I find myself saying that frequently.....September already? What happened to August? And, here in Portland, what happened to the summer weather? It's been a cold, gray, damp couple of days and I think whatever real summer we had happened while I was traveling the past weeks. This is much better than the 100+ degree blistering heat days I came home to after the cruise, so no real complaints! And with the kiddos returning to school this week, the cooler temps will help them stay a bit more focused, right? :)
Back to school for me was last Monday, August 31st, and it was great to be in the classroom and with my colleagues. Students don't start until Sept. 9th so it was nice to have time to ease into the routines again. Such an answer to prayer for me - when I left in June, I promised myself as well as friends and students I would be back in Sept. so to truly be back, see my name on the schedule and go about the start of the year tasks is such a gift. I was a little concerned about my energy level but at the end of each day, the tired feeling I experienced was a normal, end of the work day kind of tired - not flat on my face. Granted, that will change a bit when the kids begin this week and it will likely be early to bed every night for awhile, but I am so grateful to still feel good and have the energy to work.
God has so protected me, even as the cancer has progressed. My plan is to teach full time for as long as my health/energy will allow, and, as far as I am concerned, that will be for the full school year. My current chemo schedule is two weeks on, one week off so I've scheduled chemo for Friday afternoons with the weekend to recover.
Chemo last Friday went fine and there has been the usual fatigue and nausea immediately following the session, but nothing out of the ordinary and I feel good today. Hmmmm....things have really changed when fatigue and nausea have become normal occurrences in my life. But if this chemo cocktail is doing the trick and kicking the cancer butt, then I say "bring it on"! The next scan is scheduled for Sept. 16th and I'll see Dr. Karamlou on the 18th for results.
Keep praying for that healing miracle! August was another month of "firsts", some much more enjoyable than others. My mom, sister and I went to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and it was fabulous. Considering Ashland isn't really all that far from Portland, it's a shame it took me so long to get there, but it was well worth it. We saw "MacBeth" and "Much Ado About Nothing" and thoroughly enjoyed each one. I highly recommend a trip there.
After the festival, I flew back to Connecticut with my sister and spent a week there with her family, exploring their town (Westport) and even a little bit of NYC. I hadn't been to CT before and we had a great time. I will say I'm no fan of east coast heat and humidity though. Whew! Regardless, it was a really nice week with my niece and nephew, Ryan and Meghan, my sister and brother-in-law and their menagerie. Cats, a hamster and, not one but two, Newfoundland dogs. Darling pups, Wally and Tinkerbell, but they are the size of small black bears! Thankfully, a lot more sweet tempered than a bear :)
The other first (this one I didn't like so much) was a short stint in the hospital. A day or so after a chemo session in early August, I had a very high fever and chills and was sent promptly to the ER for evaluation. The ER on a Saturday night.....quite the wild time there, but thankfully, not for me. :) Though blood and other tests didn't show signs of infection and I wasn't neutropenic (white blood cell count too low), the on-call oncologist and ER doc didn't like the look of my lung x-rays and said I had pneumonia. Not a great thing for a lung cancer patient to develop....I was admitted for observation, antibiotics and rest and spent three days in the hospital while all figured out what was actually happening. The good news is I did not have pneumonia after all and it was determined I had just a bad case of chemo fevers. I will say again how grateful I am for all the great nurses and doctors I've had and everyone was really good to me while I was hospitalized. Just don't go to the hospital if you want to actually get any rest :) They were all very nice about it, but the frequent middle of the night visits for vitals, or antibiotics or a blood draw didn't make for a very restful visit! The whole experience was a little bit sobering for me as I have had so few problems, medically, in this cancer journey and this was a reminder that things may not always go just as I think they will. Fortunately, I wasn't as sick as everyone feared and was "sprung" in time to make it to the Shakespeare Festival. :)
Thought I'd include a few more pictures of the Europe trip - me in Venice and Ephesus and the Acropolis in Greece. I really had such an amazing summer with all the travels I was able to take and the friends that came to spend time with me. I don't take the blessings of my family, friends or this awesome life for granted for one minute.
