scanapalooza

"listen to the mustn'ts, child. listen to the don'ts. listen to the shouldn't, the impossibles, the won'ts. listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...anything can happen, child. anything can be."

(shel silverstein)

so tomorrow is scan day.

since i am doing the pet scan, i have to fast for 12 hours before the test. they called and pushed my scans a little later in the afternoon. not sure why they feel the need to make me wait even longer which means i am hungry even longer, but that is how it is going to go down. i have the pet scan and ct scan first, and then head in (no pun intended) for the brain mri. it should be about a 4 hour extravaganza before all is said and done sometime around 6pm. i am expecting that i will head home and crash because i will be feeling pretty crappy from the pet scan fluids and the contrast. cocktails of dread. ugh.

but, there a couple of things that are on my side for tomorrow.
+++ i got a kick ass "f*ck cancer" shirt to wear tomorrow from my patterson peeps in wisconsin. awesome. i am sure the techs and nurses will love it;)
+++ all of the love that has been coming my way this week from family and friends. there is no doubt that i am surrounded by a ton of love, which brings me a lot of comfort during this tough time. i am so thankful that i have so many people rooting for me, it helps immensely to know that others are in the fight with me.
+++ i got a notification today from fred hutch for the donation that was made in my name with the extra money donated from the couch drive. i figured that was a good mark in my book from the cancer gods. (thanks jill for making that donation happen. you rock. thanks to josh for marrying jill, best decision you ever made - even better than having me for your best friend which i have always thought was a pretty stellar decision on your part all of those years ago).
+++ my friend crystal is a teacher and she started an "operational fun mail for alli" campaign with the high school kids she teaches. i had no clue about it until i got the first installment of the letters today. perfect time to get them the day before scans. 150 high school kids that i have never met before sending me tons of love and good thoughts. seriously, can it get much better than that? i don't think so. i am so taking all of those letters with me in my bag tomorrow, i am already confident they are good luck.

here are just a few excerpts from the kids....
+++ "dear friend, did i forget to tell you we're friends? well we are. do you want to know what cancer can't do? cancer is just so limited...it can't corrode faith, it cannot shatter hope, it can't cripple love, it can't destroy peace, it can't kill friendship, it can't suppress memories.." (crystal - those were just the opening lines to the one from alex)
+++ "crystal tells me you are a fighter and i know that means you can do anything. hope to hear good news soon. i plan to write you every week and tell you about things on in my life. you are in my prayers alli"
+++ "you can pull through this, you are stronger than this"
+++ "because of you, and your story and some things happening at school, i am making it a goal to take more random kind actions. you inspire many, stay strong."
+++ "so i am not really sure what to say but i want to say something nice to make you smile"




 

on the good news front, my friend greta got clear results today on her melanoma scans in new jersey. so happy about that, love good news from the east coast. perfect.

 

also, regarding jen, she is still working on getting that third opinion on next steps - and in the meantime, we keep the fun mail for jen campaign rolling on to bring her good vibes on that third opinion. the third opinion is going to equal positive news. i just know it. already a done deal as far as i am concerned.

 

also on the bright side, it looks like blogger has stopped hating me finally so i should be able to post a picture tomorrow night of me in my "f*ck cancer" shirt. maybe i will also post one of me shoving my face with food when i finally get to eat. we will see how it goes.

 

everyone have some fun tomorrow please and eat good food (and candy) all day long. xo

 

sidenote:

+++ just heard about sugarwish for the first time today, and since i love candy, i think that i just fell in love with this site. i am also wondering why i didn't think of this first. (em - this would be our dream company, we need to see if they are hiring samplers asap)