WEEK 48 Pre-Christmas Surgery at the Huntsman!

On December 20 Rich and I went to Rexburg for my next Herceptin IV. We got there early so we met up with my family members to have lunch at Fong's first. I must say, getting together with family has been the one good perk of having to travel for all of these treatments! After my IV, we headed on to Provo Utah where we spent the evening with Chase. The next day it was back to the Huntsman in Salt Lake for my pre-op appointments. In my visit with Dr. Agarwal, we decided to change which surgery I would have. Because the expander has caused me so much pain, I worried that I wasn't a good candidate for the Latissimus flap procedure because it involves a small implant, which I felt my body might want to reject. That is why I had chosen the longer, nastier DIEP flap procedure which takes skin & fat from my belly. Dr. Agarwal assured me that I was just as good a candidate for the Latissimus as anyone. So, the day before my surgery, we changed the procedure I would have. In some ways it was a relief, because I went from an 8 hour surgery to a 4 hour surgery, and from a 5 day Hospital stay to a 3 day stay. That meant I wouldn't be spending Christmas day at the Huntsman. I would be getting out Christmas Eve instead! Course that meant that we needed to come up with some alternate plans for those days, since we weren't going to go straight home. It ended up taking most of the day to see my surgeon, and then the anesthesiologist. We decided to get a motel room just a few blocks from the hospital, since we needed to be there early in the morning.

December 22 we headed to the Hospital at 8 a.m. Originally I was suppose to be there at 6 a.m., but changing to the shorter surgery allowed both me and my doctor to sleep a little more. I have to admit I was "sick to my stomach" nervous. The thought of getting cut on again really had me anxious. I felt that at least this time I would be better prepared. I found out with my Mastectomy that morphine does not do a thing for me. So my first night and morning was absolute misery. When the doctor changed the order to dilauded, I was back to being a real person again. So he said they would just start me on dilauded this time. My surgery started sometime after 10. Another good thing this time was not having to get poked 8 times trying to put an IV in. They were able to just use the port in my chest. What a relief! Surgeries are a very weird thing. The anesthesiologist is there talking to you - he puts something into the IV and starts to wheel you down the hall, and the next thing you know, you're waking up in the recovery room.

I guess "good drugs" help, but that first evening, dang, I was feeling pretty good. My sister Cynthia stopped by soon after I got to my room, having just finished a surgical shift at LDS Hospital nearby. She was expecting me to be dopey and dosey, so she figured she'd just say "Hi" and go on home. She ended up having to stay for a few hours so I could talk her leg off!

The next day, December 23, the soreness of a big honking incision on my back, having muscle cut, burrowed under my armpit and pulled out through my chest and attached to my pectoral muscle, all kicked in. Getting up and going to the bathroom was a challenge because I felt dizzy and nauseous when I'd get up. But when I was laying in my bed staying relaxed I didn't feel too bad. Eating was a bit of a problem. Between no appetite and cotton mouth I couldn't seem to eat anything. My dear "Eldest" brother Tim stopped by to visit. I ended up making him eat my sandwich since I couldn't do it myself. Thanks for the visit Tim! He and Kay were the first ones there last time I had surgery. Hey - our hairdo's are almost the same! Tim's is more gray though! Ha

Cynthia came by for another visit bearing gifts! I had mentioned that when we were getting ready to come down, I had a few big, long, baggy button-down shirts hanging in my laundry room to grab and bring so I would have those to wear after I got out of the Hospital. Since I'll have these disgusting drain tubes w/ fluid-grenades attached to me for several weeks, I need shirts that will cover them. Well, I forgot them! So Cynth went and did a little shopping for me. She bought me 3 shirts and a vest! Wow! Thanks Cynth! The denim one is so soft and comfortable and cute, I can tell already it will be one of those "wear it to death" shirts!

My younger sister Barb also stopped by for a visit. We got to chat for quite a while. And while Barb was still there, my Bro & Sis-In-Law, Eric and LeAnn stopped by to visit. I so appreciate those who take the time and effort to come by and visit, cause it truly does take some time and effort! While Barb & LeAnn & Eric were there, the nurse came in and told me it was time to go for a walk, so I had 3 friends to take my walk with me. I had to hobble along like a little old woman hanging on to my IV machine as my walker. But, I went a little farther each walk!

Later in the afternoon Rich's Aunt Fern also came by to visit. Somehow I managed to miss getting a picture of Fern, dang it! She let us know that we were very welcome to come and spend a few nights at their house through Christmas after I get released on the 24th. Nobody throws a party like the Hill's, so there was no place we'd rather be!

On Christmas Eve Day, Dec. 24 I managed to go for a good walk all by myself. Rich spent the night in Provo with Chase, and they were waiting for Chase's car to get fixed, then they were going to come and pick me up, since the Doctor OK'd me leaving. After my walk I took a shower, also by myself! Yeah, it's a big deal to be able to shower oneself! Then I laid on my hospital bed and watched TV until Rich and Chase arrived to "spring me". I got to watch 2 old classics: "A Miracle on 34th Street", and "White Christmas". Haven't seen either forever, so it was fun to see them. While I was laying there, two adorable families stopped by and asked if they coud give me a blanket as a gift, and sing me a few Christmas Carols. There were at least 10 or 12 kids in those two families, from teenagers to little ones. They said that they have had cancer in their family, so it has become a family tradition to go visit Cancer patients at the Huntsman on Christmas Eve. They gave me a nice green fleece blanket, and then they sang a few songs for me. It was so sweet. I was totally touched!

Speaking of being touched by sweet gifts, Collin & his sweet Tiffany had the topper! Before they took off for California for Christmas, Tiffany put together a "6 days of Christmas" box for me. They gave it to cousin Julie who occassionally works at the Huntsman. Julie gave it to a nurse friend, Bryn, who would be working on the 22nd when I came in. Bryn brought the box into my room right away. Collin told me on the phone to go ahead and open it then. Inside was a little gift and note for the next 6 days. Originally I was going to spend 5 days in the Hospital, so Tiffany wanted to make sure I was covered with a little gift for each day. The Day 1 gift was a little Christmas tree made of paper, so I could have a tree in my room! The Christmas Eve gift were 3 adorable little stockings Tiffany made so me and Rich and Chase would have stockings for Christmas Eve! Also among the gifts were Christmas candy, Tiffany-made hot pads, and a funny Picture Story book of Landon. So here's a fun pic that includes one of the shirts Cynth gave me, the green fleece blanket the sweet families brought, and some of Tiffany's fun work. You know, Thanks to Family and new friends, Christmas Eve at the Huntsman wasn't too bad!

