Life's Greatest Lessons Aren't Learned in a Book (and other updates)

Friday, September 21st, I had the opportunity to speak at Bingham high school to a group of English students. It was a really awesome experience. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to speak to so many people about what I'm going through and how I've been able to deal with things. I also got to speak at Pleasant Grove High School on December 5th

If you want to read the speech I gave, here is a link to it https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hiRXA_nEm7xptqEdwvMix1i_s-Rnb_C948a5hqsUBBs/edit?usp=sharing
I wrote down my speech exactly like I would say it if I really were speaking so just read it as such and not like an essay or something.

I created this slideshow that I shared at the end. I think the video means more after you read/hear the speech:


The other update I know many people are dying to find out is how my doctor's appointments went on Friday. They went good. I met with the liver specialist first and after waiting for at least 5 years in the very comfortable exam room *insert dripping sarcasm* she finally came in to talk to us. She was pretty nice and cool. She basically just explained what she would be doing in surgery which is removing two or three (?) spots from my liver. They are both close enough to the surface that they will be easy to wedge out. She gets to pick up my liver and turn it around and cut spots out of it with a cauterizing tool. How cool is that? I asked her to take pictures. It seems so unfair that all these people get to sit around looking at my insides and touching all my organs and all I get from it is a huge scar and 2 weeks in the hospital. Selfish doctors. Oh and they are going to cut me all the way to my sternum. Yucky.

Then I met with my gynecological oncologist (female organ cancer surgeon). He was really nice and took a long time with us. We decided on surgery on Tuesday, October 9th (ninth). All I can say is if I have to get another NG tube, they are going to have to put me under anesthesia to do it.

And I have an awesomely funny idea of what I'm gonna do on surgery day :) But I'm not telling it yet.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was great. Went to Sterling's cousin's wedding all day Saturday, it was gorgeous. I have a bit of a cold which totally sucks :/ But otherwise, I am doing great. I hope the smog clears out so I can run outside again!

PET Scan Results and more

Hi! I realize it has been quite a while since my last update! Sorry about that. I had a lot going on last week. I guess I will start with the important stuff that people care about like my PET scan.

On Thursday I went in for a routine PET scan (they always do one after 3 rounds of chemo just to check and see if things are working and how everything is looking). PET scans are weird and they did it in combo with a CT scan so I got the weird stuff that makes your body all hot and weird inside. It was boring. They made me wait for about 75 minutes after I drank the CT contrast stuff and they wouldn't let me read or do anything because then the contrast would go to those parts of my body that were working and not to the parts that they needed to go. Lame-o.

Today I had my normal appointment with my doctor (every 3rd week I see her). We went over the results of the PET scan. Basically things are the same. Which isn't bad news, but it's not good news either. Usually they hope that the chemotherapy will shrink any tumors or spots they see in you. Mine stayed the same. They didn't grow which is really good. But the fact that things didn't go away is kind of weird. The two spots on my liver they still aren't really certain what they are. They show up on the PET scan, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are cancerous. There are also some other spots they are curious about. One of the spots is close to some bones so right now I am sitting in the waiting room to get an MRI. They are an HOUR AND A HALF BEHIND. Holy moley. Borrrrriiiinnnggg. On Friday afternoon I will meet with a liver surgeon and my gynecological surgeon to make a plan of action. Right now it is looking like I will be getting surgery in the next two or three weeks :( Yuck. I mean, I have known I was going to have another surgery but its like....really soon. I told them I was busy on the 29th however so they had to wait until after. I'm not going to miss my own party!! Seriously, how lame would that be.

Man these hospital clothes are sexy!

**UPDATE: I was typing this last night, but didn't quite finish it so now it is Tuesday morning and I have a bit more news. My doctor called me this morning to let me know that the preliminary reading on the MRI is negative! They found nothing :) Yay!! This could possibly change in the final report, but its pretty unlikely**

So that is the news I have yesterday and all I know as of right now! I didn't get chemo treatment yesterday either because if they are going to do surgery soon I need to be as healthy as possible and chemo makes all my blood counts and stuff be not healthy.