My Giants are trying hard to get that wild card spot for the playoffs and I'm excited to think they just might make it! Keep praying for that miracle and for some good news on the scan this time. I'm ready for some positive results, how about you?
Back to school for me was last Monday, August 31st, and it was great to be in the classroom and with my colleagues. Students don't start until Sept. 9th so it was nice to have time to ease into the routines again. Such an answer to prayer for me - when I left in June, I promised myself as well as friends and students I would be back in Sept. so to truly be back, see my name on the schedule and go about the start of the year tasks is such a gift. I was a little concerned about my energy level but at the end of each day, the tired feeling I experienced was a normal, end of the work day kind of tired - not flat on my face. Granted, that will change a bit when the kids begin this week and it will likely be early to bed every night for awhile, but I am so grateful to still feel good and have the energy to work.
God has so protected me, even as the cancer has progressed. My plan is to teach full time for as long as my health/energy will allow, and, as far as I am concerned, that will be for the full school year. My current chemo schedule is two weeks on, one week off so I've scheduled chemo for Friday afternoons with the weekend to recover.
Chemo last Friday went fine and there has been the usual fatigue and nausea immediately following the session, but nothing out of the ordinary and I feel good today. Hmmmm....things have really changed when fatigue and nausea have become normal occurrences in my life. But if this chemo cocktail is doing the trick and kicking the cancer butt, then I say "bring it on"! The next scan is scheduled for Sept. 16th and I'll see Dr. Karamlou on the 18th for results.
Keep praying for that healing miracle! August was another month of "firsts", some much more enjoyable than others. My mom, sister and I went to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and it was fabulous. Considering Ashland isn't really all that far from Portland, it's a shame it took me so long to get there, but it was well worth it. We saw "MacBeth" and "Much Ado About Nothing" and thoroughly enjoyed each one. I highly recommend a trip there.
After the festival, I flew back to Connecticut with my sister and spent a week there with her family, exploring their town (Westport) and even a little bit of NYC. I hadn't been to CT before and we had a great time. I will say I'm no fan of east coast heat and humidity though. Whew! Regardless, it was a really nice week with my niece and nephew, Ryan and Meghan, my sister and brother-in-law and their menagerie. Cats, a hamster and, not one but two, Newfoundland dogs. Darling pups, Wally and Tinkerbell, but they are the size of small black bears! Thankfully, a lot more sweet tempered than a bear :)
The other first (this one I didn't like so much) was a short stint in the hospital. A day or so after a chemo session in early August, I had a very high fever and chills and was sent promptly to the ER for evaluation. The ER on a Saturday night.....quite the wild time there, but thankfully, not for me. :) Though blood and other tests didn't show signs of infection and I wasn't neutropenic (white blood cell count too low), the on-call oncologist and ER doc didn't like the look of my lung x-rays and said I had pneumonia. Not a great thing for a lung cancer patient to develop....I was admitted for observation, antibiotics and rest and spent three days in the hospital while all figured out what was actually happening. The good news is I did not have pneumonia after all and it was determined I had just a bad case of chemo fevers. I will say again how grateful I am for all the great nurses and doctors I've had and everyone was really good to me while I was hospitalized. Just don't go to the hospital if you want to actually get any rest :) They were all very nice about it, but the frequent middle of the night visits for vitals, or antibiotics or a blood draw didn't make for a very restful visit! The whole experience was a little bit sobering for me as I have had so few problems, medically, in this cancer journey and this was a reminder that things may not always go just as I think they will. Fortunately, I wasn't as sick as everyone feared and was "sprung" in time to make it to the Shakespeare Festival. :)
Thought I'd include a few more pictures of the Europe trip - me in Venice and Ephesus and the Acropolis in Greece. I really had such an amazing summer with all the travels I was able to take and the friends that came to spend time with me. I don't take the blessings of my family, friends or this awesome life for granted for one minute.
My Giants are trying hard to get that wild card spot for the playoffs and I'm excited to think they just might make it! Keep praying for that miracle and for some good news on the scan this time. I'm ready for some positive results, how about you?
Take care,
Susan
1 comment:
Me too!
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