Happy Thanksgiving

Get ready for photo overload.  I finally took a few pics over the last few days with the new wigs, and I am ready to share!  But first, we are fortunate to have family come and spend time with us for this Thanksgiving holiday.  My mother and father-in-law flew in from TX on Saturday, and today my brother-in-law also arrives from TX and my sister-in-law from NY.  Luckily, my chemo this week has been pushed off until Friday so I have an extra day of feeling decent.  I will say, I am feeling pretty doggone tired, like exhausted, but that is to be expected.  I know I am a little more run down than I had been because over the last week or two I will start up the stairs at my usual pace (in real life I am a fast walker), then I need to pause half way up the flight of stairs.  That is just personally embarrassing for me.  I mean...it's a cotton-pickin' flight of stairs in my own house!  I am beginning to get a little nervous about how long it is going to take to "bounce back" after all of this is said and done.  I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to put a goal out there of running another 5K. Seems like a manageable goal.  I was so proud when I ran my first one without stopping, and it didn't take all that much work (and I am not a natural runner.  Love the effects of running and the sense of accomplishment, but I am not one of those people who wake up in the morning and think that I need to go for a run so that my day can be complete.  I have had many wonderful, complete days without one bit of running, but I digress.....)

Anyway...I will be realistic, but I was *hoping* that with a Jan. 21 surgery, that after 8 weeks (possibly before) I can begin real exercise again, and then try to get a 5K in before school is out.  I am not a good summer exerciser, other than our normal (former normal, I guess I should say) active lifestyle....hiking on weekends, pool time, etc.  If I don't get it in before school is out, then I will kneed to wait until school is back probably....we'll see.  All of that is to say that at the blood check last week, my white blood count was back down quite a bit, which I attribute to the fact that the prior week my body was fighting off a cold or virus, causing the whet blood count to kick up.  My red blood count was up a little again, which was good.  I guess I just keep hoping that the red blood count improvement will give me some energy back but it is not happening.

Otherwise, the new Rx for the night hot flashes works like a charm.  Yay!!!  Thank goodness for sleeping through the night.  The only other changes are more dryness in my skin and as a result I have had a few nose bleeds.  Overall, manageable.  The chemo sessions are long....usually 4-5 hours, but this past Thursday I was happy to have my friend Dawn there who is an RN and worked Oncology for years.  She even knew some of the nurses there, so that was fun, and she answered a gazillion questions that I had (those questions that you wonder about but that don't seem important enough to ask the doctor, or that you know you already asked the doctor but you forgot the answer and are embarrassed to ask again).  I was thrilled that my friend Melissa who works close by dropped by and hubby came by too.  It was quite the party.  :)

Here is the Incognito.  We have come up with a couple of other names, too.  My father-in-law calls it the Cher, and when I put it on and looked in the mirror my first thought was Cleopatra.  It is really dark and really straight and the bangs are what make it so strange looking on my face, I think.  but it doesn't seem to tangle like my nice wig, so I have worn it a few time with a hat on it so it doesn't look so Cleopatra.

A few people have asked about my port, so I thought I would show what it looks like.  It has 3 raised bumps that guide the nurses where to puncture each time I go for a treatment.  This is to avoid getting an IV every time, so I am very happy to have it.  I have an Rx for lidocaine that I apply 30-60 minutes before my appointment so it doesn't really hurt when they "stab" me to get me hooked up.  

Here is a perspective shot.  I don't like that it can be seen in so many shirts, but with the long wigs it is mostly covered up. I will keep the port for a full year since they will use it to give me the Herceptin every three weeks even after the chemo is done.  

This is the Ariel, and I am really loving her.  I realized yesterday why....she reminds me of the 80s and the spiral perms that I loved so much.  But really, she is easier to maintain...at least so far.  You can't see if she is tangled up at the back of your neck so easily.  By the way - I am the WORST at selfies - yikes.  Side note - see how I have drawn in eyebrows and you can barely tell they are fake unless you look really closely.

Ariel with the purple cap - my new carpool look.  I wake up 5 minutes before needing to leave the house and voila - ready to go.  

OK - I guess you can tell I have a new favorite. I also like the color.  Or maybe I just never realized how much I wanted curls.  Not sure.  Here Ariel is clipped back (which I enjoy having the option of doing).  

Downside of Ariel - she can be a wild child.  By the way - I know that Ariel the mermaid has a different shade of hair (as my girl quickly pointed out), but regardless, I refuse to give up the name Ariel until someone comes up with something better! 

So there are some photos to bring you up to date!  Meanwhile, I truly hope you have a happy Thanksgiving.  Last year at this time I had family here and I was looking back at some pictures and the left side of my face was paralyzed and I looked angry in the few photos I had take of me.  So, the good news is I don't look angry this year.  Yay.  But really, I guess the point is, a lot can happen in a year.  I would have never guessed I would have been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (the Shingles on my face combined with Bell's Palsy), let alone the cancer the following year.  I hold out hope that next year will bring change as well, and I pray that it is for the better, for good health, for friends and family to be protected, and for faith to carry us through!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FRIENDS!!