New Chores!

"If it is not on the grocery list, it is not going to be bought!"

My Dad usually does not do the grocery shopping. However, he has recently taken over this chore because:
1.) Mom isn't aloud carry more than 5lbs
2.) If Zach & Andrew shopped we would be living on Kool-Aid, Doritos, Hot Pockets and pizza
3.) And if I shopped we would be living on lettuce, Subway, cereal, and Diet Coke

The boys have not yet caught on to the idea of writing what they want from the grocery store on Dad's list, so when Dad came home from grocery shopping today without any bath soap, Zach and Andrew were like "umm... what the heck, where's the soap?!" This is when we learned that Dad follows verbatim what is written on the list, places it in the cart and then moves to the next item! He is a no hassle shopper... clearly. But hey, he does a far better job than I would!

Dad isn't the only person inheriting new chores around the house, though. Today I mowed the front lawn-- and before you go ahead chuckle I will have you know that a few summer's back I worked for a landscaping company. I will say though, we have this hill on the side of the house which is kind of tricky to mow. Several swear words later paired with one very sweaty mower, I FINALLY finished the stupid hill. And it doesn't look half bad, if I do say so myself!

Zach mopped the kitchen floor. Although he swore up and down he had absolutely no recollection of how to do so, he picked it up EXTREMELY quickly! Mom and I reminded him that he has been an employee at Perkins for some time now, surely they have had him mop before?! What do ya know, he has!

Then there is Andrew. We are just praying that he cleans his room. Dear goodness. I swear, there may be small animals nesting in there and we would never know. Ew.

Off to get my hair chopped and Mom's wig fitted... Have a good day! :)

CA125

Today’s Cancerous adventure entailed the visiting nurse, Patti, coming to check my mom’s CA125 levels, which tells them if the cancer is going away. While we won’t get the results until… well I don’t know when, but anyways; it was an interesting in-home experience nonetheless. I feel like Patti is a modern day version of Mrs. Clause—and I mean that in the most complimentary way! With her infectious laugh and cheery smile, she was a joy to meet, even in such annoying circumstances.

So about the CA125 business… my mom has two ports: an IV and an IP, both of which were surgically planted underneath her skin. She gets her chemo through these ports, as well as having blood taken from them to check the progress of eliminating the Cancer. I could not watch because I am not much of a blood person. My mom took it like a champion, smiling the whole time, not a single tear shed.

Just another day of watching my mom be amazing. I must say, that if it were me being tormented with needles and ports, and nurses and doctors, I would not be a ray of sunshine. But my mom is a very special woman and she always brightens my day.

(P.S. We concluded the afternoon by splurging on a late lunch from Jade Garden)

mail

Our mailbox is overflowing. literally.

Now, we have always received a lot of mail but let me just tell you... our mailbox is going to need up graded to one similar to the UPS headquarters! Over the past 6ish weeks, hundreds of cards have arrived wishing mom and the rest of us well, boasting gift cards and promising prayers. This does not include all of the people dropping off meals, stopping over to visit, the vast array of flowers (it looks like a freaking jungle in here!!!), "kicking Cancer's ass" jewelry, and the desserts that tickle every taste bud... believe me, they are going right to my bum-- I've sampled them all! haha!

I just want to thank every one of you who have extended a hand and opened your heart to our family. You have no idea how much this is helping keep everyone's spirits up here in the 'Creek!!! We truly appreciate every ounce of support we have received :)

strength...

:( Penguins are out of the playoff run and we are certainly disappointed; however, no one matches the sadness in which my dad is displaying. After several explicit phrases and heavily cursing Fleury's name, I think he feels a little better, haha :)

I did want to mention though, that my mom is doing AWESOME today. We had a very active day and she hasn't taken that beautiful smile off her face (even with the Penguins taking the loss).

To be completely honest, I never thought of my mom as the parent who taught me strength. For some reason, perhaps because we are conditioned to think that we should look to our dad's for physical strength, I always thought my dad made me strong. But I suppose that is dependent upon your definition of strength (i.e. physical/mental/emotional). And while my dad is CERTAINLY exemplifying strength in every sense of the word, my mom has taken me completely by surprise. Considering all of the surgeries, chemo and emotional stress she has already endured, she still looks gorgeous. She is still smiling. She is still so happy. My mom is freaking strong. And even though she is not aloud to lift more than 5lbs, she is carrying far more...

Okay, enough sappy stuff :)
Besides, I have to go make sure Dad doesn't throw the television out of the living room window, thanks a lot, Fleury. Just kidding!!!

normalcy

We love the Pittsburgh Penguins. Game days in the Chase household (especially Stanley Cup Playoff game days) are comparable to Christmas Day.

