This past Tuesday was a busy day for me, full of medical appointments and cognitive testing for the study I'm involved with. I came to the cities Monday evening with my sister-in-law, Jill, and stayed overnight at their house, which allowed me to be close to my first appointment in Edina.
First Appointment: Seeing My Plastic Surgeon
This ended up being a very quick appointment because we decided my left side is set as-is and I can start radiation without having any further "plastics" involvement. Dr. Schaefer examined his handiwork and declared that I'm healing well, have minimal swelling, and my range on motion is great (although I'll have to work on my stretches for the rest of my life, due to the affects of radiation.) I'll have surgery to swap out my expanders for inserts six weeks after radiation is completed. I know this probably makes me sound like a wimp, but I literally burst into tears after I left the office, out of sheer giddiness that I didn't have to have another expansion done. I'll just say that it's not very comfortable. I had been pep-talking myself up for it so much that the fact that I wouldn't have to go through another expansion was elating. You've gotta love good news when it comes your way!
Second Appointment: Mapping With My Radiation Oncologist
I am seeing Dr. Willson at Abbott for my radiation therapy, and I couldn't be happier. She and her staff are absolutely wonderful. This was my second appointment with her and, because my plastic surgeon gave me the okay, I could now go ahead and get my upper body mapped for my upcoming radiation therapy. They made a mold of my upper body (to hold me completely immobile during radiation), took scans of my breathing (to see if my heart moves as I engage my diaphragm), drained my right breast so we can get optimal angles for the radiation laser, and I received two tattoos (to help them get me in the exact position I need to be for the radiation therapy.) Tattoos?! Yep...yet another thing I never thought would come out of my mouth! We absolutely made the right decision in coming to the cities for radiation treatment, because my heart moves as I breathe, and I need the new chest shielding technology to protect my heart during radiation. I'm now ready for radiation, which will start on Wednesday, July 17th and run through August 30th. Bring it on!
Third Appointment: Testing for the Cognitive Study
This appointment is interesting, but there's not really much to explain. I went through a 2-hour series of computerized and verbal tests, as well as a long questionnaire, in which the study tracks my cognitive abilities as I go through treatment. The study will be published in about five years, so I'll find out then if the chemo knocked off too many of my brain cells (just kidding...actually, they can't release individual stats), but I'm excited to see what the study, in whole, relates.
Fourth Appointment: Follow-Up With My Oncologist
Dr. Zander examined my surgery sites (all good!) and spoke with me a little about lymphodema (the dangerous back-up of lymph fluid in my arm that has the chance of occurring throughout my life.) We talked about what radiation will do to my skin and tissues, and we talked through areas for me to keep an eye on for cancer returning. He also went through the extended pathology report from my surgery. It's quite a bit worse than we were hoping for, making this mountain we're climbing much steeper and much longer. But we have some great hiking boots on, and we're 100% committed to reaching the top.
What's Next?
We're headed to the cities July 16th to settle in for the rest of the summer. Brad will go back and forth as he's able, and I'll have radiation treatment five days a week, for 33 days, at Abbott. Immediately after radiation is completed, I'll go on hormone therapy (for five years), and six weeks after radiation is done I'll have surgery to swap my expanders for inserts and (hopefully, if all goes well) will also have my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, which will allow me to take a slightly more powerful hormone therapy. It's still a long climb, but we're so thankful that we've made it this far and we're ready for the next steps.
How We're Doing
The kids have handled all of the shuffling around and changes with ease. A huge part of that is thanks to all of the support we've gotten and how busy they've stayed. We're all glad to be home right now, and we're excited about spending time in the cities and have a few fun activities lined up to keep things interesting.
Brendan has asked a few, more detailed, questions about cancer...mostly looking for reassurance that he understands what's going on. He's turning six in a few days, although most of the time he seems more like ten. I sat in the back seat with him on the way home from Madison yesterday, and he sang the songs from the radio, chatted with me about staying overnight with grandma and grandpa, and held my hand the whole way. I secretly cherish these little moments with him, because I know that kindergarten will be another huge step in his growing up...a bittersweet step away from childhood innocence to becoming more self-sufficient (*sigh* all good things, I know...)
Megan loves checking out my scars, and is happiest when we're cuddled up together reading a book. Or eating. Or making Emily laugh. She's a spitfire, and as challenging as that is the parent, I'm happy to see that she hasn't changed because of all that we're going through.
And Emily is happiest when moving nowadays. She hasn't fully graduated to walking by herself, but she's mastering her balance, loves to push her walk-along toys around, and has taken several short walking trips between Brad and I's exuberant, outstretched arms. She's still eating well, sleeping well, and laughing away...and she's learned how to throw an all-out tantrum (thanks to her sister, methinks!) but she only really whips that out when she's overtired.
Brad and I are doing well. Thankfully, we balance each other out, which is a blessing when either one of us gets to thinking too much. I thank God for him every day, and I'm so happy to say that, while the road we're on has been challenging, it hasn't changed our relationship that much. We still tease each other, know how to push each others buttons (yep...that's right...we can admit it!), laugh and talk and cook and clean...all-in-all, family life is crazy, and sweet, and....pretty normal. And we try to stay focused on that.
The Future:
Looks Beautiful
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