What's Up, Cancerrr??? You are pretty much HOMELESS

During mom’s week off from chemo she was very active! She spent time with friends at lunch, made a cameo appearance in her hip-hop class, as well as walked 2 miles for FUN! It was great to see her getting out and about.

However, this week brought about a double whammy chemo dosage that will inevitably wear her out. Chemo is tricky that way, rather than developing a tolerance to the treatments, she will continually get sicker from her dose.

But here is the GOOD NEWS: she IS beating Cancer. Her CT Scan came back WITHOUT any Cancerous spots. Those spots that were there were the reason for chemotherapy post-surgery. The doctor did say she has a cyst on her liver, but not to be concerned about that cyst because apparently six out of ten women have them.

In even more GOOD NEWS— studies show that women who’s CA125 numbers drop within the average range (30 & below) by their third chemo treatment have better chances of survival. Um, FYI, mom was BELOW average BEFORE her third cycle. What’s up now, Cancer?!

Needless to say this was EXTREMELY encouraging, even the doctor (who happens to be an avid Pittsburgh Pens fan) is excited!

Its been a long road and we aren’t quite home yet, but we are certainly getting closer to our destination and IT FEELS GREAT!

Which one of you is Sue?

A pair of mom’s work friends brought over lunch. One of her colleagues brought her three boys with her, who were not only adorable but absolutely hysterical.

Apparently, on the ride over to our house Friend A explained to her boys, ‘Sue is taking medicine that makes her lose her hair so she may be wearing a scarf.' And this explanation to three young guys (probably between the ages of 8 and 10) makes perfect sense; after all, Friend A wanted her boys to understand the situation before hand to avoid any strange reactions on their part.

Well upon entering our house one of these lil’ guys belts out, “Which one of you is Sue?” Mom raises her hand in response. Child who absolutely amuses me replies, “Oh yah! I didn’t recognize you with your wig on!”

Friend A blushes and apologizes, but in reality there is no need for an apology because between Friend A and her entertaining offspring as well as Friend B who is rather comical herself, paired with a delicious lunch, the afternoon was absolutely enjoyable!

Sick Of Being Sick

Imagine the worst flu you have ever experienced: explosive diarrhea, projectile vomiting, aching body, headaches, fever, chills and all together discomfort. But what’s the one thing that helps you pull through the twenty four to forty eight hours you feel terrible? Well, that this feeling will pass. Now pretend that you have the flu and all of these horrible feelings persist for months and you’ll have a VAGUE idea of what chemo therapy does to my mom.

Here’s the deal, people, chemo therapy is invasive and it does nasty things to a person. Pair with that emotional distress, weight loss, hair loss, and the inability to taste anything—it gets to be frustrating.

You see, some people don’t understand the enveloping side effects of aggressive chemo-therapy which my mom is currently enduring. Rather, most people are fooled by her smiling face, her wig that could easily be mistaken for her real hair and her positive attitude. But just because you see her with her ‘game face’ on does not mean that she is perfectly fine.

I suppose that is what is most frustrating to me. Some people are extremely insensitive to her current condition when in reality she is fighting through discomfort each and every day. And it gets exhausting hearing people belittle her battle. I hate to sound brash but the bottom line is CANCER IS NOT THE FLIPPING FLU. CANCER IS SERIOUS. I understand that some people see the ‘game face’ and are fooled. But I mean really, this woman is fighting for her life. She used to work all day, make dinner, go to hip-hop and then clean. Now she walks down the stairs and is exhausted because chemo is killing her good cells and her bad cells. I guess the reason for this tangent is if you cannot understand what it is she is going through each and every day then perhaps you should think for a few seconds about what one day in her shoes must be like. She can’t do everything she used to be able to do because she is receiving a CRAP TON OF CHEMO!!!

The bottom line is, whether you are fooled or not by her beautiful face, you’ve got to understand that she is sick of being sick—so of course she is going to tell you she feels okay when she sees you, why would she tell you, “I am miserably uncomfortable, but thanks for asking.”

