Inside the Mind of an Educator

  The sun is shining on the Gulf Coast and I  am getting some energy back and taking longer walks through the week. I don’t need a few hour long naps to get through the day anymore, just short catnaps or moments of rest. We are enjoying boating time with our family and just feeling the sunshine every day.  M y hair is coming in thick and soft. Gavin keeps me laughing through all of this. He said he married a blonde, but chemo is turning me into a darker brunette… with a little silver fox mixed in. 😂 Chemo can actually change the color of your hair, so we’ll see what it ends up being on the other side of this!  Overall, we are doing pretty well, but the past three weeks have had a few setbacks. My chest cavity started filling with fluid, and the left capsule they built to hold the tissue expander collapsed. That has meant going in four times now to have the fluid drained with a very large and scary looking needle and syringe, but is is placed in an area that has no f...

 Why I Didn't Ring the Bell Walking into the radiation oncologist's office today marked the end of my daily radiation treatments. I was met with big smiles and congratulations from every staff member I passed in the building. As I lay down on the table for the 30th time, I felt the emotions bubble up, as a few tears escaped down my cheek. These past six weeks, I have dealt with fear, deflation of tissue expanders, nerve pain, burns, and blisters on the inside and outside of my skin, and the loss of a good friend, which halted treatment for a few days so I could attend his funeral. My care team has been supportive every step of the way. I could not have asked for more compassion and attentiveness. I cannot thank them enough for the way they love people so well in such a challenging area of medicine. Last day of radiation...glowing and hair is growing The team asked if I was going to ring the bell to signify this monumental and emotional victory in cancer treatment. The ringing o...