It Was Supposed to be a Kidney Stone

Just realized that I posted only a few months ago that we were all clear. It seems like I'm in another dimension. Life as normal as we know it just ended and the new normal has begun. What's that? Cancer return #4.

I went in to the doctor thinking I had a kidney stone. The pain would come in waves and every time was more severe. My doctor did and x-ray with no finding and sent me for an Ultrasound. The tech was great but after about a minute asked me when my last scan was. I told her about 9 months ago and she proceeded to ask me if they ever saw anything on my liver. When she hovered in the areas that were unimportant to this particular moment, I started getting anxious. When I finished the CT tech came in and said there was fluid on the kidney and they would need to do a CT. She gave me this amazing mocha chalk drink and sent me home. I let me dog out and packed a bag. I had a feeling I wasn't going home.

After the scan was done, maybe 2 seconds, not even joking, they sent me immediately to my doctor. At this point I could hardly walk and was by myself. I walked in, threw my hands on the receptionist desk and said, "I have to see Dr Williams now. I need a shot NOW!" Thinking back I must have looked like all kinds of crazy. She begged me to have a seat and when I felt like I was forgotten, I walked myself back to the back anyway. Glad I did, I just so happened to walk smack into my doctor.

The gave me a room in the back and I sat in the chair thinking I was about to get sent to the ER for kidney stones. Dr. Williams sits down, and with this goofy grin I still cannot get out of my head, says, "We think your breast cancer has spread to your abdomen." I looked at him and and said, "What!!?? Are you JOKING!!?" This was NOT a funny joke! He wasn't. I found my way to the floor and the walls caved in on me. I cannot quite explain the experience but it was like not being able to escape your worst nightmare.

He led me to his office to get comfortable on his couch while he called my mom. Oh, and they finally gave me that fantastic shot! I remember calling Skip and all I could do was cry. No words came out. Think I finally mustered why I was calling and after that it all becomes a blur.

I remember we stopped by NorthSide imaging so I could grab the Ultrasound and CT report and began reading it while I waited. I had no idea how bad it was. Forty percent of my liver was covered in cancerous lesions, the largest being almost 8cm. There were multiple abdominal masses partially blocking 3 areas of my small intestines. Enlarged lymphnodes and fluid, all playing a part in annoying the kidney. I kept telling Skip, "this is so bad. Oh my God Skip this is so bad."

We head to Emory, and when we arrive there was a five plus hour wait. I walked in the door looked around and thought to myslef there is NO WAY. So I asked nicely how long the wait was and got dragon receptionist. Oh my. This was not happening.

So if you've ever read my history, I have two of the most beautiful, amazing, caring doctor daddy's in the world. I texted them. They had me set up to go the the ER at Northside, Admitted to Internal Medicine, Procedures listed that needed to be done (Oh, the majority of the pain was caused by a mass blocking my urether!) and already had an oncologist lined up to help us. I cannot explain the burden that was lifted just from a couple of doctors texting us, visiting us and basically carrying us through the next couple of days.

It was amazing how bad I had been feeling over the last couple of months. I had had my hysterectomy in May and I was assured there was nothing on my liver and all pathology was benign. So how does cancer grow so fast? It took off in my body. We were dumbfounded. And so the story of how we will beat cancer number 4 begins...

It's Already Been Two Years

Today marks two years from my breast cancer diagnosis. I am blessed and thankful to be at this place in my journey, cured. Cancer free. It doesn't even seem real after fighting some sort of cancer for five crazy years. I've learned a lot, met some incredible people, gained hope and trust, and experienced joy beyond myself. I've experienced the opposite too. Fear, worry, heartbreak, but not for too long. Enough to make me aware that the journey can be tough, short enough that I didn't become consumed by the valley. I have a perspective of life I wouldn't have scripted, yet I almost laugh when I say I wouldn't change it either. I'm content. 

I'm enjoying this fabulous Saturday painting and swinging on the porch at memas house. Wind chimes surround us, a perfect spring breeze and warm sunshine surround us. It's a good day when you can look back on two years of what we endured and can smile. 

Today I saw an obituary for Dr Kristen Corigan, the first doctor in my quest for my team of doctors. An extraordinarily wonderful woman who I really did enjoy meeting. She lost her fight to Breast cancer today. My heart and prayers go out to her family as I can't imagine the heartbreak. Or maybe, I can. I think as a cancer survivor at some point, or maybe several points, you think am I going to be here in another 5 years? Will the treatment work. Can I do this? Again? Such a crazy life that I'm certain just won't make sense until we meet Jesus face to face. 

