Puppy Love & Energizer Bunnies

There is a new addition to the Davis family.  My Dad & Betty adopted a young rottweiler, Abby.  She was a stray that came from Missouri and was living in a foster home near Bloomington-Normal.  I somehow managed to convince my Dad to swing by my apartment so I could meet the new pup.  She is so sweet!  She looks a lot like Lily but her personality reminded me of Rose.  It just made my day to meet the new pup!  (But then I made me REALLY want one.)  Guess I'll have to live vicariously through my Dad...

 

And a little drain update: no change.  #4 is seriously like the Energizer Bunny -- it keeps going, and going, and going.... 

Dr. G gave me the green light to start chemo on Thursday despite the fact that I'm still draining.  So, in addition to the prayers that you are all sending my way when I start chemo, please pray that this draining comes to an end so I don't have any complications or infections as a result of still having a drain.

xoxo  

Enough is enough, Drain #4

I am so over #4.  Today was 65 ccs, not even close to being under 30 like I need it to be.  Although, my oncologist said that we would proceed with chemo next week regardless of the drain situation.  We'll see what Dr. G says about that  -- I'll let them sort that out if he still disagrees.

I'm just so frustrated with this stupid thing. It doesn't hurt -- it's just a nuisance.  I can't wait until it's out and I can wear whatever I want to and not have to worry about how I'm going to hide this stupid drain.

As my brother said, "Come on #4, retire like Brett Favre already!"  
I couldn't have said it better...

Drainage Update

I went to see Dr. G today (my plastic surgeon) and the good news is, I had the stitches removed from my incisions and they filled up the expanders up a bit more.  The disappointing news is, (as I posted yesterday) I'm still not seeing #4 slow down.  The doctor hopes that by continuing to fill the expanders, it will close off where the drainage is coming from so the plan is to fill me up twice a week.  At this point, I doubt chemotherapy will happen this week unless something dramatically changes in the next 24 hours.

Drain, Drain -- Go Away!

The last remaining drain (#4 for those of you that are familiar with my post-op drains) is showing no signs of slowing.  I don't know what the doctor is going to say when I see him tomorrow.

Being someone who lives in Excel and PowerPoint charts, I made a little trend line of what's going on here.  Ideally, we would like to see drain #4 act as the other drains did, gradually dropping off.  But unfortunately it looks as if drain #4 would like to reside in my body and hoover around 50-60 cc's a day. Super lame drain.

I'll let you know what Dr. G says about resolving this.  I would like to get chemo started this week but I don't know if that's going to happen at the rate the drainage is going.

My Mentor Angel

This week I reached out to this amazing organization, Imerman's Angels which pairs cancer fighters (me) to cancer survivors.  I was able to select a mentor not only based on her age but also by the exact type of breast cancer that she had (including the stage of her diagnosis).  I also specifically requested someone who was a several year survivor  because I am trying to surround myself by women who have made it past that 5 year mark (something that my mom unfortunately did not make).

My mentor angel is Maria.  I had a chance to speak with her for a bit yesterday. She was also in her 30's when she was diagnosed, has the BRCA1 mutation and had triple negative breast cancer -- just like me.    Maria is now a 6 (almost 7) year survivor, which gives me hope.  The tragic loss of my mom within that first 5 years of her diagnosis has made me fearful about my own survival.  But I know statistically that my mom was the minority.  It's hard to put into words how helpful it is to meet someone who had the same kind of cancer as my mom and I, but have made it.  If anything, having lost my mom has taught me to be that much stronger and more aggressive when it comes to my fight.  (I'm not trying to say that my mom didn't put up a good fight herself but things are different now.)  I'm planning to kick the crap out of cancer and be part of the majority that survives for years and years.

A bit more about Imerman's Angels....
It is an organization that not only helps cancer fighters of all ages and types of cancer but it also supports caregivers.  If you know of someone fighting or is a caregiver, maybe this would be helpful to them.  I can't tell you how good I felt after one conversation with my mentor angel.

A little delay

Chemo has been delayed because I'm still draining (dang drain #4) and that would put me at a risk of infection and interrupt my treatment (not good). So, we're going to try again next week...

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First Chemo Today...

...and I'm surprisingly not nervous or anxious. My phone has been blowing up with emails, calls and texts, which is such a great feeling. My dad and aunt are accompanying me to my appointment but I feel like I have an army behind me! Words can not describe how uplifting and inspiring that is. xoxo

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