Seriously??

So mean girls will always be mean girls. I had a dear friend who also has battled breast cancer tell me that she read that because she didn't go through chemo or radiation, she can't say she has breast cancer. Really? Are we going to play who had the worst cancer? and it only counts if you had terrible and suffered the most? I also heard that is a black lash against the pink ribbon. Because the pink ribbon doesn't cure cancer. I really don't think that was the purpose of the pink ribbon or the pink uniforms. I had people wear pink and purple to show support for me when I was done with treatments. I thought that was the sweetest thing they could've done. I have some pink ribbon jewelry that I wear to show what I have battled. So people slow your roll. Think before you speak. Show support for all those around you. Some people aren't battling cancer, but they might know someone who is. They might be going through a different battle. Be kind. As I saw, It doesn't cost you anything to smile and be nice. OK, I will jump off my soap box now. 


I have to share what I took to radiation every day. It was a great reminder of all the people I have cheering me on. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well it takes a village to get Shelly through her treatments. I also have a shawl that I wear when I go to chemo and now chemo maintenance. It's like getting a hug from all my dear friends. 

It is so nice to not have to run off after school every day. I had to laugh. The one day I had to change my radiation appointment to the morning because the radiation machine guy was coming to do updates on it. So they had to take all the afternoon appointments in the morning. The one valet person looked at me and said, " You are here earlier than normal" Yes, Yes, I was. Then on the way to school, I got caught on the bridge. I had to cross the river and a ship decided it was a great time to need the bridge raised. Luckily it didn't get stuck. So I just had to wait for the ship to pass under the raised bridge. Glad I didn't get that on the way to the appointment. I would've been late. 

Jovi is glad we are back to our normal routine. I still am heading to bed early. The last time I went in for my chemo treatment, they did a blood test. Everything looked great except my hemoglobin was still low. It was 9 which is better than the last time when it was 8. But it is still considered low. Which makes my energy level low. I have tried taking iron, but that really does not set well in my tummy. If anyone has a great way to take iron without upsetting their stomach, I would love to hear it. The two ways I tried did not work. The doctor said that would help. Everyone was glad to see it's climbing and getting better. So hopefully it will continue to climb.   

I have my Christmas trees up. I love the Christmas lights. I also have up my Christmas village and my nativity. I have had this Christmas snow set since I was a little girl. I tried to take a nap one day after school with all my Christmas lights on. Jovi decided it wasn't nap time, it was play time. There was no nap, there was only play. But I did get some rest. 
    

  

I am looking forward to celebrating the Savior's birth!!

zero, zip zilch

I have zero radiation treatments left. I have had 25 treatments and I am done.  I am so happy that I don't have to leave school early and rush to the hospital for treatments. 

I loved the techs I had for my radiation treatments. They made coming in everyday bearable. If I wouldn't have had them, I'm not sure I would've been able to get through all the treatments. 

Now I will confess I broke the machine a couple of times.  And I had to laugh, They have to line you up and I have tattoos (little black dots) that they needed to line up in the machine. They would move my hips and then try to move my stomach. I joked with them one time that I had eaten Halloween candy, I wasn't sure how much my stomach would move. They said enough for them to get it all lined up. 

I wasn't kidding about breaking the machine. The one day I think all electronics decided to go down. I was at both schools trouble shooting tech issues. I went to my radiation appointment and I joked with the techs that machines were deciding not to work around me. The goggles didn't work, that tells me how much to breath in. They couldn't get it to work, so they had to tell me when I got to the correct point. Then I hear. Don't move Shelly. The box that was taped to my tummy wasn't working. That  tells them how much I have breathed in. She adjusted some wires and got it to work, as she was walking out I said. Told ya. She laughed at that statement. 

As most of you know, I can't do normal. So I decided that for my last radiation, I would dress up. for my last big chemo I wore my favorite shirt, my favorite shoes, my purple wig and my tiara.  I debated about wearing a superhero cape. I have a purple one, I also have a purple tutu. (no one should be surprised at that) I decided to do sparkles. I looked in my costume bin at home and came up with a sparkly jacket, top and skirt. I added my sparkly chucks and of course my tiara. And yes, I wore that outfit to school. No one seemed surprised. 

This was the sign on my desk chair when I got to school. Everyone had been so supportive. Have I said that I work with the best people. They have been my cheerleaders since this began. 

I put up my Christmas tree. How blessed I am that I am strong enough to put them up. (Yes it is a them, I have four trees up in my house.) As I was putting up my tree, I came across some ornaments I have had since grade school. 

