I'm back!

So I had my party and I thought it was awesome. I felt so looooooved! :o)

My only regrets are that I felt like I barely said "hi" and "bye" to almost everyone - didn't really have much of a chance to sit and talk to anybody... Bummmmmmer. But hopefully we will catch up if we didn't get to there. I'm also bummed that I didn't take enough pictures! argh!

Awe well, I still had fun and it was great to see so many friends and family who have been so supportive to me over these past 7 months. And it was a great way to kick off my new adventure - getting back to a "normal life" - YAY!

Speaking of a "normal life", today I went back to work. It was not very successful cause my login didn't work, but it was still pretty exciting to be back. Hopefully tomorrow will go smoother in as much as my being able to access my account. I have ALOT of email to go through!

I'm gonna post the few pictures I did get and I also thought I would post recipes for the Sangria and the Sausage Potato Soup - I got asked alot for both of those.... (Click on picture to view album...)

Pomegranate Sangria

1 bottle fruity red wine (I used Lambrusco)
2 cups pomegranate juice (I used Blueberry-Pomegranate Juice)
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 large orange, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 pineapple, sliced into wedges
1 lime, halved and thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours before serving. Serve over ice.


Sausage Potato Soup
(Copycat) This is a clone of the Olive Garden
4-6 servings
1½ hours
20 min prep

1	lb Italian sausage
2	large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half,and then in 1/4 inch slices
1	large onion, chopped
1/2	can Oscar Meyer bacon bits
2	cloves garlic, minced
2	cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
2	cans chicken broth
1	quart water
1	cup heavy whipping cream

1. Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
3. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
4. Add sausage and bacon.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Turn to low heat.
8. Add kale and cream.
9. Heat through and serve.

Chemotherapy - Session VII

Here I am again... just got back from my 7th session. 12-11-10-9-8-7-6.... Not that I'm counting down or anything... :o)

You know, I've heard people say before that they can't stand hospitals. They have to be practically on their death bed to go in to see a doctor and they won't go visit anyone no matter what. I always thought "What's the deal? What's sooooo bad about hospitals?" But today, the SMELL of the hospital grossed me out so much I thought I would get sick. It almost made me want to cry just thinking I was going to have to spend 5 hours in it... I've never felt that way about it before. Guess I was just sensitive to it or something. Uck!

Other than that, everything went well. It took the usual hour+ to get my bloodcounts back, but they were all good. I talked to Dr Azar about this side effect I've had... for several days after my treatment I get this restless feeling in my legs and arms. Like I can't get comfortable sitting, standing or laying down. If I'm standing, I'm pacing back and forth. If I'm sitting, I'm kicking my legs back and forth. And if I'm laying down, I'm turning from side to side. It was getting on my nerves quite a bit... enough to ask her about it. Anyway, she said it's probably a side effect of the steroids I'm taking. So I am gonna try a different anti-nausea medication this week. Hopefully that does the trick.

Right now, I'm tired. Hot. And my tummy hurts... so yep, I'm 'bout to take a nap.... maybe.

Oh yeah, hadn't updated about last week, but it was great. I went to lunch - with my friend Yvette S and also with friends Sue and Crystal (who did the Relay for Life with me). Wednesday I went to lunch with my friend Eric and to a Rockies Game. And Friday to lunch with Mondo, Darren & my friend Lisa & her kids. Then we went to the zoo and met up with my nephew and his family. His son Josiah told me last week "auntie, I want to go to the zoo!" I also saw a couple of movies with Darren - WallE and Journey to the Center of the Earth. And then Friday night I got to do my 2nd "mini-make-a-wish". Mondo and I went to the Capital Grille downtown for a really nice dinner. We even ran into our friend Andrew who bought us dessert! mmmm... It was awesome!

My numbers -

		Range
	Actual	Low	High
WBC		3.5	11.0
HGB		12.0	16.0
HCT		34.0	47.0
Platelets		150.0	450.0
Neutrophils		1.5	7.5

The Relay for Life

Argh, I've been slacking again! I meant to post about the Relay for Life over the weekend, but I guess I just vegged out instead - sorry! The thing is, I don't really know where to start... it was such an awesome night, I don't feel like I can do it justice.