WEEKS 44-47: Thanksgiving in LaGrande & Surviving School

On Wednesday, November 24, Rich and I, along with Collin, Tiffany & baby Landon, and Chase, went to LaGrande Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. The trip was a bit of an adventure. When we got up to leave, it was 5 below zero outside. The roads were snow packed and icy pretty much the whole way. We happened to get to the Burley area very close to the same time that Collin & Chase got there coming from Utah. So we connected with my cousin Ron in Twin Falls, and he and his wife Carolyn met us at a truck stop, and took Collin's car home with them so Collin, Tiffany, Landon, & Chase could snug in the pick-up, and make the rest of the trip with us. That made the long slow drive on bad roads a little easier to endure. It gave us more time to visit, even though the conditions were crummy.

We got to Mom & Dad's place at about 8 pm. They had some stew and homemade bread waiting for us. Mom already had 3 fruit pies made that were about as pretty as they get! The next day was busy with lots of cooking and preparations, and then a wonderful dinner. It has been 3 or 4 years since we've spent Thanksgiving in LaGrande, so it was nice getting to go spend a few days. Thanks Mom & Dad for all of the good food! The original plan was to come home Sunday, but a storm coming in caused us to come home Saturday instead.

On December 1 I got to go have my Herceptin IV in Butte. It was nice to get to have it a little closer to home. My good buddy Bonnie Hemmert came and visited me there. She made the hour go by so fast. Bonnie was my counselor when I was Stake Primary President. It was so fun working with her in that. I miss getting to see her, so it was fun to have her come by. Thanks Bonnie!

I managed to survive teaching 2 Block classes in a row. I gave my last final Wednesday, Dec. 15. It was definitely a bit harder than I expected. I just can't seem to get my energy level back to normal. But my students and I managed to survive it together. Sometimes I feel like surviving is all I was doing! Now I can rest up for a few days before going down to Salt Lake for my reconstruction surgery over the Christmas break. Some break, huh?

Weeks 36-43 - "Back to School" & "Surgery Decision Blues"

Today is November 18th. It has been 5 weeks since my last post. Such a busy time now that I'm back teaching at the college. I started a Block 3 Algebra class on October 18, and finished it 3-1/2 weeks later on November 10. It was acutally good to get back and try to get my life back to "normal." But to be honest, I have been so exhausted, I've had my moments wondering if I went back too soon. I guess I'm a little too impatient, but I find myself wondering if I'll ever feel normal again! I got a 4 day "break," then started up Block 4, this time a Number Theory class on Monday November 15. My "breaks" haven't been true breaks. Western took Nov. 2, election day off, and I used that day to run down to Rexburg for a Herceptin IV. Then during my 4 day break between blocks, we went to Salt Lake so I could see my surgeon at the Huntsman for my re-construction surgery consult.

I just hate it when doctors say to you, "Sit down, let's talk about this." He told me that now that my skin has been radiated, I have a 50-75% chance of failure with an implant. Vicki, my Breast-Health nurse at the Huntsman, has been trying to warn me, and prepare me for that for quite a while, but I kept trying to ignore that. I thought, "Oh, I'll be fine. I'll be able to do the implant." That's the only reconstruction surgery I wanted to consider because it's the "easy" reconstruction, where they take the expander out, put an implant in and you're done! That surgery wouldn't have even required spending a single night in the hospital.

Now I have three terrible options:

(1) Choose no reconstruction - just have the expander taken out, and the stretched skin removed. Unfortunately that would include my nipple, which they managed to save. With that, the last 8 months of misery I have endured with this expander would be all for nothing! I'd go through a whole surgical procedure, and yet finish up looking rather mutilated. Wow - great choice.

(2) Choose the Litissmus Flap reconstruction, where they make a big 'ol incision on your back, cut out a strip of muscle leaving the end attached, then burrow it under the skin, under the arm, attaching it to the chest. They use that strip of muscle like a pocket, inserting a small implant in the pocket. This provides a good blood supply to the chest area so it won't as likely fight and reject the implant, like my current radiated tissue would. This one is about a 3 hour surgery, and would require about 3 days in the hospital. This choice stinks too.

(3) The DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforators) Flap Surgery. In this one they take a chunk of skin and fat from the the belly - right below the belly button. They transfer that up to the chest to reconstruct a new breast, placing some of the tissue in the pocket the expander created. This one requires about 8 hours of microsurgery, because they're using microscopes to attach a bunch of tiny blood vessels. Then it involves a 5 day hospital stay, so they can monitor that transfered piece of tissue, and all of its newly attached blood vessels to make sure it doesn't die. Oh my gosh! Another option that really sucks! I told my doctor that I didn't like any of the options, but he had nothing else to give me.

So I spent a few difficult days trying to decide what to do so they could get something scheduled. It would take a long time to explain why, but I chose option #3 - the DIEP flap. I have surgery scheduled for Dec. 22. Yes, that means I will be spending Christmas in the hospital. What a bummer! Worst part is, Chase was going to come home for Christmas, but we won't even be at home then. I don't know what he's going to decide to do. So sad. Yeah, it could have been put off til January, but there are a whole list of reasons I won't even go into, as to why January would have been bad - from insurance reasons to teaching in the Spring, etc.

So, wow, something to really look forward to, huh? About the only good thing about it is I will finally be rid of this expander, which I have hated soooo much. It has been pretty painful & miserable. So I'm trying to look to that as my silver lining! We all need our silver linings, don't we?

Weeks 32 - 35: The "BABY" edition: Baby Fuzz; Baby Tats; Burn Baby Burn; & Big Baby

Well, it's Saturday, October 9, and I have spent my first full week home in 2 months. I'm sore, and I'm pooped, and I have done some major lazing around this week. I'm finally sitting down at the computer to report on my last 4 weeks of Radiation treatments.

So, Part I of my BABY edi- tion: THE BABY FUZZ: On Sunday August 29 I finally spotted what I had been looking for for several weeks - little baby fuzzies growing on my head! I kept hunting for some, and finally decided I needed to quit looking so often. So after not looking for a few days, there they were! Even though the doctor kept assuring me that my hair would grow back, there's still a little tendency to think, "Yeah, but what if?"

So one month later, on Sep. 30, Brenda took a few pictures of my month-old "babies". Wow, they're so dark! On top they're only about 1/4" long, but the ones in back are much more ambitious at 1/2". Notice the Vana White hand to present the new babies!

Part II of my BABY edition: BABY TATS: If you look really close, my finger is pointing at one of my 5 tattoes. This is the one right in the middle of my sternum. Not a whole lot bigger than a few tiny little freckles I have close by. It's been more than a month since I took this picture, and the bluish ink seems to have spread a bit, making the tattoes a little bigger & fuzzier looking. I always knew that tattoes lose their clarity and color after some time, but after just 1 month? How disappointing! That's not what I paid for!

