RayDays and Chocolate Celebrations

Happy Friday and what a beautiful Friday it is! I hope you all have had a great week....I have! Really didn't do much this week, but every day has been better. It's taking me longer to bounce back from the chemo, but each day I'm a little stronger.

My goal is to start working in some exercise into each day. The chemo still has a hold on my leg muscles and I'm still having some neuropathy (numbness) in my feet, making it hard to exercise. When I start thinking about exercise, my body says, "Hey, let's go get a chocolate milkshake and think about it in the recliner!". But my brain says, "If you want to be able to walk around the mall again without sitting on the benches, you better start now!" siiiggghhh

Monday, March 2nd will mark a celebration day for me. I go back to the oncologist for a checkup from my last chemo and to give me a green light on the radiation. My bloodcount should be back up by then and I will be able to start radiation that week. I will also get my PICC line out!!! Which means I can stop taking Coumadin!!! woooo hooo!!! (Chocolate Celebration time!)

HOWEVER, the next week Todd and Zachary will both be on Spring Break. Since they haven't had the same spring break time in a while and we really need to catch up on family time and my body could use another week of recovery and waiting another week isn't going to make a difference negatively but I feel it will positively.... so I've made the executive decision to wait until after the break to start radiation which will be March 16th.

Radiation will be every day Mon-Fri for about 6 weeks, so around 30 treatments. It won't make me sick like chemo, but fatigue is the #1 side effect. By that time I hope to be in the exercise program they have for cancer patients. Hopefully that will help combat the fatigue. Radiation has some other side effects that could be detrimental to my recovery goals....God knows exactly what they are....so I ask your prayers that I avoid them!

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The "every day" thing will be tiring, but I am planning to think of 30 things to make each day good! One is my mindset. I've decided this is just extra sunshine they are shooting into me!

Another thing is I am buying 30 pieces of miniature chocolate and putting them in a glass jar. Every RayDay I will eat one! (and it better just be one if I'm gonna get this weight off!) I feel this will give me a visual representation of time passing! (hahaha yeah whatever excuse to eat chocolate!)

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There is a group of you ladies out there who know about my Chocolate Celebrations.....I'll take this time to give you all and standing invitation! Anytime there is any reason to celebrate, there is always a long distance party to be had. All you have to do is eat chocolate in celebration! So far no one has passed on the invitation and I've rec'd emails and phone pics of my friends eating all kinds of chocolate. Let me say, from the bottom of my heart, how VERY MUCH I appreciate you all making that sacrifice for me!

Okay, back to the 30 RayDays. If any of you Tyler or close-to-Tyler gals want to make a day or half-day of it, let me know! It would be so much easier to get up and get ready knowing I was going to spend some time with my SisterChicks! I don't know when my appointments will be, but I can tell you it won't be before the 9:00 hour!

I will continue this blog until I get the 'all-clear' from my doc. That may be at the year mark, so lots of posting left! I probably won't update as much, but I will post pics of my RayDays with SisterChicks and Chocolate Celebrations, for sure. So don't change that channel! Stay tuned!

Praise ye the LORD! Praise, O ye servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the LORD'S name is to be praised. Psalm 113: 1-3