Well, I finally did it!  I had my last chemo treatment yesterday.  All I have to do now is get my pump disconnected tomorrow. My sister, pat, came from Blythe (actually, she was in San Diego babysitti8ng grandkids) to help me celebrate. My niece, Cami, works in an oncology office in Virginia.  They celebrate every patient's last round so she gave her mom the idea.  The button was actually a Mickey Mouse button and my other niece, Brandi, decorated it for my last round. I was the center of attention in the chemo room!  All the nurses thought it was so cute.  I plan to wear everything again tomorrow when i get the pump disconnected.  Michael, the receptionist in the infusion lab, will really get a kick out of it!

I am so grateful for all of the support and love I have had from all of my family, friends, and even people I didn't know before all of this.  It is definitely what has gotten me through this last year.  I am now resigned to the fact that my health is going to dictate when I can return to work.  My doctor is having me get B12 injections now to try to help the numbness and tingling in my hands and feet and also to increase my energy level.  Right now, the numbness is not going away at all. It used to go away about 5 days after I got the pump disconnected,.  Now it is constant.  I can't drink anything cold (which has been hard with our heat wave) and I can't get things out of the refrigerator or freezer without using a towel or hot pads.  It is also making it difficult to pack.  My reactions are much slower when typing because of it.  But i know that I have actually been very luck about my side effects.

I have learned many lessons throughout this journey.  First of all, if you are at the age to get a colonoscopy, do it!  Don't put it off.  Colon cancer can be very aggressive.  Recently my primary care physician tested me for diabetes.  It runs in our family and I have the body type for it.  I have never tested that I have it but because of the steroids I guess it becomes more of a risk.  My tests came back that I still don't have it but I am now consciously working on losing more weight and exercising more to keep from getting it. My blood pressure has been excellent throughout the journey, probably because I'm not working, but also, I have lost weight and I'm not in pain any longer.  I am so glad I listened to my body and that I had doctors that listened, really listened, to me.

I wasn't going to do it yet, but I got a second dog.  I went in to the same adoption place to look at another Shih Tzu but she growled at Hannah and at Einstein so I knew they weren't a good fit.  Well, there was a cute terrier there, too.  He and Einstein get along well and he liked the kids.  I named him Sir Isaac newton but we call him Newton.  He is one year old and loves to be in your lap.  He will take a toy or treat right from Einstein and most of the time Einstein will just let him.  I have to say, I wish I had thought about the fact that 1 year old is still a puppy.  He loves to chew!  He got one pair of my sandals so I have gotten better about putting my shoes up.He will grab socks left laying around but just takes them to other places in the house.  The most frustrating is that he chews on all the boxes I have packed and also the empty ones waiting to be packed.  He even got into one box of books and I caught him chewing up one of my books. He is a sweet dog, though, and he and Einstein play together well.

As far as our house and move go, our house has not sold yet.  We are waiting on the new house to move but that should be happening soon.  It gives me something to do right now so that is helpful.  I'm also going to Ella and Hannah's soccer games each week and Jessica's kids have fall break coming up in October so they may come stay with me.  I am looking forward to being well enough to do something with them when they are here this time!