Sweet Sixteen!!! Finished with Chemo!!!



Sweet Sixteen- Final Chemo treatment!





Today was my last day of chemo. I was so happy!!  This last 6 months have been dragging and I could not wait for them to be over.  I have had some joint pain and heart issues, but I know they will be over soon.  There was a volunteer there while I was getting my treatment.  She said Chemo makes us sick and tired, Radiation only makes us tired.  God I hope that is the way it works,....I can handle tired. LOL!  I was blessed with a wonderful group of nurses at TX Oncology in Round Rock. One of my favorite nurses, Sabrina, was my nurse today.  When I finished with my chemo, they celebrated by throwing confetti on me.  They didn't have me down as finishing today so I didn't get my certificate..I am supposed to get it when I go for radiation. It's okay - all I care about is that I finished!  You also may have noticed I am getting my hair back. It is coming in white and black..neither of my natural colors, and it is sticking straight up on top. LOL!  Oh well, at least I am getting my hair back.



2 of my Favorite nurses - Sabrina & Amy



Sabrina removing my final Chemo IV!



My blurry confetti celebration!

















On a sad note, my friend Teresa "Terbay" Santiago's grandson, Drake, is battling Leukemia.  He was in remission, but has recently taken a turn for the worse and the family has been told he has a 10% chance of making it.  Please add him and the family to your prayers. Please pray God will perform a miracle and allow Drake to grow up to do special things.  Thank you! 

Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year! Celebrate the Miracle of Jesus!

Hugs and smiling REALLY BIG!!



Yolanda











Almost done with Chemo- yay!

Had my Quinceanera (15th) killing party yesterday.  I have one more to go. I can't believe this part is almost over.  These last couple of weeks have been a little harder on me.  I am definitely more tired, my heart has been doing some really weird stuff (but everything checked out okay with that). I have a follow up appt with the Cardiologist on Monday.  The nurse practitioner, Robin (whom I love!!) said everything I am going through right now is all related to the effects of the chemo.  She said my body is just tired of dealing with it after almost 6 months.  Overall, I think I have done okay, there have been some definite changes to my body from the steroids and the chemo,  My fingernails are turning brown..which is really gross looking!  I read that my eyebrows and eyelashes might fall out AFTER I finish chemo. What the Hell!!!  I was just getting used to getting some hair back. At least I am alive, and my chances are good.  I am going to beat this - so I say to you cancer - IS THAT ALL YOU GOT??  Cause me, God and my praying family are gonna kick your ass!  Looking forward to my Sweet Sixteen!

Abel went for his follow-up's at MD Anderson this week.  Everything came back fine.  He has a couple of little lymph nodes that are a little swollen but there has been no change from the last visit, so the doc feels like they are benign.  He is going to continue to watch them.   Thank you God!! I know He doesn't give us more than we can handle, and I don't think I could have handled anything else.

Devan is home from school, man I sure do miss her!  She did well and Matt was also very excited for her to be home.  Devan got A's & a B and Matt even got an award for Science and he is on the A/B honor roll again.  We are so proud of both of them and how they have adjusted to all the changes that have been going on the last 6 months.

****My nephew, Mark, and his band Oh No! The Radio will be playing at The Jingle Ball at the Parish tomorrow in downtown Austin for the Toy's for Tots fundraiser. They play at 3:45, hope you guys can make it.  They are going to play some great music!! 12 bands for $10-great deal! Please go out and support them. AND if you haven't already joined their Facebook Fan page, please do - Oh No! The Radio ,


I received some wonderful news from The Studio Kitchen this week.  My friend DORI WHEELESS nominated us for a 5 day meal deal and we won. On Wednesday, The Studio Kitchen delivered a big box of meals. Thank you so much Dori, for thinking about us and thank you to the Studio Kitchen for doing such a wonderful thing for families dealing with cancer.

Have a fantastic weekend!!
Hugs & Smiles
Yolanda

It's been a while........

Hello friends,
It's been a while since I have put anything on my blog. Partly due to computer issues (it's really hard to type on a little screen like the one on my phone) and partly because I have just been too tired. The longer I go through my course of treatment, the more things bother me. The more tired I am, the more I hurt.   I know it's because of my low immune system. It will be fine.

I can't believe I have only 3 more chemo treatments left. 3 MORE!! I am excited about that. I think I have mentioned before that I am allergic to the current chemo medicine I am on, the Taxol. It makes my joints hurt really bad. I am okay for couple of days after the treatment, the steroids kind of keep the pain at bay, but once they wear off...I have to take pain pills to help. I know that everything will be okay, I am almost done with this and with God's loving support - I KNOW I will get through it.

I am going to see the Radio-Oncologist Thursday to determine how much Radiation I will have to have. My oncologist thinks it will probably be 6-7 weeks. I will have to go everyday. He also said I will have to wait about 3 weeks once I finish my chemo before I start the radiation. The radiation will bring a whole new group of possible side effects, but I say...BRING IT ON!! I want to get this over with.

We started decorating our house for CHRISTmas..not too much...mostly it's just the CHRISTmas tree and a few other little things. I am just to tired to put the other stuff up. So unless someone else is going to do it...I am on CHRISTmas strike! LOL! The most important thing is that we are together on CHRISTmas. The decorations won't make a difference one way or the other. If I have learned nothing else from this experience, it has been that there are more important things in life than decorations, and all the other commercial aspects of CHRISTmas....MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Life is to short to worry about all the little things. The extra time I spend with someone I love is the most important gift I can give myself.

Have a great week family and friends!

Hugs,
Yolanda