Endless possibilities

While I was trying to fall asleep last night, I was thinking of all the things I will be able to do with my new foot once I'm done with this journey. Here is a list of things I have not done for the past 10 years and am looking forward to doing again. I can't wait to get through this. I will RUN, jump, skip, kick a ball, ride a bike, go camping without my foot stepping in unstable terrain. I want to dance, jump in a pool (the weight of water actually put too much pressure on my foot), drive long distances, climb a long flight of stairs.I am going to wrestle my boys like everyday until I win. I am going to let my kids walk on my right side when we are out together. I will never have to 'jump' when something is dropped too close to my foot. I am going to wear boots! Every kind possible. I am going to buy shoes based on looks, not on if they will hurt my foot or not. I am going to ride a skateboard, try the pogo stick, sit indian style, play a game of fetch with our clumsy big dog. I am going to race with Ben when he gets running with his walker and not worry he will change directions and clunk his walker on my foot (super painful by the way). I want to spend hours upon hours on my feet doing service for others. My list is not complete and I know I will discover more things as I go along. It is amazing what I have missed out on all these years. This is going to be fun.

What does potassium do?

So my blood work shows that I am low on potassium so I am taking supplements for that. What does that mean? What does potassium do anyway? I dont even know. I should research this. All I know is that the pharmacist said I couldnt lay down for 30 min after taking the pills. Why? Now as I sit and wait the time I envision the pills burning a hole through my throat on the way down. Can potassium do that?  I need to eat more bananas.

It's all about the food.

My new best friend

For about the first 5 days after chemo it's all about keeping down some food to avoid the impending nausea. So it feels much like my pregnancies and morning sickness. By like 9am I have to eat the craving of the day and then I am so much better off. If I don't then I won't stop thinking of it until I get it so why not just eat the enchiladas at 9am? The first round of chemo I had to have McDonalds sausage biscuit every morning for 2 week. My friend Mimi would bring my supply each morning when she picked up my kids for school. One morning before even saying hello I got anxious and loudly said "Where is my biscuit??" Oh my gosh! Who does that??? That would be me and that is called desperation. Thanks Mimi! Well after the biscuit crave I moved on to my current one. So I would like to honor my new best friend. His name is Hot and Sour Soup and he can only be from Pei Wei. I am on my 6th order in the last 3 weeks. I refuse to look up the calories and sodium involved because I don't want to be sorely disappointed. I will eat it regardless until I find a new best friend.

We made it through Christmas..

We made it through Christmas and it was even better than I hoped for. The older kids sure pitched in to help it be a good memory for the younger ones. We do our big celebrating Christmas Eve night. Going into this round of chemo I was very worried, and quite frankly sad that my worst day would be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Talk about adding the guilt on to a mom when she can't even take care of herself, let alone all the traditions and making memories that go along with Christmas. But thankfully I was able to be involved in Christmas this year. I tired by 7pm and went to bed while Kenneth was busy till the wee hours of the night making everything as perfect as he could. I was amazed at how well he did both our jobs.You know how many of us women secretly dream that our husbands could walk in our shoes for like a week and see how much we really do for the kids and the household that goes completely unnoticed? Well my husband has filled my shoes for 2 months and has 2 more to go. And he has done it with patience and compassion. I continue to be amazed by him. I won't wish anymore secret hardships on him in the future

Round 2 DONE!!!

Just finished round 2!!  Santa and Mrs. Claus brought cookies into the chemo suite. Very jolly. And one of the other patients knitted a bag full of hats for everyone to have a new Christmas beanie. Here is mine..

True meaning of love

I feel I want to express the heartfelt thank you to so many people that have shown love to me and my family. We have received so many meals that has taken the burden off my husband in the evenings so he can do all my chores after he gets home from work. I have received cards in the mail almost everyday with words of encouragement. My kids have been given rides over and over again to school and other activities. We have had bread and goodies left at the door, and an abundance of donations to a 'housekeeping fund' so that the big cleaning chores are done. There has been no act of kindness either big or small that I haven't recognized and been grateful for. And this includes the numerous prayers in my behalf. I know I have family, a ward, and stake, and the primary children, and people of all different faiths praying for me and my recovery. It is truly overwhelming in every sense and I will never take it for granted. It is what has carried me through the bad days and the days my heart aches. It is putting love into action. I am blessed by you.

"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long, we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

First day complete

candy cane juice flowing through my veins

I got to chemo fired up to start. The first day is not so bad. I read lots of People magazines and other good news mags. And before I knew it I was finished. It took about 6 hours today. As I left the nurse hooked me up to my portable infusion pump to start drug 2. This drug is nicknamed 'Red Devil' because it is the one that makes you lose your hair, get mouth sores, headaches, fatigue, etc. Last round I freaked out having to carry it with me for 72 hours knowing I was getting that Red Devil poisoning. By the way, it goes in your body red and comes out of you red for like 5 days. Not a pleasant reminder. So today at chemo I decided to rename it something less evil and scary so I wouldn't be afraid of what it was doing inside of me. I named it Candy Cane Juice. How can I worry about it now. It sounds so delightful!