February 21, 2025

 Hi family!

Long time no speak! I can't believe it's almost March. Time is flying, and I am so grateful that I am feeling okay every day. Today was my 15th round of chemo! Can you believe I only have ONE ROUND LEFT? Chemo has been okay overall. The only rough part is that I have to wear ice packs on my hands and feet during the treatment to lessen my chances of neuropathy. I am glad that science has improved and this understanding exists, but keeping frozen ice packs on your hands and feet for hours hurts. The good thing is that they give me Benadryl before I start the actual chemotherapy treatment (it's supposed to reduce the interaction of some of the other medications they are giving me) and if you have never had IV Benadryl, let me tell you... I recommend 10/10 NO NOTES. The effects are instant, and I can get a good nap in so even though it's painful I can sleep through the worst of it. 

At the end of January, Shanté came up to be my chemotherapy nurse. Really, she just got to watch me sleep and hear me snore. Lucky! But afterward, we got pedicures paid for by our parents and got to eat Cava for lunch. It was a really special day, and I am so grateful to her for coming and to Sean for being on solo dad duty and letting her steal away for a few hours. 

My Aunt Wanda was also here this week from Sunday to Thursday. It was so great for her to be here. And my mom and Charlo came up for the long weekend to surprise her and spend some quality time. They were all so helpful to have here with us- jumping in and helping in any way. Aunt Wanda watched the boys on Tuesday while I headed back over to Moffitt for an initial consultation with PT. This consultation was to see my baseline lymph node function, range of motion, strength, and arm measurements. On that same day, I also got a CT scan of my abdomen area in preparation for surgery and reconstruction in the future. 

I don't think I have shared here that my surgery has been scheduled for April 15th in Tampa. I can't lie and say I am not nervous. But I am grateful. As of right now, I am scheduled for a double mastectomy and a total lymphadenectomy under my right arm. In layman's terms, that means they will remove both of my breasts (and nipples) completely and all of the lymph nodes under my right arm. The benefit of doing this at Moffitt is that people come from all over the world to do these surgeries here. These doctors are only breast doctors and specialize in this type of surgery. They also are one of the few places in the country that can do micro-surgery. Once the surgeon has removed my breasts a plastic surgeon will come in and try to re-wire some of my lymph nodes so there are still drains under my arm. If they are successful, this should greatly reduce the occurrence of lymphedema. I am so grateful to have access to this kind of care and trust that everything will go smoothly. The last thing I have to consider with surgery is if I will place breast expanders (in hopes of better success for reconstruction in the future) at the time of surgery or if I will go to a flat chest. I will spare you my extensive list of pros and cons but continue to pray with me as I make this decision. I am finding myself unable to feel confident about my decision and changing my mind each day and I am hoping to just make up my mind either way and soon!

Today, Friday, I had three appointments. First, was round 15 of my chemotherapy! Today was pretty uneventful. Last weekend, I had some pretty severe vertigo and when I shared that with my nurse she told me to always check my blood pressure when that happens and to make sure I am drinking enough water. Which in recent weeks I do feel I have slacked on. So, it was a good reminder. Next week if my labs are good and everything goes according to plan, I ring the bell!!!

My last appointment was with my radiation oncologist. I have been following up with her office because if you remember she had scheduled a PET scan and at that time it showed an area of concern on my lungs. She was pretty sure it was just inflammation from the reaction I had after my port placement, but she could not 100% rule out that the cancer had spread there, and if I am being totally transparent that has been on my mind quite a bit. Her office said she could not order the PET scan unless she saw me again so when I spoke to them this morning, I asked if they could squeeze me in today and luckily, they said they could. The meeting with her was good. She gave me some interesting information about putting in the breast expanders and ordered the PET scan. She also told me that she will be ordering six weeks of radiation five days a week after I heal from surgery. I asked for them to be aggressive and they are being aggressive!!!

Okay so I skipped my second appointment. My second appointment was a re-do of my breast MRI. I don't love MRIs, but hey I gotta do what I gotta do! I finished that around 1:00 in the afternoon today and I just got the results loaded into my online portal. Obviously, I am no doctor, and my doctor has not called me to discuss my results, but y'all... NO CANCER DETECTED!!!!!! I already told you there was no cancer in my breasts and now all of my lymph nodes (including the one that was extremely enlarged- my initial lump) have returned to normal and there is no evidence of cancer in my lymph nodes. So many people have been praying for me, so many people have been telling me that they are confident that I am being healed. I have been confident that I am being healed and man... I have no words, but thank God and thank each and every one of you. Still a long, long journey ahead but what motivation to keep pushing!!! 

To be honest, my family could use some good news as we lost the matriarch of our family my maternal grandmother, Margaret, on Wednesday at 94 years old. My grandma was not one of those "baking cookies with an apron" kind of grandma, but she did knit me a blanket when I had my first baby and she ALWAYS prayed for me. And I know prayers never expire so I believe some of her prayers have contributed to my healing, and I am grateful for that, too. She will be sorely missed.

I guess that is all for now. I don't know if anyone is still out there reading this. But if you are, thank you. Just know the support of friends and family is the reason why I am able to keep going. Talk to you soon- much sooner than two months. PROMISE! 💛