Turning 33 at the DMV

  

Thirty-three years ago today, I was born.

  

If I go anywhere near my mother today, I will hear the whole story of my birth... again.  I know it by heart. I guess I should by now. Sometimes, I just tune in and out.  My mother went into labor... I was her second baby and she was nervous... she didn't know if she could ever love anyone as much as she loved my sister, her first baby... the love she felt had taken her breath away... the selfless purity and depth of that love- it was like all parts of her- her body, heart, mind and soul- were firing all at once... she KNEW in that moment- without hesitation, without even being asked- that she was willing to die for this person... after all those months of growing, after all those hours separating from each other... she held me and laughed at how silly she had been... she learned that love comes from an infinite place... she had more than enough love... she loves me... I weighed 10lbs 1.5oz... I didn't look that big my mom always says... the nurses tried a couple different scales... I was also 23 inches long... that's probably why it was hard to tell... my dad brought a bag of pacifiers to the hospital, all proud of himself... my sister loved those things and only gave them up after she chewed them apart when she was teething... they popped a pacifier in my mouth... I popped it back out at them... I taught them I am my own person... they learned... my sister, Amy, is about 18 months older...  she loved to hold me... she called me "Baby Joy"... she stole my pacifiers for herself... she chewed them up... my sister was born with hair...

I was born bald... I am bald again...

Today, I am 33 years old!    

My Driver's license had to be renewed this year.

I don't want a bald picture for the next 4 years.

So here I am...     

on my way to the DMV.

I figured somebody would ask me to take off the hair I bought at Party City on clearance for a couple dollars. I wanted to make sure somebody did not feel like crap when I pulled the wig off to reveal my bald head AND my cancer diagnosis.  I brought the fun with me.  The woman behind the desk asked how they got my hair all those different colors.  

I am happy to report nobody's feelings were hurt at all. 

A week later, I opened the mail.

My new ID!

Ding! Ding! End of Round One!

On November 25th, I got my second dose of chemo- completing Round One. 



My chemo is given over a 5 minute slow push.



That little syringe knocked me to the mat!  My blood counts dropped.  I got a fever, which is treated as life-threatening to someone with low counts, so Dr. Laudi sent me to Mercy Hospital ER for blood cultures and antibiotics. 

Blood Cultures

 

After a week to recover, Round Two started on December 9th.  When I went for the second dose on the 16th, my counts were too low, so I got a "Snow Day" and finished up some Christmas shopping with my mom.  Dr. Laudi ordered 6 days of Neupogen shots (I can't stand those things!  More about that later) 

On 12/20, my ANC was 1.7, so my chemo was a go on the 23rd.  Ding! Ding! End of Round Two!

My New Haircut and Sweet Amore!

After Christmas we will do another PET and CT scan.  Please pray that everything is getting smaller or is gone!  I hope the New Year brings peace and love and joy to all!

Vacation

It is never easy to plan a vacation for a family of five.  Summer makes it somewhat easier to plan for the kids between soccer and camps, but when Mom has cancer a vacation has to be scheduled around chemo and labs and trying to just figure out when I will feel ok.

From my Bucket List (in my head) I wanted to take my kids to the ocean and see them play in the sand and water.  We planned a trip to Nassau, Bahamas.  Here are some of our photos from our trip in the Summer of 2012.

Early morning flight



Bahamas 2012

My little fishes

My family ( matching haircuts)

This week we are back on vacation again in Nassau, Bahamas.
So we could spend some fun time with Natalie and Larissa,
Olivia is spending time with Aunt Amy
and Amore is at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
I finished my 5th round of NKTR-102 on August 12, 2013.
I will be getting a PET/CT scan when I return.
Your thoughts and prayers will be greatly appreciated!