Chemo completion celebration!

And yes, I'm all done with chemo. Finally. Friday the 13th was my last treatment, complete with tears, hugs, a certificate and cookies. It doesn't seem possible that this journey started a mere 6ish months ago. Seems like forever, seems like yesterday.

After my treatment, lots of my wonderful supporters joined me for drinks and laughs at All Star Pizza, and we laughed it up til the wee hours of the morning. Many of you from far away sent me mesages you were having a drink in my honor that night, thank you too, I felt your love and toasts! The night wasn't complete without breakfast at IHop with my bestie Carissa! Thank you everyone who joined us in this journey, sending us support and love and prayers. I know I couldn't have gotten through it without the laughs. Thank you to all of you who let me approach this with my warped sense of humor and joined right in. I have said for years of dealing with Ethan ups and downs; if I didn't laugh every day, I'd spend every day crying. Well, this journey wasn't any different, and the laughter sure helped.

Thanks to those Rads who didn't let me put shitty work through-just because I had cancer....

Those of you who told me how I rocked a do-rag....

Those of you who always told me how great I looked, even though I know I didn't...

Those of you who said they were impressed with me coming to work during chemo that I still worked as hard as before I was sick.

I received some of the nicest compliments from people, and I will never forget them, or who said them. And those of you who called me your hero, I really don't feel like one, but thank you.

I'm saving a drunken post for "what NOT to say to people with Cancer" because it seems that even with all the wonderful things people said to me, there were still quite a few people who need some social tips on that.

My last dose of chemo was a doozy, had to have a blood transfusion the day before to ensure my labs were high enough to get my last one and not drag this on any longer. I also got some extra steroids to take after treatment to help with the bone pain, and even with both of those, I had a couple of really bad days when counts were at their lowest. I have been feeling pretty good the last two days, but how hard is it to just rest in beautiful Colorado and let your husband and Aunt do all the cooking for you?? I'm pretty spoiled, and I'm loving it!

We are in Colorado until the end of the month, thoroughly enjoying spending time with the Aunts and cousins and the nicer, cooler weather!! Once back in KC, it's back to work full time for me, and on my new shift-I can't wait!! I will see Dr Sheehan on the 2nd, get my port taken out on the 3rd if my labs are ok, then start Tamoxifen in late August. I will be following up with labwork every three months for the first year. The CA27.29 is the tumor marker they will watch, though it's not completely accurate, it's the best we have for breast cancer recurrence. But my prognosis is 95% cure at 5 years, and I'm pretty pleased with that.

I think I've found my plastic surgeon, and it's a woman! Once back in town, I will be calling to make my consultation appointment. There have been a few weeks of researching reconstruction that I was quite the emotional dishrag and pretty tearful. My scars are hideous, and I try to never look at them. And when looking at surgery options and possibly more scars, I lost it. Once I found this surgeon's bio, and a fellow survivor sent me an email about her personal experience with her, I knew I had found the doctor for me! I'm in no hurry for more surgery, but being done with chemo means moving forward to the next step, and new boobs!

But of course, what would our crazy lives be without a little added drama now that one step is done?? Ethan had his three month Cardiology appointment the day before we left town. Ethan got his EKG and echo, and then we waited for Dr Kaine to come and give us the results, fully expecting to be cut loose again, and maybe even being taken off his Lasix or Digixon. What is usually a thirty minute wait turned into an hour and fifteen minutes. That long a wait is NEVER good news in Cardiology clinic-or any clinic for that matter. Dr Kaine came in and stopped in his tracks. My do-rag threw him for a loop. So you can imagine once I told him what we have already been dealing with this year, how sad he was to tell me that that new pulmonary valve they put in last September is showing mild leakage already. Ahem. I sighed and smiled through my complete and utter shock, and he wiped a big tear from his cheek.

We will watch the leakage, and good news is that since he now truly has a donor valve, it should last a lot longer than his previous transannular patch with leaflet did. Since that one was supposed to last Ethan "well into his teens", and lasted 5 years, you can imagine my concern about already showing leakage at 10 months post-op. Oh, and Ethan is showing bradycardia, and a sinus arrhythmia on his EKG different from before. The bradycardia we knew about last year, and the arrhythmia appears to be 'an ok new normal for Ethan'. Whew. A new normal. Whatever would we do with just normal?? We did get to stop his Lasix for now, but he has to stay on his Digoxin. Woo-hoo. Did I say something earlier about laughing or I'll cry???

Oh well, a wise person told me things WILL get back to normal eventually, a NEW normal, but normal nonetheless. Nope, same old normal craziness here....

Did I mention my hair is growing back in? I will share a pic soon-it's hysterical looking.

In the meantime stay cool. I will post some pics from Dolls with Balls PINK Bingo we are attending here in Denver on Wednesday night. My cousin is the host, and I can't wait!

Love, hugs and normalcy.

whatever that might be....