One Year

It has been 1 year today since I was diagnosed. What a crazy year. The hardest and longest year of my life. I only got through it by the grace of God.

I still have a lot of fear of what the future may hold. There is no guarantee on life, I totally get that, it's just more in your face when you have a cancer diagnosis. I'm trying to not be consumed by fear as much and live every day to the fullest. Will there be a day in the future that I don't think about cancer? Probably not. But I don't think about it all day, like I did a year ago.
I am considered NED for now. (No evidence of disease.) I will be monitored for the rest of my life. The 5 year mark is really a big milestone with this type of cancer, but even after hitting it, I will be monitored. I am taking tamoxifen to block what little hormone the cancer did respond to, and I will be on it for the next 10 years. That seems so far off, but I will be excited to get to those milestones.

With all that being said, I owe a lot of Thank Yous for this past year. Thank you to God for healing me and for getting me and my family through this year. Thank you to Brian for being a total rock for our family and being my cheerleader all day, every day. Thank you to my mom for stepping in and doing so much for us. Taking care of the boys, cleaning our house, cooking, the list goes on. Thank you to all of my family who checked on me and sent cards (Mildred), and who were just so sweet. Thank you to my sweet friends who texted, called, took my kids home from school, came and sat at the hospital during my mastectomy, and reassured me that I could get through this. And thanks to everyone who prayed for us, made meals for us, checked on us, and just showered us with kindness through the year.

I went on Thursday for a mammogram and ultrasound on the right (noncancer) side. The doctor reviewed the mammogram and decided that there was nothing of concern, and it was not too dense for her liking, so I didn't have to have the ultrasound. That was a first. I also had a follow up with my radiation oncologist that day. He told me, "I give you a clean bill of health. You do not need to follow up with me anymore." And he complimented my scar and lack of scarring from radiation. It may sound like a weird compliment, but I'll take it. :-) I got to see all my favorite radiation people and  I even ran into my favorite nurse from upstairs while I was in the building.
I am on an every 3 month rotation with my oncologist. I'll see her again at the end of January. I will also see my surgeon the same day to plan/schedule the mastectomy of the right side for sometime soon, hopefully.

Dear 2016, I hate you. Bye.
Here's to a healthy, happy 2017 and beyond!

Last Radiation

Today was my last radiation treatment. My last one. Finally! I am so glad to not have to drive back to the medical center every single day now. I'm feeling very crispy (from the radiation burns). And happy. 

I got to ring the bell and I brought Brian and the kids along with me. 

It was emotional. It's been a long time since treatments started with chemo back in January, staring at that damn bell, hoping to ring it and that it will truly signal the end of cancer in my body and my life. 

I'm happy that treatments are over but the worry has really kicked in too. Worry that it will come back or that it's lurking in there somewhere growing now that I'm not having treatment to fight it off anymore. I just keep praying that I will stay cancer free. And try to not worry. 

I got an end of radiation certificate too. :-)

Now on to heal from the radiation. The doctor told me tonight that my burns will get worse before they start to heal. So hopefully within the next 10-14 days the healing process will begin. The worst burn is in the middle of my chest, but I am also burned under my arm, on my back, neck, chest, and pretty bad on my mastectomy scar. 

Like I said, I'm feeling very crispy these days. 

Thank you for praying with me and for me and my family. We truly appreciate it!

Radiation-halfway done!

So today was treatment #15 out of 30. I've reached the halfway mark! 

This week has me complaining about waiting. Drive 45-50 minutes there, sit and wait for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, get zapped, drive 45-50 minutes home. I've been out LATE all week. I am tired. I hate waiting. But I'm trying to not complain. Happy to be alive. Happy to be alive. Happy to be alive. I just keep saying that to stop myself from complaining. It could be worse. (But really, waiting for 45 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday, 1.5 hours on Thursday, and 40 minutes on Friday?!? Excessive. Happy to be alive.)

So to celebrate my halfway point, here is a picture journey of radiation. 

Drive there. Pass these fountains. They've been working on them for weeks. Tonight they were on. 

Park and ride the elevator to floor 2. (If you get to Memorial Hermann at 7:45pm, you can park on floor 3. Lots of spots. This is not the case in daylight hours. 

Pass by the gift shop. Radiation is right around the corner. They close at 6. Which is good, because if they were open, I would be in there shopping during my long waits. (I spy knock off Kendra Scott jewelry from the window daily.)

Get your radiation ticket. That's not its official name, but that's basically what it is. 

Ride the secret elevator that is only in the radiation area to floor 1. My mom calls it the bat elevator. From Batman the character. Not the flying mammals. 

