mary + beth

thursday is surgery day for mary.

at about 3:30 wisconsin time she will go in for surgery to remove the melanoma tumor in her leg.

so send your love, mojo, and prayers to her - i know that all will go well and she will be back up and running in to time at all. go mary go, my "f*ck cancer" chants are already all fired up and at maximum strength.

tomorrow i get to hang out with beth and i wanted to share her latest update.

"It feels like a lot has changed in the last week. I feel like I am getting back to my life. I only wish my time like this wasn't so short as my next surgery is coming in a little over two weeks.

My mom left last Wednesday. As I said transitions are tough and I was very anxious about it. But I am doing ok. I have spent some time by myself and that has been ok and I am getting used to it again. I thank my friends who are keeping me at company at night, each night while my mom is gone. That is so helpful. Nighttime can be hard, my mind wanders, so it's nice to know someone is there.

I have been going to work. People have been so excited to see me which is sweet and told me how much they miss me and they are glad to see me around. That has been so nice to hear and I need that reinforcement. I held a staff meeting today and getting more engaged in my projects. I have client meetings this week and am working our company booth at a conference one day. It feels good and energetic to be back there. I felt like myself, pre-cancer. Except I get more tired..... last week when I had a full day and evening I definitely felt it the next day. I was so wiped out. So I need to monitor how I expend my energy.

I have heard from some clients recently. One sent me a card which was so kind, letting me know he was thinking of me and missed me at a presentation. One has sent me emails to let me know he was thinking of me and offering his help in anyway he can. We are going out for coffee this week. I got a card from someone who works for me and his family today as well. I continue to be blown away by how people support and care for me. That has been a real bright spot in this year and it continues to move me.

This weekend I drove to Ellensburg by myself to spend time with my niece and nephew who are visiting my sister-in-law's parents. It was so nice to be there and I thank the Lundy's for always being so gracious and welcoming. It was relaxing and fun to see those kids who I adore. I mostly just watched them play because they have so much energy even healthy it is hard to keep up! I have attached some pics from the weekend.

Last week I had two appointments. First I met with my oncologist. Checking in and we talked about what to expect from my chemo after the surgery. We will meet again after my surgery, but I will start chemo 4-8 weeks after my surgery depending on how I am doing. I will have a port put in, it will be more intense. And I expect to get the extreme of the side effects again.

I also met with my radiation oncologist. A wrap up in some ways. We will meet again after I finish chemo. He reiterated how the tumor had responded so well to radiation.
As always thank you all for your love, support and prayers through this very tough time."
happy thursday -- hope it is a good day for you and that you can see friday peeking out, and i hope that it looks good.

sidenote:
+++ i loved this post and am pretty sure that i will never look at laundry again, and i think that is a really good thing.