My hope and faith are in God, millions of prayers, family and friends pulled us through it. But my greatest hope and appreciation is to God. Even when I got thoroughly discouraged in Him, he was by my side. As I heard it from a great motivational speaker last week, he was my holy stalker! He just wouldn't leave me alone, and I'm grateful. As I continue my study of 1,000 Gifts, I can't help but feel an overwhelming graciousness for having been given life. #100. What a perfect moment too list my one hundredth gift. Through the entire journey God knew I would be right here in this moment, recording this gift, and how perfect it was. A gift in itself!

Be sure you check those boobies and hug your babies tight. Today is a gift. If you're reading this know you're loved and thankful for you. 

Here is to another year to being cancer free...
Blessings. 

Bootilicious Weekend!

It’s always hard to get the body parts moving the day after 24 Hours of booty, it’s a Booty hangover. Joints hurt, muscles ache, there’s that fog that lingers where you just can’t quite think of what next… or maybe, that’s just because Booty is over. There is now nothing to do, right?

Sweet Rides is made up of some pretty awesome people. We have the veterans and the last minute additions, casual and serious riders, silly and adventurous. But all together, I think our team has a beautiful spirit. Green, yellow, a splash of pink, glow in the dark… colors that I can’t pass on a daily basis without a smile. A green purse? It’s a must have! Glow in the dark paint, yes please! Our team is colorful inside and out, and they do Booty with a purpose.

Kicking cancer’s booty is a phrase I hear often. I’m in the middle of it kicking it’s booty, and have learned to do it well, means to stay positive, active, and fight hard.  This weekend I watched 250 riders, a mess load of volunteers, a bunch or spectators and cheerleaders, friends, family, strangers and the Booty organizers go into overdrive, literally karate chopping cancer’s booty to the ground.

First was the fundraising aspect of it all. With amazing donors, corporate sponsors, yard Sales, Kids 24 Minutes of Booty, 2013 BootyCrawl, Canyon’s Night, Friday Night Live events, and again amazing donors,   our team raised almost $17,000. About $10,000 of that being only in the last two weeks. I personally came in a speck under $3,000, Madison beat her goal of $500, and Skip raised over $1,000 in one week. Atlanta raised over $135,000 with a grand tour booty total of around 1.8 million. Not too shabby! In Atlanta our funds raised benefit The Aflac Center at Children’s Healthcare, where I personally know three patients, and LiveStrong, one of the coolest national cancer support systems in the world. Applause for those who have all worked so hard!

Second the riding. For those that know me well, biking is kind of my thing. And the best part, my family loves it too. In past events I’ve ridden the most at 122 miles, the first 24 Hours of booty and the first time being on a road bike. This weekend, I set my goal of 5 miles. Having done treatment 2 days earlier, it was going to be a little tricky. I couldn’t over-do it. I went out for the first lap in the Peachtree Bikes pace vehicle! It felt like I was in the car for a Tour de France team with the guys on the radios. I got to hang out the window and watch my daughter and husband and some pretty sweet survivors and top fundraisers, follow us through the course. You could not get the grin off my face. It was awesome. I felt like I was the queen of the world for just a moment!

My second lap was on a bike. I don’t remember too much because I was concerned about shifting, breaking, taking it easy, watching for cobbles, corners and holes. But I did get to ride with a few 100% amazing people, had a few laughs and lots of shout outs to anyone who wanted to be my Booty buddy. It always sounds wrong, clean people, stay clean. I pulled in to complete my first lap and oooops, what did I do, I just kept right on going! HEHE. I felt fine and honestly the walking back and forth to the bathroom was much much harder. I wish I could have ridden with every single person out there. I wanted to and it makes me sad that I didn’t so maybe next year that is a goal… to somehow ride with everyone for at least a minute!

Now, that being said, I did get a WHOLE lot of pictures with people. LOTS. I think like 60 plus the 400 I downloaded of my Canon. LOL. If I missed getting my picture with you, I’m sorry, know I love you bunches! Everyone there!

Third thing, awards. Friday afternoon, I got a sweet call from Janet saying that 24 Hour of Booty would be awarding the Wall family (that’s us) the Spirit Award. It goes to a rider, or group, that has shown lots of cancer-fighting spirit. What an honor!! I love these guys! They did a quick little interview where Madison got to tell about the cool bike her dad built for her, and Alana, who said “itchy” over and over. She actually got nervous! Yes, Alana. Skip reiterated the fact that so many people helped us during this crazy time and that we could not have done it without them. From meals, to babysitting, to paying for bills, this has been an overwhelming experience and the LEAST we can do is go through it with a positive attitude knowing that God does provide through family, friends and strangers, and that there is good that can come out of such an ugly thing. This weekend was shining goodness and love and I hope you could feel it even if you weren’t there.

