Thanksgiving

After a year of so many ups and downs, I have a lot of things to be thankful for.

I am so thankful for:

-each morning that I wake up in my own bed

-being able to go to school each day

-little hairs that are growing on my head and all over my body

-hugs from Mike

-the support and prayers of family and friends

-being able to worship freely

-all the many freedoms that I take for granted in this great country

-kisses from my cuddly little Elliot and wild crazy Phyllis

-all the many material things that I do not need

-the fact that Jesus died on the cross to forgive my sins

-eating dinner with Mike and his kids

-the sun that shines

-and many, many more things...

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with your family and friends!

Moving

I have been so busy lately with all the craziness of normal life that I haven't had time to update you all on what has been going on. Sorry!

School is going really well. We just finished the first trimester, which mean that school is 1/3 of the way completed. It seems like it just started. We had parent-teacher conferences last night and this morning. It is always neat to meet parents; to see where the kids come from.

I am moving out of my apartment this weekend. I bought a townhouse! Closing was this afternoon, new carpet and flooring will be installed Friday, and the movers are coming on Saturday. It is going to be a busy weekend! I am very excited though - a place I can start to call home. When I am settled in, I will try to figure out how to put pictures on this blog.

I am feeling really good this week. Last week was a little rough. I had really bad stomach aches and got scared so I went to the doctor. He assured me that I was fine and told me to slow down on my working out and to drink more wate. I'm not sure if it was stress, if I was fighting something off, or if I have developed some food allergies. One of my friends referred me to a naturopathic/holistic doctor. By an act of God I was able to secure an appointment with her for Saturday. I say by an act of God becaue when I called her office, the first available appointment was in mid-April. Luckily, my friend took me to her health food store and she was there. So, after explaining my situation, she told me that she had an opening and I was in.

Please keep me in your prayers, as I am going to be very busy this weekend. I will try my best to keep you posted on what the doctor tells me Saturday.

Normal Life...Aahhh!

I have a normal life again!

I wake up every week day and get ready for school. I teach all day long. Then I come home and relax. Routine...

Aahh!

After being trapped all summer, it feels so good to be able to do things. Even doing the simplest things, like grocery shop and clean the bathroom, are so exciting to me...at least for now.

I think my hair is starting to grow back. When I rub the back of my head I can feel all kinds of little stubble. I am glad that it is starting to grow, but I wish it would grow faster! I cannot wait to throw this wig into a closet!!

The lease on my apartment is up in less than a month. I decided not to renew it because I don't want to throw my money away. So, I am searching for a condo/townhouse. I had made an offer on a condo, but the sellers weren't willing to negotiate on the price, so I am still looking. It is a fun process. I love looking at houses!

Well, that is all for now...I have math tests to grade!

Great News!

I have WONDERFUL news!

I went to the doctor today and he told me that I don't have to go back until JANUARY!! My exam went well and my CA-125 test came back the lowest it has ever been!

Thank you for all your prayers! Please keep me in them...pray that the cancer never returns and I can have a normal life for many, many years to come!

Back to school

I went back to school last Monday. It was a truly wonderful week. It was so nice to be back in my classroom, teaching my students. I cannot wait to do it again this week!

I have my follow up exam with Dr. Sharma tomorrow afternoon. I am hoping, and fairly sure, that he will release me and tell me that he doesn't want me to come back for two months. Please keep me in your prayers and I will let you know how my doctor's visit goes.

A Difficult Friday Afternoon

I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon for my routine blood test and shot. I have been feeling really good this week, so I expected all my levels to be normal. Ok, maybe not normal, but at least up, closer to normal than they were on Tuesday. Well, they weren't. My WBC is still low, which means I am getting shots over the weekend. My RBC is low, but that has to come up on its own. My hemoglobin is also low, very low, almost to the point of needing a transfusion. But the most shocking level of all was my platelets. They were so low that I needed to get a transfusion.

I completely broke down in the office. I actually had one of the nurses in tears as well. That shows how much those women care about their patients!

As the nurse was walking me out of the office Dr. Sharma walked in. As soon as he saw me crying he got a very concerned look on his face and asked what was wrong. I gave him my sheet with my lab results on it and I told him I was on my way to get platelets. He gave me a big hug and said, "that's it?! You know that isn't a big deal. Stop crying. You are done! You are finished! This is nothing. You need to stop crying because people are going to wonder what we did to this pretty girl. You are going to give me a bad name." I started laughing and he gave me a squeeze and sent me on my way.

