Life Must be Getting Back to Normal

I can't believe it's been ten days since my last post. But I guess it's good in a way, because the reason I haven't posted is that I've been running by b__ off! Teaching has been really busy the last ten days and we had the pleasure of co-hosting a bridal shower for our dear friend's son and daughter-in-law to be up north of South Bend all last weekend.

We estimate that among about 8 of us setting up for this shower, that we hauled about 2,000 pounds of stuff out to a marvelous tent rented for the occasion, cooked all the food, decorated lavishly, hosted the shower for about 45-50 people, then hauled all the stuff back inside in about a 14 hour period. Ted was amazed that I did it and I guess, so was I! It was so gratifying to lie in bed last Saturday night and realize that for the first time...in a long time...I could actually do something that I used to do all the time! So it feels like a great sign of recovery.

No other big news from our neck of the woods. This week has been all about preparing for class, grading assignments, talking with students, doing about ten hours of consulting work and most importantly, enjoying the evenings in our courtyard when it finally cools down at night!

We're off to St. Louis tomorrow morning to see Brian, Brooke and our twins, so we couldn't be more excited! I promise to post some good pictures of Fin and Parker next week when we return!

Wicked Good!

Have you ever been entertained so wonderfully that you literally jumped up to give your "standing O" at the last note? That is exactly what happened to us last Friday night as we finished seeing the play Wicked for the fourth time with our dear friends, the Frey's. The entire crowd leaped to their feet at the end with roars and thunderous applause. This is a play that is so clever, so well staged, so well costumed...it's well...a must see!

We heard there's the possibility that they will extend the Indy tour for two weeks, so if you haven't yet seen this play...get on it! The published last day as of now is June 21st.

The importance of nurse researchers!

I had an interesting Thursday evening. The Dean of IU's School of Nursing invited all graduate faculty and doctoral students to dinner at her lovely condo clubhouse in Broad Ripple. While there, I had the chance to meet fellow faculty members that I don't know well yet. Several of them sought me out as they could tell from the newly-emerging hair growth, that I'm in early recovery from cancer treatment. All in all, I met three nurse researchers who are investigating helpful interventions for three of the most long-lasting of post-treatment effects...hot flashes, so called "chemo-brain" (named for the cognitive process lapses that occur) and fatigue.

This is such important work and I feel so fortunate that I'm in a place where I can come to know and support these smart people! I'm signed up for the hot flashes study and hopefully, won't qualify for the other two! The lady pictured is Dr. Janet Carpenter who is principal investigator for the hot flash intervention study.

I started a new 'recovery log' of my goals on the right panel, so watch to celebrate with me as each goal is met!

Dem Supposes

I've had a busy week, so was catching up on my daily devotions this morning and just have to share a phrase that I love! The story is about a beautiful African American woman who had such a sweet, calm spirit in the midst of a lot of potential circumstances that could have left her in a precarious position in terms of health & finances. Her friend Nancy was listing all the possible hazards, when the woman said "Stop! I never supposes....it's all 'dem supposes' as is makin' you so mis'able. You'd better give dem all up and just trust de Lord."

I also just read a devotion written by my dear friend Mike Akers that was surprisingly on the exact same topic (Ya think God is tellin' me something today?). I love this quote too.

"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." -- Winston Churchill

I'm such a forward-thinker and planner and organizer, that my head is always full of 'dem supposes'. I so admire people who have the wonderful ability to stay in the 'now'. So this is going to be a remembered phrase for me...give up 'dem supposes'!

Always Learning!

One of the things that has amazed me about my cancer journey is that each phase represents a whole new boat-load of stuff to know. There's the medical stuff, but then there's also the invaluable every-day, how-to-get-through-it tips that are really important to know.

