Successful Surgery

My doctor was pleased with the results of surgery today. He still wants me to check in with him in two weeks when I get my next Herceptin treatment to confirm that my port is working well. He stripped the fibrins off of it so it will work properly. I don't remember a thing. The nap was nice because I didn't sleep too well the night before...go figure. I knew it was a simple surgery, but it was still surgery and I guess I was a little apprehensive.
My favorite part was getting the orders as we left. No driving, no big decisions, no care giving, basically it's a free pass as a night off! Whoo Hoo! I asked if I could get these instructions about every two weeks, but it didn't work for some reason. :)
I'm thankful it went well. Brett was able to visit with his mom as he waited for me. I'm always so thankful to have him with me. He has been an incredible support. When we got married we knew a cord of three is not easily broken. This cord has been a source of incredible strength for both of us. God is at the head of our relationship and the three of us make a great team. Go team!

Looking up,

Sheri

Plans Change

This week was going just great. The school and soccer routine is falling into shape well. We went down for Herceptin on Thursday and that went well too. We talked to the doctor who will be doing my surgery on Monday to clean off my port. It's supposed to be a day surgery and I should be at work the next day. I just figure it's another adventure we get to go through.
Any way, Brett and I were supposed to go to WSU to see the game today...just the two of us. Well, plans change. I came down with the 24 hour flu on Friday after I went to work. All I can say is...I hope no one else gets it! Today I can keep down food and that's a great thing. Hopefully we will be able to get out another time. At this point we'll watch the game from home.
Well, we're of to another exciting week! Blog at ya later!

Looking up,
Sheri

GO COUGS!

Well another Washington State football season is here. I thought I'd post a few pics and a video of the kids. They love the pre-game playground and food fair. The game...well they tolerate it for Daddy's sake. We finally got a win! This weekend just Sheri and I are going...it's our mini vacation. Remember to enjoy the little things in life, like watching your kids play on the jumpy toys! Go Cougs!

Brett

What's a Girl to Do?

Ok, I'm laughing at myself. My hair seems to be growing straight up! I'm hoping that gravity overtakes the curl factor on the top of my head soon. Understand that I LOVE having hair again. It's just going to be funny going through all of those "in between" stages. Oh well. I'm so thankful for every day simple living.
Today we're off to the Coug game...maybe they'll even win!

Looking up and thankful for today!

Sheri

Port News

This afternoon I took a quiet trip down to Wenatchee for a Dye test on my port. My port has been great. It has enabled me to receive medicine without destroying my veins. However, today's test showed that some little fibroids have grown at the base of it. I can receive medicine but they can't get any blood out of it. The bottom line is they can go in and shave the little fibroids off without doing surgery. I don't have it all figured out, but that's nothing new. About the time I think I have something figured out...it changes. That just keeps me on my toes.

School is off to a roaring start. The kids love their teachers, I love my class and we are all doing well. Now it's off to bed because it all begins tomorrow again.

Looking up,

Sheri

Back to normal.....well for us anyway.

Normal. What is normal. Sheri and I toss that word around a lot. Most folk don't realize they are there (normal), until they're not there any more. That was us. Yet we can never go back there again. Not with what has happened the last 10 months. We are closer to being normal then ever, but cancer will never be far from the front of our brains.

Sheri's hair is coming back in with a vengeance. She still gets the "look" from people....like what is she thinking cutting her hair so short? A few weeks back we were talking to some people, and we got on the subject of haircuts. I mentioned Sheri and I had matching Hair Do's....mine was razor induced, and her's was chemically induced. Pause..... The look on their faces.....you could see the wheels turning, they turned to Sheri and said, "you had cancer, you look great!" Sheri's mantra right now while her hair is coming back is: wear it like you meant to do it. It works, and she looks great.
You know, I like the new normal. The old one was over rated. We were very thankful for the last set of scans, and continue to trust God in this journey. The strength you've seen the last 10 months was not ours, but His.
Well.... back to fall projects around the house. Yes we're remodeling again....whats a guy to do.....I guess that's our normal.

Brett

Clear Scans!

Yeah!!! Our scans came back showing no sign of cancer. My doctor could see that my bones are continuing to heal. The scans showed that calcium is going into the bones too. There was no sign of cancer in my liver. This amazes me and I am completely THANKFUL!!! My liver was so spotted in the beginning that it must be a miracle. I'm thankful for an awesome God who is in control of everything. In the beginning of this adventure Brett and I simply decided to trust Him no matter what.
Today my port did not want to work again. We think it's because it is sitting against my chest wall. To make sure we are right, I will need to go in for a dye test in a couple of weeks. This will simply confirm that it is still working mechanically.
In a couple of months or so, I will go in for another mammogram and ultra sound to continue to confirm that everything is going well. It's a lot of work to do all of this but I do appreciate the thoroughness of my doctor.
We continue to thank God for great results and live one day at a time for Him.

Thank God for miracles!

Looking up,

Sheri

Ahhhhh...

Yeah! Scans are done. Now we're home relaxing. Tomorrow we'll find out the results. I feel relieved just knowing the scans are done.
My port gave my nurse fits again. She said that a healthy body wants to fight anything foreign. I was just happy to hear her call me healthy! Anyway, we figured out how to make it work and she wrote it all over my chart for any of the nurses when we go to use it next time.
Well, I'm off to bed! Tomorrow's another wonderful day.

Looking up always,

Sheri

A New Beginning

Tomorrow dawns a new beginning to another year. My kinders will begin their school career tomorrow It's a privilege to be apart of their lives in this way. It's also a privilege to be teaching again. I'm thankful for my job, for being able to contribute to each of their lives and to be close to my own children as I work.

It's a joy to hear Alyssa and Bryce say they love school. All three of us enjoy meeting after school in my room to recap their day. They are good little helpers in my room too.

Yep, scans are in two days. Yep, we're hoping and praying for good results. As crazy as this sounds, I actually have sub plans set up for the second half of Tuesday...and I haven't even had my entire class yet! Tomorrow is their first day. I feel so bad leaving on their second day of school, but logically I know they will be ok.

All in all, it has been a wonderful summer. It has been restful, healing and a joy to enjoy normal activities. (Yeah! Thanks God for that!) We are continuing to enjoy the warm days and barbecuing.

We're now off to a great year to do our best daily.

Looking up continually,

Sheri