Dr. Sharma is such a wonderful doctor and he takes such good care of his patients! I feel like we have a special relationship. I feel like he looks out a little more for me. His eyes are always filled with smiles as he tells me to "stay out of trouble!" I have been blessed with him as a doctor.

Ok, on to the platelet experience. As you might remember with my first experience with getting platelets, I had an allergic reaction to them and developed hives. Well, this time was no different, even though the nurses gave me a huge coctail of medicines before I even received the platelets. I started itching even before I had finished receiving all the platelets. I think this time was a little worse. I had a hive on my eyelid and a couple in my throat. That was a weird feeling, almost scary. Thankfully Jen was there with me cracking jokes about me and keeping me smiling.

Peg, the head nurse from Dr. Sharma's office, came over to check on me. She looked really concerned and told me that they couldn't send me home with new hives still appearing. I was getting nervous because it was almost six 0'clock. I was starting to think that they were going to have to admit me to the hospital. That is the LAST place I want to spend anymore time! After Peg left, the nurse who gave me the platelets came back and said she had talked to Dr. Sharma and he told her to give me more medicines to combat the hives, so she did. They started working and my hives went down. I had to stay for an additional thirty minutes to make sure they didn't come back, and then I was able to go home. Thank God!

My dad had come and he drove me home, since I couldn't do it myself after all those medicines. It was nice spending time with him. We picked up dinner on the way and had some really good conversation. When he left I headed to bed because the medicines were still making me drowsy.

I feel good this morning and I am so thankful for an other day! When I checked my email there was one there from a friend giving me a link to a blog that a woman named Becca writes. I was amazed when I checked it out. Becca, I am guessing she is in her 30's, has stomach cancer. After reading many of her entries I was in tears. She has fought and continues to fight a very tough battle with her cancer. It made me realize that my battle, although it has been very tough at times, is nothing compared to what she is fighting. One astounding thing I noticed about her blog is that throughout it all she has beeen so positive and thankful. She is definately a fighter! Here is the link to her blog if you want to check it out. beccascancer.blogspot.com Please add Becca to your prayers.

Throughout life it is so easy to get down and feel sorry for yourself. I started to do that yesterday. Picking up the pieces and keeping a positive attitude about situations is much harder to do, but if you can do it, it is so rewarding. Dr. Sharma was right. Instead of feeling sorry for myself that I had to get a platelet transfusion, I needed to focus on the fact that I AM DONE! My six rounds of chemotherapy are over! My test results have come back with good results! I am going back to school on Monday! Life is going to get back to normal! God is so good! It has been evident that He is constantly with me, no matter what I am doing or going through!

Psalm 100: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Have a wonderful weekend! I love you all!

Chicago Marathon

I signed up back in January to run the Chicago Marathon. I was anxiously looking forward to starting training in June for my first marathon. Obviously that didn't happen and I didn't get to run in the marathon, or did I? :)

I actually did get to run in the marathon.

One of the girls that I work with at school took it upon herself to set up a relay team to run the marathon for me using my number and my chip. It was awesome! There were over 16 different people who volunteered to run/walk part of the 26.2 miles in my place.

Although I wasn't able to start the race, I was able to finish it. I hopped on to the course with six of my friends to finish the last 0.2 miles of the race. We all ran across the finish line together. It was a tremendous feeling. I cannot explain how loved and supported I felt at that moment.

My first marathon is something I will never forget. It was over 85 degrees out and people were running miles in the beastly heat....for me. Amazing!

Thank you to all of you who participated. I truly love each and every one of you!

And on that note...anybody up for it again next year?!?! :)

DONE!!!

I am done with all my chemo treatments! I finished the last one up early this morning!

It is such a good feeling to know that I don't have to go back to the doctor's office for chemo. For the next week I will have to go for shots to boost my white blood cells, but that is nothing, I can handle that. I also have a follow up exam with the doctor later in the month. It is just to make sure my body has healed from the chemo. After that he said he would see me in a couple of months! Praise God for the healing that He has done in my body!

I am so excited to get back to having a normal life. I cannot wait to get back to school and teach each and every week. I cannot wait to get back to working out. But, most of all, I cannot wait to get my hair back!

Thank you for all your continued prayers and support. Please keep them coming.

