Change of plans

I went in today to have my Herceptin. After I got set up, I asked the nurse if they had my results from the echo and EKG. They weren't in my file so she called the hospital to have them sent over again. After getting them, she talked to one of the other doctors (mine is off this week). Apparently, one part of the function of my heart is operating at a low rate. I don't remember the specifics, but whatever it is, it's only in the 45-50% range. The other doctor doesn't give Herceptin to his patients that come in below 50%, but my doctor has. He didn't want to okay it since he's not seen me before. So, I have to wait until next week to see what we do from here. Most likely, I'll have an echo done again in 2-3 weeks to see if this function has improved, then they'll decide what to do. The last thing they want is to damage my heart, but I need this to get better. Oh what a quandary!

Yesterday, I dropped Hayden off with a friend of mine so I could volunteer with Anna's Thanksgiving feast. On my way, I had a jolt realizing what was happening next week. I talk about my surgery with everyone. My feeling is that if I talk about it, it's not a big deal. It's just something I'm going to do and move on. For whatever reason, it hit me that I'm going in to have a mastectomy and I hate that! I've been doing a lot at school and getting ready for Christmas. I still don't feel sick. People are always saying how good I look and how positive I am. That's how I feel, yet reality isn't to far away. I realize the limitations I'll be under for several weeks. Friends are lining up to help with meals, the kids, laundry and I'm very grateful. But at the same time, I don't like letting go of those things. That's mine to do.

Well, we are going to not think about it to much for the rest of the week. Either today or tomorrow, we are going up to Dallas for Thanksgiving. It will be a nice break. We wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. Eat lots!

Enjoying the Ren Fest

We had a great day. It was cold most of the day, but clear blue skies and low wind. Almost perfect. The kids had a great time playing together and seeing all the sights. We went with our friends Heath, Zuli, and Wes. I couldn't believe that we spent 7 hours there with very little problems with the little ones. Hayden only had a couple of mini meltdowns. It was a great day.

Yippee, Skippee, Hooray...hmm...

I had an exciting fun=filled morning visiting doctors and hospitals today.

First up, I had an ultrasound to see if my tumor shrunk. For those of you who have had ultrasounds while pregnant, you know they do a lot of measurements. This is no different. They move the Doppler around to get the best views and click to get sizes. That's how it has always been for me, except today. The technician can't comment on what they see, only the doctor can. So, my technician moves the Doppler around for about 5 minutes then says the doctor will be in to take a look. Carol, the nurse that counsels patients, came in and I told her "no measurements." We talked for a few more minutes and then the doctor came in and did her thing. She said that there wasn't anything to measure. Yep, that's right, the tumor is nearly gone! She could see the clip that was put in during the needle biopsy to show the place of the tumor, but there wasn't any measurable tumor there. She could see a little spot that was probably remnants, but that was it. How cool is that?!

Now, don't get too excited. This doesn't change anything as far as treatment or surgery. All it means is that chemo and herceptin have/are working. I almost didn't get this done, but I told my oncologist that I needed to have concrete numbers to make myself feel good. And you know what, I feel GREAT!!!

Next was the pre-surgical consult with my surgeon. Everything is still on for 12/4. Surgery is at 7:30 am central time, so be sure to send good karma, energy, prayers, well wishes, etc. my way that day. I'm going to need them. Surgery is about 5 hours with recovery 3-5 days in the hospital. And there will be a lot of pain. I love a doctor that tells it to you straight. No sugar coating here. Luckily, I will also get a lot of "dope" to quote my surgeon. I don't like that to much either, but it's got to be better than pain.

Lastly, I had an echo cardiogram. The herceptin can cause heart problems, so I'll be monitored over the next several months while I'm on that. While they did the echo, the technician asked if I noticed the skipped heart beats. I did. She wanted me to mention this to my oncologist and they would probably do an EKG. After she was done, she suggested calling the doctor and see if they wanted it done now, since I was already at the hospital. They did and so I had that done too. I'll get the results next week. I was told not to worry too much about the skipped beats. A lot of people have them and I may have always had it and not ever had a problem. I think she called them PVS. If you know about this, email me.

So, all in all, I'm doing great. We are going to enjoy this cold front coming through this weekend. Sunday, we all head to the Renaissance Festival 45 minutes north of here. It's the biggest one in Texas and we do big well. It's always fun. I'll post pictures when we get back.

So much to tell you!

I apologize for not updating in some time. Two weeks ago Hayden got a cold and was lovely enough to share with me. Unfortunately, that was at the same time that my white blood cell count was on a natural decline due to my chemo and I got sick myself last week. The part of the white blood cells that actually fight infection was below 1000 which is bad. So, the options were go to the hospital or get a shot, IV antibiotics and finish those in pills for a week. I went with option #2. After a day or 2, I was back up, but more cautious than I have been. I cancelled a couple of school events so I could limit my exposure to germs, but not to worry, I'm back to my normal self.

