Last AC Treatment!!!! 7-2-10

Well, I did it! I had my last AC infusion yesterday morning. The AC infusions should be the most difficult part of my treatment adventure, and I am grateful to put it behind me. I am feeling well considering. I have had a relaxing rainy day of watching World Cup Soccer, though I was disappointed in the final outcomes of both games. The kids spent all day yesterday, last night and most of today with our neighbors, the Cruz Family. Scot and I are grateful that they have such a great place to spend time, when Mom needs down time. This afternoon I helped Meghan and her friend Mara decorate their bikes for tomorrow's neighborhood 4th of July parade. I spent my time weaving crepe paper in and out of their spokes. This was a skill I learned from many years of Pine Beach 4th of July parades. It always takes me back to my childhood to decorate bikes for the 4th. I am looking forward to seeing Meg and Mara on their bikes in the parade and will be sure to post some pics. A little know fact about me is that often parades make me cry.

So as I prepare for the 4th of July parade, I also am preparing for my 40th Birthday on July 4th. If you had asked me before my diagnosis, I would have told you I was dreading it. I now have a completely different outlook and will be grateful for every Birthday I have for at least the next 40 years! Age is just a number, your mental and physical health are really much more important. My mental health has never been better and I look forward to regaining my energy and strength to get back into good physical shape. I have continued walking almost every day, at least 5 days a week for an hour. I have not kept up my yoga practice the last few weeks, but twice in the last week, I have picked up the dumbbells and done some weight training. I have been meaning to do some Wii fit exercises with the kids but haven't gotten around to it. The kids have been so busy playing with friends. I did create a new Mii this week on our Wii System, called ChemoMom. Of course I am bald and wearing pink to show my support for breast cancer awareness. I can't be any more aware than I am right now.

As I walked the morning of my last infusion, I ran into an old friend biking and it was very good to reconnect with her. I felt this was a great start to my infusion day, which can be difficult. Then I also found a neighbor outside who I hadn't spoken to in weeks and it was nice catching up with her too. Minutes after, we got inside, it began pouring outside. I told Scot, everything is going our way today. Sadly, as I was preparing to leave I got news from my wonderful friend and supporter, Malinda. She let me know that her good friend Cindy had passed away on Tuesday, after a struggle with Melanoma that had spread to her brain. She was a beautiful, vibrant mother of two, who fought valiantly to hang on to life and battle her cancer as long as possible. This reminded me of how lucky I am to have found my cancer so early and it also reinforced to me, why I was willingly submitting to being "ZAPPED" as I like to call my AC infusions.

I also want to mention that my AMAZING friend Malinda, had just come back from Idaho, after running an Iron-man Triathlon with a broken bone in her foot and against her doctor's orders. Malinda had decided to dedicate this race to her friend Cindy and I who were battling cancer and to her friend's mother who is currently battling ALS. She recognized that she was blessed to have the health and fitness to be able to run an Iron-man, when so many can not. She wanted to run for those who couldn't. With less than two weeks till the race, she was told about her foot injury and was told that running the race would mean causing a greater injury and risking surgery. She was determined to run this race!!! Not only did she finish the race she bettered her previous time on the course. I was so excited to be able to follow her all day Sunday, through a GPS system, as she showed how brave and determined she was. Sadly I couldn't stay awake to watch the finish, though I really did try! I love her dearly and I am so glad she was able to dedicate her courageous race to her courageous friend Cindy before she passed.

I got some fantastic news today, Stephanie Deller, the best friend of my friend and neighbor, Michelle on a similar journey (who has been a great support player and listener for me) has established a team for the Nov. 7, 2010 Komen Race for the Cure. She is calling the team M&M in support of Michelle and I. She welcomes any of my friends and supporters to join the team, so If you want the registration info, please let me know. I had wanted to participate in one of these for years. I wish I had done one sooner, but better late than never.

On another note, I have been catching up on all the movies I've missed the last 11 years thanks to my friend and supporter Jill, who has a Blockbuster Video store in her home and Netflix. I watched the movie Invictus last week. I was inspired by the story of Nelson Mandela, his ability to rise above the challenges and roadblocks in his life and to forgive. He was inspired by the poem Invictus, written by William Ernest Henley, who was afflicted with tuberculosis of the bone as a child and spent much of his childhood bedridden, then had his leg amputated as a young man in the late 1800's. He overcame his challenges to graduate from Oxford. The text of the poem is below. I hope it inspires you through your challenges as well. My favorite phrase is "I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul."

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.