Florida Trip & Health Updates

Lee, Logan, and I took a trip to Florida to visit family at the end of May. We had a great time seeing family and friends. My best friend's parents had a party at their house on the Saturday night while we were in Port Charlotte so we got to go to that and had a lot of fun. We went to Tampa and visited Lee's grandmother, and saw his aunt Peggy and close family friend, Linda (like an aunt or another mother to Lee.) Overall, the trip was wonderful. Logan did excellent in the car both on the way to FL and on the way back home. We borrowed a friend's portable DVD player and he watched his kid shows and movies so he didn't get bored. He never got fussy or whiny and was such a good boy. Heck, he wasn't just good during the car rides... he was so well-behaved the entire time we were away. Never once did he throw a tantrum or have a "terrible 2" moment. It was definitely an enjoyable week for us all!

We took a lot of pictures in Florida, but I don't feel like uploading all of them so I am going to post just a few here, and if you would like to see more, HERE is the link to many more of our Florida pictures on my Facebook account.















UPDATES ON MY HEALTH:
I met with my oncologist on Monday (June 8th) for my first post-cancer visit. They did blood work, and EVERY single thing they look for came back within a normal range... my white blood cell counts, red blood cell counts, platelets, etc. are ALL within a normal range for a healthy person! This is great news! As you may recall, back when I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's, a major indicator that something was wrong with me was that my white blood cell counts were extremely high each time I had blood drawn. This time they are not super high, and they are not super low (they were really low during chemotherapy since chemo suppresses the immune system so much.) This blood work result in itself gives me such peace of mind!

My doctor wants to see me again in August and is having a CT Scan done on me in August as well. He said generally with a stage 1 Hodgkin's patient they will do a periodic scan every 6 months to be sure there is no recurrence. So August will mark 6 months for me since being declared in remission and that's when I will go for my first scan. I feel confident that the scan will be 100% clean, but just for extra insurance, prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated!!!

Oh, I had mentioned a few posts ago that I am still getting hives every so often. They have not completely subsided, but do seem to be lessening more and more all the time. I asked my doctor about this and he said that often times cancer patients can see these weird "b" symptoms/side effects for several months even after the cancer is gone. He said the immune system takes time to fully recover after all its been through... and he said some patients do have things like this that never fully go away. Honestly, if these hives stay the way they are now I can live with that... I only get them if I get really hot for a long period of time (like if I exercise for more than an hour which I rarely do) and they are always intensified during that "time of the month" since I think my core body temperature must be higher during that time and/or it's hormone-related. The weirdest thing is, I still can't take antihistamines... they make me break out in hives something fierce! I'm hoping that eventually my body "fixes itself" because not being able to take antihistamines is a real pain in the butt when your nose and eyes are runny during pollen season!!!

Whew, now that the cancer updates are out of the way I can move on to the next "health" update: I hit my weight loss goal about a week or so ago and that made 25 pounds lost! I am still maintaining my exercise routine, and still being mindful of my eating habits, but just not watching that nearly as closely since at this point I really just want to maintain my weight and am not really concerned with losing a bunch more. I would love to lose 8 to 10 more pounds so if that happens, it happens, but if not, I'm happy with where I'm at now. Despite not watching my diet as closely, due to the exercise I do and the fact that my metabolism is probably boosted, I *still* managed to lose 2 more pounds after my goal weight bringing my total weight lost to 27 pounds!!! I started out at 172 pounds and now weigh 145! This puts me in the healthy BMI range for my height (I was in the overweight category before.) I'm so psyched and feel so fit and healthy. It's amazing to feel this good! I'll even be brave and share my bikini body pictures with you all if you promise not to laugh!!




I hope I didn't just make anyone puke on their keyboard!!! :)

This morning Logan was feeling like a ham and wanted me to take his picture and he even learned how to smile for the camera so here are a couple of cute shots of him in his pajamas! There's also a picture of Logan's little buddy, "Teddy"... Teddy goes EVERYWHERE with us and Logan doesn't sleep without him... I think Logan thinks this thing is alive... seriously... he makes it talk and talks TO it. He wanted me to take Teddy's picture, so here's Teddy, too!!

