Mom broke her hip . . . WHAT NEXT?!

Mom broke her hip Friday night. We were getting ready for the garage sale on Saturday and she was walking with a couple knick-knacks in her hands. She tripped over a roll of landscape fabric and fell square on her left hip hard against the concrete. I got to her right away, but she could not move at all. The pain was terrible. I helped her support herself and Caroline went to get the phone. I called 911 and they came very quickly. She was taken to Northside Forsyth hospital here next to my neighborhood and was admitted with a broken hip. She had surgery on Saturday (garage sale was cancelled) and is doing better today. They did not have to do an entire hip replacement. They just inserted 3 screws to connect the ball joint. Physical therapy came today, Sunday, and got her up out of bed. She walked a few steps and sat down. I think she's going to be okay, but it was an awful scare! Depending on her recovery, she may go to a sub-acute rehabilitation center or back home. She will need someone with her for a while. Her spirits are good, but she is getting fed up with her bad luck! We think she needs to start playing the lottery because once her luck turns, she's in for a windfall!! I'll update as her recovery progresses. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Hellooo, anybody there?

It's been way too long since I've updated . . . were you about to think I'd forgotten about my blog? Actually, I have kinda put it on the side burner for a while. Hey, no news is good news in my case!! But here's some tidbits for you . . . .

Got back from the oncologist today for a check-up. I have to wait for my CA-125 blood test, but the exam was good (well, as "good" as a gyn exam can be!). I go for a 6-month follow-up CT scan in August. Since the highest chance of recurrence happens in the first year, I'll be getting watched pretty closely for quite a while. Fine by me!!

John found a new place to rent in North Carolina. We went up last weekend to check it out and it is fabulous!!! It actually has bedrooms for all of us (much better than the one bedroom we were all crammed into before), but it is still nice and cozy. Huge windows with gorgeous views, wraparound deck, hardwood floors and log walls . . . we couldn't ask for anything better! There is a creek and a pond nearby. We took the girls out for a walk and we all ended up wading up to our knees in the creek. It really brought back memories for me of spending summers in Blairsville with Mammaw and Pappaw . . . fishing in Boggs Creek, collecting rocks, building toy boats to float in the stream. Of course mine always got loose from it's string and Daddy would have to chase it down, running and splashing after it!! This year will be ten years since Daddy's accident so it was a nice memory to have for Father's Day weekend.

The girls got their hair cut for summer. Cute little angled bobs like Victoria Beckham. Once my hair gets long enough that's the cut I want . . . oh yeah! My hair has come in!!! I'm not wearing a scarf or headwrap anymore. It is really short, like a crew cut, and it pokes up everywhere. But who cares! I've got hair!!! It could be purple and frizzy and I'd still love it!! Let me find a photo and I'll post it . . .

Thanks for still reading. Hope everyone has a great summer!

Still doing good . . .

After a particularly messy playtime, I made the clean-up a game by letting the girls choose "jobs". "Caroline, what can be your job?" I asked. "I'll clean up the Barbie stuff," my eager daughter announced. "Great!" I then asked my second daughter, "Rachel Rose, what is your job?" Without budging from her seat on the couch she announced, "I'm the coach!"
Game over, now get your rear in gear and help clean up!!

I had my one month follow-up appointment with my oncologist on Monday. And things are still looking good. No cysts or lumps felt during the exam, my CA125 was low (but it's never been high, even when I had the cancer, so it's not a reliable test for me), and I lost SEVEN pounds! This dieting thing is actually working . . . who'da thunk!! I won't see him again for two months now - June, then I'll wait 3 months, then 4, then 5. Once I'm up to 6 months that will remain my routine forever, I assume. Once a cancer patient, always a cancer patient is the way it goes. I'm fine with that, better to be monitored than be left guessing.

Better news, though, is mom had some scans done to mark one year since her diagnosis. And even though her lesions/tumors aren't gone, they haven't grown. She can call herself 'stable' which is excellent!!! When you get news that your original cancer has come back and spread, the fear is that it wil continue spreading out of control and take over your body. The fact that her "spread" has been halted is FANTASTIC! Of course we would love to hear that the cancer spots are gone completely, but stable is a huge achievement for metastasized cancer. God is GOOD!

And she and I will be attending a conference in May for "Women Living with Advanced Cancer". It's in Philadelphia and I heard about it from a breast cancer website. Normally, it would be a very expensive trip and completely out of our budgets, but we were both granted scholarships through LLBC (Living Beyond Breast Cancer). Our airfare and hotel are covered in full - WooHoo!!!! We are very excited to meet other women in my mom's situation (and mine and Jan's as caregivers), and learn as much as we can. You can visit the website http://www.lbbc.org and see all the speakers and presentations they will be having. If Mom is feeling up to it, we might be able to do some sightseeing around Philly. Neither of us have ever been before and it would be a great chance to have a "mini-vacay"!!! We deserve it!!!

Meantime, my hair is starting to come back, thank goodness. I had my doubts for a while there! It's my regular color, dark brown, and very, very fine. Like down from a duckling. I can't tell yet if it's going to be "chemo curly" or not, it's still too short. But I'm hoping by my next dr visit in June I'll be able to go without a scarf . . . gosh, that's hard for me to imagine!

Happy Easter!

The itching has gotten some better. I've been taking antihistamines every few days and the flare-ups are fewer and far between. Mom actually is convinced it's not hives, but instead it's shingles. I've never had shingles before and from what I understand shingles begins with a rash that doesn't go away but makes blisters. My episodes begin with itching, then welts, no blisters yet. I'm planning to talk to my doctor about it when I go in a couple of weeks. It's not so bad anymore and definitely manageable. I've read about menopause hives and I really do think it's just a hormone thing.