Waiting

I made it through the first of my last days of chemo. Now I sit waiting for my ride to my last. I am excited, yet nervous. No matter how many times you put your body through this, you never know what to expect. I think about my last round and how it wasn't too bad. I am praying for an outcome like that for this time. But you never know.

My doctor told me that after this week of treatment, he will see me for an exam on the 22nd of October and if all goes well that day, I won't have to go back for two months! Isn't that awesome!!?!!

My CA125 test that was up last time, has come back down, lower than ever before. It is now at an 8!! For any of you who have done the research, you know that an 8 is great! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about I'll quickly fill you in. The CA125 test is a test which they use to help determine if you have any cancer in your body. The normal, no cancer, range is from 0-35. Obviously my 8 is good news! The values can fluxuate depending on various things going on with your body. And it isn't the only test they use to determine if you are cancer free. They also use the CT scans and physical exams, for me, both of which have come back negative of anything. Praise be to God!

But, I am not out of the woods yet, I still have a day left of chemo. Please keep me in your prayers! Thank you!!

Beginning of October

I was so busy teaching last week that I didn't even get a chance to post anything. Sorry! I know that many of you use this as a means to see how I am doing. I really appreciate it.

Last week was a great week! It was SO nice to be back in the classroom, teaching all my students! By Friday I was pretty tired and ready for the weekend, but I don't think I was any more tired than any other teacher. I am definately ready to be back in the classroom full time, week after week after week!

Today starts my last round of chemo. It is hard to believe that this round has come already. It has been a really long journey, but looking back at it, it seems like it started yesterday. I have learned so much and grown so close to many people. I would not trade the last handful of months for anything.

Thank you for all your prayers, please keep me in them this week as I finish up my chemo!

A Weird Week

Another week has passed. I am that much closer to being done. Thank God!!

I had hoped to teach on Thursday and Friday since my counts were up on Monday. But as it has been with my body, the weird thing it is, they were down on Wednesday. Thankfully though, they were not down nearly as low as they have been in the past, so I was able to go out a little bit! The nurse hesitantly gave me the ok to teach on Thursday, but I didn't take her up on it. Since the weather has been so goofy here, I didn't want to risk being around students/teachers with colds. I figured that I could hold out until Monday. It was rough though, I was climbing the walls at some points during the week.

Yesterday's blood test results still were down a little bit, thus I am having more shots over the weekend. By Monday my white count should be up quite a bit....at least that is the pattern my body has been following. I was kind of down about those results. It is just so frustrating to not have any control over something so pivotal to being healthy.

I was able to meet Judy, Laura, Michelle, and Stefanie (my teammates at school) for lunch at our Friday staple, Taco Bell. Seeing them and hearing about what was going on at school definately boosted my spirits. Thanks gals!

This week has been an other example of how God has challenged me to rely completely on Him. And He has made sure that I know that He is in control of my life. I can make all the plans I want for my life, but if they are not in His master plan, they aren't going to happen.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Monday's Test Results

I just got home from the doctor. My CT Scan came back with very good results. It showed nothing abnormal. Thank you for all your prayers!

My blood test also came back very good today. My white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets are all within the normal range! My red blood cells are just a little bit low, but that is nothing to worry about. I have to go for a shot tomorrow and a second blood test on Wednesday. If my blood test is still good on Wednesday, I plan on going to school Thursday!

Please keep me in your prayers!

Saturday Morning

I don't really have anything to say, but for some reason I just felt like typing something.

I went for my CT Scan and Muga test yesterday. As far as I know they went alright. I probably won't get the results until mid-week next week. I am ok with that. A very wise man told me that God already knew the results before I even had the test. That is so true. I guess when you think about things like that, what is the point of worrying? Wether I worry or not, it isn't going to change the outcome of the tests. So, I try not to let worries creep into my little bald head.

Now you should be laughing, because if any of you have seen my "little bald head" you will know that it is in fact a little bald head. I have to buy petite hats, and those still are big on me. Sometimes I feel like a little kid who has "borrowed" her mom's hats. My wig had to be fixed and sewn to fit my head, which I still feel like it is a little big. I know, I know, many of you think that I am cute with my bald head...but I am here to tell you it is an inconvience. It gets cold when the wind blows and hot when I am laying in bed. The only good thing about it is that my shower time has been DRASTICALLY cut down. I don't have to wait for shampoo and conditioner to rinse out of my long locks.