Tonight the Pens face elimination in Game 7 versus the Canadiens. So in preparation, my mom, Grandma and I went to Walmart to purchase some pre-game snacks...
Every year the Pens make it into the playoffs, Andrew and Zach invite their friends over and we have a plethora of artery-clogging snacks in an effort to will the Pens to another victory. The smorgasbord of food has several main-stays including: meat-lovers pizza (ew, not my choice!), Doritos, Helluva Good Chip Dip, and Twizlers. Yes, we are aware that this is a strange combination but it did help propel the Pens to a Stanley Cup Championship last season!!! haha!!

Anyways, while a lot of things are changing around here, there is one thing that has remained the same: our love for the Pittsburgh Penguins! Heck, our dog's name is Sidney!

Of course, my mom, who is rather exhausted come 7pm will be seated in her "game-day" seat in the living room cheering on one of her favorite teams! Naturally, my Dad will be in his assigned "game-day" seat wearing his "lucky" t-shirt anxiously awaiting the 7pm draw... Zach and Andrew will be participating in their own shoot out in the drive way, where the refine their hockey skills before, between, and after each Period. It feels good to have a little bit of our normal routine back :)
GO PENGUINS!

Dynamic Dad

Okay, today I want to credit my Dad. For those of you who know him (and even those who do not) he is a wonderful guy. And I must say that while he is certainly not the most existential folder of laundry, he gets the job done—and I mean that whole-heartedly as a compliment.

He is the first one up every morning. He takes care of the dishes, the laundry and making Mom her morning cup of tea. He has been by Mom’s side through the entire process so far and not so much as batted an eyelash about all of the time and energy he is spending to keep up with everything and everyone. He is teaching full-time, coaching by evening, and still keeping up with the house and Mom!

It is through this experience I have realized just how much my parents love one another. My Dad is so selfless: cooking dinners, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, and even carrying my Mom’s purse to and from chemo-treatments! And I must digress, seeing my father— the epitome of masculinity— carrying my Mom’s purple Dolce & Gabbana hand bag, paired with her “gotta-look-twice-to-know-it-is-not-Vera-Bradley” aqua blue, paisley, over the shoulder bag, is a rather comical sight… all the while, Dad is wearing his Arnold Schwartzanger sun glasses and carrying his 25 lbs. collection of keys.

If there is one thing I have learned thus far, love is giving. And my Dad is one of the most giving men I know. While he may not have the innate quality of keeping up a house-hold, he certainly has the compassion, love and patience to do so and he has been absolutely amazing! He is a great support system to have, with his positive attitude and energy! With him by Mom’s side, there is no questioning she will be dynamic through out the chemo-treatments and surely she will kick cancer’s ass!

Perhaps my next blog will be about my Dad’s grocery shopping… just kidding, Dad!
<3

back tracking

I've just realized, I just dove right into this blog without properly setting up my audience...

First of all... the purpose of my writing this blog is to find a positive outlet for not only myself but also my family during the process of being diagnosed, treated and SURVIVING a very unfortunate disease. I never dreamed that Cancer would come crashing into my house with reckless abandon; yet, it did.

And now that this unwelcome guest has settled into my home, we are making an effort to make room for it... For example, my mom does all the grocery shopping and cleaning, laundry and cooking. Yes, we all try and help but she certainly keeps our household up and running (all with her high heels on and her hair looking like she's just stepped out of a glam magazine.) So now that she is under-going chemo, the rest of us are making an effort to pick up our own slack and help out... Needless to say, my dad, brothers and I do not look nearly as good doing it as she does!

So all of that being said, I hope to use this blog as a catalyst to describe our journey through Ovarian Cancer as a family. Lucky for me, I have an amazing family.
<3

Summer Scrub Down

So today began the incessant need to clean.

Okay, well let me go a little further back than today. For those of you who may not know, my mother has been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and is currently under-going chemo treatments. I have finally made my way home from a long semester of class and playing Division I Softball... only to find that my brothers (circa 1990 and 1992) cannot aim for the HOLE in the toilet. That being said, I have been scrubbing like Ms. Clean. Sharing a bathroom with two very HAIRY, very MESSY teenagers is going to truly test my patience... why do they feel the need to shave their whiskers over the sink and then leave them there?!?! After throwing some life-threatening looks their way, I feel as though they will keep the bathroom clean(er)... or at least for today!

Until tomorrow<3