Boy, have I been waiting to say that! It has been three weeks since my
last chemo treatment and although it has been a while since my last
post, life hasn't slowed down a bit. Here's what we have been up to
since my debut with Keith Urban...I'm still in the stage of tearing up
every time I think about that moment...still so surreal! Here's my
video of the experience, but know that the visual isn't great, however,
audio is excellent:
I cry every time I watch that video and cannot thank our great friends and tremendous supporters, Stacie and Brian. They have been there since the day I found the lump....I can't thank them enough for always being there to take our kids last minute for appointments, for dinner dates to keep my mind occupied with great memories, for venting sessions when life was getting me down, but most of all for always being there for us. Love you guys!
I have to brag a little about my blog...it made our Fort Collins Coloradoan...front page people!! Yep, I'm big time now...not really but I like to think so..ha! I got a call from a reporter asking to interview me about how I did my fundraising through social media. Of course, I was flattered and felt all famous like that...again, ha! The best part was during my interview in my ever so professional living room, my children decided to treat the banister as if it were a cliff and began tossing items over the railing while they were attached to a jump rope in a suicidal display for the reporter...fabulous! Luckily, she had a great sense of humor and wasn't bothered by the entertainment I had lined up for her. That's what I love about my kids...so unpredictable! Here's the picture that made the newspaper...or "magazine" in the words of my children.
Another exciting event that took place as I mentioned before was my
final treatment of chemo therapy. Yahoo! It was such a great day! I
was so stinkin' excited that I couldn't sleep the night before despite
the sleeping pills I had taken to help me out. One obstacle that made
me super nervous was the fact that I had been fighting off one sickness
to the next, prior to my treatment and if my white blood cell counts
weren't high enough, it could affect my ability to get chemo. So, I did
my routine phone calls prior to my appointment. Must call mom (oh wait
she was here) and pray with Ann-Marie. Check! I went in for my blood
draw and although I asked the nurse to pull from a vein other than the
most obvious one in my arm, she didn't listen to me. Shocker! This was
a bit troublesome when it came time for my treatment because they
couldn't get my veins to cooperate. Then, Kathy came to my rescue and
got the IV placed. I was busy with my visitors and amazing supporters
Tara Bernhardt, my sister Shauna, and my mom. Oh yeah, Brent was there
too, but with 4 women in the room, he was put on the back burner. We
spent my three hours laughing, eating, and talking about everything
under the sun...of course! It was a little bitter sweet when I got
ready to go, so I had to get a picture with Kathy...I got permission to
post this pic of her! She's totally checking out my rack! Love it, and
her! Kathy made chemo therapy a cake walk...the recovery, not so much,
but I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with her every three weeks.
When I got home from therapy, I went and got my littles from school and
then had my cousins from California come over. They happened to be
coming through Colorado and stopped for a night, so we could see their
sweet little bundle, Emmalie. Love her and all of her sweetness. It
was so great to visit with them and play with a baby. Payton was so
excited that we had a baby in the house and that she got to hold her.
Rylan wasn't quite interested. I think he likes to be the baby of the
family.
The hardest part of my last chemo day was saying good bye to my sister.
I love that lady! She really gets the brunt of my frustration (from
cancer, not my husband...that's a whole post on it's own....totally
kidding!) most of the time and has been such a huge part of my journey
to being a survivor. She was always there to lift my spirits when I was
going through all of the alarming physical changes that are so hard to
cope with. She was there to help me with my kids and for support during
my surgery. She was there the umpteen million times that I would call
her to distract my mind from where it was headed. She was there to
ALWAYS be truthful and honest when I needed it, without hurting my
feelings. She was there when I had scares that started to take me down
the wrong road to not-so-awesome! She's my sister, and man, I couldn't
live without her!
It may seem crazy that I had so much company during my chemo, but I really don't start to feel crummy until Day 4. The next day after chemo, I headed to work. The parents of my students probably think I am crazy, but I truly felt normal until Day 4. This round, there was a chance that I could need a white blood cell boost, but my count was high enough that I by passed what could have been a painful set back. I had taken a day off in preparation for the shot, but got to enjoy the day by hanging out and sneaking in lunch with my favorite supporters, my kids. I definitely have to say there is something really special about being able to surprise my kids with lunch. My heart smiles every time I do this....maybe because it is one of the only times my kids are excited to see me. Not really, I just love to visit them and meet all of the little people that they have met at school and talk about at the dinner table....you know, Network??? I met him and Spiky Hair...only to find out that these little friends were calling my son, Ryan...better than inanimate objects! What goes around, comes around, I guess. Too funny!
