Anniversaries

A year ago today I was discharged from UCLA Medical Center after my 2nd round of chemotherapy. Kurt's parents, Ron & Carol, were out from Chicago to stay with us at that time and they picked me up from the hospital while Kurt was at work. I had been admitted almost 2 weeks before, and that was one of my longer hospital stays. The chemo drug I was given during that stay was methotrexate which has a tendency to stay in the lucky recipient's system at unsafe levels for days after it's administered. For some reason my body really didn't want to let it go so I had an extra long stay while the level went down to a less toxic level. Ron & Carol had arrived 10 days before on 8/18/09 and during their first visit to the hospital that night (directly from the airport) they watched Kurt shave my head. At that point it was a relief for me because I was tired of picking strands of hair off my bed, clothing, etc. But for them it must have been pretty horrifying. I still feel bad that they had to see that and that Kurt had to be the barber. But I'm grateful they were there to hold my hand and help me stay positive.

And there have been quite a few anniversaries recently. Starting with July 21st, the anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. July 28th was the first time I met with my oncologist, Dr. Rosove, who told me that if I had to pick a cancer I picked a good one. (It sure didn't feel that way at the time.) Then 8/5 was the anniversary of my first hospital admission for the 1st chemo round. And 8/10 was the first time I was discharged from the hospital. They're just going to keep coming and every anniversary milestone brings back memories of where I was a year ago, which is emotional and a bit of a trip down "bad" memory lane. But it's a good thing because it also reminds me of how far I've come. And we'll soon be coming up on some of the more positive anniversaries in the next couple of months.... like the day I found out I was in remission and day of my stem cell transplant. Of course I plan on having many more anniversaries for many years to come!

And then, August 11th was my birthday! 33 years young. In my recent adult-life I never felt like celebrating turning another year older. But this year was a little different. I suppose a brush with mortality will do that to you! So we had a little party, I got to see some friends I haven't seen in a long time AND my friend Alison made me the most amazing birthday cake ever! Complete with working volcano to fit the tiki theme. She's quite the artist!

We also had a really nice visit a couple weeks ago from Kurt's sister and two of her three kids, Nic and Natalie. They came from Chicago and it was great to spend time with them before school starts. While they were visiting I had to go in for another PET scan to make sure the Lymphoma is staying away and I'm happy to say the scan came back clean again! I can't help but be anxious about these scans but getting the good result and peace of mind almost make it worth the anxiety. I'll have these scans every 6 months for a few years.

I hope everyone enjoyed the summer. Love and good wishes to you all!