Round 2: Chemo Session #10

Just when it was easy to believe that I was free from disease, I learned today that the mantra of “I’m cancer free” wasn’t as deeply ingrained in my train of thought after all. Though I had been experiencing hospital stays, infections and doctor visits, it was still easy to believe that my cancer was in remission when I wasn’t going in for chemo every two weeks. (I’ve had a nice reprieve since March 23rd when I underwent my 9th session of chemo.)

It took about two seconds after being stuck with the needle and smelling the familiar scent of tape and medicine to bring back a flood of emotions that I had with my first round of chemo. There I was again chatting away with the same nurses and sitting in the same leather, lazy-boy recliners, talking to other patients who were fighting their own forms of cancer. It’s a beautiful thing, though, when you can look to the person on your right or left and ask them freely, “So what cancer are you battling?” or “How long have you been at this and how’s it going?” It’s kind of an expected question in a community of individuals who, for a few hours, completely relate to one another. I’ve yet to meet another fellow patient who was down in the dumps. We’re all there with a fighting spirit, doing our time, eager to get back to our healthy lifestyles – and it’s comforting to be there with them than fighting it alone in a hospital room like so many others have to. Like I said earlier, though, when we’re communicating with one another and talking about cancer, it’s difficult to feel cancer-free.

In any case, I’m doing my best to not think about it as I have a bag of medicine attached to me for the next three days and dealing with side effects. Just 5 more sessions to go before my next scan and we’re done! I can’t thank all those enough who continue to pray, fast, cook, and babysit for me. I feel so fortunate to have such an awesome support team!

Ice Castles

All the 1st grade classes made ice castles a few weeks back. Each child froze koolaid and brought in all different shapes, then they assembled the castles with salt as glue.

Soccer Chick?

Leyna woke up this morning and put on some of Kami's soccer clothes. Such a goof!

Sleepy Gavin

What's hilarious about Gavin falling asleep in this basket is that Mom & teased him about it. With the most ornery attitude, he replied, "No. This is not a bed. I won't sleep here." Five minutes later....

Medical Update

June 24th I'm scheduled to have another port put back in since my last one had to be removed due to infection.

June 29th I start chemo again. The plan is to treat me for 3 months before doing another scan. After 3 months, if results from the scan come back clean, the doctors will declare my cancer to be in remission, which I'm sure is going to be the case! Then...we're off to Hawaii to celebrate a clean bill of health. Who's in?????


As for now, I'm feeling great! This past week I've felt practically normal again; though I still struggle to do a pushup. :) Patience, patience, right?

Time to Cut the Cord

This is what I looked like last week every time I thought about Mom having to leave. She was here for 2 months doing EVERYTHING from sun up to sun down. There's no way I can repay her for the sacrifice she made in giving up her life in AZ to care for our family.

Thanks, Mom, for getting the kids ready every morning, driving everywhere, shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and most of all, for being the best friend anyone could ask for! The circumstances for your visit weren't the best, but it turned out to be an excellent bonding experience. So you know, Leyna cried for you last night, asking, "Where's Grandma?". I told her you were with Grandpa. She turned her back to me in bed, closed her eyes and said, in the sweetest voice you can imagine, "I like Grandma." You're definitely missed!

Youth Conference

Our 3-day Youth Conference involved camping overnight at Lake Buena Vista/Webb. It was a blast! Here are a few snapshots of me. Tubing was so much fun until we landed just right on the water and my incision line opened up and started to bleed. That kinda put an end to the water fun for me. No biggie. I was super content with my little floating chair and novel!