May 1, 2010
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Happenings in Minge land
Posted by Stephanie 5:00pm from the house
It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon, and for the first time in many weeks, I’ve got a little time to relax and do nothing—perfect time for a post!
Sooo much has gone on since the last time Sammy or I posted. As I mentioned in my brief previous post, we’ve been busy living life and doing all things non-cancer, which is certainly a welcome change. Let’s see, where to start? How about with a medical update?
I had my first post ‘declaration of remission #4’ checkup in late March. Sammy was able to go down to Houston with me, which was exciting because it doesn’t happen often. I think we ate tex-mex every meal for two and a half straight days…..except maybe for one breakfast.
I had the usual battery of tests—bloodwork, chest x-ray, chest and abdominal CT scans (mmm…..barium) our first evening down there, then saw the doctor the next afternoon. Dr. Benjamin delivered the good news that my scans were clean, and that all my bloodwork looked great. I have an immune system again! All my counts—white blood cells, hemoglobin, platelets, electrolytes—are back in normal range. Dr. Benny said, “Ya know, when we’re not hammering you with nasty stuff, you actually bounce back and look pretty good!”. Ya think? The only downside to my time in the sarcoma center that afternoon was that Dr. B was running several hours behind, and we missed our flight home that evening. I knew it was a risk to book a flight out the same day, since he’s notorius for running late, but Sammy really needed to be at school the next morning since his spring musical was opening that night. A fairly nasty fight ensued on the phone between Sammy and the airline, since they were completely unwilling to work with us and wanted to charge us an extra $800 to fly out the next morning. Dr. Benjamin even drafted a letter stating it was a medical reason that caused us to miss the flight, but it did no good, and the best we could do was book a last minute ticket on another airline flying into Columbus the next morning. My mom had to come pick us up there, drive us nearly two hours back to the Dayton airport so we could retrieve our car, and then we headed straight out to the theatre for Sammy’s musical, getting there with just minutes to spare. Never a dull moment when we do these Texas trips!As expected, the further I get from chemo, the better I feel. Though I’ve only officially been in remission since January, I haven’t had chemo since early October, so my body is going on more than six months of recovery time from that. I still have some residual pain from November’s surgery on my left side when I take a deep breath or move certain ways, but it gets better week by week, and I’m hoping that will be completely gone soon. I’m to the point now where I don’t feel like I need a nap during the day, and though I still tire easily, I’m able to do what I need to do. Whether it’s running errands to the grocery store or the bank, doing laundry, or exercising, I can get it done without needing a three-day break to recover. The chemo I was on most recently is comparatively much less destructive to my system, and I’ve bounced back so much quicker than I’ve been able to do previously. I’m certainly nowhere near 100% yet, but I’m well on my way!
Something else that I think has really been helping with my recovery and energy level is this 28-day cleanse and detox program I’m currently on. It was developed by doctors who also happen to be Arbonne consultants (more on Arbonne in a minute), and uses some of their weight-loss and detox products (detox tea, weight loss chews, energy fizzy tabs, etc.) in combination with a detoxifying diet plan. It’s required a fairly large change in my diet for these four weeks, the goal being to cut out things that can cause inflammation/bloating, digestion issues, etc. No dairy, no wheat/gluten (so no bread or traditional pasta), no caffeine or alcohol, no sugar. You also try to avoid really starchy vegetables, fruits with high natural sugar content, vinegars, peanuts and most oils. When I tell people this, they ask me, “Well, then what on earth CAN you eat?”. Lots! Lean protein, eggs, veggies, brown rice (and brown rice pasta), beans, nuts (except peanuts), olive oil and some fruits. I’ve been having a smoothie for breakfast using the Arbonne Figure 8 chocolate or vanilla protein/fiber powders and fresh fruit, salads, soup or hummus and veggies for lunch, and lots of great dinners—roasted chicken with sweet potato fries and salad, or homemade chicken and rice soup, for example. This is day 17 for me, and so far I’m not climbing the walls craving anything.
I’ve actually been really satisfied with the food, I don’t feel deprived at all, and I have noticed an increase in my energy level. I’ve also lost seven pounds, which doesn’t hurt either!Okay, so, speaking of Arbonne, I’m excited to be relaunching my business! For you longtime readers, you know that I was introduced to their all-natural product lines after I finished treatment the first time, and I decided months later to sign up as a consultant. I had a great start, but just two months in, I suffered my first recurrence, and everything had to be put on hold with me being in Houston, having to undergo inpatient chemo, surgery, yada yada. Now that I’m finally healthy again, I’m anxious to start the next chapter in my life, and this is the way to do it. The ball got rolling again for me back in February, when my friend and upline in Arbonne, Tonya, e-mailed and said she would love to see me come to the Arbonne National Training Conference in Las Vegas. Our financial situation made that difficult to do, so she and the rest of the team worked hard to help cover my trip. I owe so much to her, because I had an amazing time at the conference. I met so many wonderful women, and it helped me gain the confidence and belief in myself to take back control of my life. I’m tired of life being on pause, and having to live with everything constantly up in the air. In some ways, we have no choice but to live life a couple of months at a time right now, and to always be aware of my future health when making decisions, but I’m determined to make plans, and to live life on my terms as much as I can. So far, just a couple of weeks into the official relaunch, I’m happy to say everything is going really well in Arbonne land, and I expect it to go up from here!
Sammy’s doing well. Looking forward to the end of the school year, certainly, but also really pleased with how this spring has gone. He took the East Clinton Band down to Disney for five days in early April. I tagged along to help, and the whole trip went really smoothly. Our first morning down there, we took everyone to Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, the students did a morning parade in the Magic Kingdom one day, and the rest of the time we just spent in the various Disney parks, riding rides and eating great food. Sammy and I love Disney so much. I was much more mobile and able this time around, thankfully, and everyone had a wonderful time.
Talking about his school reminds me of what’s coming up in just a few days. Middletown City Schools, where I’ve been lucky enough to have a teaching job held for me during treatment, has a huge school levy on the ballot this Tuesday. So many schools in the area do, and all those communities are on eggshells about the vote. A lot rides on this levy—extracurriculars, course offerings, and jobs, including my own. I hope people everywhere realize the importance of what the schools do for their children and their community. Schools can no longer operate on the same budget that they did 10 years ago, especially with so many recent mandates on things they must do and programs they must have. I’ve been trying not to think about it too much, and just have faith that the right thing will happen.
So there’s at least a partial update on everything Minge over the last couple of months. I really hope we get the chance to update more often. It’s so therapeutic for me to write on here, and it’s a great way to keep everyone in the loop. I have another checkup in Houston in just a couple of weeks, so everyone pray for continued good news. As always, Sammy and I love to hear from you all, so e-mail us, leave a message on here, or give us a call. Have a great weekend everyone!
–Steph