I am confident walking around my house, the hospital, or the doctor's office with a bald head, but I am not able to just go out into the world with nothing on. A bald woman is not normal in our society. No big deal, I am used to that. Well, one day, I was talking to my sister on the phone, when the other line rang. I clicked over and it was Mike's son, Michael. He needed a ride home from football practice. So, I told him I would be right there and clicked back over to continue the conversation with my sister. I grabbed my purse, threw on my shoes, and was out the door. As I approached my car, I noticed my reflection in the window. I WAS HATLESS AND HAIRLESS!!! I started laughing and told my sister what I had done. She burst into laughter too. Thank goodness I was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, so I was able to just put up the hood. I don't think I will ever be comfortable being bald out in the world.

You know what else is a really big pain in the butt?! Food. I have normal cravings and desires for foods that I have liked in the past. But as soon as I put them in my mouth...BAM...disgusting. Nothing tastes the same. It really stinks. It makes eating very hard to do, especially during my week of chemo and the second week. A funny thing though, for any of you who have had a CT scan you will know what I am talking about. Well, when you have a CT scan you need to drink this nasty white liquid so it can outline your insides or something like that. Well, I have had to drink it many a time in the last couple of months and let me tell you, it is horrible. But, yesterday when I drank it, it wasn't too bad. I almost thought to myself, "hey this is kinda good." Almost...I definately would have blamed it on chemo brain if I did. I sure hope that my taste buds go back to normal when my chemo treatments are over. I really miss ham and cheese sandwiches!

I hope that I was able to bring a little smile to your face. I know that throughout the writing of this blog I was able to laugh at myself. I know that I have done and said many funny things throughout this process. My family tells me of all kinds of humorous things I said when I got out of surgery the first week. If you talk to my dad, ask him about me worrying that he was going to get arrested that first night in the hospital. Or ask Kevin about Sponge Bob in the painting. What a hoot! Life is too short to not laugh!

Until next time...I love you all and I am grateful that you take the time to read these blogs I produce. Peace!

One Treatment Left to Go!!

I cannot believe that I only have one treatment left to go through. It is so amazing! For as much time has passed since this whole ordeal started, it seems like it was yesterday that I received the terrible news.

Honestly, I know that I would not have been so strong or so at peace with this whole business if it wasn't for my faith in God. There is no way that I could make it through any of these treatments without Him walking with me. Our God truly is amazing! I am so excited to wake up each morning to see the sun shining and hear the birds chirping (or the cars driving by). Some days are harder to make it through than others, but never once have I wanted to give up. I have a lot of living left to do! There are so many things I want to see and do! I know that I will be able to do them all!!

I have learned that life is short and you need to make the most of every minute of every day. Make sure you take time out to tell people that you love them. You never know when you won't be able to do that.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I truly am so thankful for each and every one of you! I love you all!

The Middle of Round Five

It is Tuesday morning and I don't have to be at chemo until 10:30. It was nice to be able to sleep in a little more and not have to rush around to get ready. Yesterday's chemo went alright. They gave me some medicines which made me very sleepy. I was completely out of it! I was still out of it yesterday evening. I guess Mike called me a bunch of times, which I didn't hear my phone, and then he was so worried he actually came over to check on me. I was fine, just sleeping.

I woke up this morning feeling a little nauseated. I haven't felt like that on a Tuesday morning before, but as they say the side effects build as your treatments go on. I have taken some nausea medicine already, so hopefully I can keep it at bay.

For this round of treatment they knock out two of the six medicines. Hopefully that will help next week not be too rough. I am keeping my fingers crossed and lifting prayers.

I did have some not so good news yesterday while at the doctor. My CA125 test, which is a blood test to see the level of cancer in your body, was up quite a bit from where it was the last time. It had been going down every time, but this last time it went up. The doctor was a little concerned by the results and I have scheduled to have a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis, just to make sure there is no new tumor growth. The doctor did say that there were lots of other things, not just cancer, which can make that test have high readings. I am hoping it is one of those factors, not cancer. Please keep me in your prayers...I am very nervous about this.

I know that God is in control and that no matter what is going on with me, He is walking with me. That gives me peace, but sometimes the worry just sneaks in.

A Week of Teaching

Today is Friday and it comes with mixed emotions. I have the typical, "thank goodness the weekend is almost here" feeling and I am saddened because my week of teaching is almost over. But God has blesssed me with the strength and opportunity to be able to work, even if it has only been a week, and for that I am so thankful!

