Life's Journey

It's been a great month so far!  We've done some fun celebrating since the the good news came in!  The day we got the test results we invited a few close friends over for a BBQ to help celebrate the good news! I posted some pics for everyone's viewing pleasure. We had a great time! 

I had my follow-up appointment with my Oncologist.  He was excited to review the report from the CT Scan with me.  No Evidence of Disease (NED)!!!!!  He was impressed with the results and happy to see that we fought as hard as we could and kicked some cancer ass!  The follow-up plan is exams every three months and CT Scans every 6 months.  If I go a year with NED results (uh, which I will!) then we extend the time between exams.  I have a follow-up appointment with my Radiologist later this month, I think he may want to do some additional tests as well.  I scheduled to have my port removed August 24th!  I can't wait to get this thing out of my chest - it sucks!  My Oncologist was very encouraging and pleased to see all the test results.  Phew - it was time for a good visit with him!  All the girls in the office were so excited and supportive.  It was good to be able to really smile with them and give them each a hug and a big thank you. 

The bloodwork results are still not totally normal, but he's not worried at this point.  I think this is just one of the long term issues that I will carry with me.  My hemoglobin is just barely back in the normal range - phew.  But, my white blood cell count is still low.  I'm at 3.3 and the lowest end of normal is 4.0.  Doesn't seem like much, and at my lowest I was 2.1, but it's still low enough to be a little more cautious than the normal person when it comes to germs.  I'm not going to be licking the grocery cart handles any time soon   And I'm pretty sure Purell will be calling me to thank me for all my purchases.  But, this is something I can manage.

My hair is starting to come back - yay!  If you check out the celebration photos you'll see where I'm at...  starting to feel more comfortable running errands and stuff without a scarf or wig.  For those of you in the bidding pool, I still can't determine what color it is yet.  It's definitely more gray than I'd like, but whatever!  I'm just glad to start seeing it grow back Not sure if I'll get my curls back but fingers crossed.

Earlier this month Roy and I decided to get away and have some fun.  We drove up to Flagstaff  for Cardinals Training Camp.  Roy's Brother Glenn, his wife Kelbe, and their four little ones met us for the weekend.  We had a great time!  We were able to get a lot of the players autographs and up close and personal for practice.  The team looks good this year, here's hoping for a good season!

I'm so glad to be able to move forward.  Waiting for these results I've been "stuck" in a limbo and I finally feel like I'm able to start looking toward the future.  One of the most important things I've learned over the past few months is how important each day is, I'm so appreciative of every moment.  I can't completely sugar coat it - I still have rough days where I have a reality hit of everything that has happened to me and the toll cancer has taken on my body.  I know that I will never be the same physically or mentally.  But, I'm pulling through and learning how to face it all and accept it.  Some things are harder than others...

xoxo - Sarah