No picture, but change into a very flattering hospital gown, that does not tie no matter how hard you try, from the waist up. 

Again, no picture, but wait. Except for last week. They were on their game last week. There was no waiting last week. 

Go into this radiation room (yes, I totally snapped this picture without them knowing) and lie down on the table with your arms over your head and get zapped. It takes about 15 minutes. I hold my breath during the actual zapping. 

(I hold it for 25 seconds at a time. Just a fun fact for you.)

No pictures, but get dressed and run out of that place like its on fire cause you are ready to be home. 

Drive for 45-50 minutes. (Another fun fact, one night this week I saw 4 rats run across the road in front of me while I was sitting at the light at Westheimer and Montrose. That intersection is always a great place to spot something weird.)

Get home, shower, put on burn cream, sleep. 

The end. 

Now I have a 3 day break, and start back on Tuesday for the next 15 treatments. Praying for no burning, no skin break downs, and patience. And that there is not a cancerous cell in my body. Anywhere. Ever. Amen. 

Radiation

I went on August 2 for my radiation simulation. They take images and then come up with a radiation plan. 

I went back on August 12 for a mini simulation where they try out the positions and such on the radiation table. 

I actually started radiation on Monday, August 15. I'm going at 8:30pm. Yes, pm. That's the time they gave me. And it sort of works out since I'm back at work. 

Of course, on Monday, the first day of radiation, I fell off of a chair that I was standing on. I fell on my left side and my wrist started hurting after I fell. I texted my surgeon who said I needed to go get an x-Ray. Since she took all the lymph nodes out of my left underarm area, any trauma to the left side has to be checked out. No broken bones, thank God. Just a bad sprain. I'm in a splint for a while. 

Thankfully for radiation I just lie on a table with my arms above my head and my head turned to the right. I have to hold my breath for 23 seconds each time they zap me. It takes around 15 minutes for the whole thing. I only have to hold my breath 6-10 times in that period though. The rest of the time is table/equipment moving and images being taken. 

I will go every day, Monday - Friday, for radiation. I should finish on September 26. 

As of yesterday I am 1/6 of the way done. 25 more sessions to go. 

End of summer

I went back to school on August 8 this year. A week earlier than usual. Here are some pictures of our last few things we did/celebrated.

Celebrating Brian's birthday early. 

We made these giant things filled with air in one of my sessions. I brought 2 home and the kids played with them for a solid hour. 

Brian on his actual birthday. We made him a pudding cake (his favorite). 

Timothy picked out this shirt for Brian for his birthday. Best $4.97 I've spent at WalMart ever. 

The kids at Firehouse Subs. 

Back to school=end of daily blogging. See you next summer!

Recuperating

Today the boys stayed in their pajamas and just relaxed. They were recuperating from their sleepover.

Timothy woke up at 4am and I heard him trying to wake everyone else up. I got upstairs and got him to go back to sleep before they all woke up. 

He woke up again at 6am and I wasn't quick enough that time. He got them all up before I could get to him. 

So they were running on very little sleep. (Me too.)

Of course, the one that got everyone up, the reason we were all running on so little sleep, was the one to crash this afternoon. He napped for about an hour. 

Sleepover

The boys had their friends over tonight for a sleepover. This is Timothy's first time having a friend sleep over and his friend's first time sleeping at a friend's house. So they have been super excited about it all week!

We started the fun by having pizza and Gatorade and playing air hockey and the mini basketball game. Then we went for snow cones and to MiMi and Boonpa's house to swim. We came back home and they changed into pajamas and had popcorn while they watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. I'm hoping sleep will come right after this. :-) Such a fun night!

Bunco night

Tonight I went to a friend's house to play Bunco. Brian asked the kids where they wanted to go for dinner and they picked Sam's boat. So he took them there, then they came home to play video games.

Mr. Muscles

Today I went to set up my classroom. Brian brought the kids up on his lunch break so he could hang things from the ceiling for me and then they stayed while he went back home to work. When I got done, I needed to get a new rug for my classroom, so I headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Timothy carried the rug through the store. He refused to let me help him at all. He got lots of compliments from the employees and other shoppers on how strong he was. He made it to the curb outside the store and then he broke down and asked for my help. The whole way home he checked out his own muscles in the car. He was very proud of himself. 

How to Tire out a dog

Susie loves when they play ball in the pool!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6IWbc2lXyw4

Book Release

Tonight (really Sunday morning at 12:01am) the latest Harry Potter story was released in book stores. Way back when the original 7 Harry Potter books were coming out pretty steadily, there would be release parties at the bookstores where everyone would celebrate and count down to midnight and the official time to sell the new books. In 2007 I went to the release party  for what we thought would be the last Harry Potter book.

