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.