Part III: BURN BABY BURN!: Ouch, the last few weeks of radiation treatments were rather miserable. It took a while, but the skin burns started to kick in, and radiation was no longer "a piece of cake." My radiation doctor told me that with chemo behind me, radiation was a piece of cake by comparison. Hmmmm, I'm not so sure if I agree with that. It might be because I tolerated chemo fairly well. And maybe it's because I'm pretty fair skinned, and they were cooking parts of my body that have never seen the light of day in their lifetime. But I burned pretty good and it got pretty uncomfortable.

They describe radiation burns as kind of similar to bad sun burns. Having had my share of bad sunburns, it is a good description. However, it's like going out and getting sunburned, then being stupid enough to go lay out in the sun some more the next day, then the next day until the

skin turns a leathery red-brown, and starts to fall off! Of course, sunburns are only on the surface, and Radiation burns go all the way through. In fact the doctor told me that the very bottom edge of my right lung would get fried away. He assured me it wasn't enough for me to ever notice breathing-wise, but it would be noticeable to a Radiologist if I ever had a chest X-ray.

He also said that my ribs on the right side would be very brittle for awhile from getting cooked (OK - getting cooked isn't how he said it, that's my wording) and he told me to not take a fall, because I could easily break some ribs. Okay, I'll work on that!

Here are a few pictures of some of my burns. My armpit was especially sore, since my arm would rub on it. The part of my scar under my armpit can be seen, and some of the black Sharpie dots the doctor drew around the scar. The last week of radiation was just around the scar area - they call it a "scar boost" since the scar tissue is more

dense and requires more radiation. So my poor, sore, peeling armpit got a reprieve the last week. Good thing, cause I don't think I could take anymore there.

A strip on my ribs under my breast was also misery. This pic is kind of blurry, but my finger is pointing at another tattoo, which ends up forming the corner of the burn area.

In the third pic my finger is once again pointing at my sternum tattoo, so you can see how the burn radiates from that point. That area has been the least red and sore, probably because it's tougher skin having seen the sun on occassions when swimming and such. (That was years ago, though. This body hasn't seen a swimming suit in years!)

Speaking of swimming suits, I have a pic here of most of the radiation area after the burns started to heal. To avoid being too risque', I put in a digital swimsuit. Lovely, ain't it! You can see that some of my worst parts have peeled off leaving "new" pink skin. You can see why this flabby body wouldn't be caught dead in a swimming suit in real life! I know, some might feel it questionable to include some of the pics I have in this blog, but I had no clue what to expect concerning incisions and burns and such. Anyone reading and seeing this will certainly have a better clue what to expect than I did!

When the burns got pretty painful, and my skin started to come off, my doctor asked me if I wanted some pain pills. I told him that I didn't really want to get into those. That Friday, Sep. 24, Rich came and met me in Idaho Falls, where we left our truck in the clinic parking lot, and went to Provo so we could see BYU's Choir Showcase, since Chase is in Concert Choir again this year. It's always so fun to see his concerts.

This concert was particularly special, because his best friend, Lucy, flew in from Chicago and was there, as well as her mom, Becky, who drove down from Dillon. So here's all of us with handsome, Tuxedo-clad Chase!

Since we were in town, what the heck, we got tickets for BYU's football game the next day. Collin, Tiffany, and newly-turned 1-year-old Landon came down to Provo to hang with us for a bit, and go out to eat.

Problem was, I woke up Saturday morning throwing up, and with diarrhea. Flu, or food poisoning? I'm not really sure (I had Beef Bourguois the night before at Mimi's, and that's what was coming up - not that anyone really wanted that detail). I threw up 3 times in 4 hours. Gee, in 4 months of chemo I only threw up once, so whatever this was it was really potent. And then it was done. By noon I got up and took a shower, and we went out to dinner at 1:30 with Collin and Tiffany (I didn't eat all that much, and was careful about what I ate, but at least I ate something!).

The game was at 4:00, and I was not sure if I dare go and take a chance on trying to get by 15 people in our row to get to the bathroom if a little relapse occured. But I ended up going and did okay. But the burn pain started to really wear me down on the trip, and I was wishing that I had taken the doctor up on the pain pill offer. So when I got back to my next treatment on Monday, the next part of my BABY edition:

Part IV: BIG BABY: You got it - I ended up asking my doctor for some pain pills. After I filled the prescription, I went straight home (Okay, Stan and Brenda's home, but they made it feel like home) and took two of the pills and lay on the couch all afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell if they did a lot. I think they may have been a little helpful sleeping at night, so after that first day, I only took them at bed time.

When my final Radiation appointment approached, Brenda had the family come over to her house for a little celebration party. Stan, Brenda, Russ, Maxine, Jordan, Ashley, Travis, Sarah, and Brad all came over with refreshments and celebrated (Jordan, Sarah & Brad missed the pic, and Travis was the photog.).

I had a little fun earlier in the day making 3 bouquets with a few flowers, but more heavy on candy, to give to Stan and Brenda and Russ and Maxine to thank them for their wonderful hospitality for the last 2 months. Thanks so much, you guys!

The third one was to give to the crew

at the Radiation Center in Idaho Falls. The card on the bouquet to them says: "Thanks to all of my Chefs - you did a great job of broiling me to a perfect, tender, Medium Well!"

So the big question is:

EXACTLY HOW MANY CHEFS DOES IT TAKE TO SPIT BROIL JUST ONE PIG?

Well, apparently, quite a few. And the group I have in this picture is just part of them. One of the Therapists, Melissa wasn't there, and there is also a Dosimatrist, and Physicist who plan the treatment. But this pic caught 3 of my Therapists, Bryna, June, and Nathan, as well as Beth, the nurse, the receptionist, and Dr. McAllister (in the green shirt). So, it really does take a lot of people to adequately fry just one pig. I left my scarf off for this pic - the bald, fuzzy head fits the Pig image better!

My final Radiation treatment was Friday, October 1. Once again Rich picked me up at the Radiation Center, and we left the truck in the parking lot there, and drove on to Cokeville, Wyoming to see our oldest grandson Tayler get baptised on Oct. 2. Wow, I can't believe Tayler is 8 years old now!

It was such a nice baptism. We spent all of Saturday in Cokeville, then headed back home Sunday morning. We had to stop in Idaho Falls and pick up the truck - which meant that I had to drive the car from I.F. to home. I had been worrying about that all weekend, cause the "Radiation Fatigue" they had been warning me about seemed to fully kick in. As soon a we headed out, with me following Rich's truck, I knew I was in trouble. I don't even know if sleepy is the right word for how I felt. Fuzzy and foggy would be a better description.