Let's see... First I will go with who was there...

Me, my mom, my dad, Darren and Mondo. Mario, Karen, Sophia and Mateo. From Sun (work) Sue and Crystal. And unexpectedly a day before the relay I found out that my cousin Tommy was coming with his whole family - Tammy, Taylor, Matthew and Landon. That was a great surprise as Taylor is my little cousin who is also dealing with cancer and who I walked in honor of. And although I don't think it was in their original plan to stay the whole night, the kids were having such a good time - they did!

Over the night, we got lots of visitors too - My friend Brooke stopped by to play a few games with us. My favorite PA from Kaiser, Theresa, stopped by with her husband to see if there was anything we needed. My friend Debbie stopped by with Mercedes and Lexus to play some games and bring burritos! And somewhere along the way, my son met a friend - Eduardo - who hung out at our camp all night.

After opening ceremonies Taylor and I participated in the "Survivor Lap" with our special "Survivor TShirts". It rained as we made our way around and it was so cool to see everyone clapping the whole way around - just standing in the rain and cheering us on. Taylor is truly a survivor type - this girl has been through 9 intense months of treatment and she comes out ready to fight some more. She's beautiful, full of energy and smiles and she is inspiring to me. Taylor, you will always be in my thoughts and prayers!

If you have a chance, please visit her site too - http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylormorgan.

What next? Games. Taylor taught us a card game called "Mafia" that everyone really enjoyed. I could tell cause even when I was napping in the tent, I could hear them laughing so hard I thought surely someone was gonna pee their pants!

As it got dark, we made a couple more rounds and we looked at the beautiful tribute of luminarias. A luminaria is a paper sack with a candle in it and people bought them in honor or in memory of a loved one who has been touched by cancer. As we found Taylor's, my cousin Tommy (yes, we have the same name) said "I wonder where yours is" and I swear I got a tear in my eye when we found it. It really touched my heart that Taylor made a luminaria to honor me. It was beautiful.

There was a point in the night when me and my mom were at the camp alone with the kids. Eduardo, who was also wearing a survivor tshirt shared his story of his fight with leukemia since the young age of 4 (he's 15 now). It is so very hard to explain how it felt to hear these kids - they're just kids for heaven's sake! - talk so matter of factly about these experiences that no child should ever have to encounter. And what was it that they had to say in the end? Eduardo's desire is to collect toys to give to the hospital so that they can give out to other kids going through what he went through, cause he remembers that they did that for him. And Taylor was on the same wavelength - "Yes!" she said "I want to do gift baskets!" Such big hearts.

As for the walk - Darren had a blast. I can't believe the energy he had for it after spending the day at Elitch's, but he walked alot. And he even won a bingo game during one of the prize laps. Taylor stayed up all night and walked alot too. Even after that first lap she turned to me and said - let's do another.

This night was filled with so much love and support, it's really why I say I can't put it into words. If I could translate how big and full my heart feels, you would probably be reading forever. It was a great night. An awesome night, and I am so glad we did it. And I am so grateful for all of the people I have in my life and had with me to share that night with...

Time for some Summer Pix....

Thought I would give a quick update for those of you who'd like to know what's been going on with me. I've felt pretty good this week and have done some 'fun stuff' with my family...

Tuesday, 7/8 - Took Darren, my godson Adrian and my niece Aubreyana to Adventure Golf and Go-Karts. Then we came home and played Uno & Monopoly.

Wednesday, 7/9 - WDP Board Meeting which turned out to be fun. I really like the group of people, they're easy to talk to and they make me laugh. It's exciting to know that we have approval to go ahead with the 2nd Middle School. YAY!

Thursday, 7/10 - Lunch with Scottie! Which was good to catch up... unfortunately, my back went out right after lunch. Ouch. So I took it easy for the rest of the day.