Hitting refresh, refresh, refresh, refresh… Friday afternoon was fun as always and it showed at 5:00 PM that we would also be the recipient of the 2013 Top Fundraiser award. ONLY because of our INCREDIBLE donors we have made it into the top three for all 4 years now. I have to be honest, the other teams up there put up a crazy fight and competitive me had prepared myself for “butthead Jay” or Brian to beat us, but once I gave it up, the donations poured in. I prayed over every dollar a LOT of times, and I am confident that our donations, our fundraising, are going to make a difference in this city! So way to go team! Four years in a row, that’s a lot to be excited about! Huge smile!

Fourth, glowsticks. So what’s up with all the glowsticks? For every $5 donation, you can honor someone you love that has fought or is fighting cancer by having their name written on a glowstick. At sunset Saturday we light them and remember why we are here. One friend said, “beautiful, but too many.” And again, it’s why we ride. On Friday night, about 7:30 I’m writing the remainder of the names and realize I had just run out of glowsticks! I ran to Dollar Tree and they had none. I called the second store and wow did I score! 3 to a pack and though there were no green, there were lots of pink! What have I said, “green with a splash of pink!?” It was perrrrrrfect! We wrote them, strung them, hung them and at dark, we lit them. I think we still need to find a good way to make sure everyone is there, like EVERYONE, because it sure is an amazing way to honor survivors. I would LOVE to have 500 glowsticks next year, strung all around both tents, symbolizing the lives that have fought. Mmm. It was cool. (Oh and I still have to laugh, Tracy, Therese and I all could not break the first stick. Always seems to happen that way!)

Fifth, thank you’s. Skip. Madison. Tracy. Therese.

Skip is my love. My sweetest, cutest love. He has been there these last few months in ways I honestly didn’t know possible. When you have fluid oozing from your boob for weeks, it’s not all that flattering! “Hey honey, can you change out the bandage?” CHEESE! He has seen it all folks, and still loves me, that’s HUGE! Hehe! He’s also put up with my nervous tendencies (I talk A LOT) and even shared a little Xanax with me! It’s been hard at times and easy at others, but I think overall, he handled this ordeal really, really well, like a rockstar actually. A pink-haired rockstar. He’s got this silly/serious sense of humor that keeps me on my toes too. Not sure the In Honor of Walter White was all to appropriate, but then again, I’m kind of really drawn to that about him. When you can just shake your head and giggle… He’s crazy.  I love that he is as competitive, if not more, than me, especially when biking is involved! I love that he dyed his hair pink and that he didn’t shave it and went to work like that today. I love that he waxed his legs to finalize last year’s fund raising debt. (video coming soon) I love that he puts up with all my fund raising ideas though he thinks we’re nuts, and I love that he is so generous. I loved riding alongside him this weekend! I barely got to finish the last lap with him, but made it, sprinted and stood up a few times to get there, but wouldn’t want to cross the line with anyone else! (Well, maybe M, but she had another idea in mind) Skip is pretty special to me and so happy God thought enough of me to give me him. Can’t wait for the next 13 cancer-free years!

Madison is mini-me. My clone. However Spencer put it in the awards ceremony, she’s it. But that just means I’m really cute, right??! She is a precious little soul. She is quiet and a bit shy, but one determined, competitive, sweet little girl. And really, once she get’s to know you, it’s over. No more shyness. She rode 46.2 miles meeting and exceeding her goal, all because at 10 years old, she knows what cancer is and how it can hit home. It’s shaken her world and she fights on. She’s determined for a cure. I do love that she saved her energy to be the first to cross the line during the last lap. I’m pretty sure I was near dying trying to keep up with her and finally gave up. Yes, Madison beat me. Whew! Lol.  I loved it when she came up to me and said, “I put three names on the Wall of hope” With the little sweet grin… I knew who the three people were. It melted my heart. Way to go my little Madison, could not be any prouder today of what she’s accomplished!

Tracy, my co-captain Tracy! What a seriously insane year. I am not sure I could fit in here what it means that she keeps doing this crazy thing called booty with me, but I must same I AM SO glad she does! I love her heart and her passion for fighting this ugly disease. I didn’t get to ride with her until after the last lap actually, which was actually kind of funny and pretty sure I won’t forget it, so hoping I will get to ride with her soon. She has a gift of organization, generosity, hospitality, and serving and I love that she loves to go over the top with everything. At the end of the day we may be wore out and think “what in the world are we doing”, but truly, the friendship we have is worth it. So glad we met, made this team and kept it going. It’s been a blast. I can’t thank her enough for how she’s helped, I’m truly thankful for our continued friendship.