It was flat out scary. I had no business being on the road. I thought about pulling off at Roberts, but didn't. I couldn't keep up with Rich and lost him, and finally pulled off at Dubois. I called Rich, then just sat there. Rich turned around and came back. I tried to rest and de-fog my head. Then I walked around for awhile. Got back in the car and tried again. It was still awful. This time Rich followed me. I felt like everything was fuzzy and in slow motion. At times I was only going 40-45 mph (driving Rich crazy) as cars passed us by like we were standing still. I pulled off again at Lima. I was done. Couldn't go any further. Rich called his parents and asked them to come get the car, and I rode the rest of the way home with him. What a weird experience! Apparently the Radiation Fatigue finally kicked my butt! Pair that with the Anemia that I can't seem to shake, and I was pretty worthless.

The Radiation treatments are finally done. Other than the Herceptin IV's every 3 weeks (until March) my Cancer treatments are finished! Now I just need to wait patiently for the burned skin to heal, and for my red blood cell count to come back up to wipe out the Anemia, and the overall fatigue to ease up. I start teaching again Monday Oct. 18, and I must admit I'm a little worried about that. I just have no energy right now, and don't have a lot of time to get it back. But, the worst is over! I have my reconstruction surgery scheduled for Dec. 20. I'll post again in a few weeks with an update on how it's all going!

WEEKS 29-31 - Radiation Begins

So the Radiation Era begins. The thing I really, really did not want to do! 5 days a week for 7 weeks - away from home. Life will not be normal for a while. On August 17, I had my first Radiation treatment. The first one was much longer than the rest will be. First I went in the dressing room and put on the lovely "cape" on my top half. Then I laid on the table on my own personal "bean bag" pad. Two of my Therapists, Melissa & Bryna drew all over my chest, ribs, armpit, & even up into my neck with Sharpie permanent markers. This was so they would have targets for the beams that come down from the ceiling at all angles. All that just to get me perfectly positioned. They took a few X-rays first, then they did the first treatment. That great big arm you can see on the machine rotates all around. I get dosages from 3 directions - from over by my left ribs, then from straight overhead, then from over by my right ribs. Each dosage only lasts 15 - 20 seconds. Melissa took a picture of me when the machine was lined up ready to go on the right side. When they do the 2 side shots, they lay a "bolus" over my chest. They explained it acts like a 1 cm layer of extra skin to bring the radiation closer to the surface. I guess they want to thoroughly fry my poor skin. The bolus is a weird material made out of gel that most closely has the properties & densities of human skin & tissue. Funny, I watch some of the CSI shows a lot, and they use blocks of that stuff to shoot at or stab when trying to solve crimes. Hmmmmm ....... interesting! After they were done with the treatment, then they tattooed me with 5 little bitty tattoos: (1)Right in the middle of my chest on my sternum (2)Directly below that about 8 inches (3)Right above my right breast (4)Over on my right side on my ribs (5) On my ribs on my left side. Those tattoos are what they will use to line up the beams in all of the rest of the treatments. I am now a tattooed woman! I kind of expected them to have one of those tattoo guns with the little needle that kind of "rat-a-tats" the ink in. No, it was more like a push pin with ink , jammed into each spot just once, but OUCH! that really stung!

I spent the first week staying with Stan & Brenda, and just running back and forth between their home in Rexburg, and the Cancer Radiation Center in Idaho Falls - about a 35-40 minute drive. One good thing about this center, they usually get me right in with no wait. I go straight into one of the little changing rooms, put on my cape, go to the sub-waiting room & watch the TV for a few minutes where they generally get me right away, then down the hall to the Radiation room, I lay on the table, they get me perfectly lined up using the beams on my tattoos, the machine moves around for the first "field" as they call it, the Therapists leave the room, shutting the 1 foot thick metal door, and they watch me from a TV screen in the "control room" while I get the first dose, then they come back in, set the bolus on my chest, tape it in place with a little masking tape, move the machine to the next field, leave the room, give me the next dose, then they come back in, re-position the bolus, tape it, re-position the machine, leave the room, give me the next dose, then the lights come on, and my Therapists come in, they push the button so my table moves on a rail back to the middle of the room , they take off the bolus & tape, help me up off the table, I go change back into my shirt, and I'm outta there! WHEW! That was a mouthful! My appointments have been at 11:45, and it's not unusual to be walking out of there at noon.

That has been my routine for the last several weeks. Tuesdays are a little longer, cause I see the Doctor then, but not for very long. On Friday after my treatment I drive straight home to Dillon where I get to spend the weekend. The weekends go by terribly fast - then Monday I drive back to Idaho Falls for the new week, and back to the routine. I have alternated living with Stan & Brenda for a week, then Russ & Maxine. They have been a lot of fun to get to hang out with. I've had a few other procedures in these last few weeks. On August 25 I ran straight from my Radiation treatment, to the Hospital across the street for an Echo-cardiogram. They want to monitor my heart since the Herceptin can occassionally cause heart problems. (Nice!) I got kind of a kick out of the Cardio Tech who did it. He was a native of Mexico, and he talked my leg off the whole time and told me his whole life story. He was pretty

sweet. On September 1, I had an appointment at Teton Oncology in Rexburg for my Herceptin treatment. Here's a pretty nifty photo of me - back in the chair again, an IV back in my chest! (Notice the fun, soft little beanie that Jamie's mom Cathy made for me) Yeah, I know, I look like I've been drug through the ringer, and believe me, I feel like I have. As soon as that appointment was done, I made the mad dash to Idaho Falls for that days Radiation treatment. Then back to Rexburg. I am so road weary, plus I'm still anemic, plus the Radiation causes

fatigue - so I am still feeling like an 80 year old woman!

Labor Day weekend was nice cause I got to spend an extra day at home for the weekend. Cynth & Ray came up to spend the weekend, since that's our "big" County Fair weekend. On Saturday we walked the Fairgrounds checking out the pigs, sheep, etc., watched my little niece Laura ride in a few horseback competitions - she even won first place in the Keyhole race! - and then the Rodeo that night. Monday was the "big" parade. Lots of candy! It was fun having Cynth & Ray for the weekend. Nice little break. Tuesday it was back to the grind - dashing to Idaho Falls for treatment, then back to Rexburg to spend the week. Three weeks down, four to go!

WEEK 27 & 28: 3 Doctors in 2 Days & The King Reunion

On Wednesday August 11 we were back on the road again. First to Rexburg for my first Herceptin chemo maintenance treatment. The full chemo treatments used to take 4 to 5 hours for blood testing, anti-nausea injections, then the 3 different drip bags, then the white blood cell injection, etc. This time with just blood tests and then the 1 bag, I was out of there in about an hour. After that we dashed to Idaho Falls where I had my Radiation Simulation appointment with Dr. McAllister at the Cancer Center of Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

The Simulation was rather interesting. First they had me lay on a kind of "bean bag" pad, with my arms over my head holding on to metal grips. Then they pumped some air into the pad so that my body left an impression in it. They will always have me lay on that pad for each treatment so that I'm in the exact same position during each Radiation treatment. Then they did a series of CAT-scans, and drew several X's on my skin with a Sharpie permanent marker to use for future machine settings. Using the CAT-scans and markings, the doctor and a phycisist will do all of the calculations of dosages and angles that they will want to shoot the radiation. They need about a week to do all of that work, and then I'll start my first treatment next Tuesday. They put a sort of clear tape on my markings so I can't wash them away before my first treatment. At that time they will tattoo 5 little spots on my chest and ribs which they will always use to line up the machine.

