Fun Times!!

Hi all!

Where do I start?  I can't imagine life without the fun and good times that somehow we are able to make happen these days.  Would we make a point of getting together, spending these good times together if it weren't for cancer?  It's one thing to get together on holidays or special occasions once in a while but to have a party to celebrate a break from chemo?  Is that normal?  I'm not sure but it was sure fun!  A few weeks ago we were sitting and watching my oldest sister's wedding video and we were remembering how much fun weddings are.  Everyone dancing, happy, music, drinks, kids falling asleep on chairs....  We decided that this is exactly what we needed right now!  Except with no weddings being planned in the near future it looked like it wasn't going to happen.  Sometimes we sit around and come up with these great ideas but then nothing ever comes of it.  Well, when cancer is a part of your life sometimes you can't just dream about having fun or wait for the perfect time to have fun, or hope that someone is planning a fun time and you will be invited.  Sometimes you have to drop everything and just make the fun happen! 

So my family planned a dance party for the following weekend "Just Because".  It was a fantastic idea and although last minute was perfect timing.  This time of year people find themselves feeling blah.  Snow still falling outside, wondering when Spring will finally arrive.  It was nice to break things up.  Since I was off my medication for a couple of weeks I was feeling great!  My family was very happy to have our family and friends come out to have fun but also show their support.  It was a nice reminder that people care and are there for all of us!  Several times during the night I looked around and felt so amazingly happy and lucky....  And I kept my boots on until the very end of the night even though my feet were killing me! 

The following week I was back in to see the doctor and was happy to hear that my blood work had returned to normal.  It is still a mystery as to the exact reason why my counts dropped so low.  Possibly a viral infection but hopefully not my body's response to the drug itself.  The doctor decided to start me back on the Vemurafinib again, this time on a bit of a lower dose.  Jeff and I had been going back and forth about all of us going down to Grand Forks for Kaden's hockey tournament the following weekend.  We decided before going in for this appointment that we would discuss the possibility of postponing chemo so that we could all go without being worried about me getting sick. We decided that starting chemo on the Monday would be just fine and the doctor wasn't worried about postponing for a few days so this is what we did.  We had a great time and Kaden had a blast playing hockey!  We were so glad to make this trip happen as a whole family.

So when we returned home on the Monday I started chemo again and by Tuesday I had a rash again from head to toe.  I couldn't believe how quickly it just popped up!  We have gotten this under control and it seems to be OK now.  Another annoying side effect so far is this joint pain that I'm having a hard time with.  My mom has rheumatoid arthritis so has been so helpful in giving me ways to deal with this.  Hopefully this doesn't last since I've been feeling like a little old lady hobbling around.  It turns out this is a common side effect of this drug.  I have been getting out and walking every day which has been helping so far so fingers crossed that this won't become a real challenge.  We have once again had the flu in our house!  This year has been especially bad for that with our family.  We all ended up taking turns and now I am hoping that that's it!  Just starting chemo and getting the flu is not fun.  It's an added stress to worry about keeping the medication in so that we can see some results.  Hopefully we don't see the flu again for a very long time!

This week I am scheduled to go in for Gamma Knife so I'm getting a little anxious to have that done and to find out how things are looking up there.  It has been a while since my last scan so hopefully we are relieved with the results.  The following week I will be back in to see my doctor and we will be scheduling some scans to see if the Vemurafinib is working well like we hope.   We'll have to plan something fun to make this wait go by quicker!!  Waiting for results is so brutal for all of us!!!!  Especially when so much depends on them!  Having things to look forward to is making all the difference right now.  My friend took me to see Bon Jovi last week and we had a blast!  This was the 3rd time that Lea-Anne and I have seen them together since we were teenagers!  What a great night! 

Feeling very grateful for all of these amazing moments both with my friends and my family.  Lately, it feels as though every hug and every laugh I share with someone gives me more strength to overcome what I need to.  Today life is great so it is a time to take advantage of the day and do something memorable.  Time to get out there and grab on to the day!!!