It may seem crazy that I had so much company during my chemo, but I really don't start to feel crummy until Day 4. The next day after chemo, I headed to work. The parents of my students probably think I am crazy, but I truly felt normal until Day 4. This round, there was a chance that I could need a white blood cell boost, but my count was high enough that I by passed what could have been a painful set back. I had taken a day off in preparation for the shot, but got to enjoy the day by hanging out and sneaking in lunch with my favorite supporters, my kids. I definitely have to say there is something really special about being able to surprise my kids with lunch. My heart smiles every time I do this....maybe because it is one of the only times my kids are excited to see me. Not really, I just love to visit them and meet all of the little people that they have met at school and talk about at the dinner table....you know, Network??? I met him and Spiky Hair...only to find out that these little friends were calling my son, Ryan...better than inanimate objects! What goes around, comes around, I guess. Too funny!
Next came the weekend of recovery and it went okay for me. I was
exhausted and did a lot of resting, but seemed more restless this time.
I may have been a little anxious about not having to feel that way
again. I still get giddy, thinking about it. I never have to feel over
full but hungry...indescribable uncomfortable feeling. I never have to
endure the worry of the billion side effects that come along with the
medicine that kills cancer.
On the flip side, I am a survivor of Breast Cancer and for that I'm so incredibly grateful. I am a survivor because I have the most incredible supporters a person could ever ask for. I'm a survivor because Brent's family and my family were amazing and were always there to help out, no matter what it was we needed. I am a survivor because my co-survivor is the most incredible person I have ever met and has taken every painstaking situation and held my hand through it...blessed beyond words by this man. I am a survivor because of the Zach community that helped ease the financial stress that was put on us, along with making so many yummy meals for my family. I can't thank the Zach staff and parents enough for their support, especially my teammates. I am a survivor because my children cheered me on and kept a smile on my face through innocent unknown support. I am a survivor because this Road to Awesome has been a gift that I will forever be grateful for experiencing. The fact that I will be able to pass along the awesome is the goal I had from the beginning and so I look forward to the years to come in my ability to continue to experience AWESOME!
My first celebration as a survivor came at a week and a half into it, where I participated with a team of friends and family in the Race for the Cure in Denver, CO. I heard about this race in my first 5K in Fort Collins in support of Hope Lives. The number of people that participated in this race was absolutely incredible...38,000 people incredible. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and having my supporters (My co-workers Peg, Jean, Amy K and Brooke, my sister Rae Rae, My dad Bill, my sister Shauna and and my number 1...Brent) with me was pretty powerful. Brent and I took part in the Survivor Celebration which was a pretty emotional experience. Let's just say, if you play a cancer song for a week and a half survivor, chances are you will see water works. I think my husband was even tearing up under his sunglasses. It wasn't pretty...and then my husband pulls out his phone to take a picture of me crying....you think I'm kidding...I nearly back handed him right there in front of 38,000 people. I definitely plan on continuing to participate in this annual event each year to celebrate the survivors and support the patients that are fighting the fight. My mom stayed for the week following and I can't thank her enough for all of her help.
On the flip side, I am a survivor of Breast Cancer and for that I'm so incredibly grateful. I am a survivor because I have the most incredible supporters a person could ever ask for. I'm a survivor because Brent's family and my family were amazing and were always there to help out, no matter what it was we needed. I am a survivor because my co-survivor is the most incredible person I have ever met and has taken every painstaking situation and held my hand through it...blessed beyond words by this man. I am a survivor because of the Zach community that helped ease the financial stress that was put on us, along with making so many yummy meals for my family. I can't thank the Zach staff and parents enough for their support, especially my teammates. I am a survivor because my children cheered me on and kept a smile on my face through innocent unknown support. I am a survivor because this Road to Awesome has been a gift that I will forever be grateful for experiencing. The fact that I will be able to pass along the awesome is the goal I had from the beginning and so I look forward to the years to come in my ability to continue to experience AWESOME!
My first celebration as a survivor came at a week and a half into it, where I participated with a team of friends and family in the Race for the Cure in Denver, CO. I heard about this race in my first 5K in Fort Collins in support of Hope Lives. The number of people that participated in this race was absolutely incredible...38,000 people incredible. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and having my supporters (My co-workers Peg, Jean, Amy K and Brooke, my sister Rae Rae, My dad Bill, my sister Shauna and and my number 1...Brent) with me was pretty powerful. Brent and I took part in the Survivor Celebration which was a pretty emotional experience. Let's just say, if you play a cancer song for a week and a half survivor, chances are you will see water works. I think my husband was even tearing up under his sunglasses. It wasn't pretty...and then my husband pulls out his phone to take a picture of me crying....you think I'm kidding...I nearly back handed him right there in front of 38,000 people. I definitely plan on continuing to participate in this annual event each year to celebrate the survivors and support the patients that are fighting the fight. My mom stayed for the week following and I can't thank her enough for all of her help.
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| My Race for the Cure Team!! |
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| Me and My Co-Survivor!! |
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| Was going to be my race day hair but I figured my head would get too hot!! |
