I can drink COFFEE again!!! I can taste it!
See what I did there? (Thanks Puta for the Grumppuccino)
We are now almost six weeks from the last day of my last chemotherapy treatment. So far we have seen improvement in many different areas. My taste buds are back in full force! Coffee, taco dip, it all tastes good again. I might have ate everything I could get my hands on once that happened.
My eyelashes are growing back and they're coming in thicker! They're about half the length of a normal eyelash at this point.
No such luck on the eyebrows. I might have a handful of little hairs left and they fall out whenever I touch them. Maybe they'll start picking up the pace. Thankfully, with bangs it doesn't matter much anyways.
But the real exciting news is the past week the hair on my head has taken off full speed! My head is now covered with a very blonde peach fuzz. It's super, super tiny but it's there and growing fast. Not fast enough to give me some real friggen hair but I know it will take time. I just can't wait to give up wigs. So over wearing wigs. They have become ten times more uncomfortable now that my hair is growing back too. It's like wearing an itchy, hairy hat all day.
The pain in my legs and feet has drastically improved. They still hurt consistently in the evening if I've had a long day but nowhere near the pain I was feeling a few weeks ago.
No more nausea, no more insomnia, and no more bone pain. Those three were some of the worst. I was very happy to throw out all my medication for these bad boys.
The fatigue is the one sucker that is hanging on pretty good. I have a really hard time waking up early like i used to and returning to my old schedule of springing out of bed at 6am. I hope that goes away soon.
Emotionally I feel pretty good. The more time that goes on the more I feel that I really can put this behind me. I know that the first checkup CT scan and meeting with my new oncologist in September for follow ups will be hard but I'm a tough cookie. You have to live your life. Live it, love it, enjoy it. It's a ticking clock, this beautiful thing we call existence. It can be snuffed out so quickly. Called into question so fast. I will never waste another minute.
I won't know if I can have more kids for a long time yet. The docs say it takes a year for the female body to return to a regular cycle OR not to show that the menopause is here to stay. But honestly, that's okay. I feel at this point Adrian is all I need. I can focus more time, love, resources, and attention on him if he's an only child. I am at peace with whatever happens with my fertility. Take it, leave it. I am just grateful to have the one beautiful little boy I do have and know that I am alive and healthy to take care of him.
These hot flashes friggen suck though.
My port removal incision is healing up nice but it's leaving me with a giant battle scar. Sigh. But hey, I just won a battle didn't I? Every warriror needs their battle scar to prove it.
I'll update on my "hair" once it's long enough to see without pressing my nose to a mirror.
Speaking of living life, we start our new beginning in Colorado this week. I am beyond excited to go home, be closer to all of our family, and to start my new career and grad program. Our townhouse looks amazing- that giant kitchen is going to be wonderful. Adrian's elementary school seems fantastic and I've already signed up to be on the PTO. (Parent Teacher Organization.. no longer called PTA these days) Adrian is super excited to be near his cousins and he's begging me to do soccer or karate. I am so beyond grateful that despite the horrible circumstance of being diagnosed with cancer that I was still able to graduate, accept my graduate admission, and make this transition happen so I can give Adrian the best life imaginable. Finally, all those years of hard work in my undergrad paid off.
Looks like everything is turning out just right. The calm after the storm.
It's going to be hard leaving Manitowoc behind but I think it's helpful that beating cancer and the move ended up falling into place the way they did. There's so many memories here now that scream 'CANCER' at me. I drive past Aurora Medical Center on memorial drive and I get a shiver. Even though the cancer cliniic there was the best ever, it brings back so many memories. I will neverr forget them but it'll be nice to not have to be reminded on a daily basis either.
The one thing that really bums me out is leaving my brother and all my wonderful friends behind. So many people really went above and beyond for me during my diagnosis and treatment. It's a shame I can't bring you all with me. Being faced with a life threatening condition will really show you who the people are in your life that truly care about you. Cancer showed me how wonderful and lucky I am to have such amazing friends and family. It also showed me that having cancer doesn't necessarily protect you from people that are soulless and heartless. Disease can be funny that way.
I will miss you alll, my Manitowoc loves. I will be back to visit and I will be sure to stay in touch.
Keep checking back for more post-chemo hair regrowth updates! And I have an intersting cancer survivor hike into the mountains coming up- let's start taking bets now on how many hours I can last without technology.
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