Friday, 7/11 - Feeling much better! Took Darren and met up with Mondo & Tyler at Belmar to see "Hellboy II". Did you know first movie of the day is only $5.50? What a deal. That afternoon, we (mom, dad, Darren & Mondo) went to Pueblo to visit family. We got to see my dad's aunt Jenny - she's 94! She looked like she was doing pretty good. I met up with my cousin Maria and we went out for a Red Beer (mmmm) or two. Short visit, but it was nice to see a few people we hardly ever get to see.

Saturday, 7/12 - Left Pueblo early to get to Canon City to purchase tickets for the 12:30 train ride in the Royal Gorge. It was a two hour ride and the kids really seemed to have fun. They got a big kick out of seeing the rafters and especially when they waived back to them. After the train ride, we went up to the top of the gorge. I stayed in the van and took a nap - I was not going near the gorge - way too afraid of heights.... but Mondo, Mario & his whole family and Darren walked across. Yikes. AND THEN, after that, we went to Pizza Madness in town and met up with my nino (Godfather) and some cousins. That was really cool 'cause I hardly ever see my nino and he is the best.

Anyway, it was a pretty great weekend and it truly felt like we were on vacation even though we were only two hours away. Needless to say, I was exhausted when we got home last night. We all were.

So, anyway - I thought it was time for some pix...

Knocked. Me. Out.

Wholly cow! This past treatment kinda knocked me out!

My "norm" has been to come home, blog and then sleep after a treatment. This week, I didn't - I had to run an errand so that cut into my nap time. I don't know if that is what knocked me out of whack, but I couldn't catch up. I was so tired - I felt like all I could do is sleep whenever I could.

On Thursday morning, I did manage to catch a flick - "Hancock" - with mom, dad and Darren... On Friday, I went with Mondo to a BBQ for the 4th of July, but just ended up laying down on the grass with my eyes closed... then off to the Outlaws game, which I don't know how - but I slept through it! I did manage to wake up for the fireworks though! Saturday - I rested all day - and missed Kristina's Bday bash :o( - which brought me to today...

It felt good to make it to church this morning. Had a nice lunch with Mondo, Darren and friends - Beth and Dave and their new baby Zane, who I got to hold for the first time today. He loves me.

This evening I went with friends to the Spaghetti Factory and then to Comedy Works. It was a great evening and I don't know if it's ever felt so good to get some energy back.
Awe well, Cheers to a new week!

Chemotherapy - Session IV

Okay, not sure if you noticed - but I'm slacking. Partially because I wanted to keep my pleas for CELL PHONES and attention to the American Cancer Society RELAY FOR LIFE at the top of the queue. (Please review the links noted to see if you can offer your support for either of these worthy causes). And partially 'cause I didn't really feel inspired to write while I was sick.

But since I had a chemo appointment today, I thought I would share for those of you who were wondering how that went... and for my records too.

I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous that my cold might have put a damper in the plans for today. Maybe effect my bloodcounts in a negative way that wouldn't allow me to receive treatment. I went ahead and took my shot of neupogen (the WBC Booster) on Monday - and it turns out that that seemed to do the trick! Neutrophils were where they needed to be and I have received my 4th chemo treatment! YAY! I am now 1/3 of the way through!!!!

To think that the last one marked 1/4 of the way and then just one more changes it to 1/3 of the way. Mondo said the math is just going to get weird on the next one - so I probably won't note the fractional measure, but then again - maybe I will.

As for the appointment, it went well. Results from blood draw came back within the hour. My appointment wasn't until 10:45am, so it was a late day. But I had good company again. Kristina H (visiting from NM) made it there despite my bad directions and she brought me lunch! Imperial Dragon - yummmmm. And then Jessica (from my Band of Sisters) stopped by too. It was nice to chat and catch up.

Kristina brought me home and we were going to watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, but turns out it was deleted from our DVR. So I will need to see if I can find a recording somewhere or wait for the DVD release. I was pretty tired though, so I'm not sure how far I would have got through it :o) Since the movie plan was nixed, I went ahead and crashed on the couch - right in front of the AC ahhh... and I didn't wake up until about 9pm. Nice nap.

