My friends are fabulous

My best friend, Lizy, told me she was going to come over for a surprise visit. Little did I know, she actually meant our whole group of girlfriends. The doorbell rang a few times, and then the girls presented me with a gift. A gift truly from the heart.Each friend decorated a fabric square and then made it into a quilt. Even friends from New York and Chicago had their hand in this. How lucky I am to have friends that are so thoughtful and caring. I love you girls!

The End is Just the Beginning

As a movie comes to a close, and the film fades out, two words scroll across the screen to signify the happily ever after...The End. Although I finished my last round of chemotherapy, The End is not here.

On January 6, I received my final chemotherapy infusion. Although this was such a wonderful feeling knowing I was done, the event that matched it was throwing out Mr. PICC. Yes, you heard it from me. Mr. PICC is GONE. So after all of these events, the infusion nurses threw me a celebration "Bubble Party". I felt on top of the world.

PICC Line Removal - I braced myself for pain, but it didn't end up hurting at all!
Celebrating at the Bubble Party

Then the next chapter came - radiation. On January 13th, I met with my radiation oncologist (Dr. T). During that appointment, I got my tattoo - which I am happy to report is the size of a small pen dot. You would never notice it! Whew. I'll be starting radiation in the beginning of February - 5 days a week for 4 weeks.

Now I want to talk about the reality of it all. Although I responded beautifully to chemotherapy and really had a lot of great feeling days, I can't even think about chemotherapy without feeling sick to my stomach. This last round was definitely the toughest, and I had 2 dates with the toilet. I still don't have a taste for many foods and tire easily. My skin is very pale, my eyebrows are weak, and I've lost some eyelashes (I'm not sure if that's due to the treatment or stress - regardless, they're gone). My hair did not survive.

This photo was difficult for me to post because I don't want it to be real, but it is, and I want to share the truth with you. I frequently think about how much hair I'll have when Dashing and I get married.

So since THE END of chemotherapy, I have the next 2 weeks to recoup and recover before I BEGIN radiation.

The Quintessential Christmas

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of holiday cheer. I was able to spend the holiday's with family enjoying the true meaning of Christmas, and thanking God for all the wonderful people He has put in my life.

I also love seeing all of the Christmas lights and holiday decor this time of year - it makes me smile. So in pursuit of these scenes, I came across the oddest Christmas scene...Uncle Sam, Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. Who knew they all lived during the same time!
During this holiday time, I had my 7th treatment. Just this past week, Dashing looked at me and oh-so-delicately told me that I am finally starting to take on the look of a cancer patient. My skin is so pale, dark circles have formed around my eyes, and a bluish tint has settled into my skin. Luckily, as a female, it is perfectly acceptable for me to attempt to cover these things up with make-up. So, these days, I'm feeling like I could use a make-up artist around.

For a little bit of a pick me up, Dashing, the Entourage, and I went to the happiest place on Earth for the New Year's weekend...Disneyland. From the sounds of Main Street's singing quartet to the sparkle of the castle's icicle lights - I love it all.
So now this week, I will prepare for my final chemotherapy treatment. Although I'm so excited to have this portion of the treatment over - I'm still not excited to go through even one more round of this. Knowing that you will have to battle through the next week is daunting, and then knowing radiation is to come is challenging to face. Sometimes I think it's easier to not know what you're going to be up against.

I will prevail; I will be a stronger person after this. I know it.