Now for the fun stuff :) I'll start with yesterday and work backwards. Yesterday I went to the Humane Society to look at PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love puppies and guess what? I'm gonna get one :) :) :) :) :) :) I am the happiest person in the world. I have to wait until after surgery now though cuz no one wants to take care of him while I am in the hospital :( But I can't wait! There were some pretty cute dogs at the Humane Society, but no young puppies. And it was so sad to go there, the dogs were so sad. They were crying or barking really loud and they all wanted me to play with them! I took the saddest one out of his cage to play with me :) He was a chihuahua mix and soooooo cute. He loved me. But he shed a ton. He really didn't want to go back in his cage and he dragged his feet and rolled on his back and was so sad :( Poor little buddy.

Friday I got to watch my former teammates race at Cascade Golf Course! It was fun and they have such a good team this year. I loved getting to see all my friends again. I miss being on the team for the social part of it, but not having to worry about the stress it brings is kind of nice. And in my situation right now where I am so slow and tired anyway it hasn't been as hard to not be running. If I was healthy and training and running well on my own I think I would miss it more.

After the race Sterling and I took the scooter up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil falls. The coolest thing ever is there: you can feed the fish!! They stocked the small pond at the bottom of the falls with fishies and set up a gumball machine type thing with fish food. 25 cents is all it takes to have the funnest date night ever! Cool huh.

And then...... this is the best part......I got ice cream from the ice cream man!!!!!!!!!!! I have NEVER ever done that in my whole life. My mom always said you could buy a whole gallon of ice cream for what they charge. She was right. But hey, its the experience right? Sterling and I got a lime popsicle to share.

Thursday I woke up to leave for my PET scan and walked out to find this!:

My awesome neighbor Rachel heart attacked me :) She is so sweet and nice to us. She wrote me the nicest letter and all the hearts have nice things written on them. It really made my day and made me feel loved. I am so lucky to have such great friends and neighbors.

Last night when I got home late from the MRI I had another present!!!!! I seriously have the best friends ever :) Brooke put together a date night chocolate Halloween basket for me and Sterling :) I am so lucky to have such amazing friends!!! Yay!

That about sums up the things that have been happening as of late! Check back soon for MRI results, updates, fun things, etc.

And don't forget to sign up for the Fallen in Chocolate 5k! It's gonna be the funnest 5k you've ever done with the cutest race shirt you'll ever get. And it might be the only chance you ever get to run by or ahead of me ;) hahaha.

Shenanigans: Friends, Chemo, etc.

Last Wednesday I got to come up to Salt Lake and have lunch with some old friends from my neighborhood. We have known each other since elementary and haven't really hung out since high school. It was so much fun seeing them again and catching up!

We had a hard time getting a picture where all three of us looked good. I think we took like 20 and these are the only 2 that we liked :)

After lunch Cesia and I went back to her house. I got to play with and feed her chickens!! Who knew that chickens were really soft and they are actually fairly smart! We also made a craft. It was so fun.

I am so lucky to have great friends. Thank you Cesia for being there for me and being so much fun! Even though we didn't hang out for almost 4 years its like it was yesterday :) Love that.

On Saturday I went waterskiing in the morning at my dad's lake. It was gorgeous! I mean look at this picture, it was such a beautiful peaceful morning.

I got a little frustrated because I got tired so much faster than usual and it just ached all through my body. So I had a good cry and then I was fine and went a little longer, but I was pretty tired. Then I got to go to another one of my good friend from high school's wedding reception. She looked beautiful and they had a chocolate fountain for refreshments :) yummmmm.

The coolest thing I did last week though was a chocolate making class! My mom found an AmazonLocal Deal for it and signed us up a while back. I learned so much there! It was really cool because it was just a small little shop run by 2 guys. It is called The Chocolate Conspiracy. It is an artisan organic all natural chocolate company. I didn't really get to take any pictures while we were there because he just did a demonstration while we watched and there were a lot of people.

I learned a ton about cacao (cocoa..same thing, different spelling). How its grown and how it is eventually made into chocolate. I learned why Hershey's chocolate tastes like wax and kind of gross (they put wax and gross things in it). He only buys cacao beans directly from the farmers and only if they grind it at the farm themselves. He says that way he knows its organic and natural and hasn't been shipped all over the world and gotten gross bugs and diseases. Ghana is the main producer of cacao. Cacao grows 20 degrees north and south of the equator and it grows all year long. So there is no "off" season for it, yay chocolate is always in season!