So that's the story. I'm doing all right and my cold is pretty much gone... a lingering sniffle here and there, but nothing unmanageable.

Chemotherapy - Session III

Weeeeeeee! I completed my 3rd chemo treatment today! I am now 1/4 of a way through!

I forgot to get a print out of my exact counts today, but apparently my neutrophils were where they were supposed to be! Dr Azar sounded happy that it worked and I will keep praying that one shot of neupogen per session will work for the entire regimen. That is very very good news!

My appointment was at 9am. Yuck! I am soooo not a morning person. My mom wanted to go, but Darren is out of school now and I didn't want him to be alone all day long. Really, I didn't even mind the thought of going alone this time - I had a little craft project to work on to keep me busy and pass the time. As I promised her I would - I called Sheila to let her know that I was probably going to go by myself. Of course, - and I knew she would - she offered to keep me company. I suggested that maybe she could meet me for lunch, and that way she wouldn't be there the whole day, but then I would have a ride home. But she ended up picking me up bright and early and staying for the whole appointment (9am-1:30pm). Thank you Sheila! And thank you mom for taking care of my kid! Love you both!

When we got to the clinic, the line was out of control running out the lobby and down the hall. I've never seen it that long! I asked Sheila if she would hold my basked of crafts while she waited for me to check-in. She took the basket from me and said "sure, but I will stand in line with you!" I felt bad, and she wouldn't let me take it back from her! While we were waiting, I saw my favorite PA - Theresa Capaci and she came right over to give me a hug. It's always nice to see her! And, thankfully, the line went pretty quickly!

Here's a photo of the view from the wing that we receive chemo in. Today we faced west.

My nurse was Johanne. I really only saw her once - but Charla, Laney, Julie and Lisa all stopped by to see me, as well as my new friend Angelo from last session. I got to show off my newly stitched fanny-pack, and they were oh-so-impressed - hahaha! Sheila and I were making roses out of PartyLite votive candles for an open house I am having later this month. I handed them out to some of the nurses and it seemed to put a nice smile on their faces. I told Sheila, "it makes me want to just carry a basket of them around to hand out to people". The nurses told me it looked like we were having a little party in our corner of the wing. I guess we kind of were. At least I was having fun.

So the good thing is - things flowed really well today. I didn't have to wait long to see Dr Azar. Got my labs back quickly. Didn't have to wait long for meds.... and the time seemed to fly by - comparatively. Since we got out earlier than normal, we stopped for lunch afterwards. But not before Sheila ended up carrying ALL of my stuff out to the car - the craft basket and two bags of supplies, while I carried - a Coke! It was kind of funny so of course, I wanted to take a photo. As Sheila (carrying basket and bags, shuffled for the camera to take a picture too), gets told that "photo taking is NOT allowed at Kaiser!" by a security guard who happened to be passing by. Oops! I wish I would have gotten a picture of her! Next time...

I'm home now. My headache has not kicked in full force, but I can feel it coming on. I am hot and I am tired and my jaw hurts. I can feel some of the neuropathy (tingling sensation) in my fingers, but it's not too bad. I wasn't able to drink an iced drink for lunch - but I am learning to deal with that. I have a big bruise on my arm where I got my neupogen shot two days ago (thank you Sheila for giving me the shot, and remember, I don't blame you - so don't feel bad) - but the bruise makes me even more thankful that I don't have to take that shot 5 days a week! And - my side effects of it were not nearly as bad as two weeks ago! So things are going good... and, I am a quarter of a way through! I feel like I should be planning a party or something?? Hahaha! Nice try huh?

Allright, I need a nap. Hope all is well with all of you! I know if you read this often, you know what's going on with me. Hope you will still keep in touch and drop me an email or a comment at least.

Hugs,
Tommy

Time for some pix!