I went in for my post-radiation appointment with my oncologist yesterday, followed by my 4th Zometa treatment. I was seen instead by a lovely, proficient nurse practitioner, who did a very nice job of talking with me, examining me, and preparing me for the start of Arimidex, which I started this morning. I was only disappointed not seeing Dr. Miller because you form a bond with someone at the time of diagnosis and it would have been nice to have celebrated the end of phases 1,2 and 3 with her yesterday. But I also understand that her focus needs to be on the brand new lot of folks facing all the decisions of the early-diagnosis phase, so her time is needed even more there. I get that.

So here's what I learned this week...

• My dear friend, Brenda Rittenhouse called to check up on me and asked if I knew about the 'popcorn icebag' trick. I've never heard of this and man oh man, is it a good idea. You get ziplock snack bags and fill them with a layer of popcorn and stick them in the freezer. These bags are so 'moldable' to any part of your body and are small enough to stick in and be held by your clothing, so you can ice down without holding still. Each bag lasts about 15 minutes which is the recommended time to ice. The popcorn also doesn't get mushy like a bag of peas, so you can keep re-using them. LOVE IT...thanks so much Brenda!
• My other learning is that every time I see a health professional, I need to ask the question..."Do I know everything I need to know about how to handle this treatment?" or "Is there anything that can be done to lessen the side effects of this treatment? This is so important because guess what? I asked that question yesterday about the 3-5 days of flu-like effects from Zometa and the nurse said..."Oh, we can take care of that. We'll just give you Decadron and Toradol IV before we give you the Zometa and you won't experience those effects". WHAT? Where was this advice the first 3 times? So I have no fever today, no achiness...only the pre-Zometa level of fatigue and burn healing effects. Praise the Lord for that!! So my advice...be sure you always ask lots of questions and take someone with you to remind you to ask lots of questions. The folks seeing us are busy, are thinking about all they have to do that day, have lives outside of work they may be worrying about...and like us, just don't always remember to tell us stuff that would really help us. Not intentionally...just being human beings!
• I'm amazed at the level of emotional support I still need. Many, many of you have sent me emails and/or called or left blog posts, visited or sent cards the past couple of weeks and I'm amazed that you're not just TIRED of it all! It's a lot to support someone over an extended period of time. I've been so guilty of doing something nice for someone in need and then just checking that 'to-do' off my list mentally. I'm now experiencing what's it's like to NOT have been checked-off other people's lists and it's really humbling and reminds me to work on that in my own life from now on. Teddy-bless his sweet heart--deserves the ultimate prize. Yesterday he took me out for a great lunch then stayed with me through my appointment and treatment. Thanks so much Teddy!

Hair!

For some of you, seeing my fuzzy little head and big schnoz will be more than you wanted to see! But for others, seeing this picture of my soft duck fuzz will cause rejoicing! Yes, it's true...I have de-scarfed for good! It happened during the Indy 500 race. I had carefully planned my outfit to match a beautiful cotton scarf that my sweet neighbor Emine had so carefully hemmed for me. But as I sat there in the full sun, I suddenly realized that if I didn't let some heat escape from my head, I was going to have a heat stroke for sure! So off came the scarf!

The immediate reaction from family and friends was that they couldn't believe I was still covering my head and that my duck fuzz looked just fine! So I'm now free! With the summer heat now in full gear, my hair is coming back just in time!

I ask for special prayers for the next five days. My burned and blistered skin is gradually improving but still fairly painful. My energy level has really been low still from the cumulative and continuing effects of the radiation, so I'm not looking forward to my IV-Zometa treatment tomorrow, which will cause another 3-5 days of low-grade fever and flu-like aches. If you remember, I'm in this national clinical trial, testing whether Zometa (originally developed to treat osteoporosis) lessens the chance that the cancer will come back in my bones. I have monthly treatments...so tomorrow is my June infusion, then also in July and August. After that, I will receive IV-Zometa every 3 months for another 30 months! I also see my oncologist tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll hear more about when I start on the oral drug, Arimidex, which I'll take for 5 years.

I'm just so anxious to feel good again! I know...patience, patience!