Friday, November 27, 2009

This is why I fought for my life

I am scraping Friday favorites today because....

I need to share something, and I feel this is the place I need to share it.

When My daughter was born, It was a bad delivery and I nearly died. I personally feel I was very close to death much closer that even the doctors knew.

I closed my eyes at one point and I suddenly felt very warm. It was dark. I felt like someone had wrapped me in a quilt fresh out of a dryer, and the warmth from that quilt conveyed an emotion. That emotion was love. But no love I had ever experienced on earth before, either before this or since. It felt PURE for lack of a better word honest maybe even holy.

I then saw a light. I had forgotten this until a week ago, (a small bunny trail here but I'll get back to it) I was up in the middle of the night to pee, and it was foggy out my bathroom window, the neighbor up the road has a flood light, that normally lights up EVERYTHING but not on this night it was a speck of light in a world of darkness you nearly had to strain to see it, and as I stood looking out the window an image came back to my mind, the darkness from Michelle's delivery, and a single thought "Hey that looks just like the light to God!"

I NEVER remembered this light until last week but I knew that memory when I had it. Its not something I conjured.

After the "quilt of love" as I like to think of it I heard my husband call to me from what sounded like MILES away. "Honey come back here you have to help me raise her, I can't do it on my own" I turned (what I thought was mentally but now after last week I realized I turned from the light) and opened my eyes.

I needed a transfusion.

That was back in 1992, HIV was on everyone's mind. At the time you were told that could contract HIV and not "Full Blow" for 17 years. When I signed consent for my transfusion, I prayed to God and told him If I could have those 17 years, to watch my Baby girl grow up I would be happy with that. So I lived to Raise my beautiful baby girl.
{Michelle and I, she's not even a month old }


Fast forward to October 9th 2007. This is the day I lost my father. I had spent ten years living next door, and two years actively there nearly daily doing this or that, and eight months there daily caring for him. Daddy went to be with God that morning, and my world fell apart. I wanted to die. I missed him so much. I still do. It takes absolutely nothing to bring me to tears over his passing. I don't share that often. and I don't know how many readers I actually have, so I guess I don't know how many people I am sharing this with now. But I feel it is time to share this so I will.

I didn't want to live after he died. my world was dark and bleak. Nothing I tried to do fixed that I read books on grief, went to counselors. You name it I tried it everything I saw or was told said "this is normal"

{Daddy and I after a girl scout ceremony when I was 10}

Seven months after his passing, I had a dream. It helped me so much. I posted this on my My space blog simply so I would never forget it. I have transferred it here so you can read it because it was a life changing part of my grief. I will have more post after so keep reading.....

OK this was a dream I had the other night, the more I think of it the dimmer it gets and I don't want to forget it so I am going to write it down here. If this was something my subconscious cooked up fine I can deal with this, was it a vision sent to me from heaven itself? I'm fine w/ that as well after all I wouldn't have been the first to see something from God in a dream now would I?

Things I have figured out on my own I will put in brackets like {this}

Ok here it is:

I am with my dad and we are talking. {I cant remember about what now but I do remember that I knew at the time} he is showing me around a city {it is very large} the buildings are very tall 6 + stories high, we aren't on the street, its more like we are 3 stories up. We are moving almost like driving a car {in the dream I think to myself}but this cant be right because cars drive on the ground, wait I don't see a car! {then I get scared} and suddenly a car interior materialized around us. {then I'm not scared any more but I am bothered that Daddy is in the driver seat, he hasn't driven in YEARS}

So I say to him "Daddy should you be driving?" and he looks over at me, {and you know he looks really GOOD almost young but yet not, its odd he just didn't look FRAIL} and he snorts in a way he had and said "I can drive just fine!"

So I relax and he started telling me what these buildings are. "This one is where we eat, this is a museum I haven't been there yet but I want to go"

While he was talking I did what most kids do I stopped listening, and looked out the window.

The buildings were very large and very WHITE. There were large glass windows that were CLEAN. As a matter of fact every thing looked incredibly clean. Now I have white and clean in bold and caps because these were the whitest cleanest buildings I have ever seen in my life not so much as a water spot. The white I cannot even express the white its not white its almost a whole different color because white does not properly describe it. a freshly painted white line on a road at night is not white enough I cannot tell you how white.

Now about this time I heard him tell me that it was "really nice" and he hadn't gotten to see it all but he would.

and he smiled at me, then I woke up.

dream or vision doesn't matter it felt good to hear his voice and to see him smile.


...... So as you can see, I know heaven exists I have felt it, and through my dream I have seen it.

So in May when I was diagnosed with Cancer I felt well that's my 17 years I asked God to give me. and going to be with God would end this horrible grief for me. I felt God was calling in a debt. I was OK with that. But I could see that my daughter wasn't ready to loose another parent. Nor was my husband ready to be on his own without me.

So I started to pray. God always seems to send me to the internet for my answers... I don't know why but he had me research my disease. Curable over and over again. Curable; cancer curable. unreal, cancer didn't get cured it goes into REMISSION then it comes back and kills you. Or if you are lucky you get another remission then it kills you.