Halloween was fun. Anna was a green monster bride, Sydney was a cheerleader, and Hayden was a ninja. My friend Odessa and I took the kids to a local shopping center that has trick or treating. There were a lot of families enjoying a great evening and lots of candy. Odessa then took the girls to a friend's neighborhood where the kids got even more candy. All in all, the kids had fun.

This past weekend was just lovely. Anna & Sydney had their last soccer games for the season. Each had a lot of fun and made new friends. They want to play again next season so we will have to see how that works out. They got their first trophies and were quite proud of themselves.

We also celebrated Anna's 9th birthday on Sunday. She and 9 girls had rock star makeovers at Justice Just for Girls. They had a blast. It was the right size party for the right length of time. Her actual birthday was also Election Day. We had a quiet evening. The girls played with a friend in the back yard, we then had a quick dinner, opened presents and had cheesecake for dessert. This is her last year in single digits! My little baby!

Report cards came home yesterday. Both girls made honor roll. We are so proud of how hard they are working at school. They are working just as hard in karate. Anna earned her blue belt and Sydney earned her orange. We are so proud of them.

Hayden, not to be left out, is doing great too. He had a mapping for his implant last week and they did a behavioral booth test. With the implant on, he tested at 20 decibels with voice and almost 60 with tones. Twenty dbs is normal hearing. Tones are harder for little ones to respond too because they aren't interesting. Its harder to turn to a beep or ding. He's very much a 2 year old boy. Today he learned to make the choo choo sound when playing with his trains. Thanks to Miss Jessica, one of his speech therapists, for that. It's so cute seeing him pretend play.

I'll have more to update in the next few weeks. I'll meet with my surgeons again soon for my pre-op visits. Surgery is still on for December 4th. I'll get to enjoy Thanksgiving, take care of a lot of school business, then be down for several weeks. Watch for updates!

Chemo officially over!

Yep, my actual chemotherapy is over as of Friday. I still have 9 months of Herceptin which is administered the same way and place as chemo, but the chemo drugs are done with! Yippee!! My hair is growing back and I'm feeling better. In fact, I've been so busy since my last chemo, that I haven't had time to sit and write since then.

One phase down and now moving to the next: surgery. I have my mastectomy scheduled for December 4th. It's one week after Thanksgiving and as most of you know, that's my favorite holiday. The heal time is 6-8 weeks post surgery, but I'll be home from the hospital after 5 or 6 days. That should give me time to decorate the house and get ready for Christmas and have a few weeks recovery so I can enjoy Christmas with the kids. The hardest part for me will not being able to drive and hold Hayden. I still don't know how that's going to work. We are trying to figure out help for the time I'm down. Jason will be able to take a couple of weeks off, but has to work after that. I have a number of friends waiting in the wings to help with the kids and shopping, etc. I think we will be able to manage some how.

I also have confirmed with my radiation oncologist that I will have radiation. That will start a couple of months after my surgery and will last 7 weeks, going 5 days a week. I should be able to have the Herceptin at the same time. If any of you saw the Lifetime movie last weekend called Living Proof, then you have heard of Herceptin. Apparently, if I had this cancer 15 years ago, I probably wouldn't survive. Herceptin is a drug that stops the growth of the Her2+ gene. My cancer is very aggressive and can spread quickly. Herceptin can stop the growth, but can also reverse it. I'll go in a few weeks to have another ultrasound to see if the tumor has shrunk. I've been told it should shrink a lot. Let's hope!!

In other news, the kids are great. Soccer season is nearing the end. The girls have had a lot of fun playing and making new friends. I never thought I'd enjoy spending my time going to practice and games, but it is a lot of fun. The first quarter of school is almost over and both girls have done a great job. Hayden is a typical 2 year old and is into everything. We have safety covers on all the bathroom doors and a couple of the bedrooms to keep him out of trouble. And if the back doors aren't locked, he often escapes into the yard with the dogs.

Life is good!

Busy Week

Last Sunday was a wonderful day. Our large debris was picked up. Those of us with kids were sitting out and watching the big trucks take trees and brush away. It was pretty neat. Our lawn bags were picked up last week too, so now there is no evidence of Hurricane Ike around our house. Yeah!

Sydney and I were playing around and taking pictures. I let Sydney take a rare picture of me, so enjoy!

Last week was reading week at school. I love this week! The school and PTO really make it a lot of fun with a different theme each day. We also collected food to restock our local food pantry. Here are a few pictures. Anna, Sydney and friend Sarah are with Smokey on Walk to School Day. The girls had Storybook Parade on Friday. Hayden had fun entertaining parents before the parade.

Chemo #7 and soccer

Well, I am almost done! I had my 7th chemo on Friday. It wasn't too bad. I still feel tired and a bit cranky, but not sick. My last one is in mid-October.

The girls had their 1st soccer games on Saturday. Anna is in the 8-9 girls league and her team, The Texas Crushers, won 3-2. Sydney is in the 6-7 girls league and her team, The Shooting Stars, tied 1-1. They each had a lot of fun and ran hard. We are so proud of them!

Hayden was so cute too on Saturday. He played hard too, but had a hard time taking a nap. He actually fell asleep on Daddy. It's been a long time since he's done this.