Halfway week

Mom and I have made the trek back to Houston as I begin week 4 of radiation. Today marked my 14th treatment, which was a sort-of milestone. I'm halfway through the radiation of the entire left breast, and the final few treatments will be what they call a "boost," where they will focus radiation on the scars from the mastectomy and lymph node dissection. Similarl to the scar "boost," I'm winding down 12 radiation treatments focused directly on my drain scars. They focus on these areas to eradicate any possible stray cancer cells that might have been jostled around as a result of the surgery, either as the surgeon physically removed the cancerous tissue from the incision or if cancer "seeds" might have mingled with tissue, blood or fluid in the drain area. I'm thankful that my radiation oncologist is so thorough to cover these areas in addition to the entire breast area.  Her explanation really made so much sense and put my mind at ease that we are being as aggressive as possible.

My radiation side effects have been minimal, with some early signs of skin redness and fatigue starting to surface. After chemo and surgery, these symptoms have been very manageable. Honestly, one of the ongoing themes of 2014 for me is extreme fatigue--it's been a by-product of chemo, surgery, and to a lesser extent, radiation now. At least that's familiar territory!

We got together with Michelle & Lorne tonight for a wonderful dinner at Mockingbird Bistro. I am very much enjoying eating my way through Houston! So many fabulous restaurants! And such great memories have been--and continue to be--made as we gather together as different groupings of the larger Team Shelly.

In other less-medically-important news, many people have asked about the status of my hair. It has started to come in pretty fully, thank goodness! David actually shaved it twice so it is growing in evenly. I think I'll be ready to publicly sport the GI Jane 'do pretty soon, which may or may not directly correspond to the triple digit temperatures in Texas!

Also, my dear friend and dermatologist Stacia hooked me up with the magical potion Latisse for my lashes and brows! They completely fell out while I was recovering from surgery, so I'm thrilled to be able to wear mascara again. Look, y'all, lashes!!!

It was a whirlwind trip home this past weekend, but a fun time celebrating another milestone: Reese's 8th birthday. 

It's hard to believe I've been her mommy for eight years already. She's been an amazing blessing and is one of the lights of my life! Reese reminds me to savor each moment, smile as often as possible and find the humor in life. She is joy personified and truly embodies her name, which means "enthusiasm; ardent; fiery"!

I've been enjoying spending time in Houston, even though the circumstances that continue to bring me here recently aren't ideal. But going home on the weekends fills my cup and reminds me exactly what I'm fighting for--a long and healthy future with my loving and vibrant family. And on that note, I'm heading to bed to get ahead of the radiation fatigue...good night to you all!

Weeks 2 & 3

Things are moving along smoothly, both in Houston as my radiation treatments progress and in Austin on the home front.

The kids are having a ball with the amazing young woman we hired as a nanny for the summer, Kate.  I will get a picture of the kids with her soon, but she is full of fun activity ideas, entertaining outings, and even baking!  Check out the cute flip-flop cake she and Reese made last week!

We had a great 4th of July visit to the farm with some dear friends.  Of course I didn't take pictures because I am constantly forgetting to document what is happening!  I am very spoiled and used to having Lorne's fantastic photographs to use. I'm always realizing too late that I've neglected to take pictures.  Sigh....

This week, both kiddos attended camp at KidVentures and had a wonderful time. Here are a few shots they sent me of Weston.  I will add pics of Reese when I get them.

The kids are doing great, loving spending their days with Kate and family visitors, and David is having  all sorts of fun daddy time with them at night.  I think there have been bike riding outings, burgers for dinner and possibly even skipped baths.  As it should be in the summer!

I have been in Houston completing weeks 2 and 3 of radiation (well, almost...one more treatment to go this week). Before I left Austin earlier this week, I squeezed in a walk on the hike and bike trail.  I pulled into my parking spot and looked up at the column in front of my car to see this. I felt like it was a good sign and a nice way to start the week! 

