Deb's Update: October 9, 2007
Hi all,
Here is an update with no pictures... now I'm totally due to post photos: from Jodi's visit, the dog's new trick, Camp Keepsake, and now the Red Sox/ Angels game!
I'm done cycle 8 and all is well. The dose did go up a little for 3 of the 5 days... I'll take it! It didn't make me feel any worse, so I'll have to see how the labs go tomorrow. Hopefully my counts are the usual counts that I've been having since Radiation/Chemo combo. Of course I am completely focusing on my brain these days... wondering if I can feel a twitch in the frontal lobe, or headache, or balance problems, etc... So far so good. I am hopeful that Monday the 15th's MRI will be the same (which will be a good thing!).
I'm still meditating but it seems to be more challenging now that I'm back into my normal routine. But, I would say it's still keeping me grounded which is a good thing :-) I even meditated the usual times while I was at the Camp Keepsake event the weekend of September 28th, 29th and 30th! Now I can talk about the Cancer Hope Foundation camping event...
As much as I didn't want to go to the camp with all cancer survivors, their families, current chemo patients, etc... it was great! Thanks to Kim for making me apply to get into the camp for that weekend. Campers and their friends/family were given a host who was the one that helped us do EVERYTHING that weekend from getting warm water to drink, meeting us at an event of doing crafts, or going to a Life Coach to hear him talk about getting your life in order. Kim and my host Donna was amazing... she even made Kim and I some nice scarves which was needed at night in Malibu!
Thankfully the camp had 'dormitories' instead of tents! Phew, huh? I wouldn't have been interested if I had to sleep in a tent, on the ground, when it's cold! Okay, not totally cold, but you get my idea, huh? We arrived on Friday night at 4:30 PM and set up our room in our London Tower dormitory (everything was named for Europe stuff since that was the theme!). Then it was introduction time to the staff and a nice camp dinner... okay, so the food wasn't great, but the atmosphere was. The one thing that was completely amazing is that all of the events from jugglers, singers, 'coaches', massage therapist, other spa treatment types, acupuncturists, etc... were all volunteers. They spent their time to help us and never got paid a dime by us or by the Cancer Hope Foundation. Amazing, huh? My hope is that someday, I can become a host and help someone there... I told my Mom she will be coming with me next year! I'm sure she will love it too!
There was obviously lots to do which I am not going into too much details on, but you can always check the website for the Camp Keepsake and you'll be able to see how amazing it is. We got pictures from them but Kim has the CD so she could copy it for herself... so, I of course don't have those pictures to post yet. I'm really getting behind in pictures, huh?
I was able to go to the third game for the Red Sox... they were out here in Anaheim playing the Angels (I'm sure you all know that) so I knew it would be a great/fun thing to do. If you saw the game, you can relate: WHAT A SWEEP! The Sox won 9 to 0... you should have seen all the Angels fans leave in the 8th inning knowing their team wouldn't win. Boy oh boy was I glad to be sitting near the Red Sox dugout since there were lots and lots of Sox fans screaming and yelling. Of course, we made the Angels fans 'annoyed', but hey, live life to the fullest, huh? Now if the Red Sox get into the World Series with the Diamondbacks, you know where I'll want to be: Arizona! I've been to the stadium in Phoenix before so it'd be a great place to see the Sox...
I should know in the next 2 weeks ( I know I keep saying something like that!) whether I have a job here at Amgen or not. We were told that about 675 people would be laid off from the Thousand Oaks campus... So, fingers are crossed that regardless of what happens, I can keep insurance somehow. It's not all about work for me these days, it's all about keeping health insurance!!!
I have definitely added more Yoga than I had been doing. The facility (YogaWorks) has finally opened at the end of August so it's nice to be at a studio where yoga is the thing to do! They also have an area where you can meditate, so it's right up my ally!
My dad is coming to visit for about 8 days... you guessed it, he will be supporting me for my next MRI. Hopefully, he'll be the one that throws me a party when the results come back perfect... maybe those darn dots are gone! Or, I'll take it if they're just the same. I have to start setting up a 'to do' list for Bobby when he's here: probably walking the dogs, painting my master bathroom and of course doing something fun with me and Charlie like GOLFING! I am not 100% hooked yet, but I'll get there.
Oh, by the way, Charlie is the guy that I have been dating and I haven't mentioned that yet... I just didn't want to get you guys all excited in case things didn't work for Charlie and I. He doesn't know a ton of details in terms of what I am going through (cancer and chemo wise) but he knows some minor details but hasn't asked me any more questions... he'll ask me when he wants to know what's going on with me. We're just about at our 6 month anniversary (Oct 15th if you can believe that). So, hopefully that day will be a great day: good MRI and Happy 6 month Anniversary! Oh, and just so you know... he's only 5'4'!!!!!!!!
That's it for now... I don't have much time to type and proofread what I've written these days, so I'm sorry if there are spelling errors!
Love you guys!
Debbie
Hi all,
Here is an update with no pictures... now I'm totally due to post photos: from Jodi's visit, the dog's new trick, Camp Keepsake, and now the Red Sox/ Angels game!
