Officially Done

I am finally officially done my treatment schedule.  I had my last internal radiation treatment on Monday.  I've been more sick this time then the past 2.  But I am slowly starting to feel better.  I feel a huge amount of relief being done.  It's a lot like finishing a long hard school year.....I'm glad to be done, I feel proud for making it through, and I'm exhausted.  I'm giving myself some time to sleep, rest, and heal.  But I do know that I eventually need to get into a routine (mostly for my daughters' sakes).  I'm making plans for going grocery shopping, going to my youngest daughter's assembly next week, and my older daughter's music concert.  I do find that I need to pace myself.  It's really frustrating that I get tired so easily, but then I remind myself I did just have a major treatment 2 days ago and 6 weeks of daily treatments prior to that.  So I need to give myself time, and I need patience.  I really can't wait to feel good, and I'm hopeful that it will be soon.  I've taken myself off of all prescribed medication.  This is really exciting for me. I've taken so much medication over the past 3 months.  And believe me, everyone of them has some negative side effect.  I still take ginger Gravol a couple of times a day to manage my nausea, but I'm getting close to being med-free. I did manage to get out of the house a few times over the past weekend.  It's funny when I run into people who know me and haven't seen me through treatments (which is most people I know).  Everyone is surprised that I look a lot like I did before I started treatments.  I didn't lose any hair (I was very lucky), and I lost quite a bit of weight, but all over.  So I don't look that different.  I have been told so many times, "You look good" in the past week.  It does make me feel good and thankful.  I think I often look better then I feel, but it's been good for my family that I look like me.  I am not a visual reminder of cancer for them.

Darryl's vision has improved so much in the past week.  He is learning to adjust his eyes and head position so that his sight is more clear and his double vision is slowly decreasing!  He is easing back to work and his regular schedule.  He needs a bit more rest then he used to, but he is getting back to his pre-surgery life.

We do feel like we are turning a corner as a family.  We're in recovery mode and working at getting our lives back and being independent.  We are thankful that God has brought us to this place.  He is healing our bodies and giving us hope that our "crisis" is coming to an end.  We know that my future is uncertain and further treatments may be required.  But we are going to try our best to enjoy these next few months.  My next doctors appointment is at the end of March - to make sure I'm recovering.  Then at the end of April - to determine my progress and further treatment requirements.  We've decided to put these appointments out of mind for now and just focus on feeling better and making sure our girls are happy and feeling secure.

Thank you for following our journey with us.  Thank you for supporting us and carrying us through!  There are hundreds of people who have helped us get to this point.

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"  Psalm 34:8