Getting the Port Out!

Six and a half-ish months ago, I got this baby put inside me. That really big needle is what they used to thread it into my vein, artery, whatever. The little purple triangle thing is the port. The center part is squishy and the three dots on the squishy thing are how they find the squishy thing to poke me with a needle that looks like a thumb tack. A pretty big thumb tack. 

And it's coming out tomorrow morning. I'm so excited. 

4/4! 100%! Finished! Completa! Finito! All Done!

I AM ALL DONE WITH CHEMO!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my last treatment on July 15, 2013. I was so, so happy to finish - I think I grinned pretty much the whole time I was there. An elderly patient there asked me as soon as I sat down if it was my last treatment. I guess you could tell. :) 

Ironically, I got kind of sick on my last week. I got some kind of sinus sickness. It wasn't fun, but I started antibiotics ASAP and nipped that buckeroo in the bud. Of course, it lingered FOREVER, but I didn't have any nasty antibiotic side-effects like the other two times I had to take antibiotics. 

Anyway, let's look at some pictures to celebrate! 

(the first ones are from the week of my second-to-last treatment)

Stephanie, the lucky lady who weighed me every time I came in, took my blood pressure, and let Patrick weigh himself. We had lots of jokes about Patrick being more concerned about his weight than a girl. :) I also constantly forgot her name, so I'm praying I got it right - how embarrassing is that??

This is Jamie (I have no idea if I'm spelling her name right. I'm awful.). She's the top dog nurse lady at the clinic and she is super amazing. Very down-to-earth, perceptive, and such a big, warm heart.

This is Dr. Rich, the man himself, my doctor. He's super great. We got off-topic SOOO many times during our appointments. I think Patrick REALLY liked to talk to him. He's super fabulous and I'm so glad I was referred to him. 

Here's Nancy, the Nurse Practitioner. I love all the people at the clinic, but Nancy told me she give me a note to go to Disney and get perma-fast passes for me and up to 6 people. And she always intended to bring lettuce from her garden for me so I could eat salad. She's hilarious and just plain great. 

This is just a picture of me that Makenzie took one night when we trying to take up time before going to bed. 

And these are from my last treatment!!!! 

Thank you, Patrick, for being an awkward paparazzi of sorts. He took super flattering pics of me. :)

"Yay! Last treatment! Stop taking my picture!"

Waiting to go back to see the doctor. 

This is Collette. She wan't working the day I pestered everyone else for a picture. So I bugged her for one on my last day. Collette is super awesome. She has a huge heart and we both started crying after my last treatment. :) 

This is the bell you ring after your last treatment. The sign says, "Celebrate your last treatment. RING THE BELL!" Gladly. :) I saw a few people ring the bell while I was at chemo. I was VERY much looking forward to ringing this bell. 

Getting ready to ring!!

Hubby and I. We made it!!! We finished chemo!!!!! Such a happy day! (And so full of fluids... one of the ironic things about finishing is that you still have to suffer for another week haha)

I met a lady at chemo about 3 treatments to the end. She has breast cancer (if I remember that right) and has a very long chemo road ahead of her. I gave her a hug on my way out. We didn't talk A TON, but we saw each other every other week for a few weeks and there was/is just something special about her. It's weird not going back - I kind of feel like my schedule is thrown off and I miss people. 

The Sunday night two weeks after my last treatment (which would've been the night before another treatment), when we were getting ready for bed, Makenzie told me that she didn't want me to go to chemo the next day. She was crying a bit and kind of said/cried, "I don't want you to chemo." Children are SOOOO perceptive. I mean, I guess the habit/schedule was really... our schedule. She could tell that it had been two weeks. That is just crazy to me!! And so crazy that my kids learned the word 'chemo' and that they can associate it with me being gone and being sick. It just broke my heart thst she said that and just wanted me to hold her. I'm really glad that I was able to tell her that I didn't have to go to chemo and we could play all day long together. What a tender moment for me, as her mother. I love that little girl. Her spirit is so huge. 

So now I'm done with chemo!! Yahoo!!!

I started radiation on Monday and I'm getting my port removed tomorrow! :) 

End of Chemo Dinner!

Dinner with a few of my favorite people - Jessica S., Jessica H., Kelli L., Mikelle S., and Gillian M. At Texas Roadhouse to celebrate the end of chemo! 

I do look a little crazy crazy in this picture. I'm just crazy for steak and salad! :) 

It's Always About the Hair, Isn't It?

(I started this post a couple weeks ago...)

