Graduation

The main event was John Marshall Law School Graduation on Sunday, May 23, 2010. I was a very proud mother as I watched Elizabeth graduate with honors. Cheers Eliz! There was a nice reception following the ceremony which was held at the Sheridan, alongside the Chicago River.

Chicago (sans Richard and Rene) 5/20-5/25/10

What a wonderful trip we had! My energy returned just in time to enjoy friends, family and graduation. First stop: Louisville Kentucky and an inspirational visit with my friend Teresa. She gave both Chris and I great advice and shared funny stories about chemo, spouses and synthetic hair. So good to see her! Arrived in Chicago on Friday, at rush hour, in the pouring rain and were met at the hotel by Elizabeth and Jennie. We enjoyed great dining, shopping and a White Sox-Marlins game. The highlight of the game was watching Cameron Maybin, who is from Asheville, play in the outfield for the Marlins.

Chemo "Therapy"

What does a wise man do when his wife starts chemo? Projects, projects, projects! The deck is almost complete and looks great.

Feeling "Punky"

Lack of energy and definite lack of sense of humor is about the best way to describe the last few days. My mother had a word for it: Feeling kind of "Punky". My friend reminds me that it is "ok to have couch days" and couch days they have been. I have walked the road every morning, trying to make sure that I get at least 30 minutes of exercise. Today I had to walk twice to get my "thirty" but I did it! Chris and half of the neighborhood have been working hard at building a deck on the back of the house. It is nearly done and will be a great place to sit, relax, read etc. Right now, however, pneumatic nail guns and electric saws are playing havoc with my nap time. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the beginning of my "off the couch" days. More later..

5/15/2010 Day 3

What a difference a day makes. Managed to walk but only for about 30 minutes and I stayed mostly on the flat, side roads. Not much nausea thanks to the medications. Definitely fatigued. Rest for a while, get up and walk around the house/yard and rest for a while. Checked on my plants. One more day to mark off of the calendar!

Day 2 and 3

5/14/2010 Day 2. I felt like Wonder Woman. Took a 45 minute walk up our road. Drove myself to Asheville to get my Neulasta injection, bought some shoes for Eliz's graduation, bought groceries, came home and worked in the garden. Friends, Steve and Jane have given me some heirloom tomatoes and sweet little basil plants. I've decided that each day I'll watch them grow and that each of those daily visits will mean one more day I can mark off of my Chemo journey calendar. Making the plants a "living calendar".

Chemo Newbie

Chemo day. New pillow to hug and Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues to keep me company.

May 13, 2010

What is it about the number thirteen? I've worked in hospitals with no floors or rooms with the number 13, stayed at hotels that had the same, and I'm sure there are many more such omissions of that number in the universe. But not for me on this journey. My pre-op room for my lumpectomy...you got it, room 13. Things there did turned out fairly well. Later, checking the calendar I couldn't believe that my first chemo was on the 13th!! Then, Aha, I remembered that my mother who was a great person, was born on the 13 so now all is right with the world and the number 13.

Chemo went very well today. I was given plenty of anti nausea medication first and felt no side effects during the infusions. It took about 4 hours to complete and then we were on our way home. I have a very detailed schedule of anti nausea medication to take at home and I think that the nausea can be managed. Chris took a couple of pictures that I will post soon. Liam got Grandmom a cute small pillow with a picture of almost all of my family. We need to figure a way to photo shop, Chris, Ashley, Chuck and Leigh into the picture. Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers! Helen

The Beginning

"It" all started with a lump (not a peanut) but none the less, it was rotten (3/19/2010). After several weeks of labs, tests, biopsies and surgeries, it has a name. Breast Cancer Left Breast.. For those of you pink ribbon "code talkers" it is: T1c, NO, grade 3,"triple negative". Relatively small, tumor removed with clear margins, lymph nodes were negative, all scans show no evidence of spread. Triple negative means that there are no hormone receptors on the cells making it a more aggressive type of cancer that is best treated with more aggressive therapies: chemotherapy and radiation. I have spent the last several weeks getting prepped for "chemo" and tomorrow it begins. I will post updates and thoughts when I can.

Hold on, it should be one heck of a summer and one wild ride!!!