If you ask me, I think shooting a quick prayer to the Big Guy above would be the most helpful. Ask him to continue to give her strength when the chemo is wearing her down. And most importantly, please try to remember that mom is stronger than 10 Arnold Schwarzenegger’s when it comes to life—so she WILL BEAT THIS. But bear in mind, this ain’t no flu she has… it is Cancer. It is kind of a big deal. While most people have 4-6 installments of chemo, mom is going to have a total of 19; therefore, it is not so simple for her to pull herself together. 10 down, 9 to go!

Cultivating Colin

As oxymoronic as this may sound— part of life is death. This past Saturday the world bid farewell to one of the nicest men I’ve ever had the opportunity to know, Colin Feeney. Colin is my Uncle Scott’s father. Being that Scott is married into the Chase family, I have no actual blood relation to Colin; although one would never know it judging by interaction.

Throughout my college softball career, we took many spring break training trips spanning anywhere in the United States from California to Florida. Despite the long distance from home, Colin always showed up for spring training with a smile on his face and his brother Gerry in tow. I didn’t know it this past February, but that was the last spring break any of us would share. His support did not only extend to sunshiny states, though. Once my team would retreat back to the snowy North for spring, Colin was known to pop in at a game and even treat me to dinner afterwards.

Colin, I know you are smiling down on us and you probably think you are the lucky one, being in Heaven and all. But in reality, I was the lucky one for having had a chance to cross paths with a noble father, veteran, and person. The pleasure was all mine. May you rest in peace, Mr. Feeney.

Today in an effort to pay my respects to this stand-up guy, I visited his calling hours. It was here where I began to think that had mom not gone to the doctor when she did, this funeral could have been paired with hers. I quickly shook the thought because it is a bit ridiculous to think about what would or could have happened. It seems most important to concentrate on what did happen and focus on all of the positive feedback she receives from the doctors each week.

This summer I learned a very basic lesson—people are not invincible. I realize this seems like rather pathetic message to just be learning at age twenty two but really, most people don’t realize that at some point their time will run out. I learned not to take time for granted. I loved seeing Colin. And I love my mom. And there are a million and ten things I want to do, accomplish, see, feel and know before I pass.

Leaving the funeral home today I almost felt invigorated—like, I needed to go and do something that is on my Bucket List (which is a great movie, by the way).

Prior to the calling hours mom and I had been arguing and when I came home, I gave up the “I am right” stance and decided to relish in the fact that my mother is happy, radiant and alive. So what if I accidentally ran our cell phone bill up with ring-back tone charges, money is not everything!? (Although if you must know, I do not think she has forgotten about the bill… thankfully we are no longer feuding.)

The moral of the story is, you get one life to live so it may as well be spent happy! It is with great appreciation that I say, Thank You, Colin, for teaching me yet another lesson—even when you aren’t physically here, you are still touching my life. That is pretty impressive.

Faith

Today I met a woman who lost her 2 year old child to Cancer. And although our meeting was brief, she radiated happiness. It was easy to see her laughter was genuine; not the least bit forced. And the reason for her optimism was extremely apparent in her modest hospital office: faith. On her desk sat a quote from arguably one the most influential women of all time, Mother Teresa. The decorative plaque read, "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

Like I said, meeting this woman was brief but even after I went home from work, I kept thinking about her. How difficult it must be to lose a child so young. Sometimes I feel bad for myself, like, whoa is me- my mom has Cancer. But today I realized that although Cancer may feel like something only my family is experiencing, people everyday all over the world encounter the very same disease. And some people, like the woman I met today, aren't lucky enough to win the battle. Yet, there she was, happy.

It is through this woman that I learned how faith is more than just a feeling but rather the belief , a belief in God and his plan. 'Happy Lady' (so sorry, but I don't want to drop names) taught me something in roughly 15 minutes that I THOUGHT I already knew: how to have faith. Thank you, 'Happy Lady,' you have touched me deeper than you'll ever know. Even though our plans and God's might not always line up, ya gotta learn to roll with the punches and keep on believing.