My other new long-time booty friend and now co-captain Therese… this is another partner in crime! This girl does a TON! Broken foot, baby, 5^th grade homework... Nothing stops her from fighting the fight. I’m so glad she is a part of this. She’s creative, fun and I love that she is always up for a challenge! She’s a great friend and truly blessed to ride alongside her as well…

Last but not least, highlights, and probably more thank you’s… (I’m going to forget something, I know it! Chemo brain is going to make this hard… READY?) ~ I loved seeing Team MRI pair up with Sweet Rides at the last minute, an amazing group of guys (and Cathy) that I wish I could have ridden with more and gotten to know better this past race season! Definitely not too late! ~ Rode with Mr. Dan Wagner as he made it down from Kentucky with his amazing family and I got to meet his sweet wife Colette. She’s a trip and I’m sure I got me another new friend for life!  Can’t thank them enough, and words will never give justice to how they have supported me and my family through the years. ~ Team Collin, holy moly, I just adore them. I loved seeing them ride by and cheering for them. So glad I got to hug the neck of Vaughn and Melinda. Seeing Vaughn in a dress a

nd pink hair was, well, pretty! Lol. Super precious people. ~ Jay cracks me up as usual. He swears he didn’t ride much but I saw him in a different shirt over and over and over… he was cutting the course, I know. He’s the best at thanking his donors and the pink shirts, pink facial hair and new team this year were pretty cool. I’m so honored to ride alongside him. ~ Peggy, peggy. Oh the girl with pink hair! She ran the course before riding it because she is that awesome. She is a lively spirit and hugging that woman after getting encouragement overload on facebook these last few months was a gift. ~ Brian Hevesy. Got a kiss on the cheek and got to ride in some of my last lap with this inspirational man. Hope someone got a picture of our hands raised coming up that hill! I was a little freaked I was going to hit a cone, but super cool moment. ~ Bob Falkenberg a crazy awesome survivor who has been an inspiration to me these last two months popping up behind me on one of my laps was a little booty gift ~ Team Pirates. I think I got to talk to Kelley more than I ever have this weekend and she is just awesome! So bright and fun! John Manser touched my heart this weekend and loved getting passed by lots of pirate friends on the course. You can always see them coming! Argh!! ~ The neighborhood parties! Lots of cheering from the sidelines! There was even a waterslide at one house and a big screen at another! Lots of signs, people handing out cold drinks, a guy banging on his drums in the driveway early Sunday morning! Priceless! We even got to get cheered on by the Miffitts who came out to see us! I’m not sure they know how much it meant to see them, but it meant a lot! ~ All the Booty crew. They are just crazy awesome. They have been there for us so much through the years. A lovely group of people who I am so beyond honored to know, and keep meeting more! Loved getting on Rogers unicycle! That was COOL! New friend Steve drew the iPad name! Great people! ~ The Rau family, Jen and Rob! They were out volunteering in the Booty store this year and they made my day! Cutest couple ever! I did miss my picture with Jennifer! We said bye and I was trying to refill my Zophram as I had just dropped and lost my pills on the ground and was in a whirlwind! Crazy moment of course and I saw her down the sidewalk and had no energy to chase her down! So gotta get my pic with you girl!!! It was fun to cheer them on too! ~ 5:30 AM bathroom chat with new friend Ann Marie from Charlotte. Sweetheart. ~  6:30 AM breakfast with Blake who may have had the highest mileage for any Sweet Rides team member yet! It was over 200… and most he has ever ridden too! Woohoo! ~ Also ate breakfast with Spencer. Super nice chatting with him. He’s the reason Booty started… and so grateful. Super nice guy with a LOT of heart. ~ Seeing my dad was cool. He’s been working his brains out. I went and took a nap and he slept outside. It was really sweet. Love you ~ Maggie and Warren are heroic. I’m not sure how they kept up with Kaylee and Alana and sometime the rest of the kids this weekend, but they are official Sweet Rides team parents! They are so kind and so generous. Not only did they make it as easy as possible for us, but they may have told those kids no once making it a blast for the little ones. ~ Walked by the Yelp tent and the announcer said to enter to win the red blow up couch. Well guess who won!? ME! HAHA! There were a 167 buttons in the bag and I guessed 149! Woohoo! We are now proud owners of an inflatable couch and the kids were ecstatic. ~ Tina Surls. She is one of my golden donors. Supported all four years in honor of her mom and dad. She cheers me and my family on so much. The encouraging lady was out for a good 8 hours helping and volunteering which blew me away. A light and a love and an inspiration of selflessness! Hope I get to hang out with her some this year ~ Heather for bringing lunch Saturday. She and her aunt will never know how helpful just a meal is. The team was well fed and the food was incredible. It’s really hard to set up and remember to eat, they provided a meal over and beyond. ~ Getting my hug and a few shout outs on the bike from sweet Giordana. She’s a cutie as always ~ Best moment with Amy was when she looked up and noticed the clouds. Pretty sure grandpa was showing off again ~ My mommy. She did a 100 miles and I think I got more hugs from her than ever! Lol! I always love riding with my mom and it was awesome to do the last one with her. ~ Coming to the campsite in the morning and seeing Madison and Skip’s pink head pop out of the tent. Most precious moment. My heart melted! ~ Gayle. I don’t know why her gluten free midnight pizza snack keeps popping in my head but it has all morning! She inspires me on how health-minded she has become. So proud of her! She rode a killing out there and so honored to be on this team four years in a row with her and her sweet husband. She won’t know what all those texts and messages meant to me this summer… what a love. ~ So good to see Ingrid doing massage therapy! What a sweet lady who I hope will even ride with us next year! ~ The Offenbergs! What would it be without Matt and Traci! So glad they came out to ride! Love them so so much! Wish Traci’s knees had felt better - I didn’t get to ride with her either!! Whats up with that?! But I was glad to give Matt an energy gel! lol ~ The Kovacs! Seriously, Jen volunteered. She blew me away, as usual. Generous and kind family. Glad I got to eat dinner with them and  be around her super sweet kiddos ~ Steve Nance came out which was super cool! He is an incredible supporter and I was so grateful he could ride this year ~ David and Kara and boys! Lots of fun watching the boys go around and ride! They really got into it! I especially loved the BMX skidding into place on the last lap. Cracked me up. ~ Aunt Joan and her flowers and her excitement about being there and volunteering was contagious. I bet if you talked to her, you would be out there with her volunteering. It was really sweet and I’m glad she can still be a part in her own special way ~ I think what stands out in my head for Tucker is that curly beard and hair! Lol. I can’t get past it! Naw, I’m kidding. Another perfect example of generosity and friendship. Such a great guy and it was fun watching him and blake bust out some fast laps ~ Michael Burgess showing up for the glow stick ceremony again. Glad he got to pirate a few laps…