My hair has fallen out more... rapidly... in the last month or so. The irony is that it started this trend in the 5th month (of 6) of chemo. What the heck, cancer? Who do you think you are??

Then I found out that as my hair grows back... some time around 3 months after chemo, it can push the old hair out and I could end up basically bald from that.... seriously, who do you think you are, cancer?

I haven't felt a lot of anger with this cancer, but my hair didn't fall out like it was supposed to and now I look like an old balding lady... but I have too much hair to just pull it all out - if that makes sense. And according to the nurses, it probably won't fall out. If you ask the dr. or the NP, it probably will. Thinner, thinner, the hair goes.... I honestly think I'd rather be bald. And that's pretty weird.

(And now I'm finishing it.)

So I've had thoughts of just shaving my head and calling it a day. But then I have a half-decent hair day and I think, "No, don't do that, Adrienne." But if my hair is going to fall out when the new stuff grows back, I'll probably end up as a peach fuzz headed crazy person anyway. 

The doctor said don't shave it. So I won't... For now. Maybe I will when it is growing back in and is all crazy-looking. 

I'll probably have the same hair-do as Patrick this Christmas. Oh, joy! :) I certainly never thought we'd look THAT alike. ;-) 

Why, Cancer, Why??

I found out today that one of my very best friends in the whole world has cancer too. Yeah, it's best friend night in the blogosphere. :)

When she told me, my heart broke for her, and yet, there was peace in getting answers to an on-going problem she has had with her thyroid and health. Her dad has cancer and has only been in treatment for a few months, but is almost done, I think, so this hits hard for their family.

It's really hard to be the friend of someone with cancer. I kind of think... um, why do I need to experience this side of it too? And then I immediately think, no, here is a chance for you to help someone who has helped you so much. Here is a chance to use what you have learned and help your best friend.

She doesn't have a lot of answers right now, but she'll probably have a fairly "simple" treatment process - likely surgery, maybe radiation of some kind, possibly lifelong thyroid meds. We will have matching scars! (mine from my surgical biopsy) We'll def take a picture of that in the future. :)

She is one of my very, very best friends in the whole wide world and I feel so many emotions for her tonight.

Friend, I want you to know that I'm praying for you, I'm here for you, and I'll do anything I can possibly do to help. You are not alone and you never will be. Easy process or not, I'm here for you! I'd go anywhere for you and do anything I can for you. We will have matching scars, but very different stories. But you are not alone, friend, not alone at all. I love you!

Stupid cancer.

For Real, My Bestie.

Oh, my bestie. Jessica and I worked at the MTC Cafeteria at the same time. She probably working on Patrick's crews, too, but not mine because I worked in the Dishroom. Yummy. But we didn't really know each other then. I did, however, admire her purses ever time she would bring one in to store it safely in Trina's office before a shift started. Come to think of it, she definitely worked on some of Patrick's crews. How else would I have seen her purses?? Anyway...

Then we became Facebook friends. Our relationship grew and blossomed to the point that we finally exchanged phone numbers. Now I could text her about Gossip Girl every time I watched it, and receive instant feedback, instead of delayed Facebook messages. First world problem SOLVED. We bonded over that good ol' GG. Jessica is super duper fashionable and gorgeous. She has amazing taste and is super classy. We bonded over the amazing and beautiful clothes in GG. It's true. Jessica lives my alternate life, so I kind of live through her. She's amazing, hosts parties, wears heels all over the place, and owns gorgeous purses and clothes. She's just plain really cool. But most of all, she is an AMAZING friend. She is one of my very best friends in the whole world... and she lives far away. 

BUT! She came to Utah for a weekend and made a stop at my house so we could chat it up. We hadn't seen each other in person since we saw each other in person at the MTC, but not really. Actually, Trina introduced us once. I remember that. But mostly, I remember the purses. 

I feel like this is all sounding shallow and I must say that Jessica is one of the most humble and kind and wise women I know. She always gives me great advice. She listens and then says exactly what I need to hear. In fact, just tonight I have been texting her about some frustrations and I feel better already. 

Jessica is so amazing that on the great hair-cutting night, she Skyped in and joined the party. Jessica, I love you. I hope you know it! :)

So back to that weekend... she was a very busy girl with lots of great plans in a short amount of time and I'm so glad she was able to stop in for a little bit to visit. Talking with Jessica is like talking to the sister I never had growing up. Things aren't awkward, we can talk about anything, we are real, and we are funny! Heavens to Betsy, we are funny! 

