Round 3!

My hair lately is well, very mangy. It is falling out where my hat rubs. I wear a hat pretty much all the time. I think mostly to not have to look at my gross head in the mirror, or to shock and awe my family...although, I think they are used to it. I searched the internet for some sort of hairpiece I could wear under my hat that wouldn't be a full wig and be super hot. I went to Sally's Beauty supply and found 'track hair'. It's a row of hair that is all sewed together. After talking with my mom we came up with an idea to sew the hair onto a soft headband that I could wear underneath any hat, rather than sew the hair to the hat. I'm no seamstress so I took it all to my friend Char's house and she sewed it for me.

Not the best look, but this shows how it fits...

And...what it looks like with a hat on. When I had my pre op appointment before chemo on Thursday the dr. asked if it was my real hair. He said 1 out of 100 patients don't lose their hair and he thought I might be one of those...No such luck....

It is getting worse, but you can see how above my ears is where it is disappearing first. Not the greatest look:)

 These pictures are hard to look at, but it is what it is and I'm blogging about it so 10 years from now I can look back and say 'I remember that'.

Landon snuggling Oliver. We let the kids bring the cats in to snuggle because it is cold outside.

My work had a 'clarity retreat' last Tuesday. It is a meeting every January where we get together and discuss our production and goals for the last year and the current year. I was feeling good enough to go so I put on my wig for the first time without a hat and headed to the meeting. It was hot and itchy and very 'big'. I hated wearing it and I felt like Rachael from friends with a bad haircut. It has bangs and is very layered. I showed up to the meeting and ended up taking the wig off by lunch. My friend Kelsi bought me a wig to wear as a joke, so she put on my wig and I put on the other one. It was funny, but it made me realize that I needed to have a shorter wig!

Right after lunch I got a phone call from the kids school. Landon was playing at recess and fell and hit his head. The nurse said he was having confusion with colors and was concerned he had a concussion. So, I left the meeting early and headed to the school to pick up Landon. He ended up being fine, we headed home and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Luke was out of town that evening so I was on call. It was the first time he has been out of town and I have been home alone with the kids. I had some anxiety about it all, but everything worked out.
Wednesday I stopped by a wig shop where I had looked at other wigs before I bought Savanna (my first wig). I stopped by and tried on a wig that was ordered in for me to try on about a month ago. Her name was Cameron and as soon as I put her on she just felt good. She is not as long and not as layered.

Last week I had 2 physical therapy appointments. She is helping me with stretches and also a little massage where I have scar tissue building up around some of my scars. Mainly where my drain tubes were and where my lymph node biopsy was under my right armpit.
Wednesday I had my follow up appointment with my breast surgeon. I will see her every 3 months for the first year just to check for recurrence in the breast. She basically does a breast exam and says, see ya later. The best kind of appointment.
Thursday I had to have my pre op appointment for chemo where they take my blood and I meet with the dr. He said my blood cell count was at a good level and I was able to proceed with chemo on Friday. If for some reason my counts were too low I wouldn't be able to have chemo.
They printed out the rest of my Oncology appointments...There is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Friday morning I had round 3 of chemo. I was having a lot of anxiety about going...which isn't anything new, but Luke brought me and hung with me while they hooked me up to the poison...It takes about 2 hours from start to finish. I requested a room with a window again and they let me have one. I feel like I officially look like a chemo patient now. I could have worn my wig or my fake track hair...but I didn't.

Luke picked me up when I was done. We headed home and packed up, picked the kids up from school and headed for the mountain. I didn't feel too bad, just tired on the way up. That evening I was pretty nauseous, but took my meds and it controlled it pretty well. The kids had friday night races so I just relaxed in the condo while they raced. Saturday there was a guy promoting his SKI GIRL business. He had hats and stickers and Josie came back to the condo with both.

I haven't bought the picture, so I only have the picture proof...But this is a picture of Josie racing at the last race.

Saturday I have to lay still for an hour while I get injected with white blood cells...after it goes off I peel it off and throw it away.

Josie was invited to a birthday party saturday night. They got to go sledding in the village and have a pizza party in the yurt. They have a big fireworks show for MLK weekend and a glow light parade, so she had a great time.

Today the kids didn't have school so Luke got to go free skiing with them and a bunch of friends. These days are the hardest for me. Skiing with the kids on a beautiful sunny day is one of my favorite things to do. I felt good enough to go skiing, but I wouldn't have been able to keep up with them because If I ski, I will be skiing slowly so I don't crash and hurt myself. Plus, It was a busy day due to the holiday so me with my low white blood cells had no business being in a busy lodge. My friend Jen took this picture of her kids with Landon and Josie. The kids had a great day. I was feeling better and was able to clean the condo, do laundry and take Walter for small walks outside of our condo.

This week I have another physical therapy appointment and another boob fill. I only have one more round of the 'red devil' chemo and then on to a different type for 4 rounds. The dr. said that the last 4 rounds don't give you as much nausea and fatigue so I'm looking forward to that. But, apparently the last 4 can give you pretty bad joint pain...so there's that...One day at a time!