But not this cancer... CURABLE 6 month course of chemo every 2 weeks for a cure. Certainly if God wanted me to die he could get more creative than a curable cancer don't you think? car accident, stroke, heart attack... its not like I have taken good care of my body or that drove safely....

So that must mean God wants me to live. Then why have cancer to begin with? Because someone needs this, or needs this story I think. or needs this to get through their cancer maybe I think. or maybe there was something I was to learn along the way. I am working on that...

Well now I guess its back to prayer... I don't know what God want me to do now. yea I still have radiation and stuff to do to finish up this chapter in my life, but what does God what me to do with the Gift he has given me? after all I never expected more than the 17 years I asked for.

OK God I am ready what do you want me to do now? let me know.... you know how to reach me

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As a child of the 80's I couldn't pass this Vid up...

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A look back at my Treatment

Yesterday was my "proposed" last treatment barring no problems with my next scans to determine that I am cancer free.

Today I thought I would share a bit of what My chemo has been all about.

This is me all hooked up waiting for my last treatment.....
I have already taken two tylenol to fight off the possibility of fever and a 50 mg Benadryl to counteract any alergic reaction.




This is my "pre-treatment" its is a combination of steroids (accountable for the 40lb I have gained since I have started treatment... well that and the cake) it also has an anti nausea med in it... sometimes that worked sometimes it did not. so I always bring my compazine with me just in case.
The bag on the left is saline used to flush the tubes and my port of one med before we start the next, when i started out prior to my port we used the BIG bag of saline because the DTIC (Dacarbazine) was very caustic to my teeny tiny veins.


These are My three "Pushes" they are called pushes because they are given as an IV injection over a certain period of time I am uncertain of the times even though I have seen it done 12 times now and they tell me every time I keep forgetting which ones are what times one is like ten mins and one is like five. These are given in a certain order and over the certain times because it is related to cell process and order. Some medical thing about how the cells divide.

I will name them for you from left to right.
Velban (Vinblastine)
Adriamycin (Doxorubicin) I know I have this first and its red like Koolaide
Blenoxane (bleomyacin) this med will give me a horrible sunburn if i go out in the sunshine for more than 15 mins at a time.


DTIC (Dacarbazine) is the three hour drip, I dont have a picture of that, it is light sensitive so its encased in a black bag to keep it from the light....

If you would like to find out more about them i have provided a link that its really easy to read up on them.
This is my Chemo nurse Barb ... She has been doing this for ten years and in those ten years she has only seen one Hodgkin's patient return for more chemo. I made her a macreme plant hanger as a thank you for being such a great nurse for me.


The chemo lab is set up in a half moon overlooking a beautiful garden with fountains and landscaping. this spring this was beautiful, the only problem with that is its beautiful; and you are stuck sitting inside looking at it instead of experiencing it. But still better than looking at hospital walls.



This is the bell of finished treatment
Because my treatment was so long no one was there to see me ring it except
Barb and Steve

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ring the bell


There is a tradition in the world of Chemo. when you finish your course of treatments you ring the bell on the last day. That day is today for me. I am going to get a picture of me actually ringing it, but since I wanted everyone to know that I ring today I stole the above photo to go with my post.

Awake early on this bell ringer of a day, I have a lot going through my mind. This is the first milestone in my recovery. As I still have radiation to go. along with the years to follow as a survivor that every cough, every swollen gland of mine will make me jump and think am I sick... Is it back... even though they tell you Hodgkin's doesn't come back i will forever worry about it. As I know my family will as well...

Enter elephant in the room here.....



I am excited and scared excited that i have been given a great gift. not once in my life but now twice. (i was very near death once prior due to another medical problem) What Does God have in store for me? the last 17 years I know it was to raise Michelle because her father wouldnt have been able to keep the promise that he gave me.

What adventure is next? I have no way of knowing. He has brought to me a whole host of new friends. but also a whole pile of unanswered questions. will i go back to work at BA? Will I ever be well enough? or even strong enough? Will life "pick up" where it left off? Is that even possible now? The dreams that I had then, do I still have them now? there is so much thinking to do...

But I wonder, do I even want to go over these questions? Life has been so "in your face" the last 6 months... perhaps I will just take some time off and not think about all this stuff.... and just LIVE after all isnt that what this fight has been for?

Monday, November 23, 2009

Monday Manicures--- Happy Thanksgiving!

You remember those Turkey drawings in first grade that you traced around you hand? Well, in honor of everyone who has either done one or received one to hang on the fridge. I have painted my nails in that style just for you!





Fingers all diffrent colors... thumb base coat a neutral color dot of white for eye (black sharpie inside) yellow paint for beak (outline with sharpie) squiggle of red on back side of beak for turkey's waddle.
~~~~~~
Please notice I used my swollen hand for the pic I thought the turkey should be "fattened" for Thanksgiving! LOL!!!