Well, I'm going back to work! I'm excited and anxious at the same time. I'm excited to have clearance to go back and excited to get my life back to normal but I know it is going to be tiring. I'm excited to see my students again. I have missed them. I have 8 students from last year and then I will get to meet a whole new group as well. I will go back to work on November 1. We also have a 6th grade camp meeting that night so I will also get to see some of the parents.
As far as my cancer goes, I am free of cancer at this time. Of course, I will have to be monitored for the next 5 years to be considered cancer free. I will repeat the colonoscopy in December and have another CT scan in January. I will follow u with blood work and seeing the oncologist every 3 months. Right now, my bloo9d work was good. My count for fighting infections was very good so I was happy to hear that. I've had my pneumonia vaccine and my flu shot so hopefully I will stay healthy. I am also getting monthly B12 shots to boost my energy. Because my cancer was stage 4 I am at greater risk for it to return (although I have great faith that it won't) so I have to leave my port in "for a while." When I asked how long a while is, the doctor told me as long as possible. Because of leaving it in, I have to go get it flushed every month. She said that if it starts clotting, we will have to remove it but she wants to leave it as long as possible. At least the people in the infusion lab are nice and kind so i won't mind seeing them. And it is something that I can do around my work so I won't have to miss days for it (nice, since have been out of sick days for a while).
I got to have my 3 oldest grandchildren for a visit 2 weeks ago. They have a fall break in Arizona so they came and stayed with me for the week. Although the drive to pick them up was tiring, I had a great time with them. We went ice skating and to the drive-in movie. Of course, Ella and Hannah went with us and we had a big sleepover on Saturday night before I met Jessica to return them.
I also got to see 3 of my 4 sisters last week. One of my cousins passed away from breast cancer so Rhonda, Pat, my dad, and I went to the memorial. It had also been a while since I had seen my cousins so I was glad to see them,though I wish it had been under different circumstances. Then Diana and her husband came to visit Dad so Ronda and I joined them for lunch one day. We enjoyed the visit. I wish we all lived closer so that I could see my sisters more often. But I know they are always there for me and I appreciate them so much! I am so lucky to have such wonderful family.
I also got to see Jennifer and her children, including the newest grandso9n! Maddie and Kinsey are getting so big and it's nice to have another baby in the family. Jackson is so cute and seems to be a very good baby (Jennifer says he is, too). We enjoyed our visit with them. (Chuck was home the day they came to visit)
My other big news is that I am moving tomorrow. I really was having a difficult time packing. We have had so many days over 90 degrees that it was too hot to do anything and I was getting really worn out. I am also having a lot of problems from the nueropathy. I am finding it difficult to hold things and my hands and feet always hurt. So I decided to take the money I would have spent to go to Hawaii for a week and spend it on movers I found a company that will come pack up everything, move it to the new house, unpack and put away everything. I felt like that was a better use of my money right now. Hawaii will always be there (although my sister-in-law won't) and I won't be worn out. Now that I know I am going back to work it seems like an even better decision. I will have plenty of room for visitors if anyone ever needs a place to stay! Also, we signed an offer on our house so hopefully everything will go through without any problems. I will miss my neighbors but I won't miss being on this corner! My new neighborhood is very nice. It's off all busy streets and I am looking forward to meeting all my new neighbors. My old neighbors have all told me I have to come back for our annual 4th of July block party and I am sure my grandchildren will all want to. At least it's close enough that it will be easy to come3 visit. Cole has some good friends in my neighborhood that he is sad to leave so I promised him we could come back when he's here to visit them.
I guess that's all my news for now. It may be a while before I blog again since I will be working. I want to again express my thanks all of my friends and family who have helped me through this past year. Your love, support, and prayers have made a difference.I truly appreciate every one of you!