My diet is going very well and I've actually lost a pound or two. Better than that, my clothes fit looser - woohoo!!! I might even attempt a bikini this summer. My goal is in 3 months when my hair is long enough to go without a hat or scarf, I'll be at my ideal weight. I'd like to plan a day of getting my hair styled in a new short 'do and then go shopping for a tiny new outfit . . . and actually be able to wear it!!!

For Spring Break we'll be in and out of town all week, spending some time with John up in the mountains. He started back the first of March and has had weekends off this month, then beginning in April he'll be back to working six days a week. Now that I am back to my old self, he should be able to work as much as he needs to. And with me staying home this year, he's got more flexibilty. I would like to find something part-time for next year, but Rachel Rose still has one more year of preschool and it's tough to find a job to fit her schedule. Maybe just one more year of staying home . . . it's not like I'm hating it, to tell the truth!!!

Hope you all had a nice Easter!

HIVES!!!

I only thought I was smart! But it took me this long to put two and two together and realize the itching I've been having for months is HIVES! Ever since my surgery when my ovaries were removed and I was thrust into menopause Hades, I've been having itching episodes. Horrible, drive me up the wall, scratch til I bleed itching. All over - my arms, legs, hands, feet, back, stomach. It's awful when it happens. Thankfully, it only lasts from 30-45 minutes. But I just scratch and scratch, sometimes I get in the tub with Aveeno, then slather on lotion til I'm more slippery than soap! I've tried anti-itch cream, but it's no good. It wasn't until today that I noticed the scratching made welts all over the area that I got the idea it might be hives. And when I googled it (don't you just love that expression!), sure enough that's what I've got!!! Now the question is, what am I reacting to? Hives is always from an allergic reaction to something. I took an antihistamine this afternoon after a lovely spell of frantic clawing at my legs and I think it helped. I still think it's from a hormone imbalance because I haven't changed anything I've eaten, done laundry with, or anything I can think of. It all started the moment my ovaries came out and I began hormone replacement. I'm going to start keeping an "itch journal" to see if I can figure out what triggers the episodes. In the meantime, I am going to begin natural hormones that the wonderful hormone doctor gave me today. After 4 weeks, he'll do some blood tests to check my levels and then tweak my dosages if he needs to. Hopefully, I will get everything back to somewhat normal, at least a liveable normal!

And on the topic of "C", did you hear that Patrick Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer?! I'm telling you, EVERYone is getting it! I'm convinced it's coming from the environment - there's gotta be something that we're eating, breathing, something is out there that is making it more prevalent. I've heard of all these diets and vegetarian lifestyles that are supposed to prevent cancer, maybe there's something to it all, maybe eating all natural foods is going to prove to be The Cure . . . just in case, I'll be having a salad for dinner! :-)

Still okay

Just a quick post to say I saw my oncologist today. He confirmed the all-clear results from my CT scan. Have to say I was a little afraid of a bad surprise today. You know they told me after my original cyst was removed that everything was benign, then at my follow-up dr visit he told me that cancer showed up after the pathology came back. I felt like I was back in the 80's and getting the "Sike!" But no, it's all still okay. He did say the highest chance of recurrences statistically happens within the first year after treatment. So, I will continue to see him monthly for check-ups. At six months, I'll have another scan and if it's clean, then I will see him every two months. And so on and so on. I feel pretty good that I will be getting monitored so closely. Better than the average person who could be walking around with a cancer timebomb unknowingly growing in their body. But, at the same time, it would be nice to go back to my life pre-"C". Carefree, oblivious, and with hormones!!! (I'm seeing the hormone dr on Wednesday).

I remember just before I got diagnosed, I had this view of the population as split between those who get cancer and those who don't. And I took it for granted that I would be in the "not cancer" group because it seemed like such an unlikely thing to happen to a normal person like me. Wooops! Now I see cancer as a much more common occurrence. So MANY people are getting cancer. A lot of them, thankfully, are like me and find it early and undergo successful treatment. And a lot are like my mom who deal with it as a chronic but treatable condition. And this way, it's not quite so scary anymore, it's not the "death sentence" it used to be thought of. It's just a part of life in 2008. An evil part, of course! I just pray that a cure or vaccine will be found soon so that my girls don't have to even worry about it!

The results are in . . .

Got the call yesterday . . . scan results are GOOD! Her exact words were "unremarkable." And that's a good thing. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a plain ole unremarkable belly. Maybe a little flabby and jiggly, but nothing cancerous. WWHHEEEWWWWW!!!!! I will see the dr on Monday for my follow-up and I'm hoping he releases me for at least 6 months. He will probably mention the scar revision surgery, since I now have 2 areas that continually open up, drain, scab over, then open up again. Pretty yucky! But I've decided to wait at least 4-6 months before doing anything about it. Give the chemo the most time to completely leave my system and give me a chance to lose 25 pounds. Yep, I started today with my diet and exercise plan! I'm doing "Body for Life" after John's dr recommended it to him for getting in shape. John is following it too, though not as closely as I will. I've got my daily meals planned out, my exercise regime organized, I even have a notebook to keep me on track! Anal-retentive, that's me! I'm hoping to lose some weight, but mainly I just want to get healthy again. The hormone thing makes me crazy most of the time with hot flashes, night sweats, and torturous ITCHING. I've scratched so hard in places that I have bruises! Exercise and eating right will probably help those issues. Plus, I am going to see a dr who specializes in hormone replacement next week. Maybe he will get them sorted out for me.

So that's it!!! Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. Through God, all things are possible - AMEN!!! I will post next after my drs appointments. I feel like this journey is over in some ways, but until my calendar is empty of dr appointments, I won't feel totally free!