My bananaphone bag... Yes, it's a fanny pack - but look how cool I made it. Haha, yes - you heard me right. I said cool. hahaha. I'm soooo funny! Don't bother telling me how crooked my flower is, I'm gonna pretend it's just perfect ;o)

Me & my Godson Adrian at Hibachi Grill - celebrating his continuation, which I didn't get to go to 'cause I was supposed to be getting chemo (2nd try).
Alejandro and Jayda at his graduation party.

Me, Jayda and Nikkita at Alejandro's Graduation Party

Me, Mateo and Karen at a Potluck for Mateo's last day of pre-school! (Two days after chemo, looking good - not)

Darren and Mondo - out for Pho.

And Eric too....

Aubreyana and Mondo at the BBQ

Jayda Marie at the Memorial Day BBQ

John & Lisa at the BBQ too...

A few pics... from the zoo

Just a few pics from the zoo trip, aka "Tommy BC's New Year's Eve Celebration" mentioned on post titled Why are my eyes leaking.

A few pics... from Chemo Session#1 and Family Dinner

Also, a few pics from chemo session #1 (probably duplicated below) but with additional photos of the family visiting for dinner afterwards.


Also, wanted to apologize on slacking off on noticing the goodstuff in blog form. Here's way to few to make up a bit...
Noticing the "good stuff" -
[x] Ice Cream & Iced Drinks
[x] Done with One!
[x] Blog comments - thank you Lori & Christina!!!
[x] Small groups at FM
[x] MY Band of Sisters
[x] Sheila - you rock!
[x] Mom, for everything
[x] anti-nausea medication
[x] The Zoo!
[x] Family dinners

A few pics...

I mentioned a piece of surgery garb - an aluminum looking puffy hat, that looks like one of those popcorn tins that open up real big when you heat it over the stove - in the post titled The Big Day - Part I. This is a picture Jazzy modeling it off. Sexy! I also brought home the matching blanket.

After my surgery, when I was in recovery, they brought me a bunch of warm sheets because I was freezing. They wrapped one around my head and I fell asleep zoning in and out while I was waiting for results. All the nurses could see were my eyes. This is what I looked like when Mondo walked in. *cheeeese* brrrrrr.....

This is the nurse that taught me how to take care of my central line. She was my first intake nurse in oncology, but I don't remember her name. Paula maybe? I'm sure I will know all their names before long though...


Darren had Field Day for West Denver Prep on Friday. Me and my mom got to go for a bit and watched him participate in a couple events, including one that he got a first place ribbon for - a crazy relay race. It looked like the students had lots of fun.

Out and about...

The ending of a great week... I got out of the house starting with the Mammoth game on Thursday (details in previous post).

Then Friday night I attended a Mission Estonia Poker Party Fundraiser at Marvin and Donna's House. It was a lot of fun and really good to see some of my Faith Mountain family. Although most of them had visited me in the hospital, it still felt like a long time since I had seen them. Donna made sure I had pillows for comfort and Mary (who I had met at a previous poker party) tended to my needs the rest of the night. She wouldn't even let me get up to get a bottle of water. But I didn't sit still the whole time. I mingled during the break and chatted with friends after I went out.

Saturday we had a birthday party for Darren at Faith Mountain. It was pretty easy - Mario and Karen ordered pizza's and brought salad, drinks and picked up the cake that Denise had bought. Everyone who got there early helped put out the chairs and Mondo and John set up two projectors for the kids to play Xbox and Nintendo. I think they had fun because I didn't hear any "I'm bored" complaints. The adults sat in another room and chatted, and eventually played one game of Texas Hold'em. By the time that game was over, I was starting to get a little achy and was ready to go home. Everyone pitched in and cleaned up in no time. I gave my mom the "night off" and she and my dad took a trip up to Blackhawk. Mondo came home with me and Darren and "babysat" me until after 1:00am.