Speaking of happy, mom's CA 125 numbers have dropped AGAIN!!! She is officially sporting a single digit number (bear in mind anything below 30 is excellent, but the doctors are shooting for a number near zero to prevent a relapse.) A CT scan is scheduled as well to ensure they aren't missing anything.

In a nut shell, today was awesome...

Search & Rescue

Today my CioCia Gerry invited mom over for lunch. [CioCia means Aunt in Polish.] At noon CioCia and mom headed out to Olive Garden for a relaxing lunch on a hot afternoon. Interestingly enough, this is one of the few times mom has driven anywhere in the past few months, with the exception of 2 days ago when she ran into the garage courtesy of what call "chemo-haze." Chemo-haze can also be confused for air headedness, ditziness or pure ridiculousness as a result of too many chemicals in the body. Therefore, we were a bit nervous about sending mom on a 20 minute drive alone for lunch. But she is a big girl, so we let her.

At 1:41PM mom text dad, "leaving now, headed home." So when 4PM rolls around and mom is still not home, we begin to panic. Dad calls her phone. No answer. He texts her, still no response. This pattern carries on until nearly 5PM.

We try to think of all the logical reasons she might be taking so long: she saw someone she knows while exiting the restaurant, she stopped at the grocery store to grab a few things, or maybe ran up to Grandma's for visit since she was on her side of town.

Out of fear dad and I begin phoning a few relatives to see if they have heard from her. We call Grandpa, he says he doesn't know where she is but insists we call Grandma on her cell. So we dial up Grandma, who is at work and has no clue where mom might be but instantly grows fearful of the worst. We ring CioCia Gerry who said not to worry; she probably just stopped off at a store.

However, not worrying was not an option. By this point dad may as well have dialed up the milk carton factory and inserted a missing person add with Sue Chase's face on it. To say he was distraught would be the understatement of the century. If you saw helicopters flying overhead it was in an effort to find mom. Okay, I am totally lying about the helicopters. But seriously, Grandma was on the brink of calling all of the local Emergency Rooms.

Dad was just about to send Zach and I out on a search and rescue mission when we heard the car door shut in the garage. Out steps mom, smiling ear to ear, completely oblivious to the 20-some missed calls, 13 voice mails, and at least 12 text messages she had on her phone, which was left in the car during all of the visiting. Come to find out mom did NOT drive the car off the road and into a telephone pole as a result of chemo-haze; rather she stopped over to visit her dear friend, Kathy, and was enjoying iced tea and a delightful conversation on a hot summer's day.

Long time- No blog

Please excuse my blogging; or rather, lack there of. I have no valid excuse other than I am on summer vacation which therefore means I struggle to keep up with the rhythm of the universe all together.

This week has proven to be another eventful one- it seems as though we can never escape commotion of any nature. Here is where I must insert my disclaimer- WARNING: I am fully intending on complaining and whining, so if you want to hear about sunshine & summertime, this particular entry may not be yours to read, so sorry. Bear in mind that the onset of our "misfortune" began with mom's ovaries malfunctioning. HOWEVER, as though this is not enough, our calamity (okay, perhaps that's a bit melodramatic... read calamity as 'adversity') continued into the breaking of everything we own.

Shortly following the Cancer diagnosis, my car decided to practically combust into flames on I-79 South en route to see Corey. I turn around. $1500+, 6 visits to the mechanic and 3 weeks later Ole' Red (circa 1999) is running like an Olympian.

Next the garage door no longer opened, which would not be such a big ordeal had we been inside the house or in possession of house keys. I won't drone on and on about the details of this incident, because y'all already about our being locked out. A couple hundred dollars later, the garage door now opens when you press the button. Magical.

The latest breakage around here is the washer which was followed just hours later by the lawn mower that decided to stop working as well. We are currently in the process of fixing these issues.