(Me and Angie in 2007)

Tonight Thomas went with me, Joe, and Angie to the release party for this book. 

He had the time of his life! He got sorted into his house at Hogwarts, played a game with strangers who are also huge Harry Potter fans, got a lightning bolt face painted on, made a wand, got a necklace with his house badge, got a Harry Potter badge, and answered lots of book trivia questions. He also had his first frappucino and LOVED it!

Just for reference, here's my almost 7 month old Thomas back when the last book was released, and him today.

And both of us back then and today. :-)

I'm so glad I got to share this experience with him and that he had so much fun hanging out in a bookstore until midnight!

Pool games

The boys had some friends over to MiMi and Boonpa's pool this afternoon. They played and had watermelon and strawberries and Gatorade with fancy drink umbrellas. Their friends taught them a new game to play in the pool. It was a fun afternoon!

Our Pet Bunny

We have a little wild rabbit that visit our yard when the sun comes up and when the sun goes down each day. He is a cute little rabbit even though he nibbles on my plants. Timothy really, really wants to catch him and has chased him around the yard a couple of times. But the bunny is quick! He's the perfect pet. No maintenance!

Main Event

I told the boys to get dressed this morning and that we were going somewhere but I didn't tell them where. We pulled up at Main Event and they were so happy!

We bowled first and I barely won. Then the boys tried the ropes course. 

Poor Timothy got up there and got scared so he only made it as far as his picture shows. Then he turned around and came right down. He was d.o.n.e. 

Thomas did the whole course. 

After that we all played laser tag. My gun on my vest wasn't working so I sucked at it. Defective equipment! Thomas did great and had the best score of the 12 people in there. 

They tried playing pool next. Timothy couldn't use the stick so he just rolled the ball with his hands. :-)

After that, we bowled again and had lunch. Then went to Kohls for school shoes on our way home. It was a fun day! 

Crafting

This afternoon the boys did a little crafting.

Thomas found a book about paper airplanes and made several different versions. He had one paper airplane that actually split into 4 small paper airplanes when he threw it. It was really cool!

While he was working on that, Timothy got the grand idea of making a shirt out of paper for Brian. No idea why he decided to try to make a shirt, and I tried to talk him out of it, but he was insistent. So he made a giant shirt that Brian had to tape onto himself when he got home. 

Susie

The boys love playing football in MiMi and Boonpa's pool. Susie the dog LOVES it too. Every time the ball goes out of the pool, she gets it before they can. She watches them playing catch like someone watching tennis. Her head/eyes follow that ball very closely. Tonight she figured out that if they are standing close enough to the side of the pool, she can grab the football right out of their hands when they pull it back over their shoulder to throw it. They had to keep jumping out to get it back from her! They were cracking up. And I think Susie enjoyed it too!

Church singing

Today at church all the kids who went to camp last week were invited to sing their camp song on stage. I think our football players were the last campers to get back to the meeting every night, so Thomas and Timothy didn't really know the song that well.

They went on stage with everyone else but they both managed to stand behind other kids so we could barely see them! Thomas said he did that on purpose. (Mr. Embarrassed) Timothy was upset that he was stuck behind a bunch of girls and he said they were squishing him. (Mr. Performer)

Silly boys!

Lemonade Stand

These 2 made a lemonade stand at MiMi and Boonpa's garage sale today. It was only 25 cents per cup and they made a total of $32! They didn't sell that many cups to make $32, but they got a lot of really good tips for being so cute!

End of football camp

Tonight was the last night of football camp. The parents were invited to come watch and have a little block party afterward.

Thomas did really well. We got to see him pull 3 flags on defense and catch a touchdown pass on offense. 

Timothy stood on the field and chewed on the flags that were attached to his vest. There was no running or energy from him. So maybe football is not his sport. :-) At least we found out through an inexpensive week-long church camp. 

They both enjoyed snow cones and nachos and popcorn with their friends at the block party afterward. 

Pathology Report

No cancer found in any tissue taken at surgery. Hallelujah!!! I haven't officially gone over the report with my oncologist but my surgeon texted me this picture of it and says no cancer was found. So great news!

Fun with Friends

The boys had 2 friends over today before football so I got to watch them play and feed them all dinner. It's easy to do now when they are still young. I'm sure in a few years feeding 4 boys dinner will require a lot more than a package of hot dogs, buns, and Fritos. :-)

They are still loving football camp. Last night when they got home they both sat down and drew up football plays. They took them today to show their coaches and teams. God help them if their teams decide to try them out. I was so confused trying to follow what was happening just on paper!

