Team Canada 2013

I admit it. I didn't think we were going to reach our ambitious goal of $12,000, but we did and then some! For the second year in a row, Team Canada was the top international team and the 10th team overall with $12,846 in donations! A-mazing.

I was also a little worried about the weather for race day, but it stopped raining just long enough to finish the course and make it back to the tent for some breakfast. It's crazy to think about all that has happened since last year's race, which I did in a wig, during my fifth round of chemo. This year I could run!

Komen Kick-Off

For the second year in a row, the Embassy partnered with Komen in hosting its pre-race reception celebrating the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure.  Several of the area's top fundraisers are invited to the event and their commitment is very inspiring. One woman in attendance was celebrating one million raised in the last 14 years! Congresswoman and breast cancer survivor Debbie Wasserman Schultz was one of the guests speakers and she made some very interesting comments about young women with breast cancer having different issues to deal with than older women. She also spoke about her efforts to introduce legislation making genetic testing for the BRCA gene more accessible. I also spoke briefly with WTOP's Bob Madigan who has emceed the race for the last 25 years and Cynne Simpson from WJLA who emceed our event and is involved with another local fundraising effort for breast cancer called DC Newsbabes. So many impressive people!

Pierre Garcon (Redskins), Nick Sundberg (Redskins), Cynne Simpson (WJLA), Josh Morgan (Redskins) and moi.

View from the balcony

Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes

Survivors!

Anchorwoman Cynne Simpson and singer Colby Dee

Redskins Josh Morgan and Nancy Brinker

Congresswoman and Survivor Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

Redskins Pierre Garcon enjoying the view

Cupcakes for the Cure

I have been very delinquent in my posts, but it's only because I've been crazy busy and haven't had much to report on. We've had a few fund raising events at work to raise money for Team Canada, including a Happy Hour, Snacks for the Cure, and today - Cupcakes for the Cure! We sold $548 in cupcakes - that's pretty amazing. Mine - Strawberry Surprise (in the foreground below) - were runner-up for most creative! Haha. There were some serious hard-core bakers in the crowd.

There are only ten days left until the race. I don't think we're going to make the $12,000 target but it doesn't hurt to aim high!

The Race is on!

The Komen Race for the Cure pulled a fast one this year and moved their race up by a month to Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. I volunteered to be a team captain this year again so I will be pestering everyone I know to either come out and walk or donate! Check out our website - all donations of any amount welcomed and appreciated!  xoxo

 

Valium, sweet valium

So I'm 10 days out of surgery. Expander is out, port is out, implant is in! I stayed home from work all last week and mostly self-medicated and slept. It's not terribly painful to be honest; I have not really been using the percocet. I'm more stiff and sore - enter the valium - which in my opinion should totally be over the counter. I think, if I understand correctly, that the implant goes under your chest muscle and since valium is a muscle relaxant it just helps to loosen everything up. It also has the added bonus of making you sleepy so I am actually sleeping through the night which has been a problem with all those damn hot flashes from the Tamoxifen, but I digress...

Anyway, I had my post-op with the plastic surgeon and he said everything looked "normal". I think it actually looks pretty hideous with the scars opened up again and the stitches hanging off waiting to dissolve, but this is why I'm not in the medical profession. I try not to look. I have to sleep upright, where a sports bra 24-7, and no heavy lifting or bouncing for awhile. The only glitch in that little scenario is my 30lb G-ski, but we took the front rail off his crib, gave him a stepstool to climb into his carseat, and diaper changes are now on the floor. Poor little guy keeps raising his hands saying "up, up" and C wants to know when my "arm" is going to be better so it won't hurt to pull on it when we're holding hands. Hopefully soon, little men!

I also had my post-op check with my oncologist who has been monitoring the wbc counts. As I mentioned, they sky-rocketed to the 14's after a week of the Neupogen shots, but when I went in for labs yesterday (9 days after the last one) I was back in the 3's again. Argh - so depressing. This means more shots to lower the risk of infection while I heal. I had one yesterday, one today, and will have 2 or 3 next week. I have to tell you this whole neutropenia thing is really stressing me out. My oncologist says she isn't worried. I'm only "mildly" neutropenic. So what does that mean for the rest of my life? I'll have to wear a face mask and live in a bubble during flu season? I am so ready for all of this to be over.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a valium and go to bed.

Reconstruction Day

So here I am just about to go into the OR. The annoying Neupogen shots clearly worked because my wbc count was 14.4. I got to do this second part of the reconstruction in the surgery centre attached to my plastic surgeon's office which was quite nice. (Or at least a lot more pleasant than being in the hospital). I was the only patient in there so it felt less manic and stressful. I was under for a few hours and apparently the first thing I said when I came to was to ask if I was going to get a pineapple popsicle. This sounds ridiculous - and it is - but there is kind of an explanation. At the hospital where I delivered both my boys, they give you popsicles after your delivery, and seriously nothing ever tasted so good! So I guess I was a wee bit confused why I was there. The anesthesiologist said I'd wake up in about 5 mins into the recovery room where I'd regroup for about an hour and then go home. Not so much. Could not stay awake and felt nauseated whenever I wasn't sleeping. I was in recovery for three hours. The nurse said it's not uncommon for "small people" to have a harder time which doesn't really make sense to me because I would think the anesthetic is all calculated based on your size, but I was too tired to care. I guess it was closing time so they finally managed to get me into a wheelchair and into the car. I slept the whole way home and somehow John woke me up in the driveway and got me into bed. A few hours later I woke up starving, not having eaten anything for 24 hours, and lovely John made me the best homemade pizza all delivered to my bed.

What Doesn't Kill You...

Anyone that's been following this story of mine will know that I've been trying to get back into decent running shape. While I was thrilled to finally set a date for my surgery (March 5th), it also means that I will have to drop out of the Cherry Blossom 10-miler - again. I've been running ten miles on the weekends so I was a little frustrated to not be able to race. So being the crazy person that I am, I found a half marathon in Williamsburg prior to my surgery date, and we all drove 2 1/2 hours south so I could get a race in. Despite all the hills and the fact that I've only been running ten miles, it went really well. It was a gorgeous sunny day, John and the boys came to cheer me on, and it kind of felt like I was giving cancer the bird knowing that a year ago I was starting chemo and now I was running a half marathon. John was laughing at me for putting Kelly Clarkson on my i-pod, but I tell you, it was my Williamsburg theme song! (You're singing it now, aren't you?!)