July 2013 Last Fabulous Friday

1.  I have felt physically great this week!  The hole in my abdomen is no longer being packed!  We did that for 8 weeks every other day.  I'm so glad we are finished with that.  It was kind of a nuisance.  I still have a few areas from the surgery that are sore, but I hope soon they will be healed.  I am down to 3 pain pills a day which is a great thing!
2.  Sunday we went to Grandpa Young's where most of my aunts and uncles and some cousins were to see Great Aunt Carol and her daughter and grand kids who were in town.  It has been years since I have seen them.  It was good to be around family.
3.  Monday I went to lunch with Grandma Betty, mom and our friends Paula and Nancy.  We had a lovely time and it was so nice to be with friends.
4.  Tenielle came home on Tuesday again for an entire week.  It always seems like the time goes too quickly when she is here.
5.  Wednesday I went with my sisters, mom, and cousins Alisha and Callie to lunch at Olive Garden and then scalp prosthesis shopping.  We were all a little emotional at times but I got some great chemo beanies and a super cute scalp prosthesis (wig...I hate that word).

My cousin Callie talked me into getting one with highlights.  This one is what I got and is the closest to my style.

I think I look like a gypsy in these with the bang prosthesis, but why not be a little adventurous for a few months.

6.  Thursday Tenielle and I spent the morning together going to Costco and to the Cancer Support Therapy Session.  It was good for me to be around others who have or are going through what I am going through.
7.  Yesterday the kids came over to swim.  I finally got in a bathing suit for the first time since surgery.  I loved every moment of it, kids splashing, hot sun beating on my skin and the pure relaxation of it all.

I love this picture of Tiger Lily AKA Aidree!

8.  It has been amazing to me how quickly my hair has fallen out.  From Monday to Friday I probably lost half of my hair, especially in the front.  People keep saying it's just hair, but they aren't the one's who are losing theirs.  I would say this is one of the hardest things about chemo, losing my hair.  I wasn't born with height or the perfect body, but by golly I was born with a great head of hair; color, texture and the ability to grow it and style it as I want.  I've never even colored my hair.  This morning I went to Aunt Sherri's for some help.  I thought she was going to have to shave my head, but she was able to cut it into a cute pixie cut.  It is so curly!  But I hate to admit it, I'm not a pixie kind of girl.  If I even touch my hair it falls out.  I'm sure next week it will be gone.  I think I am finally accepting it, like it or not.

9.  Today I had a photo shoot with St. Lukes Integrative Medicine.  They were so important in my healing process while in the hospital.  I had a neuromuscular massage therapist that worked on my abdomen several times over my 15 day stay.  2 days after being in the hospital my stomach wasn't emptying into my duodenum and I had to have an NG tube twice in the 15 days.  It was awful.  A few days before I went home they thought they were going to have to put a feeding tube in my abdomen because it just wasn't working.  Gratefully Susan the massage therapist worked wonders on my stomach and because of the prayers of my faithful mother, I was able to go home 2 days later.  I am glad to be part of marketing for this program that helped me so much.

10.  A good friend of our family passed away in a tragic accident this week.  It was so sad, but we have faith that Families Are Forever and he will be with his family again.  He died helping someone else.  It was good to chat with his wife tonight and to remember what a service oriented person he was.  Tenielle and I spent hours at their home with their 3 daughters when we were growing up.
11.  I love mail, especially since I've been sick.  This week I got a package from my friend Beth that I worked with in Phoenix.  She remembered that I love lemon!  I also got a package from my cousin Paige who lives in Mesa and is a chemotherapy nurse.  She sent the sweetest angel pin, which I just love and reminds me of all of the angels around me that are helping me through this trial.  I also got 3 homemade beautiful pillow cases with the letter T embroidered on it from Momma Middlebrook.  Oh how I love and miss her.  Nearly every day I get cards in the mail as well.  These acts of love never get old and just give me more and more strength to bear this burden.