After my appointment in I.F. we were off to - where else - Utah, where I had an appointment the next morning with my surgeon, Dr. Neumayer. This was just a follow-up appointment, so nothing too major. I figured that I'd get just one last dose in my expander, but found out that since I had already done my Simulation for Radiation, I couldn't be expanded. Never even thought of it, but my Simulation was based on that exact size, and I couldn't be changing anything without re-doing the whole Simulation process! Oh well, I think I'm close enough to where I need to be anyway. So, with 2 doctor visits Wednesday, and 1 on Thursday, that makes 3 doctor visits in 2 days. I must admit, I am getting so sick of doctors, clinics, & hospitals I could puke! Since I'm not a real big puker though, I guess I'll just keep on chugging!

Later that afternoon we went to the the Oqquirrh Mountain Temple with the whole Hill clan (our totally favorite cousins) since the whole family had gathered from all over the country for Marshall's wedding on Saturday. Then they had a big dinner and party at the Hill house that evening. Always so fun to hang with the Hill's! We left at 10 p.m. that night and drove all the way to Idaho Falls to spend the night since we were renting a trailer there the next morning to go to the King Family reunion for the weekend. (I definitely didn't feel up for sleeping in a tent) It took 4 stops at motels to find one that had a room! It was 3 a.m. before we finally got to bed. Oh my gosh was I ever pooped! Wimpy anemic legs, and we're doing all of this traveling, going to bed late, etc. Needless to say we didn't get up as early as planned, but we managed to get the trailer picked up, though late, and off for the Sun Valley, Idaho area for the reunion. This year was a big push for the reunion of my mom's siblings, their kids (my cousins) and their kids, etc. This could possibly be the last hurrah of the King reunion, so it was important to me to go. It was also a big deal, because this was going to be the first time in probably 30 years that all 7 of the kids in my family would be there. So it was really important to me to be there in spite of the fact that I am getting so very travel weary! Each family clan was assigned a color to wear so everyone could at least tell who you came from. My mom's clan were all in red. So here is a fun pic of me and my parents and siblings in our red shirts. We are standing in order of age - Tim is the oldest, then James, Russ, Stan, then us 3 sweet girls came last - Cynthia, me, and last but not least, Barb.

The only ones of my own family that got to come were Collin, Tiffany & Landon. I was so happy that I had one of my kids there with us. We had 4 old red sweatshirts we got at Disney World many years ago. So we were able to match when things cooled off. Cute huh? It really was a good time to see cousins I haven't seen in over 20 years, eat lots of good food, and play lots of crazy "Survivor" games against the other clans (tribes). I'm so glad I got to go! Families are pretty fun! I love my family so much.

WEEKS 25 & 26: Moving More Kids

After I had Chemo #6 , did we go back home so I could get some nice rest? Heck no! We hit the road again! I think out of 6 Chemos, we only went back home 2 times. The other 4 we went south instead. This was a crazy one! Wednesday after my Chemo was done, we went to Logan to help Tasha & Jake get ready for a move to Texas where Tasha will attend Radiation Therapy school. I worked on things like cleaning bathrooms & fridges. My weakness from Anemia made me not as effective as I was when we helped Collin & Tiffany move. The week after our Flathead trip, Conrad & Jamie moved from Rexburg Idaho to Glendale Arizona, where he will start Medical School. We didn't have to help them get moved. They had lots of help from friends to get loaded, and Conrad drove the rental truck while Jamie drove the car. Now with Tasha & Jake moving, this makes the 3rd of our kids to move this summer. Of all summers to have 3 kids move! To add to the craziness of the week we ran to Salt Lake on Friday for Joe Fairbank's wedding & reception. (The pic is Rich and I with Keith & Jean Fairbank at the luncheon.)

Then back to Logan we went to finish helping Tasha. By Monday most everything was boxed up in time to get the Budget rental truck. 4 or 5 guys from their church ward came and helped load it up. We spent all day Tuesday getting the apartment thoroughly cleaned so they can get back lots of deposit. Hope they got some!

Wednesday we took off for Amarillo and spent almost 11 hours in the truck, spending the night in Littleton, Colorado with Jake's family. Then Thursday it was 8 more hours in the truck. We got to Amarillo just in the nick of time, a full half hour before some guys from the Elder's Quorum in their new ward were scheduled to show up and help unload the truck. The 4 guys who came were awesome! They unloaded that full truck, and hauled it up 3 flights of stairs in a few hours! Here's a fun pic of Tasha & Dalyn "posing" on the balcony of their new 3rd floor apartment.

We spent the rest of the week in Amarillo, unloading boxes, checking out the area, and hanging with Tasha, Jake, Dalyn & Braelyn. We even hit an amusement park which the kids really enjoyed.

We flew home the next Tuesday, Aug. 3. We were gone from home for 2 whole weeks. Rich says that's the longest we've ever been away from home, and him from work, in one stretch. A crazy summer in everyone's lives!

WEEKS 23 & 24 Flathead Lake, the "LAST(?)" Chemo, & Radiation is Next!

The week of July 8th -13th was a great one because we got to spend time at our cabin on beautiful Flathead Lake with most of our kids and grandkids. Only Clint & Ashlie and the 4 boys were missing. We love spending time at the cabin, and taking the boat out on the lake. My boys love to waterski, so it's always a good time. Jamie's family, Rick, Cathy & Kelsey came up and spent a few days with us. It was so fun to have them.

The weather did not cooperate at all the few days they were there, though. It was so cold and windy that we didn't even dare put the boat in the water. I was so looking forward to taking them out in the boat to see the sights. Very disappointing that it never happened. The day after they left it was nice again, and the boys waterskiied some more, even though they were

sore!

The next week I was back in Rexburg for Chemo #6, my last chemo - or so I thought. As the nurse was hooking me up to a bag, I asked her when I would get to have the port taken out of my chest (The port is rather sore and uncomfortable at times, so I have really looked forward to

getting it out). The nurse told me, "Oh no, you need to keep that in for the maintenance doses of Herceptin for 7 more months." HUH? Wait a minute - that was never mentioned to me in my consult! The doctor must have inadvertently left that out of his "Chemo spiel." Even though I'm done with the toxic chemo drugs, they want me to stay on the Herceptin for 7 more months (to

get a full year dose) every 3 weeks like usual. I was just so shocked to hear that. I had no idea! That means the trips to Rexburg will continue through the whole winter! They told me that if the hospital in Dillon can get Herceptin in, I could do every other treatment there at home. Then I'd only have to travel to Rexburg every 6 weeks. I guess I'll have to contact Barrett Hospital. Gee, that stinks!