So we talked, caught up on life, and took a few serious moments in as well. We took some cell phone pictures and mandatory visiting pictures. Jessica adores my kids and they quickly fell in love with her too! We tried to get a picture with her and the girls, but they were being silly and tired, so it isn't great. 

I wouldn't say this is the best picture we couldn't gotten, but it's perfect anyway! It has us in it and that's all that matters! 

Jessica has been with me EVERY step of this cancer adventure. She has been there for me in tears and laughter, the nasty moments and the Gossip Girl rerun nights. Restless arms and legs, nausea, possible hair loss, not losing all the hair but shedding like a beast, feeling down for not doing everything, feeling good and going crazy, all of it!  

We are definitely sisters, and I'm forever grateful for her. Jessica is another friend of mine that I have a hard time putting into words how grateful I am for her and for our friendship. So this post is kind of all over the place. I don't think I will ever be able to "re-pay" Jessica for everything she has done for me in the last six months. I only hope that I can, in some way, at some point, because she has given me so much. 

I miss you, sissy, and I love you! Triple fist bump. 

Color Me Rad!

Last year, Cami, Elisa, and I decided to run a 5K. We got our training on, I did the C25K program, we got some friends to join our team - Team Footloose, and we 5K'd it across town! It was so much fun that we did two more times in the next 4, no 2, no 4 months. Maybe 5. :) We kept the tradition alive this year! (Patrick participado'ed too, but this is about Cami and Elisa. My FACS 5K friends. FFF. Triple F's. Triple threat. Boom, baby.)

Our first 5K was Color Me Rad at UVU last April, as in last year, not this year. It's the one that we all got our train on for. And yes, we (at least, I) did need to train for that. Years of not running + old age = nothot.com. It was SOOOOOOO much fun! We were DOUSED in color, wet and dry, and it was amazing. Patrick had to work shortly after the run, so he dressed head to toe in sweats, hoodie, bandana, etc. to stay clean. It was funny. We ate at Zupa's afterwards and Cami looked like an Avatar and scared the you-know-what out of Makenzie (my kids had to meet us at Zupa's so Patrick and my SIL - watching the kids - could go to work). Cami really did look like an Avatar. And I left my glasses on the car, so I couldn't see very far in front of me. My poor kids. 

It was so exciting that we decided to run in the Freedom 5K on the 4th of July in Provo. You run along the parade route and all the crazies who camp out for the parade (yeah, really) cheer you on. It's a lot of fun. That was the first time I ran the entire 3.1 miles, without stopping to walk. Elisa ended up not being able to come to that one, so it was just Cami and Adrienne, but I had so much fun. And I was so proud of myself for running the whole thing. Patrick stayed with the kids and cheered us on. And took more awkward pictures, as per his job title. :) The t-shirt for this run is snazzy. 

We loved Color Me Rad so much that we decided to run in The Color Run in Sandy. I think that one was in September? I'm not sure. Well, Elisa and I had kind of stopped training, while Cami was rocking the training in prep for her (b)Ragnar in... November? October?.... so Cami left us in the dust... Elisa and I walked a good deal of that one. There weren't any hot fireman on golf carts offering to take us to her, so when we saw her on a turn, we ran to catch up with her. We finished the race together... with the skipping, rolling in the color, etc. The Color Run didn't use ANY wet color and it wasn't as colorful. I think we decided not to do that one again. But we still had a blast. We rocked out at the concert thing at the end and ate at . The Cami Show, episode one was born and we began Instagramming. #withhashtags 

Cami went on to run that {b}Ragnar with her now-husband, Justin. Elisa and I, well, at least I, quit running for a while. I almost ran the Santa 5K in December with a friend, but I was sick. Probably a good thing... since I had stopped running... And we didn't see Elisa again until this past June at the FACS Conference. 

That brings us to this past June. Wait, I have to go back again... A couple of years.... when Cami and I went to an education conference in October where Harry Wong was to be the keynote speaker. Elisa was coming from Wyoming and she slept in. She was probably the most excited to meet Mr. Wong. Well, she was late and she parked in like four parking spots. She did meet him. Shook his hand. Didn't wash it for weeks. There's a picture of that somewhere... probably on Elisa's computer. Of the meeting. Not the not hand washing... well, sort of.... 

And so now Elisa parks like this every time we get together.... 

I have decided to tell this story in picture format and I dedicate that to Cami. It's her favorite blogging format. 

Cami and the fiance-at-the-time-husband-one-week-after-this, Justin, getting all stretched and ready for the run. Not a lot of prep before this baby, either, and cancer-me was DEFINITELY not going to run, so we all walked it together. Except Patrick, he added push-ups. #showoff

Traditional pre-color photo with my FFF's.

