Thanksgiving and upcoming plans

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The weekend was pretty uneventful other then it taking more out of me then I thought. Brent and I slept close to twelve hours last night, just trying to recover.

There is a lot of things on my calendar the next few weeks, first and foremost...my car was involved in an accident, Brent was driving - no worries he is okay. We will know tomorrow if there is enough damage to call my car totalled. We are hoping NO! So keep your fingers crossed. I am getting my port out on Tuesday morning. Brent is going to take the morning off so he can come with me. I am not sure what to expect, but they aren't putting me under. Dr. Berman (the surgeon) seems to think it will be really easy, so just have to trust him. The procedure is at 8 am and at 1 I am getting on a plane for Atlanta. I will be there for a few days and then I will be heading back home to recover. I will then leave the following Tuesday for Austin, will be there for work...and of course will extend it a little longer for personal reasons :) I fly home Sunday and then leave on Wednesday for Massachusetts.

Hopefully you were able to keep up with it all. I am definitely nervous about how I will hold up through all this. (C.Webb, I know!) I will do my best to break away and rest when needed. I am coming back to rest between trips and will continue to be overly cautious around others...I am also excited to get back into the swing of things!

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving....

Photos from the last few weeks.....

Here are pictures from various things over the last few weeks; Adam & Stefanie's visit, Stacey & Casey's visit, Huntington Beach, Matt's homecoming and just plain living again......Enjoy!

Getting my port out?!?

I had my appointment with Dr. Berman this week. He was the initial doctor who diagnosed me who did the initial biopsy and who put in my port. He was basically the first doctor I had and who was very helpful in trying to get myself and my family through the shocks of the diagnosis. I hadn't been to the office since I left there in April (the day he told me I had Lymphoma)...so walking in there brought back a lot of emotions. As happy as I am to be clear, some days I am still in shock that this happened and know I will never be the same. I look at life differently now, that's for sure...

Ok, back to the subject of my post; the port. Dr. Chen agreed to let me get my port out, but I had a feeling Dr. Berman might have something to say about it. When I first got it in, he said I would have it in for at least a year. For those of you who don't know my port was used to administer all my chemo drugs. The drugs were very toxic and the little veins in your arms take a beating if they are used. Plus the poking hurts less. Some people can get blood draws etc, but my insurance didn't allow that. So, when I told Dr. Berman I wanted it out he asked if I was sure. He said if it comes back we would have to put it back in. He said I like my patients to have them in for at least a year. My response was "I'm going to think positive and I know it's not coming back!" He just looked at me and said okay. I think he knew arguing wasn't going to work.

He is going to avoid bringing me into major surgery and just do a local numbing and take it out in his office. So, no getting put under! My appointment is scheduled for the morning of Dec. 2nd. That is the morning I fly to Nationals in GA. It was either that or January and that wasn't going to work. I want it out now! He said flying won't be a problem and I'll pack light..it's a simple procedure.

So lots of good news, so much better then the post after post of horrible days.

I am currently down in San Diego visiting with Stacey and Casey who are here for a few days. I took these two days off from work to spend time with some very important people. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, so enjoy today.
(I will post some pics of the trip soon.)

Remission!!

Went and saw Dr. Chen today and the results on my PET scan showed NO activity! It's official, in remission!
It's a good day!

I also asked about getting my port out and he said, go ahead and schedule it -you don't need it anymore :)

I can't stop smiling....

PET Scan

Went in for my PET scan today. For some reason I didn't get a CT scan too - my last two PET scans I had both? I am going to see Dr. Chen on Friday...we will go over the results and ask about why I didn't get both.
Friday's mission is to remain Cancer free and to get a time line on my PORT removal. I won't lie, it's hard to feel like this chapter is closed when I still have this PORT sticking out of my chest and beautiful blue dots on my chest and neck. I know it could be worse, they are just reminders.

Today I booked some exciting trips. 1) to nationals in Atlanta and 2) juniors in Austin...can't wait to be back out there. Yes, CW, I will still take it one day at a time...

More to come on Friday...and the news will be followed by a margarita or wine, can't decide, ha.

Kept you waiting....

Sorry it was another long wait for an update. The flight to Chicago was uneventful, which I found very exciting. Although, when I first walked into the airport in Long Beach a lady turned and sneezed on me - fantastic, I know. I was really tired the day after I flew back, so I made sure I stayed home to work. I guess I am just trying to take everything one day at a time. My energy levels come and go....and Brent says I am a good "faker" (I can put on a good show around people and then crash when it's just he and I). I have noticed that there is less and less of those major crashes and I am becoming more and more sarcastic again. I know, I am sure you all missed that.

I had blood work on Friday and will be going in for my PET scan on Monday. This is to make sure all the treatment worked etc. Brent has the day off, so he will be taking me. I have scheduled to see Dr. Chen on Friday and I will talk about when I can get my port taken out.

As for everything else. My hair is growing back, not to sure what to do with it. It's getting sloppy, but I want to grow it out. It's definitely a catch 22! I have a few trips scheduled for work (nationals in GA and juniors in TX). I will take that as it comes. I will let you guys know how the scans go.....