I have so many stories and don’t think I have the energy to post them all, much less sift through the chemo brain right now, but these were the first to come to mind. I do want to point out one more amazing thing. The weather was iffy and a ton of people were talking about it. But do you know, it was some of the most beautiful weather, and that the downpour waited for us to unload, close the garage and head upstairs. Most perfect timing ever, as usual. Thank you Lord for watching over us and seeing that the weather would not be a worry and for me not getting too sunburned. Hehe. I always forget that sunscreen!

We wrapped up the weekend with a great dinner with family at California Dreaming. Even my grandmother came and her tears were just heart wrenching. I can’t wait to heal up and visit with her more. I know cancer has pierced her heart in an ugly way… that’s why I continue riding, for all the people with chipped hearts, mine included.

Lot’s of love was shown to my family this weekend and it made my heart grow in ways I didn’t know possible. Cancer isn’t easy, but it sure is fun “thinking” it is. So keep positive, and if you or someone you know is in it, find a way to laugh or make them laugh today! And if you see the color green today, whisper or shout up a ‘thank you’ because it’s my color, I’m cancer free, and God is really good!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

It's a HUGE week. Today is October first... the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month. A month that now has a whole new meaning for me and my family... Sweet Rides has always been green, and my story has always been thyroid cancer. Well now, we're just going to throw a little pink in the mix!

Thursday is my last round of chemo! It's kind of surreal in a way... it went by really fast me and the kids agreed last night. I think we're going to celebrate at Pure Taqueria at 7ish if you want to join us! It'll be my last unhealthy meal then its off to crazy-land. I have read and done a ton of research on food and how it relates to cancer and Ijust would rather be safe this go around. I have been told I have cancer now three times, and that's a charm. This is it... no more.

Saturday is also a huge day because it will be our fourth 24 Hours of Booty. It's been a year to say to least. I've never hit that 150 mile goal that I dreamed of, but I will be back next year and it will happen. So this year I am going to play, sleep, ride a lap, talk, sleep, ride another lap, play, sleep and a lot of sleep... Being two days after chemo is always a little concerning but never enough to keep me from riding. Heck, I rode my second round with a fever... it'll be all good. Can't wait to wear all my new green fun stuff! TodayI bought giant glasses, wings, glow things, and my friend made me a great big headband bow (since I can't wear any of the others she has made me!) It's actually pretty obnoxious, but totally perfect. Green & pink with lots of bling!