On Monday, I made it in for my treatment and a follow up with my plastic surgeon.  It marked the six-week post-surgery point.  Let me tell you, I am THRILLED to be six weeks out from surgery!  Dr. C was very happy with how everything has healed.  He cleared me for pretty much any physical activity and deemed me "fully healed"! Yippee!

My parents joined me on Tuesday. We have had a good week, minus some dental scares that my mom had (root canal averted!).  Besides eating our way through Houston (highlights have been Underbelly, El Meson and Grace's), we also saw the movie "Chef" (highly recommend) and visited the MFAH.  At the museum, we saw Soto's Impenetrable piece.  It's a kinetic installation of 24,000 plastic tubes hanging from the ceiling in a huge space.  You are encouraged to walk through it.  Below, you can see me and dad on the second level in front of the installation, as well as me and mom actually inside the art!  Very cool.

Another highlight of the week was meeting another woman traveling to Houston for radiation treatment. We actually met in the hotel exercise room and got to chatting away about our experiences.  She's getting her radiation at Anderson and commutes back home to LA on the weekends.  She joined our family dinner tonight and it was a wonderful evening.  Of course I forgot to snap some pics.  Next time!

I'm gearing up for my 13th treatment tomorrow....then a weekend at home before I start all over again next week.  Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the summer! Xxoo

Week 1

It's been a quietly monumental week for me.  I'll get to the details on that in just a moment, because I want to cover the whole week and show off a few family pictures as well....

Starting with last Sunday, when the kids and my mom made fairy and dinosaur terrariums.  This was a fun project that I'm fairly certain Ma Pam ended up finishing on her own, but nevertheless included a lot of group planning and input, especially on shopping ventures.  The finished results are pretty great and are currently gracing the kids rooms....Reese with her fairy terrarium:

And Weston with his dino terrarium (and appropriately matching shirt, of course)

Sunday night, we celebrated the end of a successful swim team season at the Waves awards banquet.  I knew they would both receive participating trophies, but it was a fun surprise when Weston won the "most improved 4-year-old boy" award and corresponding trophy.  In fact, he was the only four-year-old boy on the team, but that minor detail did not impact the excitement of winning the category!  Or the big honking trophy.  It was so funny to watch the wheels in his brain turning as he initially accepted the smaller participating trophy while staring at the much larger special achievement trophies lined up on the table.  Those who know Weston will appreciate that he immediately started trying to reason with the coach, who was otherwise occupied making her speech.  "I need to tell you something...."  But then he ended up with the coveted trophy after all. He was pretty sure he won it for being "the best in the world." Actually it was more of a reflection of his overall 45 second time improvement in the freestyle stroke, but clearly humility is a skill in addition to swimming.

Reese was happy with her participation trophy and, more than anything, happy to play with friends.  I'm proud to announce that she legally swims all four strokes with great skill. She was one of the younger ones in her age group this year, but she won a freestyle heat, participated in a few relays, and most importantly, had a good time.  That's my girl!

Overall, swim team was an excellent experience this year!

On Monday, I said goodbye to my husband and kiddos and headed down to Houston with my parents for the week to begin my radiation treatments. While it's hard to be away from home, we had a really enjoyable visit.  We ate lots of great food (which seems to be par for the course in Houston!), scoped out some good shopping, and did plenty of walking.

Calamari and Brussels sprouts, anyone? We covered a lot of culinary ground, going down to Galveston for Guido's, as well as trying Thai, Italian, Greek, and Southern themed restaurants.  Dad even cooked for us one night at the hotel!  It was wonderful to have my parents with me for support as I start this new chapter, the final leg of the treatment triathlon.

We also had the special treat of experiencing a private tour of St. Martin's, coordinated by my father-in-law and led by a wonderful docent, Lee.  Before the tour, we briefly visited with Scott, who is a dear friend of my in-laws, an exceedingly kind person, and a VIP on Team Shelly, as he is the one who connected us with my amazing oncologist.  THANK YOU, SCOTT!