It is to the point where we feel as though everything we touch becomes discombobulated. I am considering wrapping mom in bubble wrap because she certainly cannot handle much more breakage right now!!! Hold that thought while I let out a stress relieving scream...

... Okay. Moving on.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE- mom, Grandma Pakela and I indulged in a pedicure at Coventina Day Spa on Friday. It was absolutely fabulous! I think mom really enjoyed getting pampered; she certainly deserves the extra attention! Our toes look lovely for the holiday weekend; however, I kid you not, I chipped the paint on my big toe of my right foot within an hour of the appointment. Such is life!

In conclusion, I would like to say, I am getting off the computer so that it too doesn't break & please know that my mom is doing just lovely! Rock on! She is due for a double whammy chemo dosage on Wednesday this week. Prayers appreciated :)

Happy Birthday, America!

Graduation Par-tay

Well, we did it. The party was a success! It seems that at this time I should ramble on about all of the people helping prepare, set up and clean up the rather large shebang, but I would hate to leave someone out (which would inevitably happen). So rather than listing everyone's names I just want to give Grandma and Grandpa Pakela a shout out. They helped with every aspect of the party; I know my mom appreciated their assistance as well as their cooking expertise. And as far as name dropping is concerned, I absolutely must thank my boyfriend, Corey, who was a great help this weekend too. I don't how I got so lucky to have met a guy like him, but I am sure glad I did! We are so blessed to have so many family members and friends who have been of such succor over the course of not only planning this monstrosity of a party but also through the whole entire Cancer-process. And then of course, there is mom, hosting a party with over 100 people in attendance is never an easy task but she (and dad) did a wonderful job wading through the masses and socializing. By the time the last guest left I was exhausted, so one can only imagine how tired mom had to have been. I know I say this just about every day, but her strength is really impressive.

All of the food was amazing and it only made me jealous because making a piece of toast is a task for me. Thankfully the weather cooperated, had it rained I think mom might have lost her calm, cool and collected demeanor. Which on a side note, as strong as my mom is, and God love her, she is famous for spazzing out before the guests arrive and then she convincingly morphs into the world's most poised party host. Those of you who have ever see a mom before hosting a party know this trick, as all mom's do so--one minute they are sprinting around the house in their robe spouting off orders about where the cake goes and, "who was supposed to dust the mantel?" and then shortly there after they are sitting cross legged in a lawn chair chatting up their guests, laughing and smiling?! However, I suppose this is as natural as spring following winter and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to break this innate party host quality; not even chemo therapy can break the cycle for my mom so good luck to the rest of you spouses and children of party-hosting-mothers. Regardless, mom did a fabulous job with the grad party and had I not known she had blood work taken just 24 hours prior as well as chemo 3 days before guests began to arrive, I would not have known she was busy fighting Cancer and checking the mantel for dust.

The festivities rolled on from 3PM until the wee-hours of the morning when finally, dad's good friend and college roommate, Bob (also known as the master of the corn hole tournament) and his partner in crime, Scott (my uncle), decided it was time to hit the sack.

I know my mom appreciated everyone coming to help Zach celebrate his graduation and I don't think the day could have gone better! We expect to see ya'll about this same time next year for Andrew's graduation and heck, we can celebrate mom's remission then too...

Missin' mom

Let's just start by saying there is never a dull moment here at the Chase household. Can I also tell you that it will be a massive relief to have Zach's graduation party begin and actually enjoy this rather elaborate festivity?!

Alright so today is Wednesday which means mom is getting chemo. Grandma and Grandpa Pakela drove her this time, which will certainly be great blogging material for tomorrow. This is the first time dad has not gone with mom throughout this entire process and I have to say he seemed a little bit off today, I could certainly tell he misses her. I just got off the telly with mom and she is doing wonderfully, currently en route to the 'Creek (albeit a bit tired).

Mom has not even been gone an entire 24 hours and yet plenty of, ehm, things, have occurred in her absence. For example, our poor little kitten, Lilly, seems to be ill and had to be taken to the vet (no prognosis on what's wrong just yet); although, she does seem to be doing better.