Patrick really does take the best awkward photos. This photo does showcase my AWESOME socks. For our first 5K, we all made and wore "Team Footloose" shirts. While we are still Team Footloose, our outfits need coordinating again. HOWEVER, Cami wore the best shirt for this 5K. More on that later. 

Hubby and I pre-color/run.

More full-body effects here, folks.

We got tattoos with our packets. Cami puts hers on right away! And Justin's too. Who doesn't want RAD tanlines for their wedding???

Elisa is making Episode 3 of The Cami Show. It contains 5k footage. Lots of it. Pretty sure she took like half an hour of video on her little iPod. Isn't technology great?

Like I said, Patrick added push-ups to his 5K. Cami and Justin took Red Bulls from the back of someone's car as they were passing them out - say no to strangers, guys, say no. Elisa pretended to run for the photographer. And I wore Santa socks and the yellow station poured Mt. Dew pee color on me. 

And that brings us to our post-run photo shoot. 

The engage-eds. All colorfied. 

Elisa put her foot on our car. Patrick scolded her. She moved it to her car.

Patrick, post-color. Shexay. No hoodie this year! Patrick did a really good job keeping his head/face clean during the run. At the party at the end, I kept trying to get him with the color. He's too fast and tall. So Elisa asked us to kiss for our video and threw the color in his face (which = mine too). Major win. I'll gladly take one for the team for that! Good job, Elisa!

Elisa, post-color. Fabulous. In so many ways. I'm impressed by those pearly whites.

All together now - awwwww!

Patrick and I, post-color. That bandana would've saved my lungs if it hadn't been for sneaky Justin pounding my face with blue dust at the end at the celebration. Up my nose, in my mouth, down my throat, into my lungs. Blue teeth, blue snot, lots of blue spit. Yummy corn starch. He definitely won that battle.

My post-color face. Blue-tinted teeth? Probably.

This just makes me laugh. Nice one, guys.

Mandatory post-color/race jumping picture. Cami always ends up in this position, even if she jumps, so she skipped the jumping all together and stuck with the pose she knows. 

Swits and swoobs, folks. #lookitup

See the swit. Be one with the swit.

I asked Patrick to take one of our pretty faces.

Closer, closer... too close, too close. #namethatmovie

This was supposed to be a picture of Cami and Justin. Elisa, professional photo bomber, stole the show. I was too late and just creepy with my grabby hands.

More swits. Cami was really concerned about her stink and swits. While everyone else wiped their faces with baby wipes, Cami cleaned her pits. #goodhygienegoesalongway 

The next three pics are out of order a bit, but we all know I'm incapable of working peacefully with Blogger, so they stay. 

You've seen the front of Cami's shirt. It said "For Adrienne". She's the best. I can't even explain to you in words how awesome Cami is and how much our friendship means to me. Sappy moment! I love you to Reese's pieces, Cami! You are the best of the best of the best, sir! #namethatmovie

The back said, "the RADDEST chick I know". Seriously, how cool is Cami and how cool is her shirt? 

Cami, one of my bestest friends in the world. I'm glad she doesn't live very far away.

There's so much sap around here we could make our own maple syrup. Enough with that! Here's my colorful hand, after I wiped it "clean" with baby wipes. My hands won that competition. They looked seriously bruised. And with the swelling that accompanies me everywhere I go these days, it was quite the look.

As per tradition, we ate after the run. This time to Cafe Rio. Yummy. Mexican and salads - our faves.

This is Patrick's weird one blue eye, after cleaning up.

I'm blue, da buh dee da buh die. #justinwontgetthatreference 

Go Team Footloose!

I went to the bathroom. I don't remember what I said, but it was something along the lines of watch my stuff or my seat or something... so he did. And they took pictures. 

My heavens! I loaded the pictures from the desktop onto Blogger then proceeded to the bedroom with my laptop to blog in comfort and style. AND THERE'S A VERY IMPORTANT PICTURE MISSING. Don't you fret, I will remedy this gross mistake and you will all be grateful. Until then...

Cami and Elisa, you are my FACS 5K Friends and I love you both to the moon and back. That's sweet, huh? But I do. I love you guys. You have been there for me, well, always. And I ALWAYS enjoy our time together. We just have so much fun. It's great. I always feel better after I spend time with y'all. I'm looking forward to The Cami Show episodes 3 and 4. #longhashtagswillalwaysbefunny 

Color Me Rad Utah Valley September 2013! Bring it!