BIG NEWS!!!!

Hey all!!! So, we were having some internet problems, so sorry for the delay in updates!!!!! I have lots of things to report!

First, I ended up shaving my head after the halfway chemo treatment - it was getting so thin and there was hair all over this house, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I wasn't able to wear it without a hat, so I figured now that it's cool outside, to just shave it off and start sporting my awesome wig!! It was a sad night - I cried as Mike shaved it off, but I'm getting used to it. It's crazy to walk through the house and see myself in the mirror - it still catches me off-guard! What I have realized, though, is how warm your hair keeps your head....I have to wear a beanie to bed!! :)

Secondly, I have some great news! I had a CT scan 2 weeks ago of my chest and abdomen. I was pretty nervous and anxious about it since I had never had one of my abdomen (due to pregnancy) so I had no idea if I had any tumors there. Well, I have no tumors in my belly and the tumor in my chest has reduced in size by 90%!!!!!!! This is crazy! AND, Dr. Anderson doesn't even know if that is actual tumor left, or if it's scar tissue. the only way we will find that out is when I have my PET scan at the end of treatment! (The kind of Hodgkins that I have is called 'nodular sclerosing Hodgkins lymphoma' and it always leaves scar tissue where the tumor was....this is not a bad thing - the scar tissue does no harm and doesn't ever have to be removed.) So, needless to say, I was very happy after I talked to Dr. Anderson and he was too! :)

Lastly, we had a great weekend last weekend - we walked the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Milwaukee (5K). It was a gorgeous day outside and we spent Sunday walking with some great friends for a great cause. Even though I don't have breat cancer, I still feel a bond to these women that are fighting this disease or those that have beat it.

Well, that's just a quick update now that I have a computer that works! Thanks to all of you for your many prayers and words of encouragement. God is doing miraculous things inside of me and he is answering many many prayers!!!

Halfway done!!!!

Hey! So this past Wednesday marked the half-way point of my chemo...yay!! I have 6 more treatments to go, which will put me at my last one being on December 15th. I will have 4 weeks of radiation after that, with radiation being 5 days a week. This coming week I will have a repeat CT scan to see how much the tumor is shrinking and then my PET scan will be once my chemo is completed in December.

I can tell that the fatigue is starting to build up a little....it's getting a little bit harder each time to bounce back after my chemo on Wednesdays. This time I was wiped out by Thursday afternoon and am still feeling pretty tired today (Saturday). The Neulasta gave me a little more bone pain again this time, but Ibuprofen and a little Vicodin does wonders. I had some wonderful helpers this week - Shana came over to watch my kiddos while I had chemo on Wednesday, a fellow teacher from Mike's school came over on Friday with lunch and let me take a nap, and now a wonderful family from church is watching all of my kids while Mike is golfing (school fundraiser...in the rain today) so that I could sleep in and rest. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to everyone who has helped or offered to help us out. I know I am stubborn sometimes and think I can just do it myself, but just to know that there are people willing and able to help relieves so much stress and anxiety. I don't like making myself vulnerable and asking for help, but I finally did ask this time, and am feeling better because of it. This way I can be a better wife and mom, instead of being overly exhausted and crabby all of the time. Thanks again to all of you!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend - thinking back to 9 years ago on 9/11, Mike and I had just started dating and I was in my first clinical of nursing school as we watched the towers fall. Now, 9 years later, I have a wonderful husband, 3 beautiful children, a great job that I love, and a cancer diagnosis. As life changes dramatically, like on 9/11 and as I recieved my diagnosis, we know that God's love never fails. Praise and glory to Him who sits on the throne!!