The tour was a real treat.  We learned so many interesting things about the construction of the building, the background on the intricate needle work and stunning stained glass windows, as well as the woodwork and the art.  We also thoroughly enjoyed an organ demonstration.  A wonderful visit to a beautiful sacred space!

While we did have some fun, the focus was, of course, the radiation treatments.  I'm grateful to say I kicked off my radiation with a most helpful and supportive "team": my dad was our driver, navigating us to my appointments with plenty of time to spare.

Mom waited with me/for me in the women's changing room, which was great support.  I think she's probably tired of watching Dr. Oz in the waiting area after this week, but it was so very nice to have her there as I got used to this new routine.  Monday was a test run, and Tuesday through Friday I received radiation.  I had previously gone in for a CT scan, at which point they placed five tiny tattoos around the area to be radiated. Despite this earlier visit and the dry run on Monday, I hadn't let the reality of undergoing seven weeks of radiation sink in. I was surprised that I was somewhat emotional and trying to "hold it together" as everything truly began on Tuesday.  

To be clear, radiation is a very quick process (in and out in ten minutes) and so far, no pain or side effects.  So after chemo and surgery, it is a much less grueling treatment. But I think I was a little overwhelmed with undergoing yet another treatment that is hard on my body, that could have long term side effects, that requires me to be away from home for the better part of almost two months.  I also received my first Lupron injection this week...an injection that effectively shuts down my ovaries, which I will get once a month for the next ten years. I will also begin to take a daily aromatase inhibitor next week, also running a ten year course.  All of this combined led to a little bit of a pity party on my end, but that quickly passed.  However, as a dear friend pointed out in an email, it is such a blessing that I have had my two wonderful children.  That really put a lot in perspective.  Since then, I have talked with two amazing friends who have walked this path, and they both reinforced the enormously powerful cancer-fighting effect of radiation treatment. Which is fantastic, because each treatment is so quick. You can't even tell anything is happening, frankly.  But clearly, it is effective!

This has been kind of a rambling lead-up to the point that I am happy to report that I have a week of radiation under my belt, that it went well (especially with the support of my parents), and that I think I've made peace mentally with not only six more weeks of radiation, but also the side effects of the hormone therapy that I am beginning.  

Mom and I pose at the not particularly glamorous entrance to the radiation clinic, which is about the only picture I will likely get, as mobile phones are not allowed in the room with the machine.

One down, six to go!

Sea Island

So I have a pretty good excuse for being a little bit behind on blogging lately....I was cleared by my oncologist and surgeon for travel two weeks after my surgery, so I was actually able to tag along on a family trip to Sea Island, Georgia!  I've been listening to the plans being made for this vacation for several months now, but in a passive way, since I was certain I wouldn't be going on this trip.  Matter of fact, it was specifically timed to occur during my post-surgery convalescence.  But after the stress of the pathology report, once I got the clearance to go, I was determined to be with the family! It was such a wonderful opportunity to spend time with everyone, especially since I won't be seeing David or the kids during the week for the next seven weeks, as I'm undergoing radiation treatment Mondays-Fridays, with quick trips home on the weekends.  It was also a very relaxing and fun visit to an entirely new locale!

Naturally, there was lots of beach play...I mainly stayed out of the sun due to post-chemo skin sensitivity concerns, but not entirely!

The B4 walking together!

David and the kids constructing a goopy sandcastle.

Also included was a lot of pool time at the wonderful Beach Club facility.

I love this series of photos...I have no idea if this is what actually happened, but here is how I imagine it:

Weston, forlorn because he can't locate his older cousin, Bain....

Reunited with Bain, hurray!

OHMYGOODNESSI'MSWIMMINGWITHBAIN!  Life is perfect!

Reese also had a blast swimming with the cousins, and riding the water slide. Apparently she used Bain's phone to film herself sliding, which I have yet to watch!  I'm sure it's pretty entertaining.

I never actually made it poolside, but it looked and sounded like a fantastic time!

Christine and Blake are in the know and hooked us up with Bingo night reservations at The Cloisters.  We have played bingo with friends at the VFW in Austin, but this was, um, slightly fancier. Coats required for the gentlemen. Clown pants optional.

