Wow! It has been almost 2 months since I last posted--sorry. Life has just been speeding by so quickly with both good things & also some not quite as good. I did another chemo treatment with the Doxil on October 8th--the day before my baby boy, Braedon, turned 12--yea! The side effects haven't been too awful, as I was able to enjoy his celebration (which always seems to stretch into several days now--how come?) He received the Aaronic Priesthood that following Sunday, & the whole ward is excited because now we have a total of 3 deacons--whoo hoo! Then the next week, Mom took all of the Cloward girls on a trip to New York City for 4 fabulous days. It was my first trip ever to that city, & we had a really great time. I had never had much of a desire to see NYC, but I must say that I was duly impressed--it is an amazing place! I didn't feel real great for most of the trip, but was able to do all the running around (& we did LOTS of that!) & really did enjoy myself. I am so glad that we went when we did, instead of this past week with Hurricane Sandy--it was the trip of a lifetime--thanks so much for the wonderful memories, Mom!
That same week, Vern took all the boys to San Francisco for the ADA meetings & met up with his brother-in-law & the boys' cousins from Virginia. They also had a great time, & the best part about it all was that I was able to come home to a house that wasn't trashed--bonus! Now that everyone is home, we are getting ready to see Kali off to Mexico for an 8-day humanitarian aid trip, & Jarett will be leaving for the MTC on November 14th. We've been busy getting him ready to go, but I don't think it's really sunk in yet for me that I'll be saying goodbye to him for 2 years. That's going to be a tough one. I'm sure he'll be glad to leave me, though--it's rough being away from home on your own for a year & then coming back to find your mom reminding you to brush your teeth, make your bed, go to bed, etc..... What will I do with all my time once he's gone again?
On the other side of things, the lump in my right chest reappeared about 7-8 weeks ago, & my CA-125 went up from 43 to 69 at my last test. I had some more CT scans last week & everything appears just as it did on my last ones 6 months ago--so that's good news--at least I've been holding steady for the past 6 months! We're a little unsure what to do at this point with this information. I might go in after Jarett leaves, to have the lump removed & biopsied to see if they can get any more info on whether it's looking more like breast cancer or ovarian cancer. We didn't remove it 6 months ago when it appreared, because it's not really going to change the outcome of everything, & will probably just grow back. And then, after my first treatment of the Doxil it shrunk back down again. Dr. Prystas would like to see if we can get a little more mileage out of the Doxil before we have to switch chemo treatments (again!), so we're going to try to do the blood tests next week & see if it will help if I have the Doxil more frequently than 5 weeks. In the meantime, I am feeling pretty well--I just get really "pooped out" by the day's end & have a few burns on my feet & toes.
My second cousin, Nicole Rasmussen, was on Channel 2 News last night. She is an amazing woman & is such an inspiration to me & so many others. She has had health challenges since she was in her teens, & lost her eyesight shortly after she was married from a severe brain infection that nearly took her life. She has gone on to have 3 children & is doing a "top-notch" job of raising them. The story on the news last night focused on how she cooks fabulous & easy meals for her family, but also shared so much more on how she is overcoming her challenges. I'm not sure I know how to create links on this blog, but you can go to http://blindmom.com/ to link up to her blog. I love, love, love hearing & reading about others who are dealing with pretty big challenges in such a positive way. There is so much to be grateful for in life, & so much to hope for because our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us! Love always, Kim
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