Also, I decided to try and touch up my not-so-blonde roots with a box color. Ah, yes... what a mistake. First go round my hair turned orange- not too classy. Then I discover a hair coloring box (ash blonde) under mom's sink and decide it would be a wonderful idea to dump that color on top of my orange hair. As result, I aged 50+ years and was sporting a silver bob. Again, not quite what I was looking for. By this time it was 3 A.M., but thank goodness for Wally World, which is open 24 hours a day. I jet off to Walmart sporting a hoodie in 80 degree weather. I return home with a platinum blonde highlighting kit. This kit required me to pull my hair through a cap-- I recruit Zach to help me, he passes the duty off to his girlfriend, Amanda. But of course my hair was too fried and nasty to be able to be pulled through the hair coloring cap. As a result I dump the entire blonde highlighting kit on my head. I am now sporting a not so trendy Slim Shady, mac n' cheese, blonde bob with a blistered scalp.

This is what happens when the mother hen leaves- complete pandemonium. My mother would have never let me be so dumb as to attempt to bleach my whole head! (My dad wouldn't either but I waited until he was sound asleep!)

The moral of the story is never dye your hair unsupervised or allow your brothers to be the people in which you consult about just how tacky and brassy your blonde locks look (because they do not even know what they are talking about). All dad had to say about the scenario was, "I still don't know what you dye your hair for."

I finally TRULY appreciate the statement mother knows best. And without her, even for just one day, I've become a mess!

Birthday Bash

As the American Cancer Society often says, for Cancer patients and survivors, Happy Birthday is victory song.

Yesterday was mom's birthday which we celebrated today in conjunction with Father's Day as well as Grandpa Chase's birthday. We had a house packed with family and plenty of great picnic food; actually, there is still family here as I type.

I never thought of a birthday party as anything more than just that, a birthday party. Birthday parties, prior to today (for me at least), were a chance to catch up with my family and eat some of Grandma Cammy's delicious homemade cake. But today as I looked around the party, I realized that we were celebrating far more than delicious cake and good company.

Today was an opportunity to genuinely appreciate and celebrate my mom as a person. And being that it was Father's Day and Grandpa's birthday too, everyone took time out of their busy schedules to enjoy them too.

I think from here on out I will be far more appreciative of every birthday and holiday we can all spend together, even after mom is in remission!

CA125's & Kitty's

This week brought about a lot of exciting news and happenings. For starters, mom got another CA125 blood test result which took another deep plunge! Just as a brief reminder, her CA125 level was at 881 when she was diagnosed. Well, here we are entering the second cycle of chemo and her CA125 came in at a stellar 16!!! (Bear in mind that anything below 35 is considered excellent). Ideally the doctors would like to see her sporting a single digit CA125 blood marker in order to lessen the chances of a relapse. Needless to say, we are elated to see her successfully knock out Cancer one cell at a time, one week at a time.

Although the improvement is visible in the numbers, mom is still getting aggressive amounts of chemo and therefore she is feeling under the weather. Usually the weekend after a double dose of chemo, such as this week, brings about a lot of unwelcome nausea and such. For now, mom is relaxing on the couch sporting her CANCER SUCKS shirt (given to her as a gift from a friend).

In other news around the house, while mom and dad were off to the 'Burgh for chemo, Zach and his girlfriend, Amanda, found 8 baby kittens. All of the kitty's have found a home, one of which will be permanently residing in the Chase household. This kitty is currently unnamed and weighs in at a tough 1.1 pounds. Yes, you've read that correctly: 1.1 pounds. She is a peanut.

Our four week old kitten and mom have already bonded; in fact, while mom was up last night not feeling well, the kitten was keeping her company. I came downstairs this morning to find mom and the kitten snuggled up in a blanket on the couch together. I don't think the kitten could have found a better home nor could we have found a better kitten! And what perfect timing... who couldn't use a little fur ball of love?!

