Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 7:12 PM

Happy Birthday to our lovely niece Emily today. I had fun putting together photos of her time with us & many family functions. That's always a pic-me-up! Sadly Nov. 13 is also the day our Mom left this world, in 2005. She's still very much alive in our hearts and the enthusiastic & fun energy of our nieces!

It's now 5 week since my final chemo I.V. session. The last 'hoorah', I thought would be done after 3 weeks. "No!" Apparently it is common for many folks to go through extreme fatigue & weakness when they're done with the chemo & radiation therapies… even for months following. I'm definitely much better than I was even 2 weeks ago, with a long way to go, to say I'm physically strong. 

  The day after getting home from the island, last week, I started getting severe muscle spasms from my neck down. Now, that'll wear anybody out. They lasted for 4 days then I made an appointment with a physio. She was great, not hurting me too much. She said she'll get tougher next week, as there is a lot of work to do to strengthen muscles that have not supported my head & spine properly for some time.

    I don't know what to expect on Thursday, but for the first time, I'm fighting nervousness about meeting with Dr. Gurjel, the oncologist I've been so grateful for, with every appointment having been so positive. This meeting is different. She'll tell me what the CT scan shows and where we go from here. I'd like it to just be over! You know: keep getting stronger; go for good walks; grow my hair. Oh well! It'll be what it'll be, & we'll just have to go with it, as we've been doing over the last 11 months, since we got the phone call with the 'cancer' news. 

  To think it's almost been a year since then, including surgery, followed by 6 months of chemo & radiation treatments. It doesn't really seem like such a long time, as we dealt with each treatment as it came, not giving thought the whole process.

    Take care not to get... or spread the flu! So many people have been down with it. Hope the rain isn't cramping your style & you're enjoying some fun activities. God bless you. xoxoxo