Even though I was very bummed to hear about the continued treatments, I guess the good news is that I am officially done with the toxic stuff, so I can look forward to some of the side effects to start wearing off. I am most looking forward to the anemia going away, so I can lose the 80 year-old legs, and getting my hair to grow back! Oh man, am I ever tired of wearing scarves and such all of the time! So in honor of my last "long" chemo day, I am including a picture of two of my chemo nurses (my drug pushers) abusing me. Christy is pushing a "flushing" agent with a syringe in my port on one side, and Brenda is giving me the "white blood cell" shot in the arm on the other side. Fun stuff!After my "last" Chemo, we dashed to Idaho Falls where I had a consult appointment with Dr. Calvin McAllister, a Radiation Oncologist. Having had months now to resign myself to the probability of having Radiation treatments, I was prepared for the doctor recommending the Radiation, which, of course, he did. This was based on the proximity of the tumor to the chest wall, and the aggressive nature of the tumor, even though it wasn't real big yet. It's still pretty discouraging though, because there will be 33 treatments, Monday thru Friday for about 7 weeks. Such an imposition on my life! So much driving! This is the one time that living in a small town is really inconvenient (I'm not one who cares too much about good shopping & the other amenities big towns have to offer.). If I had to just drive across town for my treatments, it wouldn't be so bad. Even though Chemo is considered a lot more "nasty," at least for me there were only 6 treatments, 3 weeks apart.

For anyone who's really interested - here's a list (starting from the top of my head & working down) of all of the annoying little side effects I have experienced from chemo. I am genuine when I call these side effects "little," because chemo is nothing like it was 20 years ago when it caused people to be so sick, nauseous, and weak that they would rather crawl in a hole and die than take the next treatment. I feel very blessed and fortunate that I'm doing it now instead of then. Also, 20 years ago I would have had five little kids at home. I can't imagine how hard that would be! Anyway, here's my list attempt:

1. The Bald Head: Yep - I have hated the hair loss. Not just the bald head, but the super tender bald head. Hair has been so protective of that skin, that when it gets exposed, it is very tender, wimpy skin. Scarves, bandana's, wigs and such cause pressure points on the head that make it very sore. When I'm at home, I don't wear any of them. Poor Rich has to look at my ugly bald head all of the time!

2. Folliculitis: A few months ago after my hair fell out, my head broke out all over in these icky sores. I found out it was folliculitis, an infection of the hair follicles. Nice! So I had to rub an antibiotic lotion on my head for a couple of weeks. It finally cleared up, but the little pink scars seem to be hanging in there.
3. Drippy Eyes & Nose: Totally annoying! Out of the blue my eyes and/or nose would start to just run water. I had to buy boxes of lotion tissues so my nose wouldn't get too sore wiping it all of the time. The runnyness has made my eyes gooey and blurry, so reading the newspaper and books is a lot harder.

4. Mouth Sores - My Medical Oncologist (Chemo doctor) gave me a folder that listed all of the possible side effects of Chemo. One of them was mouth sores. I thought that sounded awful. I got them, but I was lucky because mine weren't painful. Whenever I eat, I will often get a big bubbly blister in the back of my mouth, which will then pop and break open, but the resulting sore never seemed to hurt. So mouth sores ended up no big deal, thank goodness!
5. Fried Taste Buds: Oh Yeah - Chemo has definitely ruined my love affair with food! It would be easier if it just wrecked the appetite, but no. I have still felt hungry, even starved at times, but food just tastes so metallic, so bland, so off, it's downright hard to eat it no matter how hungry I feel. So my weight has been on a yo-yo. I have lost about 20 pounds at the lowest, but then the tastebuds start to improve on week 3, so I start putting a little weight back on. Then it's time for the next chemo, and my tastebuds & weight go back down again. OK, let's get real, I have been packing an extra 25+ pounds for a number of years, so I haven't missed the 15-20 pounds. I'm just afraid that when my tastes finally come back, I will eat with a vengeance and put it all back on and even more. Now that would be a bummer!
6. Fried Fingers: One of the toxic chemo drugs causes sort of burns on the palms of the hands. I used ice packs on my hands quite a bit during chemo to help keep that down. It wasn't too bad, but a little weird. The only place I had a problem was on the tips of my fingers, where my skin did look kind of burned, and it would split into these little cuts that were just like paper cuts. Pretty sore and slow to heal. My fingertips are shiny and smooth, and the fingerprints seem to be gone. It is crazy how hard it is to turn the pages of a book without fingerprints! My fingertips are also numb. I'm hoping that goes away some day.
7. Bruised Fingernails: The info in my folder advises keeping the fingernails trimmed short. That's because they can start to detach from the quick of the finger, and catch on something, getting easily torn off. I've tried to keep mine short, but my fingernails have been very bruised looking & sore. They are also growing with these little ridges in them. Like the rings of a tree for each new year, I think each ridge on my fingernails represents a new Chemo treatment. Strange!
8. Stomach Issues & Diarrhea: After some of the Chemos, I have had issues with stomach pain & diarrhea. That contributes to the weight loss as well. The info say some women experience diarrhea, & others experience constipation. Both are crummy, but I'll take the diarrhea over constipation any day!

9. Nausea: Hey, I'm counting my blessings here! For me, a better word would be queasiness. After 5 months of chemo, I only threw up one time. Sometimes I felt pretty yucky, but real nausea was never a big issue. They just have pretty good anti-nausea medications these days, thank goodness!
10. Chemo Brain: As a Math teacher, seeing this side effect on the lists just thrilled me. "Impairment in memory & cognitive skills". That's just great! Problem is, I think I have experienced it some. The fact that I get easily confused & forgetful (even more that usual) is cause for concern. I hope that clears up before I start teaching again, because I was already a bit of a Space Cadet as a teacher as it was!
11. Menopause: Before treatments started, I hadn't started a single symptom of menopause. Chemo pretty well took care of that. The menstrual periods are gone, and the hot flashes have kicked in. I certainly don't miss the periods, but the flashes are obnoxious. The doctor told me though, that sometimes after the Chemo clears out of the system, the menopause goes away, and the periods start up again. Hmmmmm! Not so sure if I want that.
12. Anemia: Along with my bald head, the anemia has been one of my most unfavorite things to put up with. Feeling so weak & fatigued has really been a challenge. I guess it takes time for the red blood cells to come back. I guess I'll wait it out, but not very patiently.
13. Unannoying: Every single side effect can't be annoying, right? Well, besides weight loss, which hasn't caused me to shed any tears, there are a few other things that have been A-OK with me. My baby smooth arms & legs! I haven't missed shaving my legs a single bit! And it's been kind of fun to have such smooth, hairless arms. I'll even admit, with the bald head, I've

gotten to experience what it's like to be a guy when it comes to showering. Just get out, dry off, throw on your clothes, and you're good to go! No blow drying, no curling irons. Men have it made! But...... when my hair does come back, I am not going to complain about having to spend

time fixing it!