Well, I will try to blog once more before Booty to let everyone know how round four went! Praying for smooth sailing and the easiest yet! Praise the Lord for Benadryl, Claritin, Steroid and Adivan.

Love y'all!

Catching up on my blogging!

The last 2 weeks have been pretty uneventful hence my lack of not blogging! I was perfectly perfect the first 4 days after chemo and didn't even feel fatigued until day 5! I had started to itch but with a little Benadryl it wiped it out and NEVER came back! I had very little stomach issues which I am convinced are due to milk now and really breezed through this round if compared to the last two! I feel very blessed. My perspective is constantly in check and even today you know, I just can't complain.

I rode for the first time in round three the farthest yet at 6.0 miles with 720 feet of climbing. I had to giggle. There was a guy walking and he said,"wow, I am so impressed. You don't see bikes over on this side of the neighborhood!" I thought, probably not riders undergoing chemo either! I kept fighting on. It hurt, wasn't the easiest of rides but I was on a cancer killing mission. It was NOT going to stop me yesterday and I probably would've ridden farther had I been with some company.

I did however have another first. I stood up and pedaled three pedal strokes on my bike. HUGE. It felt awkward and weird but it's now checked off my list! YAY!

Right now things are crazy busy with the last week of fund raising here. We are doing a yard sale at Child's Play this weekend where people donate items and the proceeds go to the team. This year, we are going to also give a portion to one of the sweetest teachers of the school, just diagnosed with ALL. I have a million emotions but my words are few. I know that shock stage can be overwhelming. Praying for them every day.
We just finished up sorting and whew, I'm cooked. It's a ton of work, but we went through and knocked it out like champs. It was sad that no one showed up to volunteer... Just some sweet moms from Sweet Rides! Gotta love 'em!

I'm off to take a nap now and hoping I'll have energy for a date night!

Tata and if you live in the area PLEASE SHOP OUR SALE TOMORROW OR SATURDAY!!!! Childsd Play Early Learning Center on Hickory Flat Highway 9-1pm! :D www.facebook.com/sweetridesga

Third Emory Visit!

One bad week, 2 good weeks, and one more bad week equals FOUR weeks left! Can you believe it!!?? It FLEW by. I think with school in session (blessing), and losing weeks at a time being sick, just helped it go by fast.

So yesterday was AWESOME. It was the most chill day I have had yet, and the longest! We were gone for 12 hours. 6:45AM-6:45PM. Tracy, my partner in Sweet Rides for 4 years now, worked it out so she could come along. Huge kudos to Scott for making it happen, I know it wasn't easy.

I picked her up at 7 (yes I drove, you all know I'm a nut about that) and we got there at 8:40. On the way I had realized I had forgot my litocaine cream for Lovie! I was bummed until I realized the little tube I saw in my backpack the night before wasn't toothpaste but cream! WAHOO! They took me though I was late. I had my thyroid ultrasound first. I am going to guess it was fine, because she basically said she didn't see anything and it was the FASTEST one I've ever had there. so as long as that is clear and I had good numbers, the thyroid continues to stay in check! Praise God! Oh, during the ultrasound I had to put my cream on and forgot the pad so we used a rubber glove and tissues - very creative. lol. Hey! It worked!!

We went upstairs and my FAVORITE port nurse was there. She is amazing and once again piece of cake! She even used the sensitive bandages for me since I react to everything!OH! And Buffy was there again! I was so happy! She is my cute chemo buddy who is on my same schedule :) Then we walked over to wait for Ruth O'Reagan. And wow, did we wait. It was well over an hour... but we were in no rush at all! We tlaked and caught up on everything that has been going on! It'll all happen in the right timing anyway, and that we saw... We went back and the Doctor to come in first was a resident. I've made it pretty clear that I am NOT a fan of them coming in prior to the doctor and last time, Ruth came in without them which was the best. So when she came in and started asking questions I just politely, all smiles, told her I'd rather just go through everything with Ruth so I didn't have to explain it twice. She agreed but then asked, "how are you so positive?..." She looked floored. It caught me off guard a little, but I told her prayers. lots of prayers. and staying positive. We have fun. I could sit in that corner and cry and mope around, but what good would that do?... I swear she had tears in her little asian eyes and I then realized she was the sweet doctor who talked to me over labor day weekend about my itching. I even posted on facebook how sweet she was. God just made an instant connection, and she looked at me and said, :you're my inspiration. My fiance left me today... Honestly it's all a blur from there. I know there was a promise me it will be okay and Tracy quickly said God promises. :) It was SO awesome. Thinking about it on my way home last night, there were a million things I'd want to share with her. But so thankful he gave us those 5 minutes. She was a doll and I'm so praying for her... Dr. Zane. She's on call this weekend... have this feeling I might need help with a sneeze or something! ;)

Anyway, we did finally meet with Ruth and she seemed like I'd be fine with the Benadryl and so we moved on! Downstairs to infusion waiting where I'm typically very moved. A lot of very sick people down there... a lot of prayers said and tenderness come from just sitting in that room. I recognized many people... some going downhill. Some the same. Wracking my brain of how I can help when this is done...