Stay tuned for more...
P.S. Tomorrow is mom's birthday!

CRS

My mom is currently suffering from a newly developing disorder referred to as CRS. Can't Remember Sh*t, also known as "chemo brain," does not and will not complicate her progress in defeating Cancer.

Okay, okay, CRS is not a real malady but rather a comical observation that pokes fun at my mom who seems to be losing her short-term memory. A prime example of this was this morning: both my mom and I were up and eating breakfast at the same time. I was scarfing down cereal with soy milk (dad managed to find the soy milk at the store this past grocery trip) and mom made herself an egg. We enjoyed a few minutes of Good Morning America together before I zipped off to work. When I got home from work around dinner time I was starving, which is normal. So I quickly make myself a heaping salad and just as I am finished the last bite mom says, "You must not have eaten breakfast, you were really hungry!" I reply, "Mom, we ate breakfast together." She responds, "We did?... (5 second pause)... OHHH YAHHH! You had cereal!"

We have learned to chuckle at mom's temporary lack of memory because after all it is just that- temporary. However, we did learn that "chemo brain" is an actual identified thing (for lack of a better word) and that once the Cancer subsides and the chemo is finished she will be able to remember what she had for breakfast!

Brutally Boring

You may be wondering why these entries have been rather interminable in terms of frequency. The reason for my on again off-off again blogging habits are easily explained: our lives have returned to normal. As I have mentioned, the next round of chemo begins on Wednesday; however, because mom is coming off a chemo-free week, she is rather energetic and completely normal.

So the "regular" rigmarole of the Chase house has sustained itself. And by regular I mean (but these are NOT limited to): my car began to blow black smoke--again, Zach has been running 6+ miles a day on the treadmill with feet that sound heavier than that of a 2-ton elephant, dad has played several seasons of NHL 2010 on the xBox, Andrew has been hanging with his friends and working excessively at Wendy's, Sidney has been pretending his is part human by drinking out of our cups that are sitting on the end tables unwatched AND most importantly, mom has been visiting with family and friends, shopping and cleaning for the party of the season (also known as Zachary's Graduation Party)!

I am happy to report that our lives are rather uneventful and dull- just the way we like it! I will be certain to keep everyone posted on the latest news once mom heads to the 'Burgh for another round of chemo.

Short and Sweet

This week has been busy: planning Zach's graduation party, I started working, and we've been preparing for mom to tackle another round of chemo beginning on Wednesday.

Last night a vegetarian's nightmare came true at our house as we hosted a meatball rolling party. The evening was full of family, laughs and a little bit of wine. Aunt Patty, Aunt Michelle, Scott, Kian, Aunt Melissa, Grandma and Grandpa Pakela were all apart of the festivities. 20 pounds of meatballs and about 3 hours later, the very large task was complete. The meatballs are now being frozen until the big grad party. It was so nice of everyone to come over and pitch in because while mom is feeling better, it would take Super Woman and her side kick (does Super Woman have a side kick?) to roll 20 pounds of meat on her own. That is practically an entire cow. Ew.

Today mom and dad bought a new grill, where they ran into an old family friend at Home Depot. Mom said it was great to see her and appreciated her huge hug as well as her prayers. It was great to see mom up and about. I know I keep saying that, but really, it is wonderful to see her trucking around the house!

But,I have to go to the store now because while mom and dad were at Home Depot, I was supposed to have put the thawing hamburger in the fridge... well, three hours later mom and dad came home and the meat was still set out. Needless to say, the meat has gone bad and everyone is raging at me!!! I guess they really want to try out this new grill... Anyways, enjoy the weekend!!

Secrets

Most importantly, everyone should know that today my mom had an awesome day. She spent her morning and afternoon as though she were a "regular" summer vacation victim: enjoying the day, snacking on fresh fruit and strolling a few laps up and down the street. And it was an honest relief to see her shuffling around the house, picking up after us. Although we do know that this surge of normalcy is only temporary (as far as the summer is concerned), it's still refreshing.

