We shook things up a little and had the kids go over to Madison to stay with Brad's parent's, instead of having them at home (wild and crazy, aren't we?) and Brad and I headed to the cities a little earlier than usual. We stopped and had my jewelry cleaned at Shane Co., picked up a nice, "big kid" rubber tee for Brendan for his birthday, then headed to Rosedale Mall and walked around for awhile before heading to Chipotle for our celebratory supper (we shared a carnitas bowl and guacamole and chips...mmmmmm....) As we were driving back to my grandparent's house, we decided to stop by my Aunt Pauline's house to say hi (as she lives just a couple of miles from G&G's), so we swung in, gave and got a ton of hugs, then headed to my grandparent's for the night.
On Thursday, we started off our full day at an appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Johnson, to go over the upcoming surgery, which has been scheduled for Thursday, June 13th at 1:00pm. She did a physical exam (and was happy with the results from the chemo treatment...although full results won't be known until she's actually in the tissue during surgery), explained her procedures, and answered our questions. Dr. Johnson will be preforming a bilateral (double) mastectomy and full node removal (because of the advanced cancer in my axillary nodes, she will be removing all of them, instead of the one or two that is usual, in order to make sure that all of the cancer is taken out.) The surgery has a two-night hospital stay, and I will leave with several (3-4) drains that will stay in place for about two weeks.
Immediately following our appointment with my surgeon, we headed over to Minnesota Oncology for my final chemo treatment. I had my bloodwork done (my numbers were good, although my white blood cell count was down more than normal...however it was still fine for chemo treatment) and an appointment with Jane (our super-nurse!) and Dr. Zander. With Dr. Zander, we discussed our future treatments for radiology and hormone therapy, which will follow surgery. I was even a total dork and brought Jane, Dr. Zander, and all my chemo nurses in a big bunch of pumpkin bars to celebrate my last chemo treatment. I appreciate the work that they do so much, and we wanted to thank them in some small way.
After my appointment with Dr. Zander, we headed in to my last chemo treatment, followed by my entourage of Crea family (Dad, Mom, and sisters Lauren and Cathy) who came to celebrate with us for my last treatment. My nurse, Emily (who was the only nurse we ever had twice!) got my IV started on the second try and gave me the fluids, anti-nausea meds and steroids first, saving the Benadryl for last so I could visit with my family and have lunch. I nodded off after about a half hour with my family, they stuck around until about 1:00pm, and then it was just Brad and I. I woke up after awhile and we visited with one of my fellow patients, then finished up the chemo, gave some hugs to the nurses, and raced out to our appointment with my plastic surgeon.
On the way to Edina to see my plastic surgeon, we called to let them know that we were running fifteen minutes late because chemo had run long. Unfortunately, our doc couldn't wait and we missed our appointment time, which was very disappointing The only times he could re-fit us into his schedule was next Monday (when I'm still super-sick, and wouldn't be able to handle the car ride very well) or two weeks from now, which we didn't want to to do either, as we want to tackle surgery as soon as we can instead of pushing it off farther. So, after a phone call to Megan (my care coordinator) and a whole bunch of phone calls on her end, we were able to get an appointment with a different (but equally wonderful) surgeon for the next morning. Brad's parents offered to watch the kids overnight for us again, one of Brad's co-workers kept an eye on his accounts (although he continued to work from the cities too) and my parents and sisters, Liz and Lauren, brought over supper for us at my grandparents house. I cannot say enough how much it means to us that the support we have is so unquestionable and immediate. Brad and I enjoyed some supper with my family, curled up together and watched Grey's Anatomy, and headed to bed.
My plastic surgeon (I never thought that phrase would come out of my mouth!) triple-booked us in order to get us in (what a guy, huh?) and we were very happy with both he and his support staff. Even though Dr. Schaefer was triple-booked for our appointment, he never rushed us or made us feel any less than the center of his attention. We decided on a course of reconstruction surgery, he walked us through his surgical steps and he answered our questions. His staff also recommended where to get some post-surgical garments and we picked a couple up on our way out of town.
We headed back to Montevideo, I dropped Brad off at work (and stopped in to say hi to all the Goldleaf employees that were around) and made it home just as Gene and Mary pulled in with Brendan, Megan and Emily. It hadn't even been two days, but, boy, did I miss my kids! After some hugs, kisses, and lots of stories about what they'd been up to, Gene and Mary piled Brendan and Megan back into their car and brought them to meet Jason (Brad's brother) and their children, as Jason and Tami offered to watch Brendan and Megan for the weekend so I could get some rest. After they left, Emily and I headed to the hospital, where I received my final Neulasta shot, and then we headed home. The chemo affects were starting to hit, so when Brad came home we had a quick supper (many thanks to our neighbors, Dell and JoAnne, for dropping it off, and to Gene and Mary who stopped by to spend some time with us on their way home!) we put Emily to bed, and headed to sleep ourselves (although Brad ended up falling asleep in the rocking chair for the evening, and I didn't sleep much because of the side-affects.) It has been a long few days, and we're looking forward to these four weeks of down time before surgery.
Where We Go From Here:
To summarize my very lengthy post above, my first priority is getting over this last round of chemo, and then we will be heading to surgery in four weeks. Ideally, six weeks after surgery, I will start six consecutive weeks (5 days a week, for six weeks) of radiation in the cities, followed by five years of hormone therapy. Within this time frame are several additional surgeries (other parts of reconstruction and removal of my ovaries and fallopian tubes.) All of these steps are contingent upon finding the results they are hoping for during the initial surgery and examination of my tissue. It's a little overwhelming to think about all of these things at once, so I focus on breaking them down into steps, and getting through everything one step at a time, all while keeping my eyes focused on my family.
Many Thanks:
I feel like I don't do a good enough job of thanking those that make such a difference to us. Thank you to my parents and sisters for realizing how nice it would be to have you there for my final treatment. And thank you for bringing us food and arranging and re-arranging your schedules at the drop of a hat for us. And that includes Gene and Mary, who are always offering to help us, and always do. And it includes Jason and Tami, and Jill and Chuck, who are such amazing proactive thinkers of what we will need. Thank you to Jane and Dr. Zander, to all my chemo nurses, to Dr. Johnson and Dr. Schaefer, and a huge thank you to Megan (my care coordinator) who does so much of the grunt work that is difficult with three kids running around. Thank you to friends and family who send cards and meals, and most importantly, thank you to those of you who pray for us. Each and every one of you is always in my heart.
The Future:
Looks Beautiful.
Brad, working on the laptop at my grandparent's house.
My final chemo IV!
Brad and I at the end of my last chemo treatment
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