Football Camp

The boys are having so much fun at their football camp this week! They sent me a few pictures and I found Thomas in some of them. Hopefully we'll get some more and I will have a few shots of Timothy playing too!

Football Nights

The boys started a camp at church this week. It's at night from 6-9 and they are playing flag football. They were so excited to go today. Timothy started asking at 9am if it was time yet.

They each have a friend going with them so that makes it even more fun. They got back at 9:20 last night and were still all hyped up so we got to hear about the whole thing while they showered and calmed down before bed. 

They are excited to go back tonight. I am so happy that they are having fun!

Nothing Day

Brian took the boys to church this morning. I watched it from my bed. They picked up my grocery order from Kroger and came home. We had lunch and played games. We watched a movie and some tv and played some more games. We picked up a little bit and put some things away. But for the most part, it was a big do nothing day around here. :-)

Baseball Clinic

Today the boys got to go to a baseball clinic at Minute Maid Park. They got to do all sorts of baseball drills on a rotation. The best part was being down on the field that the Astros play on.

Poor Timothy fell and scraped both knees during the first rotation, and he had to be talked in to continuing, but he rallied and had fun. 

Thomas said he threw 3 strikes during the pitching rotation. He was very proud of himself for doing that on the big field. 

They both had friends that attended as well, so it was a fun clinic. And Boonpa went to watch. 

Friday night swim

MiMi took the boys to her house this afternoon for dinner and swimming. They were EXHAUSTED when they got home.

Alexa

Brian bought what I am calling a robot on Amazon Prime Day. It's this speaker looking thing that answers to the name "Alexa." 

Do we need a robot? No. Does the robot help our lives in any way? No. But Brian likes technology. So we have a robot. 

Timothy asked her to tell knock knock jokes today. She told us about 4-5. Then he told her to put "chocolate Cocoa Puffs" on our shopping list. Check. Then he told her to play Katy Perry music. Then he switched it to Blake Shelton. Then it was "music from the 1980s". Then Christmas music. He asked for summer music but she did not understand that request. 

So yeah. A robot. On the kitchen counter. That tells jokes and plays music. Hurray!

Movies

MiMi took the boys to Chilis for lunch today. Then they went to the movies to see The Secret Life of Pets. They said it was funny and they saw their friends there so that made it even better.

Caretakers

I got to come home today from the hospital. These are my caretakers. I am in good hands. :-)

Surgery

I'm out. The surgery went well. The drains hanging out of me are totally gross and inconvenient. HGTV is channel 67 in my room. I will be able to survive. :-)

Games

We have been playing a lot of board games here lately. It is just too hot to be outside unless you are in a pool. So we have gotten good at Sorry and Apples to Apples and Heads Up. The kids have been working on chess and they have sucked Brian in to some weird game on their tablets where they breed and feed and care for dragons. 

Yes, dragons. And Brian is all in for this game. They are constantly comparing how much food they have and what kinds of dragons they have and what level their dragons are on. 

I think I'll stick with the board games. I kick butt at Heads Up. :-)

Simple Saturday

We had a nice, boring day today.

-We slept late after being out late last night at the Astros game. (Full disclosure: my kids hate sleep with a passion. They are professional sleep-haters. Sleeping late for them is past 7:00. Today they made it to almost 8:00)

-We went to the bank

-We went to Willies for lunch

-We relaxed

-We went for a quick walk

-We went out to dinner (it was a complete day of no cooking for me)

Astros

Tonight we went with our church to the Astros game. They had a lead, then lost the lead in the top of the 9th inning, then got a 3 run home run in the bottom of the ninth to win. So it was a great game.

We stayed to watch the fireworks afterward. Timothy always reminds us of when he was little and told us "the sky is dirty" every time he saw fireworks. We've told him that story enough that it's one of his favorites about himself. :-)

Ice cream and water slides

Today we took a quick trip to Brenham to do the best 2 things in Brenham: eat Bluebell ice cream and swim in the ice cream themed pool across the street from the creamery.

Timothy chose cotton candy ice cream and Thomas tried one called monster cookie. It was like cookies and cream but colored Cookie Monster blue. And it turned his whole mouth blue. But they both loved their choices. 

After they finished their ice cream, we went to the Brenham aquatic center across the street where they have a pool with ice cream slides and things to play on. It was super fun!

Timothy got to go spend the night with a friend for the first time tonight so Thomas got to stay up late and watch a movie with us.