I'm done cycle 8 and all is well. The dose did go up a little for 3 of the 5 days... I'll take it! It didn't make me feel any worse, so I'll have to see how the labs go tomorrow. Hopefully my counts are the usual counts that I've been having since Radiation/Chemo combo. Of course I am completely focusing on my brain these days... wondering if I can feel a twitch in the frontal lobe, or headache, or balance problems, etc... So far so good. I am hopeful that Monday the 15th's MRI will be the same (which will be a good thing!).
I'm still meditating but it seems to be more challenging now that I'm back into my normal routine. But, I would say it's still keeping me grounded which is a good thing :-) I even meditated the usual times while I was at the Camp Keepsake event the weekend of September 28th, 29th and 30th! Now I can talk about the Cancer Hope Foundation camping event...
As much as I didn't want to go to the camp with all cancer survivors, their families, current chemo patients, etc... it was great! Thanks to Kim for making me apply to get into the camp for that weekend. Campers and their friends/family were given a host who was the one that helped us do EVERYTHING that weekend from getting warm water to drink, meeting us at an event of doing crafts, or going to a Life Coach to hear him talk about getting your life in order. Kim and my host Donna was amazing... she even made Kim and I some nice scarves which was needed at night in Malibu!
Thankfully the camp had 'dormitories' instead of tents! Phew, huh? I wouldn't have been interested if I had to sleep in a tent, on the ground, when it's cold! Okay, not totally cold, but you get my idea, huh? We arrived on Friday night at 4:30 PM and set up our room in our London Tower dormitory (everything was named for Europe stuff since that was the theme!). Then it was introduction time to the staff and a nice camp dinner... okay, so the food wasn't great, but the atmosphere was. The one thing that was completely amazing is that all of the events from jugglers, singers, 'coaches', massage therapist, other spa treatment types, acupuncturists, etc... were all volunteers. They spent their time to help us and never got paid a dime by us or by the Cancer Hope Foundation. Amazing, huh? My hope is that someday, I can become a host and help someone there... I told my Mom she will be coming with me next year! I'm sure she will love it too!
There was obviously lots to do which I am not going into too much details on, but you can always check the website for the Camp Keepsake and you'll be able to see how amazing it is. We got pictures from them but Kim has the CD so she could copy it for herself... so, I of course don't have those pictures to post yet. I'm really getting behind in pictures, huh?
I was able to go to the third game for the Red Sox... they were out here in Anaheim playing the Angels (I'm sure you all know that) so I knew it would be a great/fun thing to do. If you saw the game, you can relate: WHAT A SWEEP! The Sox won 9 to 0... you should have seen all the Angels fans leave in the 8th inning knowing their team wouldn't win. Boy oh boy was I glad to be sitting near the Red Sox dugout since there were lots and lots of Sox fans screaming and yelling. Of course, we made the Angels fans 'annoyed', but hey, live life to the fullest, huh? Now if the Red Sox get into the World Series with the Diamondbacks, you know where I'll want to be: Arizona! I've been to the stadium in Phoenix before so it'd be a great place to see the Sox...
I should know in the next 2 weeks ( I know I keep saying something like that!) whether I have a job here at Amgen or not. We were told that about 675 people would be laid off from the Thousand Oaks campus... So, fingers are crossed that regardless of what happens, I can keep insurance somehow. It's not all about work for me these days, it's all about keeping health insurance!!!
I have definitely added more Yoga than I had been doing. The facility (YogaWorks) has finally opened at the end of August so it's nice to be at a studio where yoga is the thing to do! They also have an area where you can meditate, so it's right up my ally!
My dad is coming to visit for about 8 days... you guessed it, he will be supporting me for my next MRI. Hopefully, he'll be the one that throws me a party when the results come back perfect... maybe those darn dots are gone! Or, I'll take it if they're just the same. I have to start setting up a 'to do' list for Bobby when he's here: probably walking the dogs, painting my master bathroom and of course doing something fun with me and Charlie like GOLFING! I am not 100% hooked yet, but I'll get there.
Oh, by the way, Charlie is the guy that I have been dating and I haven't mentioned that yet... I just didn't want to get you guys all excited in case things didn't work for Charlie and I. He doesn't know a ton of details in terms of what I am going through (cancer and chemo wise) but he knows some minor details but hasn't asked me any more questions... he'll ask me when he wants to know what's going on with me. We're just about at our 6 month anniversary (Oct 15th if you can believe that). So, hopefully that day will be a great day: good MRI and Happy 6 month Anniversary! Oh, and just so you know... he's only 5'4'!!!!!!!!
That's it for now... I don't have much time to type and proofread what I've written these days, so I'm sorry if there are spelling errors!
Love you guys!
Debbie
Charlie and Debbie pre Red Sox game sweep!
Debbie and Jodi 
Radar and Nala "sitting pretty"
Red Sox line up: Game 3 Vs Angels
Cool flag they had during the Spangled Banner
