THE END OF CHEMO! And the beginning of the next chapter of life. I can't believe today is the last day of chemo, hopefully ever! I have made it through 18 treatments and 2 major surgeries. I've lost my hair, twice. And I've experienced life in a whole new way. I must say, there are a few things that I will not be missing. That includes: having no eyebrows, having no nose hairs, nose bleeds at least once a day, chronic sore throat, feeling out of shape
all the time, short/no hair, constant worry about getting sick, and the Benadryl induced comas. I will however miss some things like: getting to spend every Monday with my mom all day including going out to lunch and gettin' our nails did, all the friends I've met at chemo, and having an excuse for why I can't get out of bed before 9am.
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| Me and my chemo boyfriend. I told him we're gonna have to split up for a while. |
I've heard it takes about a month for the side effects of the chemo to truly wear off so I get at least 4 more weeks of sleeping in :) Ha jk, but seriously. I used to be a 7am kind of girl and now it feels like the middle of the night waking up any time before nine. I am looking forward to getting a little more energy. I mean I've had quite a bit for someone going through chemo, but running is killing me. I get slower and slower and I never feel like I'm getting more in shape. At least when a normal out of shape person starts working out they slowly get better and it slowly gets easier. For me I started exercising as soon as I could after surgery but it just got harder and harder. It has been really hard for me actually. Emotionally I mean.
Seeing this awesome therapy dog today was not hard though. He was so big and nice and soft and nice and I love him!!!!
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| My friend Michelle. She has been doing chemo for 2 years and doesn't know when/if she'll ever get to be done :( She is the cutest little lady. |
Lately, I have heard a lot of people say "2012 was such a horrible year, I am so glad it's over" or "2012 really sucked, hope 2013 is better". I guess I could say that. But honestly, 2012 was not a horrible year. It didn't suck and I don't wish for it to be any different (well, I mean it'd be great to not have cancer, but I do so no sense in wishing it away now). I had a really great past year. Lots of good things happened. Lots of great things happened. I grew and learned so much and had a lot of opportunities to reach out to others and meet new people. Although I had a lot of hard things happen in 2012, overall it was good. I competed in my last season as a collegiate athlete. I graduated from college. I survived 2 awful surgeries and 17 weeks of chemotherapy (the 18th week being in 2013). I got to reconnect with a few friends and spend a lot of time with both friends and family. I got to read lots of books, take lots of naps, and get so many needles poked in me they don't phase me at all anymore.
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| The nurses all sang to me! And gave me a certificate and blanket. It was so awesome. |
I am so excited to be a chemo grad. I know I may possibly have to experience it again in the future, but I hope it isn't for a long time. I definitely will miss my mommy-daughter dates, but maybe we can start a new more fun Monday tradition. As much fun as sitting in the hospital for hours was, I bet we can find a more exciting past time to enjoy together.
My mom got me this way cute necklace! The heart on mine says "courage" and the bead is teal, for ovarian cancer. Cute!! I have the greatest mom.
My journey isn't over. It has really hardly begun. I have so much ahead of me!
Joy in the journey. Joy in every moment. Find it.
Yes, I used to love Miley Cyrus before she went off the deep end.