Plus I came across the shoe ornaments I had bought the last couple of year. I love Christmas and the lights. I also put up my Christmas village. And my nativity set. How great it is that I am reminded of how God keeps his promises. He promised to send his son and at Christmas we celebrate the fact that His son came to earth to pay for our sins.  How great is His love for us. He kept me close to him as I went through all my treatments and I am so grateful He was looking after me. 

I graduated from PT.  I am almost back to my preop range of motion. My PT person gave me things to do to make sure I am getting stronger. I do have to make sure my arm isn't getting any bigger. That means I need to go in right away. I will have to do that for the rest of my life. 

So what are my next steps. I'm not quite done. I have to meet with someone to discuss the next steps. She is a Physicians Assistant. She will go through all my reports and go over what I need to do next. For the next couple of weeks, I will still need to put lotion on my radiation area. Talk about a strange feeling, to put lotion on a place that you don't have any feeling. The feeling will return someday. It will take awhile. I also have to meet with the plastics guy. I get to become unlopsided.  The right side had to be smaller than the left, now I can get the right side filled, so they will be the same size. Then after I'm healed I will talk to him about getting my permeant implants. 

     

So in the meantime, I will enjoy the winter wonderland. We got over 6 inches of snow today. I was blessed to be able to shovel the snow and take Jovi out. Jovi was not excited about the snow. She really likes the warmer weather better. I agree with her. I'm planning on what I am doing with the Kinders and First graders along with the 4K kiddos. Snowmen and Gingerbread are in the plans. 

I'm a fraud

I'm a fraud. I'm a phoney and a fraud. 

Everyone is saying how strong I am, That I am a warrior and I don't feel like a warrior or strong. Someone said I was Wonder Woman. I don't feel like Wonder Woman. 
I don't feel like I'm doing anything different, I am looking at my blessings more and trying not to let negative people or situations impact me.  


The snow was pretty. I had to shovel, but it was ok. I wasn't too excited to drive in it this early in November. It could wait until December or January. It was pretty. 

Radiation started. I have some really great techs. They are the ones I see every day. Yes, every day. (well, week day, I don't have to go in on the weekends). I have lotion to put on twice a day. They tape a box to my tummy. That measures how much air I breath in. My choir directors will be proud of me. You inhale with your stomach not your shoulders. See, I was paying attention. I sometimes chatted during choir, but I did pay attention to most of what the director said. 

The box on my tummy lets me know how much to breath in. I get to wear goggles that look like they come out of Star Trek. On the goggles, I see the line of where I am and where I need to be. I have a bar that I need to be in. I have to hold my breath for 45 seconds. Good for breath control for choir. 

I was told radiation would make me tired. I didn't think it would make me chemo tired. And radiation accumulates.  I wasn't going to see any side effects until week two or three. By then I will be half way through. Someone asked if radiation was hard. It isn't hard. What is difficult is leaving school to get to my appointment. What is difficult is going every day. The session isn't difficult. I just have to breath. I can do that. 

I still have my chemo lite every three weeks. The one day I was there, I saw a huge, I mean big huge spider walk across the floor. It stopped. I wasn't sure if it was sizing me up or not. Then it started walking. I hit the nurse button. She asked what I needed and I told her there was a spider. The nurse sent a different nurse to take care of it. Even she said it was huge. Then I got to think about it, If I get bite by a spider while getting my two chemo drugs, do I get spider powers? 

I won a necklace at a craft show I went to. I am blessed to be able to go out and go to the different craft shows. This is from one of those pearl ladies. I have run across their Facebook live opening shells selling shows. It is really pretty. Jovi approved. 

I was blessed to be able to make three character pumpkins. Mo Willems is my favorite author and I love his Pigeon and Piggie and Elephant books. They are really cool. I had fun making them and the kids loved seeing them in the library. 

So I will keep on going, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have to talk to someone to see what is next. I'm just doing this one step at a time in really cute shoes. Or with all the snow, really cute boots. 

Day two

I went back to school. I confused many people when I went back on a Tuesday. I had my chemo lite and PT on Monday, so I couldn't come back until Tuesday. Now I'm all confused about what day it is. And on top of it, I have a different schedule this year. I made the new schedule on what school I'm at which day, I still need to learn my new schedule. Yikes!

I took a picture of my first day of school. I had seen everyone's pictures when they started back to school. I was finally able to also post my back to school picture. 

It was so nice to get back to a routine and go back to doing what I love to do. 

