Life as Usual

The 2011 Race for the Cure - Memphis went very well. It was only one-fourth the size of the race in Little Rock, but it was very nice.  I walked the entire 5K.  I haven't done that since before chemo.  Oh, and all three of my girls did it with me...yes, even Camille!! 

I've been pondering several things lately.  I still have a few loose ends to take care of, but I'm looking forward to getting involved in some very worthy causes.  I don't know how much of it I'm up to yet, but I know it's a passion, so I'm leaving it up to God.  Also, I really need to get moving physically.  I need to start an exercise program as soon as I can get rid of these pains.  I never expected the July surgery to affect me this long.  But, it is what it is.

I know I should take my time and get well, but to me, some things just need to be DONE.  There are so many needs out there and so few willing contributors.  As author Ron Hall said at last night's Heartlight, "What will happen to them if I DON'T stop and help?"

BC Fighters

As I sit here preparing my mind for Saturday's festivities, I will try to list all the breast cancer survivors that I know personally and will be walking in honor of this Saturday.  It's a long list,  but hey, isn't that wonderful???????

SV Church:
Tricia L.
LeAn R.
Bettye L.
Corrine G.
Liz C.
Charlotte B.
Denise H.
Kathy G.
Carol
Rhonda B.

Central Church:
Valerie P.
Laverne W.
Susan H.

Friends and Family:
Veronica S.
Denise W.
Regina B.
Janice B.
Patty R.

Thankfully, I don't know very many who have succumbed to this disease.  Here are the ladies in whose memory I'll be walking Saturday:
Carolyn T.
Dorothy H.
Andrea B.
Barbara J.
Glenda

Getting Itchy

Still waiting for the results from my blood work.  Still have the "rash".  Now, it's itchy at times.  I lost my paper prescription, so I'll call tomorrow to ask for it to be called in and to check on my blood work.

Outpatient surgery has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 23rd.  This is Thanksgiving Eve, so it looks like we won't be traveling for Thanksgiving after all.  Should be a quick recovery though - back to normal when the kids go back to school that next Monday!

Hair Regrowth

I can't believe how much my hair has grown.  It feels baby-soft too.  Here are some pictures of a style I experimented with tonight.  It was blow dried, flat ironed, and curled.

Still Updating...

I’m not sure how many still read this blog, which is a good thing.  That means not much is going on with regards to my cancer treatment.  J  In some ways, the time has flown by, but in others, it seems like this has been a very LONG year and a half.  Those of you who are still checking on my and praying for me, I thank you. 

Please don’t stop praying for cancer survivors because this is something we will have to live with our entire lives: oncology checkups, body scans, blood work, the emotional pain of learning of another cancer patient who has relapsed or passed away, and the fear that anything “unusual changes” should be checked out.  I was told at the start of my journey, “once a cancer patient, always a cancer patient”.  I now understand what that means.  So, keep us in your thoughts and your prayers.

At this point, my healing has greatly improved.   I no longer have to pack my abdominal wound.  YAY!!!  And the upper wound is getting noticeably shallower each week.  At this week’s follow-up appointment, my surgeon talked about scheduling the second phase of my reconstruction for middle October.  This phase will be outpatient surgery at Baptist East and should be a very quick recovery – 2-3 days since I work from home.  Thankfully, we have Fall break during the middle of October, so I hope it can be scheduled for that week.  Terry plans to be off that week too.  This procedure will be symmetric adjustments and other tweaks.  There are lots of little things to do, but nothing major.  The surgery should take about 3 hours, but with pre-surgery and recovery, I’ll be there most of the day.  I’m excited about the changes that will occur from this phase.

On a slightly irritable note, I am going to the oncologist office today at noon to have a sudden “rash” checked out.  It came on suddenly, in several parts of my body, and does not itch.  It has been there for 3 weeks and has not improved.  The doctor want to know about anything unusual that happens and does not go away in 2 weeks.  They may order blood work too.  We’ll see…

Rough Week - Prayers Please

It's been a difficult week for me, emotionally.  I'm dealing with many residual effects of the cancer (non-physical stuff).  I guess you can say, I'm feeling faith "growing pains".  Throughout this cancer journey, I've lost a lot of things, and with each loss, I've learned to trust in God all the more.  I know God is (and will be) glorified through all this.  I just need your prayers in the midst of it all.  Thank you.

Seeing Some Improvement

Since my last post, my wounds seem to have filled in a bit.  The pain has subsided a lot too.  I will visit with my surgeon again Tuesday to see how much I've progressed.  I hope he'll be able to give me an idea of how long this will last. At my last visit, I asked my surgeon why he won't just re-stitch me.  He explained the risk of infection if he did that.  For some reason, some special cases (like me) have wounds that re-open after the stitches are removed.