Popping In to Say "Hi"! - 5/6/22

(From my CaringBridge Page)

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted an update. I know I said I was moving to my Love, Lizard website and would be doing more blogging there, but this thing called life keeps getting in the way sometimes. So, I figured I'd pop in and say "Hi" and give a little update.

It has been 20 months since I was declared "NED"/in remission. Things remain stable, which is excellent, but occasionally something comes up that escalates my anxiety and starts us worrying that things are changing.

In January, I developed a persistent cough with no other symptoms. After an episode of coughing that resulted in intense pain in my chest, we had concerns that I could have pneumonia. COVID tests had come back negative, so I had a Chest X-ray which found a newly fractured rib and what looked like an old, fractured rib. Because of that, my Oncologist ordered a Chest CT to rule out recurrence in my lungs and ribs. I was put on pain medication that we subsequently found out I am allergic to (I've added that one to my list). My Drs decided that inflammation in the cartilage in my ribcage was also causing my pain, so I was put on a steroid which seemed to help.

This month I've had a Stress Test, a Thyroid Ultrasound, and 2 different rounds of blood work. So far, almost everything is checking out as "normal," which we like to hear. Still, as Tim and I have said, sometimes we wish that SOMETHING would come back with clear answers to pinpoint what is causing things to look off – but it doesn't, so we just have to trust that the test results are accurate.

After a great discussion with my PCP a few weeks ago during my annual physical, he suggested changing my antidepressant to one that can possibly help my bone/joint pain. At this point, I am open to trying just about anything, so we're giving it a try to see if it helps.

In February, my second writing piece was published in the "Cancer Culture" issue of Wildfire Magazine. It was a poem titled Bonded by Strength. I have really found writing to be very therapeutic for me. So much so that I participated in a 6-week writing workshop hosted by the founder and creator of Wildfire, April Stearns. For 2 hours a week, 8 other women, myself and April, got together via Zoom and wrote from April's prompts. We took time sharing what we had written, and it was so comforting to be in such a safe space where we could expose ourselves and be vulnerable. Participating in the Wildfire workshop gave me even more reasons to keep sharing my story. This week I found out that I will have my THIRD piece published in the upcoming "Body" issue of Wildfire in a few months, so stay tuned. Hey, you never know, maybe someday all of my pieces will become a book or something – who knows!

I continue to make and gift my beaded bracelets to other women diagnosed and battling breast cancer through my website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. It's been almost a year since I started this "little therapy project." I have made and sent out over 800 bracelets throughout the US, Canada, and the UK and made some wonderful friends within the breast cancer community at the same time.

I recently came across a group called "Petals of Gratitude," a non-profit group of individuals that crochets roses and sends them to cancer patients to give to their care teams. Seeing that I didn't have enough to, I dusted off my crochet needles and dug out some old yarn to see if I could still crochet like I used to. After watching a few YouTube videos, I found that it was like riding a bike, and it came back quickly. When I'm not stringing bracelets, I am crocheting. This weekend I am getting ready to send off 2 dozen roses to one of the POG distributors to ship to someone who has requested them.

That's pretty much what's been happening with me in a nutshell. Life continues to fly by at a rapid pace. The school year is almost over for the boys, and Summer will be here before we know it. They both will be working as well as playing their last season of club baseball which will be an end of an era in our house. Vacation will be taking us to Belize in July and come August we will have a high school SENIOR and Junior in our house! It’s crazy enough to say we have a 17 AND 16-year-old now, but then to say a Senior and junior sounds nuts.

Take care!

L