                      

And there was cake. The good Costco cake. Chocolate cake. It was really yummy. 

Everyone at my school wore pink or purple in support of me. I was honored that they would do that. I work with some of the best people. 

Everyone told me to take it easy and to make sure I don't over do. 

I did listen to my body and make sure I didn't overdo it. I was so excited to teach. I was worried I had forgotten how to teach. I haven't taught since the end of March. That's a long time. 

Poor Jovi, it was a long day for her. I made sure she had a special treat for her first day back in the school routine. I also gave her a special treat for her second day back in the routine. 

Then I had to leave her to go to the condo meeting. We only meet once a year and I felt good so I went to the meeting. They usually don't last long and I do like my neighbors. I also made sure  I was ready to go for the next day. 

I did have to search for my lunch box. It was in the cupboard under another bag. Having lunch with the amazing people I work with was great!

I made it through my second day also. I was at my other school and it was great to see everyone there. They also wore pink and purple in support. Have a already said I work with some amazing people? I got to see the students and it was wonderful. 

As you can see, I'm getting my hair back. I'm still wearing a cap because my head it cold. I don't know how bald guys do it in the winter. I might wear a cap the whole winter. My hair is more salt and pepper rather than auburn and curly. I really thought if I kept saying auburn and curly it would be auburn and curly. At least I tried. 

Today I took Jovi for a ride in the car. She was so excited to see me today and I wanted to do something special for her. We went to go get air in my tires and gas. Not sure if that is where she wanted to go, but that is where I needed to go. 

Tomorrow I get to see my awesome LMS peeps. I'm looking forward to seeing them and catching up. 

I'm not done with everything yet. I still have radiation. That starts on Tuesday. And is daily for five weeks. The first one is longer. I'm praying all is good with my appointments. I know God has this and will be with me when I'm getting radiation. He was with me during chemo and my surgery. 

I have two more days this week that I'm going to enjoy and I love being able to get back to what I love doing. Don't get me wrong. I will miss snuggling with the Jov during the day and working on my quilts while watching Bar Rescue. I'll also miss going to Target or Meijer at 10am and not having to fight the crowds. 

I am blessed to be able to go back to work. 

I am blessed!!

Joy

There was a song on the radio I heard yesterday that described how I have felt this whole time.  I was really thankful for Shazam that could tell me the title of the song. The song is Old Church Choir by Zach Williams.  The song afterward was also an amazing song. (It was How Sweet the Sound by Citizen Way)

I won't let cancer steal my joy. 

A couple of years ago I went to a conference and the theme was Joy. The conference was one of Joy. That conference had a huge impact on me. Everyone there was filled with joy.I brought back that attitude and decided to look for the joy. 

I have joy because I have a Savior that loves me and is taking care of me. I am blessed and filled with joy. Does that mean I never have bad days? Nope, I have them. I pray and pray and pray. I know God will take care of it. 

I am working on my stretches. My PT is a rock star. I am doing my stretches every day. These are very important because I need my flexibility for my radiation. I have to have my arms over my head for radiation.  

I have another radiation appointment this week. I have my lotion, soap and deodorant.  This might be TMI, but I can't use deodorant with aluminum. So I had to buy special deodorant. I am amazed at all I am learning about each phase of this journey. 

I am not amazed at all the paperwork that comes along with this journey. I do have my back to work date. I have to get a note from my doctor to say I am ready to go back to work.  I also needed a note from my radiation doctor and a note from my chemo doctor. My mom didn't need to write a note. She did offer to write one though. Even though there is a lot of paperwork, I have joy because I am healing and need these notes. 

And I am ready to go back to work. I'm looking forward to seeing the students and working with teachers again.  What shoes should I wear on my first week back? 

My advice to you is to look for the joy each day. Yes, you will have bad days. (we live in a sinful world, there will be bad days) I have had bad days. But I deal with the bad day and look for the joy.  Even if it is the joy of watching your dog try to bury (or hide) a bone in the couch. Yes, Jovi got a bone and was trying to hide it from me in the couch. If you come to visit, I promise that I will move the bone so no one sits on it. 

Jovi brings me joy, drinking tea brings me joy, meeting people for lunch brings me joy, eating brings me joy  attending church brings me joy. I hope you can find joy in your day today!

Oh My!

It has been quite a week. First I had a blog post all written and I went to do something and the post disappeared. I had saved it, but it decided that it would disappear instead of staying saved. Sigh. 