We finally got called back. 2 hours late and I was in bay A. Well, that wasn't going to work! I needed to sit by my friend! haha! so the sweet wonderful nurses moved me to bay B across from her and her mom. It was so nice to get to know them and their stories (yes, breast cancer for both, twice). Amazing bright women who i'm sure without a doubt God placed in my life for a reason. Forever friends... :')

No adverse reactions so we moved right along and everything was pretty good! I had my same nurse, the one whose birthday is my grandfathers birthday and we got to know each other a little more. This time it was another WOW. She asked about biking and the girls and we told her about Booty and the ride. Somehow we got on the subject of school and how her sister teaches. Do you want to know WHERE her sister teaches? At the school that will be hosting the 24 Hours of booty. I'm not lying!! I looked at Tracy like you have to be kidding me. Well, Cary is all excited about booty now and she is going to ask her sister about it... God? Um, yes! Grandpa, hello! I see you watching!!

So as Buffy was leaving she said they were wearing all pink the next visit to celebrate the end of her treatment and told us about the bell. There is a pretty brass BELL on the wall!!! You get to ring it when you've completed your treatment!!! FUN! The wheels in my head are turning like crazy! I'm going to have some fun with that bell! HAH! Y'all know me, so if you have any thoughts, please pass my way. And I promise to videotape it!

Other than that I had a pretty sleepless night. Lots of insomnia for no reason. Hot flashes, reflux, wheezing. so I played on facebook, ate a snack, ripped the covers off skip by accident (lol. hehe) Poor guy. I'm not the quietest insomniac. So I'm on 4 hours total sleep. 2 and 2 equals for I think... so I'm looking forward to my nap today. Blogging, cleaning and napping are all on the list of things to do. Nice and quiet, all in my own pace. Will probably do a little fundraising too, so if you see an email from me, know I'm passionate about this ride and helping people with cancer know it's going to be okay. 24 Hours of Booty Atlanta supports The Aflac Center at Childrens and LiveStrong, two of my favorites and I sadly know people and children needing both currently. And as we grow in Atlanta, more local cancer initiatives like Winship can be supported too. (I also know that your odds of winning an ipad mini are really good and I really want one of my friends to win it!hehe)!

If you haven't seen, www.sweetridesga.org for all the fabulous steps! Don't forget #5, it's the most important to get you entered!

Happy Happy Friday! Know I love you more! And I mean that! <3

Recap because I haven't blogged AT ALL!

I guess it's been a while since I have blogged, so I will try to do a quick recap. I was working as much as I could to catch up AND get ahead for this next round, and I'm feeling pretty good about where I am...

The second chemo was WAY different from the first. The bone pain and stomach cramping was nearly nothing with the advil, claritin, culturelle, and ativan! I'm such a druggie! I did however contract a NASTY upper respiratory infection that had me calling Emory with a fever and colorful cough by Saturday afternoon. We had the scare of, "if the fever isn't gone in 6 hours you need to go to the ER." Well by the grace of God, MANY prayers and a Z-pack, that sucker was gone by midnight! Whew! Took about 6 days to knock the other crud out, but by day 10 I was feeling back to normal. Buttttt... that's when the rash came. Now at first, I'm thinking a little contact dermatitis. I was wearing a new hat and it was nasty hot. It was all around my scalp and I was an itchy disaster. Taking 3 sometimes 4 showers a day just to scorch it and then put ice water on my head! HA! I got prescription strength cortisone cream from a friend. Nada. I finally called Emory (once again over a weekend, and a holiday weekend at that!) and this sweet doctor (remember her for my next post, she stood out to me as super nice, I even facebooked that she was sweet) told me to take Benadryl, 25mg every 6 hours. I was ready to go the the ER but she said that is what they would do first anyway. It helped tremendously, took the itch off, but made me OH SO Sleepy! After a couple of days of naps and working through a Benadryl fog, Tuesday came and I had to call back. It was EVERYWHERE now. Coming, going, itching, like giant mosquito bites! I was even convinced I had bugs in my house. I vacuumed for the FIRST time in 12 weeks. With two hands and if you know my living room rug, it's like 16x16 maybe? Took 30 minutes because I thought I was sucking up bugs galore. I went outside and dumped it in a bag and started digging with my fingers... you know what I found? Nothing. haha! No bugs. But at least my living room carpet was clean! They finally got me a steroid pack called in Tuesday afternoon and it saved the day! I was on it for 6 days, tapering off. By the last day it was already coming back, but not itchy! So I was okay with that! Had my appointment yesterday and she called me in an extra pack in case it comes back this time, had Benadry in my IV and I'll do the medication coctail that helped last time...

