Thank you does not sum it up....April 15

Hello Everyone,

As the title of this blog says...the words "Thank you"  is not enough to express how grateful I am for all the cards, flowers, fruits, good wishes and prayers.  To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

So. as you can see, the hair is now short.  When we first discussed chemo, I was told that I would have hair thinning but that it would not fall out completely.  Well, radiation has a different effect and I was told that 10 days after my last treatment (which was Tuesday the 12th) I can expect my hair to be gone.  I was not particularly excited at the thought of seeing things that look like little squirrel tails following me around so I decided to take the first step and go short...which, if I say so myself, is not bad.  Not to mention that shampoo seems to go alot farther ... so this may be a regular thing in the future.  Who knows.

As Don posted, this has been a very interesting time.  We were swept away with the news that radiation was necessary but equally swept away at the speed of my Oncology team that had the entire treatment plan set up and established within 24 hours of knowing that this was the next step of my journey.  I truly am very fortunate.

I can honestly say, that I have would not have believed that there was a difference between being exhausted and fatigued.  Now that I have experienced both, I assure there is.  If I were to combine all my illness (including morning sickness), colds, flu, and  "hangovers" I have never felt so "done" at any point in my life...the very thought of turning over in bed required MANY moments of thought...will it really be worth the effort to move positions?

That being said, I am very happy that I can put radiation into my history book of this journey.  It was a necessary step, one that I willing took . They did say that one of the side effects of WBR (whole brain radiation, thought you should know the acryonms..lol) is that 2-3 years down the road, I may experience some short term memory loss...hell, I am experiencing that now, so it didn't seem to be too tragic.  I thought that I would share that with each of you so that I have a built in excuse for the future.

I now look forward to a couple of weeks to rebuild, rejuvenate and rejoice knowing that I am ready for the next stage.  Chemo begins on April 28th and I will be ready.  As I have come to understand, this disease is unique to each person and it's effect are as well.  I am not happy to have  to deal with it, but it has brought to light so many wonderful things about me, my family, my friends, the friends of my children and collegues.  This world is a pretty good place, I am glad I have the opportunity to slow down to see it.

Take care, since I don't have much on my agenda, I expect to be able to post again soon.

-Fran