Now, not to be a Debby Downer but to be completely, fully and brutally honest, seeing mom on good days (like today) has tarnished some of my fears. While I want to paint a very POSITIVE picture about our experience with Cancer, I also want to let it all hang out. I want to be absolutely truthful. You know, like when people ask if I dye my hair platinum blonde or if it is natural?! I want to scream, "HELLO PEOPLE, LOOK AT THESE ROOTS!!! OF COURSE IT IS FAKE!" Yeah, I want to be THAT honest.

So here it goes. My personal diatribe about how scary Cancer can be; almost as scary as my not so blonde roots like to grow in. Have you ever been sucker punched? Right in the gut? Well, I hope not. But finding out my mom, my very YOUNG, HEALTHY mom was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, a Cancer with a 30% survival rate was just like being sucker punched by Mr.T.

My dad told me. It was the first time I have ever seen my dad show any extreme emotion. Here was this strong man, both in stature and emotions, weeping in front of me. And for a brief moment, I felt the world around me stop spinning. I was confused, I was angry and I was upset. What did we do to deserve this? was all I could think. I let my mind wander and started thinking about how awful it would be to have holidays, graduations, weddings and babies without her there. And I couldn't stop crying. I was furious. But with whom?

And after a lot of sleepless nights and random crying fits, I decided that it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and for my family and put up my dukes, time to start fighting back. I realized fighting, in a figurative sense, was a lot easier when I didn't have tears in my eyes. Here's the thing: Cancer is aggravating. But like most things that agitate, it CAN be fixed with the right kind of help. And that is where I am at now. We have the best doctor in the country. Mom has a positive attitude. We have each other. And we have a faith in God more potent and proliferating than the BP oil spill.

So yah, Cancer is terribly frustrating but it is totally beatable too... so really, there is no longer a purpose to be sad or scared. She is going to beat this. She is going to see every holiday, graduation, wedding and grand baby for the next 60+ years. She WILL BE THERE.

Friendly Faces

My mom, the beautiful woman that she is, has never been responsible for a car accident until today. Okay, scratch that-- an ALMOST car accident.

This evening I drove mom out to visit her hip-hop class. And apparently, these ladies miss her just as much as she is missing them. In fact, they miss mom so much that at the first sight of her, Mrs. S whipped her 4x4 truck into park and hopped out before even pulling into a parking spot. This later caused extreme parking lot confusion and congestion, until some of the other woman realized what the commotion was about and followed suit. Several haphazardly parked cars later and what seemed like hundreds of hugs, mom and her friends spent some time visiting!

Their friendly faces and unique park jobs were more than enough to fill that little void in her heart that once was filled by her workout friends. It is only a matter of time until she is back to class, be-bopping with her fellow hip-hop class friends.

I just want to thank them for their support, thoughts, prayers and gifts. I know my mom appreciates every kind gesture too!

Locked Out

When it rains it pours, literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, the weather here was extremely dreary. In a figurative sense, two of our four cars had to pay a visit to the shop (but they are running great now) and then the garage door opener decided to stop working.

Now the bit about the garage door opener not working would not be a big deal... had we been INSIDE the house; however, naturally we were outside the house. Today Aunt Michelle made us a delicious dinner, so we paid her, Scott and Kian a visit. Unfortunately, Zach left the house after we did and obviously missed the memo about NOT shutting the garage door.

So there we were, sitting in our driveway in the drizzling rain contemplating how we were going to break into our own home. Of course, not ONE of the five of us owns a house key (because in our neighborhood it is not necessary). But as we scoured the premises looking for a way in our dog was barking like Big Foot was attacking him. Patio doors- locked. Dog began salivating like a maniac. Deck doors- locked. Dog started hopping up and down, barking incessantly. Front door- locked. Sidney is running in circles (it almost looked like he was chasing his tail). Windows- locked. Dog begins to howl like a wolf.