Set in a fancy ballroom, with a former Vegas performer announcing the numbers.  The picture doesn't do it justice (mainly because it's the only image in this post that I took instead of my professional-level father-in-law photographer), but the room was very ornate and beautiful.

We had so much fun!  Here's part of our group, warming up!

B4 again!  Weston was totally into it, as you can tell.

"Ooooooooh 66!"  The W5 and 500 of our closest friends get into the game.

Bain was our family's winning representative that night.  He was the first legitimate bingo winner of the evening. I think there were a record 8 bungo's (false bingo claims) prior to his win.  Each of those folks were fined $1 for their error, and I'm pretty sure that all went back directly to Bain.  Another contingency returned two night later and Georgia won for our group that night.  Way to represent, y'all!

Honestly, it just wasn't Weston's cup of tea.  At all.  Apparently bingo gives him the crazy eyes. But he behaved very well and was able to enjoy the customary post-bingo cookies and milk!

Another favorite of the trip: our many morning and evening beach-combing walks, dependent upon whether it was low tide.

Walking along the beach in the morning....

...as well as the evening were such fun times.  It was a relaxing and fun way for everyone to experience the beach at their own pace.

The marine life evident on the beaches is very interesting and much more abundant than what we see on the Texas beaches, at least the ones that we frequent. David and I became quite concerned about the plight of the sand dollars.  No one else seemed too worried.

We found many of the dead and dried sand dollars, but also several of the living ones as well, such as this little guy here. 

Did you know that sand dollars are endangered?  And that it's illegal to take the live sand dollars as mementos? Shocking, isn't it, Weston?

But in all seriousness, these were really some of my favorite moments from the trip. There's just something healing about walking on a beach, breathing in the balmy salt air and looking at the ocean.  

I should also mention that David and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on Father's Day. We marked the occasion with a dinner with our parents and kids, which was wonderful and seemed perfect. I am so grateful that God matched us up so many years ago. I love this man tremendously!

There was always something fun planned: groups went fishing and golfing...

Bain caught this cool fish.

Some of us met another group as they returned to the dock.  Many sharks and sting ray were caught and released.

One crab was not.

The handsome golfing guys!

On our last night, we went to dinner at the Lodge.  This picture of Reese makes me flash forward to teenage years for some reason! Aaaaah!

Dinner on the last night. It was a wonderful chance to be together one last time before we had to bifurcate and go our separate ways the next day.

It was an amazing trip.  I'm behind grateful that I was able to spend time with my family and to relax in such a beautiful place.  Thank you to Lorne and Michelle, my parents, the W5 and of course the B4 for making it such a wonderful week.  I love you all!

No place like home

I'm behind on my blogging duties!  Before I dive into vacation updates, I want to give a big shout

out to my in-laws for transforming our yard and garage into a HGTV-worthy makeover while I recovered in Houston.

Michelle and Lorne worked so very hard to completely organize our garage, which is so beautifully spotless now....

Michelle transformed our back patio into a much more liveable and enjoyable space.  Isn't it pretty?  Such a lovely spot for morning coffee!

Lorne worked hard to clear up the trees and bushes in the backyard, as you can see (don't be fooled by Captain America, trying to take credit)!

Lorne also arranged for our fence to be painted, which was very overdue, and updated the hose bibs.  I honestly was so shocked when I returned, I could hardly speak.  I also kept looking around for the camera crew...

The home and garden transformations were amazing and such a wonderful welcome, but these kiddos made the return even more festive, complete with crowns, sparkly dresses and handmade welcome signs....

Our golf cart arrived right before we pulled in, so we gladly took it out for a neighborhood spin.

I'm no expert in return-from-surgery-welcome-home events, but I find it hard to believe that this could be topped!  From my beautiful kids' faces to the garage and yard makeover, it couldn't have been better. I'm so grateful to my family for making this happen.  We are having a great vacation but just blogging these pictures makes me excited to return home tomorrow...there's no place like home sweet home!