I have hair! Not a lot, but it's hair!!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my hair is really growing good now! It's been a while since I posted a hair growth picture, so I just took some to show how much it's grown. I still look like a boy with a crew cut, but I don't care... I have hair! I am just so happy to have SOME hair! Don't mind the bad pictures... no make-up on me is a scary thing!

This is approximately 3 months worth of growth since finishing chemo:

Day Trip to Alabama

On Thursday, I took a ride over to see my Aunt Claudia in Valley Head, AL. She's doing her big, annual yard sale there along Highway 11 and my cousin Matthew's duo-band was performing at a local restaurant that night, too. So overall, it was a great reason to take a drive and get out of the house for the day. My cousin, Ryan, who lives in Chattanooga, rode along with Logan and me, too.

We got there around 4:30 and hung out with Claudia for a while at the yard sale. She had a steady stream of customers stopping by, and I can only imagine business picked up as it got closer to the weekend. Logan had never been to a yard sale before, and he was just amazed by all the stuff everywhere. He kept walking around and looking at everything in awe. I have to say, too, man, my little child is GOOD. How many 2 year olds do you know that would go to a yard sale and not be touching everything in sight? Logan knows how to keep his hands to himself and not touch every item he sees. The hardest part was just having to keep following him around since he wanted to walk through each "aisle" and see all the stuff for sale. He finally stood in one place for a while when he found a screwdriver and pretended to be fixing an old camera tripod. Overall, he seemed to have a good time!

Logan at the yard sale

Me, Claudia, & Logan

That blow-up beer thing ended up coming home with us, Logan wanted it!

Me at the yard sale

Logan & a Smurf!

Logan with the screwdriver that kept him entertained!

After the yard sale, Ryan, Logan, and I went to Shorty's Cafe, this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant there on the flashing light corner in Valley Head. The place isn't much to look at, but the food is good and cheap... and we were feelin' kinda cheap so that worked out well! Logan ate his grilled cheese and fries and Ryan and I had chicken fingers and fries and then off we headed up the mountain to Mentone to the Wildflower Cafe to see Matthew playing music.

Wildflower Cafe

Matthew and his friend Ethan make up a duo, and they call themselves Speakers For The Moon. They play laid-back, acoustic style cover songs... anything from the 60s and 70s to present day. I thought they harmonized together very nicely and were a lot of fun to listen to. Logan had a lot of fun jumping and dancing in front of the little stage where they were performing. I even got to see my other cousin Clint when he showed up to see Matt, so that was a nice surprise, too. We stayed pretty late... I think it was about 10:00 central time when we left to drive home.

Me waiting for Matt & Ethan to start playing

Ethan & Matt, a.k.a. Speakers for the Moon

Matthew pickin'

Matthew lookin' very serious

Clint & his bike

Brotherly love, Clint & Matt

I didn't make it home until nearly midnight, and was pretty tired, but it was a fun day spent with family. And I couldn't have asked for Logan to have been a better kid. He never once got fussy or whiny. He is a lot of fun to take places, and I can tell he had a great time, too! Oh yeah, THANKS, RYAN FOR TAKING THESE PICTURES! I forgot my camera and was so glad Ryan remembered to take his along!!!

Finally A New Post!! Easter, A Wedding, & Other Random Updates!

To all of my beloved blog readers, I am sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated since early April. Shame on me!! I've gotten so busy with life and my fitness plan that I've completely neglected the blog and there's just no excuse for that!

I'm doing GREAT! I have not had any more doctors appointments lately so no news there. No news is good news at this point. I do meet with my oncologist on June 8th for my very first follow-up appointment. That's when I'll meet with Dr. Voelzke and find out when/how often he'll be sending me for periodic PET or CT Scans to be sure I'm still cancer free. I'll update the blog as I know more about upcoming scans and things of that nature.

I had my port-o-cath removal surgery on April 10, and that went smoothly. Now I have a fairly large-sized scar on my chest where it used to be, but I'm hoping with time it will fade so much that it's hardly noticeable. Right now, it's a deep purply color still and VERY noticeable. I'm just so glad that thing is out. It was kind of like closing the book on this cancer stuff to have that removed. That was my last ordeal; I hope so anyway!