It has been truly amazing to be back in the classroom! Teaching is something that I love to do and this week is no exception. It has been so rewarding to be back doing "normal" activities. It almost makes me forget what the last three months have been filled with...almost.

My students have been wonderful. The group of kids that I have in each class seems like it is a good mix. They all seem to get along with each other. They have been good about following directions and doing homework. I know it is only the second week of school and that will probably change a bit in the weeks to come, but for now, I'll take it!

Of course I have packed in as much as I possibly can to this week. I had open house Tuesday night, so that was a long day. I had a mentor meeting after school on Wednesday, which made it an other long day. Needless to say, I was tired Wednesday night. Thursday morning was a staff meeting, at which I was honored with the "faculty fish of the month" award. Basically, just a teacher of the month award. The previous month's award winner picks who the award goes to and I was the lucky one to receive the fish picture to display this month. She wrote a little blurb about why she chose me and it was so touching.

I am truly looking forward to my next week of teaching, and more importantly, being back in the classroom for good! Treatments are winding down and I will be there before I know it!

The Toughest Week Yet

High fever. Throwing up. Dehydration. Low white counts.

Those things brought me to the emergency room last Wednesday afternoon. When I arrived at the ER my fever was near 104 degrees. They got me in to a room right away and started running various blood tests and xrays. The only thing they were able to find was a little bacteria in my urine. That's it! But since my counts were so low...like 0.1...my body couldn't control or fight it. Thus I was admitted to 5N that night. I guess if you need to be admitted to the hospital that is where you want to be. Wonderful, caring, funny nurses.

I was throwing up most of Wednesday night and since I hadn't been able to keep any food down all day, there wasn't much to throw up. I was given some medicine for nausea and by 3am my throwing up had ceased. I was then able to get a little sleep.

I woke up Thursday morning to get my blood taken for testing. The results showed very low white counts, lower than ever before, 0.05. And low hemoglobin and platelets, which meant I needed a transfusion. So, my Thursday was spent receiving platelets and blood. Thank you to all of you who are donors. Your blood may have helped me out this week!

Now my throwing up had ceased, but I started having diarrhea. I don't know which is worse. Well, they wanted to make sure that there was no infection there, so they took a sample and had it tested. Thankfully that checked out fine. My fever was gone and I was feeling pretty good. Thursday night was uneventful other than getting up to go to the bathroom almost hourly, or at least that is what it seemed like.

Friday my counts were still all really low. But my white cells had come up a bit, to 0.4. I had still been getting my favorite shots to help boost those this whole time. Since my platelets were low, I have nice bruises on my arms to show exactly where my shots were given! My doctor came in and said that my hemoglobin was still pretty low, not low enough to automatically transfuse, but if I felt like I needed it, he would give me more blood. I took it. So my fun Friday night date was getting more blood.

Saturday morning I woke feeling good. I was positive that my counts would be up and that the doctors would let me go home. Unfortunately they had other ideas for me. They wanted me to hang out just a few days longer to make sure the counts all kept heading up and that there was no infections in my intestines. I was given medicine to help slow the diahrrea down. It worked! They also started me on an antibiotic to kill any infection I might have.

Since I was feeling so good Saturday I started to get really bored and felt like I was climbing the walls. I wanted out! But I wasn't allowed to leave so I spent the day watching college football games with my dad. Well, he watched the football games while I napped, played games on my cell phone, and sent text messages. :)

My blood test on Sunday morning was a promising one. My white counts were way up as well as my hemoglobin. My platelets were still really low, but not low enough to transfuse. When the doctor came in I was excited to hear that he was letting me go home! I have to watch carefully for signs that my platelets have dropped even lower and I am on two oral antibiotics, but I am out! I am free!

I was able to enjoy the sunny Sunday afternoon. I didn't do much because I was tired and sore from laying around in the hospital for four days, but it felt so good to be home. I am glad that today is Labor day because I need one more day to rest up for my first day of school tomorrow. I am so excited! I am going back to teaching tomorrow! Don't worry! I am not going to over do it and if I get too tired I will ask for somebody to take over. But I need to go. I need to do it for me. I need to do it just so I have some connection to the normal outside world.

Being a cancer patient is often a very lonely thing. There are weeks where it is difficult to have a good connection with the "outside" world because my counts are so low or I am feeling so crappy. That's just the way it is. But I am never alone even during those lonely times. God is with me. And I am so thankful for that!

