation. I went home smelling like a huge band-aid because there are clear latex stickers over my markings to prevent them from washing away. I get a good laugh looking at myself in the mirror. Talk about your freak show, I have bluish-purple markings all over my top half along with two red scars (one from my lymphectomy and the other from my port) and then a nice bump protruding out of my skin (that is my port). Regardless of all this weirdness, I am truly thankful to be alive and in good spirits.

I had my first radiation appointment today and it was nothing like chemo. I will take radiation any day over chemo. It took about 20 minutes to position my body and 30 seconds to shoot me with radiation. I am not kidding about the 30 seconds. I counted--15 seconds from the front and 15 seconds from the back. During that time I tasted a burning flavor and noticed the mucous in my nose. It was really wacky. What is even wackier was the music playing on the radio while driving home. It was Doctor Doctor by the Thompson Twins. The line “doctor, doctor, can’t you see I’m burning burning,” made me laugh. I thought it was so appropriate. Only four more weeks and then I can close the chapter on this part of my life. I wonder if I will glow in the dark even more after my treatments. (only kidding)