Today, I made it to church and got to see the rest of my Faith Mountain family that I had been missing. I was so happy during worship, I sang my heart out.... and I don't know if many of you know this - but I don't sing, except at church, and usually I don't sing very loud there. But I was just so thankful for such an amazing week, I couldn't help myself. Sorry to those of you who were sitting near me ;o) This evening, we went to Mario & Karen's house for a family birthday dinner. Darren had his favorite, king crab legs - so I think he was pretty happy with his birthday weekend. Score!

So the weekend update is this - Every day I am feeling better and seem to be healing well.

I'm sure I'm repeating this when I say it, but you would have thought that this past week would have been the (2nd) worst in my life, but it wasn't. It actually felt like one of the best. I feel truly blessed.

Tears of joy. Way better than tears of sadness.

The Tarpit visits me in Section 102!

Me, Meghan & Mondo

Matthew & Me!

I just got home from the best game ever! Well, actually - I missed alot of the game since I couldn't sit forward in my seat and jump up whenever I wanted to. And usually, I want to stand through the whole game. But, I made it to the game and I was able to sit through the whole thing, so that was awesome!

Just Happy!

During halftime, Voodoo and the rest of the Tarpit all came over to our seats to say 'hi' and to take a picture with me. I knew that Voodoo was going to try to stop by, but it was a nice surprise to meet everyone else. The aisle guide or guard or whatever their title is actually wasn't going to let them down to our seats. They ended up going over to the next section and crossing back! What determination :o) So I was just so excited and all I wanted to do was give Voodoo a great big hug to thank him in person for doing whatever he did to get me an email from Gavin. And just for his kind words too. And then he tells me that he wants to give me something and takes a ring off his finger. Before I could finish saying "No, you really don't need to do anything like that..." He says, "Yes, I want to. This is my lucky ring and I have worn it to every game for the last three years." "Oh no, I can't take that..." "How about this, this is my lucky ring and I want you to have it... and you can give it back to me when you're all better." Ah, tears in my eyes again. And another hug.

Voodoo - you don't know how your kindness has touched my heart. I bet that I have spent less than 15 minutes, maybe 10 - crying over my cancer diagnosis, and half of that was worrying about how my family would deal with it... But I have been brought to tears several times by the overwhelming goodness of people like you. Here you are, a stranger - and then a group of strangers - making such a sweet and meaningful gesture. Tears of joy are way better than tears of sadness.

Wait! The story doesn't end here. Mondo asked if I wanted to go on the floor to see if Gavin was there. Dad was going to pull the van up and so we did. We waited for a while and finally Gavin came out and of course, everyone was yelling and cheering. Maybe we shouldn't have stood in the middle. He's never going to get here. Everyone is going to go to him. Bummer. Nenad Gajic had just come by and a security person told him time was up. I thought, well, probably the same for Gavin. But we still waited and I wanted to see if I could see him at least, but I was in the wheelchair and my view was blocked. Looked like they were telling him it was time to go too, and that's when I saw him look over and smile at me and walk straight over! He signaled to me that he was coming over to see me. I got the biggest cheesiest smile on my face and stood up.

He gave me a big hug and asked me how I was doing. I told him good, but at that moment - great! I thanked him for his emails and asked if he would take a picture with me, to which he answered "of course". Argh! When will I learn to take my camera! Matthew left early so I just had my camera phone and ugh, my eyes are closed! I am so happy about the moment I am still going to post the photograph. He thanked me for coming and wished me well, telling me to take care and hoping I was better soon. Oh, what a great night!

On the way out to the van, my whole family knew how happy I was. Mom was asking what happened during halftime and I was showing her the ring and sharing the story. I asked Mondo what he did and he said he went over and was able to talk to Gavin, saying "I know you're busy and you have lots of people to see here, but my sister would really like to thank you for some emails you sent her this week." It sounded like he knew who he was talking about by that and said he would come over. Thank you Mondo!!!

So, my tummy hurt and my sides hurt too by the end of the game. That was the first time I've really done steps and been out since the surgery (besides the quick trip to Target yesterday) - and that was a lot of steps. But it was totally worth it! I'm already feeling better.

And oh yeah, the Mammoth won too! Nash kicked bootie. That means playoffs! Yeah!