That being said, I have been busy with appointments. As I was talking to the nurses at the Plastic surgeon, they told me I needed compression after being filled. They suggested a sports bra. Ladies, you know how difficult getting into a sports bra is when you have two flexible arms. After my appointment I went shopping for a sports bra. I bought two. One zipped in front. The other did not. So the next day, me being a rule follower, went to put on the cute sports bra that I bought. The nurse told me to lead with my bad arm. So I tried to lead with my left arm since it isn't as flexible. Well, I tried to pull it over my head and got it stuck. I was stuck, I couldn't get it on and I was having issues trying to get it off. It was sad. My shoes flashed in front of my eyes while I was stuck. ( I have some cute shoes!)

Luckily my mom is here and I called her to help. I'm so thankful she was able to help me. Needless to say I went out that day and bought some more zip up the front sports bra so I won't have to worry about being trapped in my sports bra.

So I have been seeing my plastic surgeon to be "filled" After that appointment, I'm a little sore. I knew I would be sore. It's not too bad. I just take it easy that night. The ladies who work there are amazing. I turn my head and close my eyes really tight. They ask if I'm ok. I say, this is my face when someone does something medical. They laugh. I'm so thankful there are people who want to do the icky medical stuff. 

I am going to PT once a week. I have an amazing person who does my PT. She listens and answers all my silly questions. She spends time stretching my arms and working on my flexibility.  I have exercises to do at home. I faithfully do them. I'm looking forward to getting my flexibility back. With that said, I'm not to the point of my recovery that I am looking at when I can go back to work. I miss the students and the staff. I love what I do. So more paperwork to go back to work. I am paperworked out. Sigh, I know it is for a good reason I need to fill out tons of forms. I'm so glad I have an Rockstar HR person who has walked me through all the paperwork I needed to do. 

I will miss seeing these two everyday. Yesterday they decided to stop by for a snack out of my planter. Lemon Balm and Lemon Grass. That is not the name of these two, it is the plants in the planter. They are fun to watch and their wing span is huge. Either Jovi will be sad that I am gone all day or happy she can nap all day without me bothering her. 

When I started on this journey mom and dad asked what I wanted. I said that after my treatments and surgery, I want to go out for a lobster dinner. They agreed as long as they could go with. So this week, we went out for a lobster dinner to celebrate the end of my treatments and healing from surgery.  Dinner was very yummy. As you notice I had shrimp and scallops along with my lobster. It was very yummy and we had a great waitress! 

i was so glad we could celebrate. Then later that week someone brought Chicken Alfredo and some yummy ice cream. After Dinner Mint is really good ice cream to have with brownies. Just the right amount of mint and ice cream for the chocolatey brownie. 

Next week I go back for my chemo maintenance. This I have to do every three weeks until the end of March. With this chemo, I don't get sick, I don't get the low days and my hair will grow during this time. It's still not auburn or curly, (sigh I'm beginning to think it won't be either) I'm really looking forward to getting my memory back. I wonder when that will happen. Not that I had a great memory to begin with, but it got worse with chemo. 

I'm also looking forward to going back to church choir. I really miss singing with the choir. I love choir and the choir director is great.

 

I know I can't go back to my full schedule yet. I have some things planned. Like going to the Sheboygan Children's Book Festival. But that means I need to make sure I have down time that week. Same thing when I go see Hamilton. Yes I'm thrilled to go see Hamilton. But I also need to make sure I schedule nap time. 

Next steps with new shoes.

Hi, my name is Shelly and I like to buy cute shoes. 
On the good side, all the shoes I buy, I wear! I don't have shoes in my closet that I have never worn. ........Well, I did by clearance boots that I haven't worn yet. I don't wear boots in the summer months.  Most of my shoes I buy on sale. I found a good sale and bought some new shoes to wear to school when I get the go ahead to go back to school. 


I finished the shoe puzzle with the help of my mom. 

I was so blessed to see a friend I have known since Kindergarten. When she moved away, we wrote letters. (this was before email, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.) I'm so glad we were able to keep in touch and are able to see each other once in awhile.  

I had a plethora of doctors appointments this week. I saw my amazing plastic surgeon. I had fluid around my expander. He said it was normal. I was glad to hear that. Then he put fluid in my expanders. He explained the whole procedure. I closed my eyes and didn't look at anything except the back of my eye lids. I am so thankful there are people who are nurses and doctors. I am not one of those people. I have been blessed with some great nurses who were very kind. 