Some fun things to recap on...

Wig! I got my wig, finally, thanks to the special sweet employees at Pings Salon! They are too good to us! Star went with me and we didn't get to meet with my wig-dresser (is that what they're called) but another lady. She was okay but scared me to death when she started cutting it all up! lol. I was like, uhhhhh, is that what you do!?? I think Star freaked too, but in the end it looked great! It was a little "poofy" for me and my flat hair self, but a fun change. I wore it home and Skip I think, was questionable. He never said he didn't like it, but I think it was too-not-me for him :) Then the girls got home and they NEVER SAID A WORD! I was like, hm, did they forget i lost my hair??? I asked madison like an hour later and she goes, "ya, I think I'm used to you without hair now." SAY WHAT?!?!! She was the reason I GOT the wig! Girlllll.... Anyway. I did wear it that afternoon and I like it. I don't need it to feel secure or anything, but it was a fun change. I wore it out the first night to the 24 Hours of booty bar Crawl and loved dressing up! But after about 2 hours, I was done and off it went and onto other people it went! lol. Like I said, it's fun to dress up... The Crawl (a tour of the Woodstock restaurants) was top notch. I don't know how the Offenbergs pulled it off, but it was so good, people were signing up last minute that saw the signs!! It was AWESOME! There was one group that was a Pure, saw the poster and the girls friend had passed away from a brain tumor and that day was her heaven day. They looked for the group and asked to sign up as did 4 other people! That's a God thing... I know it says "Bar" Crawl and that's a little hard for some people to get past, but this event was prayed over as well as the fund raising. It was truly inspiring, exciting and you know what, its over a week later and we are STILL talking about how much fun we had. And the donations the restaurants and local merchants gave, the cover was WELL worth it. I'm so going back to ICE for Sushi now! I never knew they had that amazing sushi!! I'm literally craving it! So huge shout out to Firestone (appetizers and drink specials), Pure (20% off bill and bottomless cheese dip), Ice (sushi, edameme, hummus and drink special), and Cupcakalicious (free mini cupcakes to anyone who stopped by). All four places were extremely generous making this an event that could be pretty huge in years to come... Love our little town and the friends we have here!So good to hang out and laugh in the midst of all the crazy... It's a night I'll never forget.

One other fun thing to recap on! I TOTALLY road my bike up hills last weekend. Yep, I used gears and rode four miles through the neighborhood. It was beautiful. I was feeling wonderful. I couldn't crank it up a hill, that was too much. So I was definitely limited there and had to use my gears wisely, but overall went well. Even went up some big hills! So I am hoping I can get in a couple of laps at booty. Speaking of, I sent Skip a few links to build your own pedi cab and I SO want him to do it this weekend! We have an old bike trailer that the material fell apart on us, that would be PERFECT. We are getting close to the event, only 3 weeks away and I'm getting SUPER excited. We did the booty crawl, the annual school yard sale is in 2 weeks and we started an ipad mini raffle this month!! For $10 donations we enter you into the raffle to win!! some people are getting 5-10 at a time!! LiveStrong and Radioshack donated it and we are SO thankful. Good friends helping us be successful - truly heartwarming. (So if you haven't donated, you should, because right now, I think we only have 60 entries. GOOD odds! And we are going to draw the name at Booty... www.sweetridesga.org for instructions. You have to email your receipt to ipad@sweetridesga.org to qualify, so don't miss that step!)

Finally. Special thanks to my mom and Skip's mom and Warren for staying here when I was down and out. For the MANY meals we received that week. The cards, notes and letters... You all will never know how much they helped... we are so grateful!!

Okay... think that it it for now. I know a ton happened, but it's really hard to blog when i don't feel good, and then when I do feel good, I'm catching up on work. I promise to try to do better this time! Even if not for you, but for me! It's SUCH a good therapy and outlet, and I want to keep my story. Y'all know that I don't have chemo brain... I NEVER have a memory... so this is good :)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to enter to win that ipad and donate in honor of someone YOU know that's battled cancer!!!

LOVE YOU!