1/9/22 Light at the End of a Very Long Tunnel

Christmas and New Years came and went way too fast! We had multiple family Christmas events planned and they all got cancelled due to covid! 

With the uptick in covid cases, our family has basically been hermits trying to avoid getting covid to prevent delaying any treatments. 

While we have avoided covid, Beau boy got hit with a stomach bug on Thursday and then we found out he had an ear infection on Friday. He is so puny and whiney! 

Red Devil #3 was this past Monday. All in all, the side effects have remained manageable! They seem to just linger a bit longer than they did on the chemotherapy I was doing before. My hair all fell out after the first red devil treatment, including my eyelashes and eyebrows. The only hair that remained was the hair on my legs. How ironic. The one bit of hair that I could do without and it decided to stay. 

Even though all of my hair did fall out… it is starting to grow back! PRAISE BE! My eyebrows are coming in black. Super strange because I had light eyebrows before. My eyelashes are about half the way in and I can pull them up in order to get my eyelids open wide to get my contacts in again! I also have a hairline again on my head and a head full of peach fuzz! My nurse said you rub it for good luck! I cannot wait to have hair again!

In other good news, I only have one planned chemo remaining! The reason I say “planned” chemo remaining is because based upon the pathology reports during surgery, that could mean more chemotherapy afterwards. I also feel like if I say “last chemo” that I will jinx myself. So, last planned chemo it is! 

I feel like maybe I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel but it doesn’t feel real. Even after surgery, I still have 27 weeks of immunotherapy and 5 years before my chances of recurrence go down. Even though it seems that I am getting to the end, it still feels so far away and so dark and scary in the meantime. I am trying to keep my eyes set on the good things that are planned and coming up in the future! 

A few things that have been planned/are coming quickly that I am looking forward to:

1. Getting to diet and having the energy to exercise! 

2. Going back into the office to see all of my Horace Mann colleagues! 

3. A dinner date that is already planned and reservations made! 

4. A snowmobiling trip that isn’t even until 2023.. but, I talked my longest bestie into going with us and I cannot wait! 

4. Warm weather with lots and lots of swimming with the kiddos! We scheduled our pool opening date the earliest date possible!

5. Traveling with my hubby! 

… and so much more! I am so ready to just live life once again!