I kept saying I was going to be seeing Radiation guy on Thursday. My friend said it sounded like a super hero. As I got to think about it, it is like they are all super heroes. I'm not sure if I have a Justice League or Avengers.  I have to think about that. Well, radiation guy turned out to be a female dr. So the name is now Radiation gal. I wasn't sure what to expect. I asked a lot of questions and got information. I now have to figure out when it will be time for me to go back to work. I'm sad I missed the beginning part of school. 

Friday I had PT. I have more exercises to do to make sure I have full use of both my arms. I really like my PT lady. She stretched my arms. I am seeing improvements every day. The worst part is when I am sleeping and I move my arm without remembering I don't have my mobility back and it hurts and wakes me up. I have a couple of pillows to prop up my arms so I am comfortable. 

I did get some good news. At the place I go to PT they have someone who does massages and understands about people who have had bilateral mastectomies. After two weeks of sleeping on my back and having surgery, I am excited to have a massage!! whoot whoot!! 

My hair is growing back. It is dark, but not curly and auburn. That is what I was hoping for. It's not long enough to see if it will be curly. I am still holding out hope for auburn and curly. 

Pastor came to visit. I'm so thankful they will come to visit and talk about how God is in control and watching over me. He reminded me that God loves me and he is in control. What a great comfort this brings me. 

The farmers market in Green Bay is every Saturday. I love to walk around and see what everyone is selling. I bought some purple potatoes. I love purple potatoes. And I bought flowers. Flowers make me happy.

 

I am finally sleeping. I was having issues sleeping on my back. I had to sleep on my back when I had the tubes in. Then the next couple of days, my sides were sore because the holes were healing. Now I am sleeping and not tossing and turning. Jovi is happy about that. She didn't like the tossing and turning. Jovi did not like all the storms that went through. I didn't like the storms either. Not because of the thunder but because of the flooding it was causing. I prayed it wasn't going to impact my friends and others in the area. 

Next week I still have a plethora of appointments next week also. And the week after that also. Most are with my favorite plastic surgeon and my amazing PT person. 

#Blessed

I am blessed! I am healing and am blessed. 

The nurse called with the results from the pathology reports. They found no cancer. Where there was a biopsy, it showed there had been cancer, but it was no longer. My lymph nodes were cancer free! I am go thankful that the chemo worked and I am now cancer free!! #Blessed. 

I saw my plastic surgeon and rock star surgeon. Both said my incisions looked good. I was healing like I should. #Blessed. 

I don't have to see my rock star surgeon for six months. Which means I'm doing well. She gave me the same advice. She wants me to eat, sleep, laugh and cry. #Blessed.

My plastic surgeon took out two of my drains. I was very thankful for that. I'm also thankful for my mom who helps change the dressings on my drains. I see him again this week. #Blessed

I am blessed by having so many people bringing my family very yummy food to eat. Everything everyone has brought has been very yummy. The weight I lost by losing the girls, I will gain by eating all that good food. Thank you to all who volunteered to help with the meals! #Blessed

I still have to sleep on my back due to my drain tubes. I don't like sleeping on my back. I'm having a tough time falling asleep. Jovi has no problem falling asleep and staying asleep. I still have two drainage tubes that I am praying will be removed soon.  Even though I have this issue, I'm still blessed. 

Same with wearing men's Hawaiian's shirts the past two weeks. And wearing the corset and cami since the operation. All are serving a great purpose. I'm looking forward to the day I don't need them. The men's Hawaiian shirts I might keep, I only bought the cute ones. #Blessed. 

The socks I got at the hospital with the grippies were extra large. I don't have extra large feet. At least I didn't think I did. Who considers size 6 1/2 an extra large foot?!?!

I have been working on my Knit for Freedom hats. They are due soon and I am going to mail them to the person who is collecting them. My total was 22 hats. I was so happy I could make those hats for the soldiers. I'm so proud that the Daughters of the American Revolution in Michigan decided on this project. They have had many awesome projects in the years I have been a Daughter. Mom made some for the soldiers also. #Blessed

Tuesday school started. I have an amazing sub who will take care of my schools while I am gone. I was so happy she was able to sub for me. I miss seeing all my friends at school and all the students. I have an appointment with the Radiation Oncologist and will find out more about when I can return to the job I love. #Blessed. 

I am thankful for all the prayers and well wishes that everyone sent me. God is good and has watched over me. #Blessed. 

I like popsicles.

Let me catch you up. Last Tuesday I had an appointment with my plastic surgeon. He took a sharpie and drew on me. He used a tape measure and marked where he needed incisions to be made. He gave me the sharpie to keep in case it needed to be redone. 