I have two rounds left and I am praying that they aren't nearly as bad as this last one was. For these last two rounds, two of my six chemo medicines are taken away, which means I will only receive four. And, I think but I am not sure, that the remaining four are modified a little bit dosagewise. Regardless, I HAVE TWO ROUNDS LEFT!!! That is so exciting for me! Today is September and I will be done with chemo in October. That is next month! You don't know how happy that makes me. I am crying tears of joy right now as I type. I am so ready to be done!

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming!

"I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." Phillippians 4:13

Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday was kind of a rough day. I started the day out by throwing up my breakfast. Then I had terrible stomach cramps for most of the day. I went to the doctor's to have my routine blood test and shots. Of course, my counts are very low, which means I am stuck inside by myself for probably most of the week. I guess that isn't too bad, because I really don't feel up for being with people anyways. I probably wouldn't be very good company since I don't feel well.

I didn't sleep much last night. I spent a good portion of the night in the bathroom, throwing up and other things. I had bad body aches from the shots that I received, but I was afraid to take anything for them because I would throw up again. So, I rolled around trying to get comfortable for the part of the night that I spent in bed. I still have stomach cramps, but so far my breakfast has stayed down. :)

One really neat thing about being up during the night was that I got to see a really cool lunar eclipse. The sky was very clear last night and the moon was very bright. At about 4am this morning the lunar eclipse was in full view. It was so amazing!

I just want you all to know that even though I didn't get much sleep and I am not feeling great today, my attitude is upbeat. I know that this is just temporary and it will pass. I feel like I have handled everything that God throws at me with confidence and a positive attitude. So, I feel like He keeps giving me a little more to deal with. Kind of like He is saying, "do you trust me? will you lean on me?" Of course that is what I try to do. There is no way I could do this without Him!

A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Ok, so after the dreary post I left yesterday, I should leave a more upbeat one. I feel much better today! There is something about sunshine that instantly lifts my mood. It is weird. I guess I could never move to a place where there is little sun light.

During the first week or so after chemo I don't sleep full nights, but slowly the amount that I wake up lessens. Last night, I still woke up quite a few times, but I was able to fall back asleep pretty quickly. I felt very refreshed when I got up.

This morning I was strong enough to take the dogs for a short walk with Mike. It seems like the side effects really aren't too bad this time, or maybe it is just because I am that much stronger. Whatever it is, I am thankful to God that I feel so good. I am still fighting off small waves of nausea, but I am keeping them at bay with the medicine I am supposed to take. I've found that milkshakes and ice cream help too! Weird, isn't it?! ;)

I have been getting shots since Thursday to build my white blood cells up. Maybe they are higher than they have been in the past and that is the reason I feel so good. Tomorrow's blood test will show where they are. I hope and pray that they are up because I really don't want to be stuck in the house for another week.

I have met a ton of wonderful people throughout this whole process. The nurses that I see on a regular basis at Hinsdale Hospital are so caring! It just truly amazes me as to how much genuine concern they have for me. To hear that they are praying for me and rooting me on in this battle is so comforting. Now, mind you, some of these people I have only had contact with on one occasion. Isn't that neat?

As terrible as this whole situation is, I would have to say that it really isn't that bad. Ok, yes it is, but I am so at peace with it. Our God is definately an AWESOME God!

A Dreary Saturday Morning

So, I had a bit of a problem sleeping last night, as I usually do right after my chemo treatments. It was raining though, so I was able to just lay in bed and listen to the rain. Actually, it was pretty awesome. I know that we have gotten a tremendous amount of rain lately, but I love it. I love summer storms. The other night Mike and I were standing on the balcony watching the clouds move about and we saw two baby funnel clouds form and then go back up. It was amazing! God is so powerful and awesome!

I went to my school district's institute day yesterday. It was so good to get out and be there, but it made me really sad. School starts on Monday and I am not going to be there. The woman who will be teaching my classes for me while I am out is great and I know it will be fine, but it still sucks that I cannot be there myself. My goal, God willing, is to teach the following week. I cannot wait!

Finished with Round 4

I am officially finished receiving my fourth round of chemo! I still have to sit out these next two weeks of side effects, but I can handle them. I have thus far!

Please keep me in your prayers! Thank you.

Chemo Week

Yesterday was day one of chemo round 4. I am more than half way done with my chemotherapy now and I cannot wait to be fully done.