French chocolate tends to be very roasted (the cacao beans are). It is also fatty and creamy. Italian chocolate tends to be very viscous and smooth. And American chocolate (the new nice chocolate, not Hershey's, Mars, etc.) tends to be simple and of a medium roast. The Chocolate Conspiracy doesn't roast their beans at all. They prefer the more simple and natural flavor. Also, roasting the beans kills some of the vitamins and healthy stuffs in it. He also doesn't add any sugar. He uses either organic honey or pure maple sugar to sweeten it.

We got to try 7 different chocolates while we were there. I was super surprised by them! Last time I tried fancy artisan dark chocolate it was incredibly bitter and tasted really dry and not creamy or smooth. His dark chocolate only has three ingredients: cacao beans, cacao butter and honey. It was pretty good!! Not bitter at all and pretty smooth! We tried dark chocolate, dark chocolate mint, gogi berry, blueberry pistachio, spicy, a hand-rolled coconut truffle and a balsamic vinegar. My favorites were the dark chocoolate, the blueberry pistachio and the truffle. The truffle was AMAZING!!!!!!!! Holy crap I almost died. And then yesterday I made them with my mom!! Coconut oil, cocoa powder and 100% pure maple syrup. That's it. Freakin delicious.

Yesterday I had chemo again in the morning. This time I slept through pretty much the whole thing after the Benadryl! Usually it knocks me out for like 20-30 minutes and then I wake up and do stuff the rest of the time. But not yesterday. Maybe it is starting to get to me....who knows.

Wore the pink wig to chemo :) I think everyone loved it! 

After chemo we went to my house and went on a short hike in the Dimpledell area. It was really pretty! And quite hot. I invited Gizmo (my parent's dog) and he almost died. Poor little guy, he is out of shape! It was funny. We had to carry him a few times haha. Good thing he's so small! Sterling says we have enough pictures of us hiking, but here is another one anyway :)

Remember everyone to sign up for the Fallen in Chocolate 5k!!! Go to http://runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=4310 to register. It is going to be awesome, you won't want to miss out :) There are lots of people on Facebook who have said they are going but haven't signed up yet....hurry and do it so we can order the shirts!

Here starts my 3rd round....

Today is chemo #7!! I have 18 treatments, so only 11 more after this! I am almost half way done, how exciting!

I talked to my chemo doctor and she wants to finish up all my chemo before they do surgery again. In three weeks they will do another PET scan to check how things are looking and then my chemo doctor and the surgeon will discuss when to do the second surgery.

On Saturday I finally convinced Sterling to run with me!!! Isn't that great?! That makes for a total of like 3 or 4 times in our life? haha

Cute and chipper before the run

Hot and tired after the run.

We ran almost 4 miles together and he was so nice and patient with me even though I had to stop and rest a lot.

And the 5k my family is putting together is coming together!! Registration should open up tomorrow or Wednesday. Remember, its September 29th, probably at 7:30am, in Cottonwood Heights UT. The title is Fallen in Chocolate, same as my blog :) So that means there will be chocolate served! Yummy. Basically it involves my three favorite things: monkeys, chocolate and running. Couldn't be more perfect huh! If you want to help but don't want to run/walk the 5k, we need volunteers along the course and stuff so contact me if you'd be willing to donate your time :)

Looks like a good week ahead of me, hope everyone else's Monday is going as good as mine! School starts for a lot of my friends, have fun in school! Glad I don't have to start classes today. But tomorrow I take the GRE and I sure haven't prepared very much :-/ yikes. There is a young girl here in the infusion center just like me :) I am too shy to meet her, but I haven't ever seen anyone under the age of 40 hardly so its kind of cool! Maybe I will get brave before I leave today. **UPDATE** I did! I got brave. Well her mom started talking to me in the bathroom so then I got to meet her hahaha. She is 18 and has a desmoid tumor....its super super rare, only 900 new cases a year in the US. They don't even know how to treat it, she's getting chemo, but it might not even work! That would be so crappy. But it is non-metastasizing so it isn't life threatening which is good. So now I have a new friend I will see every 3rd week! Yay!!! 

Have an awesome wonderful day! Enjoy the beautiful weather. Eat chocolate.

P.S.- I have been wanting to do something cute and nice for all the other patients in the infusion center when I come to get chemo. I can't think of something that is cute, not too cheesy, but nice. I was thinking of making cards with a sun on them and saying something like "Here is a little sun to brighten a day that isn't much fun". Do you guys have any suggestions or ideas for me?? It has to be cheap cuz I'm poor, but I want to meet other patients and maybe make them feel a little better. So many people here look so tired and worn out, it makes me sad for them.