Finally, dad decided that he was just going to blast through the man door in the garage. And he did just that. Thank goodness, because otherwise we might still be outside our house looking like vagabonds.

It is never a dull moment around here... but we are just happy that mom is feeling great today and was able to enjoy the delicious dinner Aunt Michelle made as well as the show in our driveway.

Catching Up

The solution to beating Ovarian Cancer (for my mom) goes something like this:

Week 1: chemo in IV port, found in her chest, on Wednesday
chemo in her IP port, found in her stomach, on Thursday
Week 2: chemo in her IP port, found in her stomach, on Wednesday
white blood cell shot on Thursday
Week 3 REST!
Repeat x 6 times

It has been a rough few weeks but Monday begins week 3 of round one: rest, as prescribed by mom's doctor. We are looking forward to enjoying this coming week and having her recover from all the chemo. She is already feeling better! Her appetite has finally come back and although I complained the whole way to Jade Garden to order her chicken and broccoli with white rice, I was elated to see her be able to eat! Mom being able to eat correlates into her having more energy. And her having more energy means she is able to be her spunky-self. And it is wonderful to have a taste of our "normal" life back.

However, we are settling into our "new" routine too. Dad is getting better at grocery shopping but then again we are learning to put EXACTLY what it is we want on "THE list." For example, if you were to write "fruit," he will return with apples. Now, if you were to write "fruit," on the grocery list while mom was doing the shopping, she would return with all the variety's of fruit that are offered in the Erie County area during that season.

As far as Zach and Andrew are concerned, they are keeping the bathroom semi-clean(er) but I am still working on them to hang their towels up consistently! Hey, somebody has to do it since mom doesn't have the energy to all of the time! Now if only we could convince Sidney to stop shedding...

Graduation

When I graduated from high school Zach was in the 8th grade. He has come a long way from dwelling the hallways of junior high to receive his diploma today.

It is always exciting to watch people grow and change. And over the years Zach has slowly but surely found his footing in the young adult world; something my parents are certainly proud of. And despite yet another round of chemo in conjunction with mom's white blood cell shot she received just 4 hours prior to the graduation commencement, mom was leading Corey and myself into the auditorium looking for the perfect aisle seat in which to take a plethora of pictures from.

Kinda funny how life works, I thought to myself today. I always thought that I needed to be the one to keep strong for her; but in reality, she is the one that keeps ME strong. She strutted her way into graduation looking like a run-way model today and faced an entire community of genuinely concerned and caring people. Not only was she battling the emotions of watching her second baby walk across the stage and into the next phase of life, but also she had to face crowds of concern all the while keeping her emotions in check. And she did!

Today emotions were flying high. And kudos to my mama for continuing to be our family's rock, even though everyone would understand if she fell apart. But then again, she's not that kind of gal. She is tough.

P.S. Congratulations, Zachary! I am extremely proud of you. And I can't wait to see what the next chapter of your life brings!

Creative Cards

Today one of my mom's colleagues brought over several cards made for her by students. What a nice gesture, I thought. Little did I know, not only were they sending their best wishes but also side splitting laughs. Care to know why?

Exhibit A: I hope kemotherapy went well.
Exhibit B: Mrs. Chase, I hope your cancer dies. Good luck. (Complete with a drawing of a chemo "ray" striking a diagram of cancer.)
Exhibit C: You show that cancer who's boss!!!
Exhibit D: You're an awesome teacher/person. Just another crack in the sidewalk of life, Mrs. Chase.
Exhibit E: Cancer sucks. Get better soon.

Kids just have a way with words, eh?! Not only did their endearing positive thoughts touch my mom's heart, but their unintentional humor was helpful too. And what a good time for her to laugh; tomorrow she heads back to Pittsburgh for even more chemo therapy.

Another bright spot today was that mom and I got to babysit the newest addition to our family, her nephew and my cousin, four month old Kian. Nothing like a toothless grin to keep anybody's spirits up!

Between the very original cards and the lil' guy, today was full of smiles, both of the toothless and tooth-full assortment.