September 5, 2011

I apologize as I have been having issues with my home computer and this has caused delay and limitations to my posting.  I am working with apple and hope to resolve the issue soon. 

Monday 9/5/11 

Today was the first entire track day I attended since surgery.  Location was Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.  I spent most of the day with Stephanie while Matt and Mark rode around the track and attended classroom sessions in between.  Mark and Stephanie have a toy hauler that has a lot of amenities and today we decided to pull out the awning.  Without directions / instructions we referenced the web and we were able to learn how to set up the awning and later learned how to tear it down.  We used a small coleman grill to cook lunch, which was a lot of fun.  Days like this remind me of the fact that spending time with friends is always a good thing.  While I am completely exhausted I am grateful for our friendships / relationships.  

Getting started in the morning 

Xerox 999 R
(as the day begins) 

Self Portrait
(What is that in the background?)

Matt in his leather suit

Matt taking off as the day begins 

The day begins and Matt is in the line up

Matt on the track

Toy Hauler with the Awning Set Up

Lunch being grilled
(super yummy) 

Sunday 9/4/11

Since it was a holiday weekend a neighbor of ours arranged an alley party.  Everyone opened up their garages and mingled.  It was surprisingly great weather.  While the day held some pretty strong wind gusts the evening consisted of a light breeze and fabulous weather.  It was a great time and we met a few new neighbors.  With a track day scheduled for Monday Matt cut his evening short, while I stayed in the alley a little longer to visit with the neighbors.  I had a great time and learned a little more about my neighbors.  

The party begins 

Yummy 

Saturday 9/3/11

Matt and I spent the day doing some much needed home maintenance and yesterday’s walk left the dogs completely exhausted.  So tired in fact that we came into the bedroom and found our German Shepherd “Gusta” relaxing on the bed with all fours in the air.  While the weather was better today then it had been in the recent past it was still very tiring.  

"Gusta" on her back

"Gusta's" Scary Teeth 

"Gusta" from another angle 

Friday 9/2/11

After work I took a nap and Matt and I had a late dinner.  I was feeling good - because of the nap.  Tonight’s weather motivated me - so I asked Matt if we could all (including the dogs) go for a run or a walk at the park and at about 10:00 pm he said we could go.  We changed and packed up the dogs and were off to the park.  It was around 80 degrees and we all had a great relaxed walk at the park.  No pictures to share -- but it was a great time!!

Thursday 9/1/11

Today was Matt’s 38th Birthday.  Matt and I have always been more the type to celebrate daily and less the type to celebrate on “special occasions”.  But with birthdays Matt has taught me that one day of fun isn’t enough ... instead it is a Birthday Weekend.  So today marks the beginning of Matt’s Birthday Weekend.   He and I took some time to reflect on the fact that in the face of this horrible disease we have both learned the most about ourselves and about one another.  It is pretty wild how cancer speeds your maturity.

I returned to the plastic surgeons’ office for another expansion.  I went from 330 ccs to 450 ccs (increase of 2 syringes / 120 ccs).  By way of size I am now a C cup, a slightly fuller C then I was before all this began.  I think I would still like to go a little larger.  The plastic surgeon said that the final reconstruction will look different / better, because an implant is a more flattering shape then the tissue expander.  It is really strange to feel the bag pliability inside my body.  Today my breasts feel a lot harder then they had with the previous expansion and my surgeon said that is normal - my tissue will soften in the next 2 weeks.  She advised that I take it easy for the next couple of days - best to cancel physical therapy.  

Waiting to see Plastic Surgeon

Syringe of Saline

Me getting expanded

I also saw my oncologist in the late afternoon ... I mentioned last week that I have yet to start radiation due to the delay in expansion.  Well this delay in radiation also delays the administration of my maintenance medication “herceptin”.  My oncologist was not happy about this delay.  Most of my care is administered at Kelsey Seybold (oncologist and surgeon are there) but my surgery was done at Methodist which does not connect to the electronic medical record system.  In all honesty working outside of the Kelsey Seybold System has been the most challenging ... my feedback to Kelsey Seybold will definitely be to hire a plastic surgeon or two for this reason.  Also administer radiation ... so patients like me don’t have to suddenly leave the Kelsey Seybold system for care.  

Despite the need for medical appointments Matt said he had a good birthday and the love we feel for one another is so much deeper then it was before, thanks to the challenge we are facing together “Kicking Cancers’ Butt”.  

Wigs are fun :)

Tuesday 8/30/11

Return to Physical Therapy and my therapist - Ingrid was happy to hear that after my last visit I had a hard time tuning the car radio.  I have reached the point where I have regained most of my range of motion and am working on strength training.  Because the work we do is so focused I go home feeling every bit of the work out in my arms (more in my left then my right).  I have regained the ability to do all household chores (dishes, laundry and vacuuming), my goal of returning to normal activity is what I am working on now (pushups, long road rides and vigorous mountain biking).  My therapist continues to be impressed with my motivation to resume an active lifestyle.  

Sunday 8/28/11

So it has been almost 11 weeks since surgery and today Matt and I decided to start building on my workouts by doing a bike, run combo.  We were busy in the am and didn’t start our workout until late in the afternoon ... which meant it was super hot!!

We biked on our mountain bikes at the picnic loop (1.3 mile loop) ... covered a total of 7.5 miles.  I felt queasy during the bike ride and at one point stopped because I felt sick.  We transitioned off the bikes and did a quick 2.5 mil run through the trails which was great.  I had a hard time during the run and while we were stretching and drinking our recovery drink I suddenly felt nausea and threw up.  Some folks may not understand why I push myself so hard that I feel sick ... I am of the opinion that if I push to this point I will feel better during future workouts.  I burned a total of 750 calories (bike and run combined).  

This workout wore me out and I napped for several hours afterward.  

Saturday 8/27/11

This evening Matt and I went to Seabrook for a birthday party.  It was a great time!!  Jeff and Christy live right off the water on a canal.  Their house is awesome ... the previous owner made lots of changes to make it look a like a boat.  The party was a lot of fun and Jeff claims to be 50 and he doesn’t look a day over 40.  

Stay tuned for more SuperMonkey Adventures,

Nancy

AKA:  SuperMonkey

"Beer is proof that God loves us."

 - Benjamin Franklin