Now what everyone (?) has been waiting for - the BALD PHOTOS! Well, not 100% bald. I had a few little tough hairs hang in there, about 3 of them per square inch. I know, these are pretty creepy, but it's definitely part of the experience!

First: Before and after! Which do you like better?! Arf!

Next: "Clayface" - after my head broke out in sores, and before I knew it was Folliculitis, I thought maybe they were zits, so I put a clay mask all over my face & head to see if it would dry up the zits. I looked so funny (don't know if that's the right word) I decided to take a picture. To heck with the "Blue Man Group", "Green Woman Solo" is way cooler!

Last: "Dramatic" lighting shot taken by Chase. Notice the "angelic" glow he gave me. Also notice the "conehead" bone bump on top of my head! Arf again!

WEEK 21 & 22: Chemo #5, Stadium of Fire, & "Why We Need Red Blood Cells"

June 25 & 26 were fun days. I went to Rexburg (again) for another cute niece's wedding. This time it was Stan's daughter Ashley getting married. I stayed for a couple days to hang with some of my siblings again. This time instead of sharing a bed in a motel, Cynth and I shared a bed at Russ & Maxine's house. We hung out thru Sunday since Russ & Maxine happened to be speaking in church Sunday, so we went and listened to them. They were awesome, of course!

Four days later, I was back in Rexburg for Chemo #5. Stan & Jordan came back again for some game time. Russ & Maxine also came to visit during lunch hour. Since Stan is a self-employed computer engineer, he gets to come hang as long as he wants. Russ is still a regular working-stiff as a Finanacial Director at BYU-Idaho, so he gets the typical one hour lunch. So thanks for using that to come visit, Russ! Thanks again for game time, Stan & Jordan!

Right after Chemo #5 we were off to Provo for the big 4th of July Show at BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium. Seems like we rarely go back home after I have a Chemo. Crazy! Before we went to the show, Collin, Tiffany, Chase, his friend, Caitlin Jenne, Rich and I went to the street fair on Center Street and had some delicious food and listened to live music.

After eating, we headed to the stadium for the concert. It was a pretty great show though. Rich got (expensive) front row seats for us two and Chase and Caitlin Jenne. Why would Rich do that? Because Carrie Underwood was the headliner, and he has a slight crush! But the stadium of fire is a big show with lots of different entertainers before the Carrie concert part, then finishing up with a pretty spectacular fireworks show. So it was very cool.

I have been discovering the last few weeks why Red Blood Cells are important. My blood test at this last chemo still showed the red cell count as low. I really have a greater appreciation for the little red buggers this last month. I guess with low RBC, not enough oxygen is getting to the larger muscles in my legs to support them. (You mean I actually have muscles in these legs? Who knew?!) Walking around, particularly up stairs, or even at a gradual incline - just kills me off! My legs just burn, then turn to rubber, and I stagger around like a drunk. Holy cow - I feel like an 80 year old woman! (Course, when I see myself with my bald head, I actually think I look like an 80 year old MAN!) The fatigue has been a bit of a frustrating challenge. I'll keep taking the vitamin's & supplements.

WEEKS 19 & 20: Family Time & Chemo #4

June 12th -14th was a great weekend because we got to see Clint and Ashlie and their four boys. With them down in Tucson, we don't get to see them very often. We got together at the house we own down in Provo with everyone except Conrad and Jamie, who are doing summer sales of security systems down in Houston. So, 4 of my 5 kids, and 7 of my 9 grandkids ain't bad! We played games, ate, and visited (What else do you do at Family get-together's?). Since it was a few weeks after my last Chemo, I felt pretty good, thankfully. I love my family so much, and cherish the moments we get to spend together.










First pic: Collin & the boys playing a game on the Wii.

Second pic: Me, Chase, Clint & Tasha playing "Ticket to Ride".

The very next day, Tuesday, June 15, we had to get up very early, and drive the 4 1/2 hours from Provo to Rexburg for Chemo #5 at 10 a.m. Did we manage to make it on time? Well, not quite - but pretty close! The long day sitting in the "Chemo Chair" went faster than usual thanks to my brother Stan, and nephew Jordan coming to spend the day playing games. They even hauled in a card table & chairs! We played Settlers of Catan, Peurto Rico, and then finished up with some Rook. Thanks, Stan and Jordan!

One new issue to deal with came up in Chemo#4. After they drew & tested my blood, they told me that my red blood cell count was down, so I would feel some fatigue. I thought, "Okay, no problem, I'll just take a nap during the day," which I hadn't really done much so far. Well, as the week progressed after the Chemo, I found out the fatigue didn't mean sleepy, it meant rubber legs. Just walking up my stairs made my legs feel like I had just climbed a mountain. Tasha did a little research for me, and told me I might try taking iron, folic acid, vitamin B-12, and vitamin C to help the anemia. So I went and stocked up on all of those. Tasha put things into perspective nicely: "If it doesn't work for you, the only thing you have to lose is more expensive pee." Good point Tasha! I'll give it a try!

WEEK 18: Chemo #3 & Moving Kids Part I

May 23rd was the date we had set months ago for a week-long trip to New York City! Well, a cancer diagnosis certainly shot that trip down the tubes. Instead, on May 27th I was back to Rexburg for Chemo #3. Same 'ol routine.

I visited with the doctor first, and Dr. Dickson advised me to be proactive, and take the nausea pills or Ibuprofin at the first hint of nausea or pain, rather than wait until they had fully kicked in. I plan to take that advice. Then off to the "Fun Room" where the nurses (Dr. Dickson has a great group of nurses) insert the needle into my port to first draw some blood through it. Then they go into the lab and test the blood before they start the Chemo. If there were to be any blood count issues, they may choose to not give the Chemo. If blood counts look good, then they inject me with steroids ( I guess that helps the chemo work better), then they give an anti-nausea injection, and finally, they hang the first Chemo bag and let it drip.

Three different Chemo drugs are given (Herceptin, Taxotere, & Carboplatin) and each of those take about an hour. When all of that is done, and the needle is removed from the port, I get one last injection in the arm, Neulasta (I decided I didn't like in the belly, even though it probably stings more in the arm), which gets the bone marrow producing white blood cells. The whole process usually takes 4 to 5 hours.

This trip, I sat next to a pretty cool lady named Kathy who I met last Chemo. She was on round #5, so she was nearly at the end! She previously taught me some fun ways to tie scarves. She is a Physical Therapist, and she showed me some exercises to do to try to get back the range of motion in my right arm.

