December 30. 2009 by Lindy.

We had a good Christmas despite some illness that ran through our house.  All the kids are healthy again and Dusty is enjoying his time off from work.  He’s been able to spend time with an old friend who came into town for the holidays.

I’m starting to get a skin reaction to the radiation.  It looks like a sunburn and hurts just a little bit.  Not enough to complain about.  My skin is a little numb from the surgery which I think is a blessing.  Otherwise I’m sure I would have more discomfort than what I do right now. 

The muscles on my right side are still tight, but I’m almost back to full motion thanks to the exercises from physical therapy.

Aside from the fatigue, life is slowly returning to normal.  I have 20 more radiation treatments to go and then a six month reprieve until reconstructive surgery.  I look forward to the hiatus.     

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December 25. 2009 by Lindy.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas

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December 24. 2009 by Lindy.

Merry Christmas Eve!  Christmas came quick this year.  We had a great time last weekend seeing my dad’s side of the family Friday night and my mom’s side of the family Saturday. 

Yesterday was a chaotic day.  Dusty and I started coming down with colds Monday night so neither of us felt good yesterday morning.  Brooklyn woke up with a fever and wasn’t feeling well so she was laying on the couch.  Dusty was drinking coffee and Samantha and I were sitting in the living room too (Max was still sleeping - it was 7 a.m.).  Without warning, Brooklyn vomitted all over the couch.  I must say that Dusty’s response time has improved greatly compared to a month ago.  Kudos Dusty!  While he was getting her to the bathroom I started cleaning up the couch and surrounding area.  In the chaos of the moment, Dusty didn’t pay attention to where he put his coffee.  Samantha decided that Dusty’s full cup of coffee looked pretty neat so she thought she would spill it all over the floor.  Not in one spot - that would make it easier to clean.  She made a drizzle pattern with big blotches on the carpet.  I’m still trying to get it out.  Fortunately she didn’t burn herself.  Does anyone have tips for getting coffee stains out of carpet?  I’ve tried the Bissell stain remover machine.  Hot Shot or Hot Spot (I can’t remember what it’s called).  I even went to GoodHousekeeping.com and used the Heloise Helpful tip of dish soap and vinegar mixed with water.  Not a helpful tip.  Nothing is getting it out.   

We were hoping Brooklyn would wake up today feeling great, but that wasn’t the case.  She’s a little better and will hopefully be back to her bubbly self tomorrow.  We have two Christmas parties tomorrow.  We missed Thanksgiving with the VerBeek’s because the kids were sick.  We aren’t going to miss Christmas too.        

Radiation is going well.  Aside from being extremely tired and fighting a cold/flu bug, I haven’t had any other side effects (no skin reaction!).  They did warn me that I’m very susceptible to catching illnesses right now so I should be more diligent with the hand sanitizer. 

Max and Samantha both have coughs and runny noses.  Max is getting two molars.  Other than that, they’re doing great. 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  As Brooklyn likes to say - Happy Birthday Jesus! 

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December 15. 2009 by Lindy.

Today was my fourth round of radiation and it’s going well.  I haven’t had a skin reaction yet (that shows up in a few more days) and I’m tired. 

My emotion for radiation is anger.  I find myself getting very angry.  I’m laying on a table in the middle of a big room completely exposed with my feet banded together, my arms in stirrups above my head and a machine going around me zapping my insides.  I’m not sure where the anger comes in, but that’s how I feel when I’m laying there for my five minute zap.  Maybe it’s because I’m cancer free and yet this is another treatment with more side effects to deal with.  All I know is that it’s not self pity.  It’s anger.  The pity comes later when I’m so tired that changing another diaper feels like climbing a mountain. 

The only lasting side effect I have from chemo is forgetfulness. 

The lasting side effect from surgery is loss of motion in my right arm, but that’s working out with physical therapy which I go to once a week. 

On a positive note we went to Haven’s Christmas Program Sunday night and it was awesome.   All the kids did a great job, but we’re especially proud of Brooklyn.  I will have to get Dusty to post a video from last year’s program compared to this year’s program.  Last year she refused to sing.  She would make eye contact with us in the audience, cross her arms and whip her head to the side with her chin up as a non verbal sign that we can’t make her sing.  This year we used threats and guilt to make her sing.  Dusty threatened no Christmas presents (okay I thought that was extreme) and I said she is singing for Jesus because we’re celebrating his birthday and he wants to see and hear her sing.  She performed like a Broadway star.  Motions…singing…it was beautiful. 

The other good news is that I can lift Max and Samantha again.  They have started to take some steps by themselves without holding on to anything.  They’ll be walking in no time.  It will be a Christmas miracle for Samantha.  Especially when I look back to last year and her being able to walk was at the bottom of our list of worries for her. 

I can’t believe it’s going to be Christmas next week.  I cheated this year and bought Christmas tree cookies from Meijer.  The energy I do have I want to spend with my kids, so if you’re a recipient of one of those cookies I apologize. :)

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December 10. 2009 by Lindy.

I made it through my marathon day of appointments yesterday. 

First stop of the day was Dr. Hoberman who is happy with my healing. 

Second stop was the Radiation Center.  The “dry run” went well.  The only bummer is that I’m having radiation with bolus every other day.  The bolus is something that looks like a large gel pack that they place on my chest while I’m getting radiated.  It allows a higher dose of radiation to the area.  They want to do that because the tumor was so close to my chest wall and that is where the greatest chance of recurrence is.  The downside of the bolus is that it increases the severity of skin reaction.  I’m praying for minimal side effects.  

My last stop of the day was Dr. Gootjes and she is happy with my recovery as well. 

So all in all it was a good day.  I was thankful that we didn’t get a lot of snow so driving wasn’t treacherous.   

Speaking of treacherous driving, my first radiation treatment was today.  I made it there safely and on time.  Six and a half weeks to go.  The treatment is painless which is a big a relief.   

I am so tired.  So so so tired.  Time for a nap. 

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