Pastor also stopped by. It was great to hear the promise that God was with me and was going to be with me. He brought the Lord's supper and I was told my sins were forgiven and God loves me. Messages that I needed to hear before I went to the hospital. I am so thankful my pastor was able to come over before my surgery. 

The next day I got up and drove to the hospital. (Yes my parents were in the car with me) Jovi was not happy being left at home alone. But she couldn't come to the hospital with me. 
I checked in and they have volunteers to take you to the floor and room you need to be at. I love that I didn't have to find my way around the hospital. I would've gotten lost I am directionally dysfunctional.  I got to the room and the very nice nurse came in to get me ready. Not for surgery. That would come later. She got me ready to go to get isotopes injected. The gentleman who took pictures of the isotopes was very chatty. I know I had him before for my heart scan. They watch where the isotopes go so they know what lymph nodes to test . They want to find the first one it goes to, that is called the sentinel lymph node. Then they take a couple of others. So I had to lay down with my arm over my head then get scanned, and they had to do it for both sides. 

After they were done, they took me back to the first room. I got my IV started and my surgeon came in to check on me. The anesthesiologist came in and chatted with me. He told me they would monitor my vital signs and keep me out for the whole time. That was good news to me. I also had to sign something that said he had chatted with me. 

They got me prepped for surgery and that was the last thing I remember. 

 Apparently after I got out of surgery I asked for a cherry popsicle. Now the surgery lasted about 6 hours. Once my surgeon was done on one side, she moves to the other side and the plastic surgeon goes to work on the first side. The surgeon went to speak to my parents after she was done and the plastic surgeon spoke to them after he was done. They went home and Jovi was happy to see them. 

I spent the night and woke up quite a bit. Part of it was the breathing thingy went off a couple of times. Because the tubes had moved out of my nose.  That was because I had itched my nose and moved them by accident. 

Nurses came in to check on me and see how I was feeling. I didn't feel too much.I was sore and couldn't move my arms a lot. Which I knew would happen. 

My rockstar surgeon came really early in the morning. I think she came before the sun was out and asked how I was doing. She said the surgery went well. Something you always want to hear from your surgeon.   I ordered breakfast. I had a bagel with peanut butter. I had to eat breakfast and lunch before I could go home. 

I will confess. I was worried about if I could put my right hand behind my back. I couldn't at first and needed help for certain necessary bodily functions. The nurses were great in helping me with that. Not something I was excited to ask for help with. I am able to put my hand behind me now. 

I had a ham sandwich for lunch. It was good. and I didn't have any nausea. Which was great. 

My plastic surgeon came in and said things went really well. I was glad to hear that from him also. 

I did have four drains put in. Which I still find icky. I know they have a really good purpose, but I still find things like that icky. 

  

I learned how to take care of the drains and that they need to be emptied and measured multiply times during the day. Yucky. I had about 5 pages about what was needed after I left the hospital. 

I have a corset and a camisole to wear. The camisole has pockets for my drains. The Hawaiian men shirt I brought was great. It was festive and big enough to cover my corset and camisole. 

I got home and Jovi was so happy to see me. I was happy to see her. I went to lay down and sleep. I had pillows to prop me up. Jovi wasn't happy she wasn't able to sleep with me. She has been my protector during this whole journey. 

I had a step stool next to my bed for me to get in bed with ease. The next morning, my mom took Jovi outside, Jovi pushed open my door and jumped on the step stool and then landed on my bed. She walked over my legs and laid down. She was so happy to be next to me. I was so shocked she was on my bed I never thought her little legs would be able to get on my bed without someone lifting her. She showed me. 

I was taking my meds and  napping when tired. I have the best people around. I have people who have volunteered to bring meals while I am not able to get around. My parents and I have been eating some great meals. I am so thankful for everyone who has helped me. 

I had taken my pain meds and I became really itchy, not a little itchy, like can hardly stand being in my skin itchy. It was really bad. I called the nurse and talked about what was going on. I thought it was an allergic reaction. She said it was a side effect. I was told I could just take an over the counter and if that didn't work, then I should call to get a different prescription.  The over the counter has been working great. 

I had limited mobility with my arms. Slowly it has gotten better. I have exercises to do everyday. I am listening to my body and making sure I don't over do it. 

Tomorrow is my appointment with my plastic surgeon. I'm looking forward to see what my next steps are. I know whatever steps there are, God is with me.