Good Story, Could Have been Bad

"I believe in angels- that they're always hovering near, whispering encouragement whenever clouds appear, protecting us from danger and showing us the way. Performing little miracles within our lives each day."
- Anonymous

I took Julianna to the beach tonight. We went after dinner. I figured we would go for an hour or so. It is nice at that time, not too crowded and we don't have to worry about the sun so much.

It was nice. She had fun in the water and playing with the sand. We go to TOBAY and play on the bay side where the water is shallow and quiet. They have a nice playground there too and we usually go to play there right before we go home.

We were leaving and I was carrying four buckets, a spinning sand toy, the blanket, towel and our fishing net. I had Julianna by the hand and we were walking out. All of a sudden she took off running. She is super fast. I was trying my best to keep up and grab her but she had a good jump on me. She was heading straight to the parking lot trying to get to the playground. Just as she was about to run into the parking lot a woman came out of no where and scooped her up. I caught up a few seconds later. The woman asked me if she was mine. I said yes and thanked her profusely.

Julianna still wanted to go to the playground but of course that was off after that escapade. I explained to her how bad that was and what could have happened.

It is nice to know that there are people out there who will grab your child and pull them out of danger. I do believe she was heaven sent.

Family visit

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball........ It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. ~Field of Dreams



Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.


It was a shame. They didn't win.


I had the chance to go to the Nationals game in DC with a group of my cousins. We had a great time. There is nothing like a baseball game to take my mind off cancer and any other negative thing. A hot dog and a beer at a baseball game is better than any drug.


My cousin Johnny was visiting my Maryland cousins with his family. Julianna and I took a ride down. It was really great to see everyone. Julianna loved seeing her cousins. She was calling my Uncle Bill Pop-Pop's brother Pop. That cracked us all up. She loved my Aunt Rosie and is still saying "love MiMi".


They had a baby shower for my cousin Melissa who is expecting her baby girl soon. I am very excited for her. Good things come to those who wait, and they waited, tried and prayed a long time for this baby. I am sure she will be all they imagined and more.


I had my herceptin on Wednesday so I was a little worried that I wouldn't be feeling so great, but I was better then I thought I would be.


We had such a good time!! Thanks everyone!

Daniel, Holly, John, Johnny and Joseph Humphrey at the game

Happy Birthday Aunt Rosie!!!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Rosie!!!!! I hope you have a great day. You are a special person, an inspiration and an example of a great Mother!!! I am so glad to have someone so kind and thoughtful in my life. Julianna and I are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Herceptin.......again

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts - it's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey

I had my herceptin infusion yesterday. There were no problems with the port and I am happy about that. It seems to have started working again without any intervention. I am glad about that because I was not looking forward to a surgery to fix or replace it. Even though that was the easiest surgery I have had so far I am thrilled to skip it.

They drew my blood and ran the counts. I am happy to report that almost everything is in the normal range. Some things are just in the normal range, but they are there. I thought that they might not be because of the recent surgery. They told me I would lose a lot of blood because of it and I think that was true because I had significant bruising, but, it didn't hurt the counts.

The herceptin makes me a little achy. It feels a bit flu-like. It usually clears up in a few days. All in all I am doing everything with very little disruption. I have lost three toenails since the breast cancer walk. I think another one might be going. I put nail polish on the skin where the nails are missing so its not too obvious.

I am amazed every time I go to the chemo place. There are so many people there who are so sick they look like they are dying. I keep wondering how I ever ended up in a place like that. I don't look sick and I really feel normal. To me this just feels like one more annoying thing I have to do. Maybe I am naive, but I really try not to think about things that could happen and just stick with the here and now when it comes to this disease. The other day someone called me up and said they heard I had cancer. I said, "well, I HAD cancer. I like to believe it is gone and will never come back."

4th of July

Hello!!! We had a great 4th of July. We went to a BBQ at my friend Colleen's house and then went out on my friend Bob's boat. Julianna loved it! She keeps talking about how she got to drive Bob's big boat. She loved the fireworks too, especially the pink ones.

I have a few people worried that my cancer recurred. They thought this because I recently had another surgery. The cancer did not recur. While it is not impossible, it is extremely unlikely that it would recur while it is still actively being treated. I am still getting herceptin every three weeks and I will until December. The surgery I had was purely for reconstruction. It had to be done because the expander was causing some problems, but none of it was cancer.

I am feeling great. Thanks everyone for the concern!!!

Julianna
Julianna trying to salute

Julianna and me on Bob's big boat

Stitches Out

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. - John Wooden

I got my stitches out today. I went back to work on Wednesday. I think I really could have done it sooner but I had things lined up to do. It was good to get back to a routine. I am still a little sore but it is not that big of a deal.

This surgery was a lot easier than the others. I think it was so much worse last time because there had been so many surgeries on the area beforehand. Also, I realize now that taking any pain medication is a bad idea. All that does is fog me up so I have to sit on the couch and think about it. If I skip it and stay busy it is not too bad. I really don't mind the pain so much if I know why I have it. If they just cut me open in a spot and it hurts there its no big deal because I know what it is. If I have a weird pain in my neck or something it freaks me out because it makes me worry. Could the cancer be there? I always try to put all that out of my mind but I must admit it sneaks in sometimes.

Julianna is enjoying this nice weather. She loves the pool, water table, swings and anything else she can get to. Summer sure is a great time of year!