My hair is growing a LOT. It's getting thick enough now that my scalp is almost completely covered. It kind of looks like a guy's crew-cut style now. I'll be so glad when I'm comfortable enough to go out without a wig or scarf on, though I think it'll be about 3 or 4 more MONTHS until I'd get that comfortable with it. Luckily, for now, I have an adorable, short blonde wig that is very comfortable and cooler for these warmer summer months. I'll have to get a picture of my hair growth and post it for y'all to see the changes. For now, enjoy the pictures below with me "gettin' wiggy with it!"

As I had said before, I've been pretty busy with my fitness plan. Or as I call it, my "plan to get fit and fab!" I have lost 22 pounds so far in about 2 1/2 months. I have been trying to exercise at least 30 minutes a day and have been keeping a food diary where I count calories. I've really stuck with it and am so proud of myself and so proud of the results so far. I FEEL so much better and not only do I feel better, but I feel like I look better, too. Nothing like losing some weight to boost your self-esteem!!!

I'm hoping I can make my absence on the blog up to you all if I share some pictures (ok, TONS of pictures) and stories from the past month or so to kind of play catch-up! So I'll leave you with some tidbits and tons of photos from our Easter celebration and from a recent wedding Lee and I went to for two friends of ours.

EASTER - April 12, 2009

Let's start with Easter! This year, after all that has happened to me health-wise, I felt a strong need to get my booty to church and tell God just how thankful I am for healing me and giving me a second shot at life with my beautiful husband and son. I will be the first to admit, I'm not an avid church-goer. It's not that I don't like church; I just don't go often. This is sad, and shameful of me, and something I'd like to improve on. Despite my lack of church visits, I am proud to say I'm a Christian. I don't believe going to church every Sunday is going to "make it or break it" for me with God. I know God and speak with Him on a regular basis. I believe he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for my sins (and yours too!) I have prayed and asked God to be a part of my life and save me from my sins. When all is said and done, I feel like, 100%, I am getting into heaven. I live my life like anyone else... I try to be a good person. I'm thoughtful of others and treat other people like I would treat myself. I know that being a good samaritan alone isn't getting me into heaven, and that's where my faith in God comes in. My faith tells me that even though I am a sinner, God loves me unconditionally and forgives me of my imperfections. He holds a special place for each of His children, and if we are willing (and I am!) to accept him as our Savior he embraces us with open arms.

Whew, sorry to go off on that tangent... but that's me and that's God, and that's how it is for me! Anyhoo, back to Easter...

Logan had never been to church before. Taking him this Easter Sunday was his very first time. I was so proud of him. He went to the church nursery and played with the other kids his age, and had so much fun. All the while managing to keep his Easter suit clean even while playing outside for a bit! Lee and I enjoyed the Easter sermon very much, and a few times I nearly cried because I just felt the power of God there and was just so filled with thanks for all He has done and continues to do for me. Overall, it was a beautiful Easter morning, and I'm so very glad that we went to church.

Here's some pictures of Logan in his Easter suit, and a photo of Lee, Logan, and me before going to church





After church, we had a really nice afternoon with the family. My Mom and John were in town visiting, and we had a little Easter Egg Hunt for Logan in our yard. He had so much fun running around finding the colored eggs. Each time he spotted one he'd head off running toward it yelling, "Egg!" It was really cute and he had so much fun. He cared more about the plastic eggs than the actual candy inside of them!

Here are some pictures of us outside with Logan looking for Easter eggs












That evening, rather than cook a big meal at home, we all went out for dinner to Golden Corral. The food was good, and we all had a nice time visiting together and pigging out!

Here's a ton of pictures of all of us after dinner (Me, Lee, Logan, Grandma & Grandpa, Mom, John, & even Abby the dog!)














Our Friends' Wedding - April 18, 2009

Lee was asked to be a groomsman in our friends' Jeff and Natalie's wedding in April. We had a good time, and they had such a lovely wedding. Lee was honored to be a part of it, and I had a great time taking pictures and visiting with friends.

Here are some photos from their wedding.










And here's some of my photos I edited to make them look a bit more "professional"!