Mondays aren't too bad, they pump me full of anti-nausea drugs that make me sleepy, so that is nice. Unfortunately I woke up this morning feeling nauseous. I haven't had that symptom so early in my week before. UGH! They do say it all the treatments tend to build up on eachother. The only thing that I have noticed with that is that some of the side effects are stronger, start earlier, and last longer. Over all they haven't been too bad, so I really have nothing to complain about.

This morning I go back to the doctors office for day two of chemo. When I am done there, they admit me to the hospital because I will get another treatment at midnight. Oh the joys! Honestly, it isn't bad. The nurses on 5N are wonderful and for some reason I think they like it when I come up to spend the night with them!

School starts this week. The teachers have an institute day on Friday and then kids start on Monday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to teach the first week of school because my white blood cell count will most likely be very low. But, my goal is to be strong and teaching the 2nd week! I am really looking forward to it! I know that summer has flown by, but I am ready to be back at school. It beats what I have been doing all summer.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Busy

The last couple of days have been full of activites. Weeks like this help me to forget for a little while that I have cancer. It feels good to get back to "normal" life!

I had a meeting at school all day today and I am actually going to say it was nice. School cannot start soon enough. Even though the first couple months are going to be on and off for me teaching, I am ready to start.

My classroom is just about ready and my lesson plans for the first week are pretty much done. I won't be teaching the first week, so everything has to be ready for my sub. I will be teaching the second week, and I cannot wait!

Clothes that I haven't worn in months are starting to fit me again because I am gaining my weight back. That truly makes me happy. It has been so frustrating to have my clothes just hang on me. Hopefully, I can continue to progress in this way and before I know it I will be back to where I was.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! Please keep them coming because I have 3 rounds of chemo left! Thank you!

Awesome

I went to the doctor for a blood test yesterday. As expected, my white blood counts were so high the machine wouldn't read them, so they sent it out to the lab. All my other counts were much higher than last week. I was excited because the nurse said, "see you next week!" It is so good to only have to go to the doctor once this week!

Today I am heading in to my classroom. School starts on the 27th. Even though I am not going to be teaching the first week, I still need to set my room up. I cannot believe that summer is almost done. Where has the time gone? Christmas will be here before we know it!

Normal Life

I am counting today as the start of my third week because I feel really good! My blood transfusion went really well yesterday. I left the hospital with a lot of energy. My white blood cells had come up a little, almost to the normal range. Not enough though to prevent me from receiving shots over the weekend. Oh well...it just means that next week my counts should be through the roof and I will be able to do anything I want!!

I took Elliot and Phyllis to the vet this morning. That was an interesting experience. Phyllis is a hyper puppy and Elliot is such a scaredy-dog. He was shaking the entire time we were there. Phyllis on the other hand was a social butterfly, trying to play with all the other dogs in the joint. Never again will I do that by myself!!

Oh! Just so you guys know the time is wrong on these things! I was not up at 4am the other day! :)

August 10, 2007

So I decided to start a blog page for a couple of different reasons. First, I have really enjoyed writing letters to people lately, so why not write a blog?! Second, I rarely feel like talking on the phone and I am not good at returning messages, so I thought you guys could check in on me this way to see how I was doing. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this on an almost daily basis.

Wednesday was kind of a rough day for me. I went to my daily doctor's appointment and had a blood test. My white blood cell count was VERY low, but that was expected. The unexpected news was that my hemoglobin and platelet counts were low too. I was expecting to be put in the hospital. Thankfully, the nurse just gave me my shot and told me to come back the next day for an other blood test. So, I did. And the results were even lower. I was given a platelet transfusion yesterday, which I had never had before. I had an allergic reaction to it and developed hives all over my face, arms, and back. They gave me a couple of medicines to stop the hives and I sat there waiting for them to disappear. They did and I was able to go home. I felt fine once I got home and my night was uneventful. Today, I am heading in for a blood transfusion. I have had a couple of these before with no side effects, so I am praying for that same thing this morning. I just have to sit there for five hours while somebody elses blood goes in to my body. Thank you to all of you who are blood donors! Keep it up!

Through all of this crap that I have had to go through during the last couple of months I have been reminded that God is faithful. He is walking with me each step of the way and he doesn't ever leave my side. I am blessed to be considered one of His children! That is the only way I know how to get through all of this, without those thoughts I don't know where I would be.

Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. I really appreciate them!

Love,
Sheri