Diagnosis Day

It just hit me this morning....one year ago I was sitting in my office when I received a call from my doctor that he needed me to come and see him as soon as possible. And I just knew.

Technically the date is April 28th, but last year that was a Friday.

It's amazing when these type of "anniversaries" creep up on you. I find that I'm reliving this day in my mind. But I have to say that I wouldn't change this past year.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. You may not always know what the reason is, but life just happens and you have to deal with it head on (well, let's face it, some days are better than others).

This journey has been a tough one, but worth every minute. I have a new appreciation for life, my family and my friends.

I am thankful to all of you for your support and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without all of you. So, having said that......

Let's party!

Love CJ

Update

Without getting into a long-winded explanation, I was able to get in to see an oncologist this past Friday, Dr. Logan, to get a second opinion. My mother-in-law, Marilyn, knows her and spoke with her about my case with my permission while we were away in San Fran.

Dr. Logan believes that the low blood counts are due to a kick-back from my radiation and not from the Tamoxifen. I had my blood work done this week and my levels are starting to come back on their own. To confirm that it is the radiation, Dr. Logan has put me back on the Tamoxifen as of today. In three weeks, I will go back again for more blood work. If my levels are continuing to increase then it will confirm that it was a kick-back from the radiation and if they are going down again it will confirm thatTamoxifen is the culprit.

I have been feeling better, but I still tire very easily. With my low white cell count I have caught Sydney's cold and have lost a bit of my voice. I also still have a persistent cough that is getting better, but not completely gone yet. Dr. Logan figures it is a combination of having bronchitis, lung inflammation from radiation and my cold. If the cough hasn't stopped in 3 weeks we'll have to tackle that issue as well.

At this point I continue to wait until May 11th to find out what the next steps are. The good news is that if my blood levels were low because of the radiation I am probably over the worst of it and there won't be any more talk of further surgery.

Cross your fingers everyone.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone on the 28th.

Love CJ

Good Old Canadian Weather

I have to say that I didn't miss the Canadian weather when we were away. It's freakin' cold here! Now it wasn't as warm as it usually is in San Fran this time of year, but it was much more comfortable and the sun was shining!

We all had a great trip. We were able to make it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium so Sydney could see what that was all about. Her and Daddy have been on the website for months watching all the action so it was great to be able to take her to the real place.

We also made it down to Pier 39 to see the sea lions and go on a cable car ride.

Other than that we just hung around and relaxed with Nancy and Tom and took a couple of trips to the beach to play in the sand.

Our flights home were mostly on time, but the glitch this time is that they seem to have lost our car seat. I have been fighting with United Airlines about this for the past 3 days. What a pain. I'm sure they've lost it for good. They'll have to replace it if they have, but I have to wait for the form to be sent to me so I can get things moving.

I will post a few pictures once we get them uploaded onto the computer.

A special thanks again to Nancy and Tom for making this trip possible. It was a great getaway.

As far as my health goes, I have my appetite back for the most part, but I am still very, very tired. I guess that goes with the territory.

Love CJ

Home

Just a short post to say we are home safe.

I'm very tired......must sleep. Will write later re: San Fran.

Love CJ

Hello From San Francisco

We made it - finally!

Our travel day was ridiculous. Long story short - we were delayed for almost 4 hours before we even left the Detroit airport (at 7:00 p.m.). So it was a very long day with a toddler in tow. By the time she was in bed asleep here it was 3:00 a.m. our time! But we are happy to be here safely and are relaxing as was planned.

Sydney has adjusted well. Kids are more resilient that we give them credit for sometimes.

Yesterday we drove to Monterey (about 2 hours south of Half Moon Bay, where Nancy and Tom live) to take Sydney to the Monterey Aquarium. She had a blast! After 2 hours of walking around we were spent.

We are looking forward to the Easter Bunny visiting in a few days. Sydney will shirley be hopped, hopped, hopped up on lots of chocolate.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope the Easter Bunny is good to you all.

Love CJ