I'm still having issues with a nerve that was cut during surgery that sends pain down my whole arm & into the hand. It has limited my motion. Kathy thinks I should probably go to a Physical Therapist a few times, because it really helped her. I'll try the exercises first.

As we were getting ready to leave, Jamie's cute sister, Kelsey, paid a visit, and brought cookies! It was so fun to see her. Thanks Kelsey! We ate every one of the cookies in the car. Had to get them all in before the Chemo ruined my taste buds again!

Instead of going home, we were off the Utah to help Collin and Tiffany move into their new home they bought in West Jordan. Since we were going to be in Utah, I made another doctor's appointment with hopes of getting the stitches taken out this time. So finally, after 25 days of pokey fishing line tails sticking out of my chest, I finally got the stitches removed! My incision has finally healed - I have cleared the first hurdle! Hallelujah!

Since it usually takes a day or two for Chemo effects to kick in, I decided to really get busy and do as much as I could to help Tiffany get the house ready to move everything into before I started feeling yucky. Unfortunately the previous owners didn't do much cleaning when they moved out - I guess since it all happened pretty fast - so the house needed lots of cleaning.

There was mucky brown goo left behind where the fridge was, nail holes in all the walls someone did a lousy job of over-piling spackling into, etc. I worked on scrubbing floors, wiping down walls, re-spackling nail holes, touching up paint and such.

We were there for several days between cleaning, loading & moving in all of their stuff. I kept expecting the Chemo effects to kick in. I took my pills if I thought I felt anything signs of nausea, like Dr. Dickson advised. Weird thing - the big effects never happened. I don't know if it's from being more proactive, or if I just need to scrub floors & walls, and expose myself to paint fumes right after chemo, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise to be able to keep going, and not feel nausea or pain. (Okay, I was totally pooped, but that's to be expected.)

Feeling pretty good continued on for me, cause the next week I was able to go to Rexburg for my cute little niece, Sarah's wedding, where I stayed for a few days hanging with my family. My parents were there, and of my 6 siblings, everyone was there except Barb, who wasn't feeling well. It was a lot of fun to hang with my family.

So - wow - chemo #3 ended up being a pleasant surprise!

WEEK 17 : Stitches Still Not Gone!

After the fun week of having Tasha and Collin's families home to visit, I rode with Collin and Tiffany back to Utah for another doctor's visit. It was officially two weeks since my Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Agarwal, had stitched up the hole in my incision. As previously mentioned, I did get "lucky," and it healed without any infection or further complications.

So on May 17th I went in for the 2 week check-up, and hoped to get my stitches out. I was scheduled to fly out of Salt Lake later that afternoon to Bozeman, where Rich was working. Considering it is about an hour drive from Provo to Salt Lake, I was trying to figure out various scenarios of how to get far enough north to ride the TRAX to the Huntsman Hospital, then maybe catch the bus to the airport from there. But my sweet daughter-in-law, Tiffany, was very insistent that she drive me. For her that meant getting the baby out of bed in the morning, and driving me to Salt Lake for the appointment, waiting for me, then killing time with a baby in tow until she could drop me off at the airport, then, of course, the hour drive back.
So Tiffany ended up taking me to my early appointment, which I appreciated so much! We made it to my appointment on time, but unfortunately, Dr. Agarwal didn't want the stiches to come out yet. I was rather disappointed about that. But they did go ahead and put some saline back into my expander, because they took some out when they stitched me up. By now, most women would have been "expanded" several times; I, on the other hand, was just getting back to where I started the day of the Mastectomy and insertion of the expander with a little saline in it. How's that for progress?

Then Tiff and I spent a little bit of time walking around The Gateway, a really neat shopping area in downtown Salt Lake City. Landon is such a good baby - he rode around in the stroller without a complaint, and napped when we were in the car. We ate at a really nice Italian restaurant, then headed off to the airport where Tiff dropped me off right at the door. Thanks a ton, Tiffany!

My journey home was rather interesting. It would have cost over $1,000 for a direct flight from SLC to Bozeman, while it only cost around $400 to fly to Denver, sit in the airport for a few hours, then fly from Denver to Bozeman. Crazy! So, of course, that's what I did.

When I got on the plane there was an African-American flight attendant with what sounded like a West African accent. I was wearing one of my scarves that I wrap a certain way that another Chemo patient named Kathy showed me. When the flight attendant saw me she exclaimed, "Oh, I love your scarf! It reminds me of home!" I got a kick out of that. Actually, I wish I had one of those colorful scarves, and could tie it like I have seen women from Ghana wear. They are so amazing. Then maybe wearing scarves would be more fun (I'm kind of sick of them already).

I finally made it to Bozeman, where Rich picked me up at the airport. We went back to the LaQuinta Inn there, where he is doing the electrical work. I wandered around the motel for a while, checking out the progress, while Rich and Ryan finished up. Then back home to Dillon. A crazy few days! Not getting the stitches out made the whirlwind trip seem a bit of a waste, but having a fun day with Tiffany and Landon definitely made it worthwhile.

WEEK 15 & 16: Helpers Come to My Rescue! More Hair Hits the Road.

Two days after Chemo #2 was my birthday, May 8th (Thanks to you all who sent happy birthday messages!), and the day after that was Mother's Day. Hmmmmm... not heavily celebrated events with me feeling a little yucky. But the evening of Mother's day was good anyway, because Tasha, Jake and their two little munchkins, Dalyn & Braelyn came up for the week! Yay! Even when I'm not feeling great, it's so fun to have some family around (especially grandkids!). I have quite a bit of landscaping in my yard that requires a lot of trimming and leaf blowing, and since I was starting to stress a bit on getting that done this spring, Tasha came up to do some slave labor, and do my trimming. Thanks a ton, Tash!

Then to make the week even better, Collin and Tiffany and their little cutie, Landon, came Thursday night to spend a long weekend. Collin got to help Tasha out a little bit with some of the yardwork. Even better, Tasha & Jake cleaned out my pantry and a few of my cupboards that were badly in need. They ended up throwing out quite a bit a past-dated food. That's what happens when your pantry gets too full! Old stuff hides in the back!

Another thing Tasha did for me was to give me a very short buzz job. A little traumatic, but shedding all over my clothes and into everything else was getting annoying, and I just figured it was time. Tasha got the honors (?) and Jake took pictures of the experience.

Pretty gross looking, huh?

This picture is one of the first photos taken with my new wig, since I wore it to church for the first time the next Sunday. This is me with cute little Landon (and Dalyn hiding in there too.).

Effects of Chemo #2 were a bit more severe as far as bone pain goes. I found that Ibuprofen does help some. I threw up one time, my first time doing that after Chemo. I guess once isn't bad, but I literally don't get the flu, so I never throw up, making it a very weird experience. Overall, the effects of Chemo #2 were pretty similar to Chemo #1. Not the funnest thing in the world, but definitely survivable.