Birthdays

So I felt compelled to actually write a blog today, since I don't think I can sum up what my 26th year has meant to me in a facebook status or a tweet. Here it goes and I apologize in advance if I get too long winded! So as some of you may know today is my 27th birthday and with it brings so many emotions for me. I think I will start with when I was diagnosed with cancer and going in for my 6 rounds of chemo and even my doctor appts, I would have to wear a name tag with of course, my name but also my date of birth. I would, every time the nurses came over to administer the chemo, verify my name and birth date. Keep into account I had 6 rounds of chemo and three chemo drugs every time so I was saying the words 3/11/1984, 18 times over the last 7 months. This does not even take into account the many times I went in for surgery or an MRI or any other scan that required a wrist band that I had to verify was right. So I've had this date in my head as a constant reminder of what I was fighting for. All cancer patients currently fighting and survivors, be it me as a 1 year survivor or my grandmother a 12 year survivor and the ones who are over that, are all looking to get to the day that they can celebrate blowing out another candle and saying I made it. Today is the day that I have fought the last 7 months to get to and to be able to say I made it, the road was hard but I made it. I am so grateful and blessed to have the support of my family and friends who saw me through my darkest days and helped me get to this day, so to all of you I raise my glass and say a huge THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to go enjoy some cake and blowing out 27 candles and see where this chapter takes me in life. So I end my blog the way I have ended all the other ones I have written with I wish you Peace, Love and above all Hope for one more birthday!!

Peace, Love, Hope
Kaitlyn

What Cancer Cannot Do!!!

It cannot and will not and has not killed my spirit! I have been on one crazy ride for the past 6 months. The thing that has gotten me through it all has been my fighting spirit and the love and support of my family and friends.

Today was the closing of another chapter, and of course, mom and dad were here with me. I had my post-op meeting with Dr. Kennedy. She said that I'm healing wonderfully, that the incision looks great and she also gave me a copy of my pathology report. Which, Dr. Kennedy was very happy with the report and the findings. For those that might not already know, they basically say that I'm now cancer free. We were also able to schedule a consult with the radiation oncologist for the 30th of this month to discuss when we will start radiation. I also have to start physical therapy tomorrow. The doctor wants to have my arm be more flexible than it is now. Apparently my arm has to be able to reach behind my head before I can do radiation, and right now that's not possible! Thank goodness for pain killers, I'm pretty sure I'll be heavily medicated tomorrow after that! I also was able to get fitted for my prosthetic (fake boob) today and I got 2 new bras so that was exciting! I won't be able to wear the prosthetic for awhile now since I'm still healing and it hurts to have anything touch my incision area.

Last week was a bit of a rough week for me. Wednesday was the first day that I had actually gotten dressed and it was quite an experience. To have a t-shirt on and see one side of my body flat and hardly any hair on my head it was hard to feel like a girl. It was like I didn't have time to prepare myself for the after. I was so ready to get the cancer out and get past the surgery that I forgot to take a minute and actually prepare myself for what was going to be, or not be, there after the surgery. But like the title of this blog says it can't kill my spirit, and after going a week without a bra I'm starting to get use to the idea more and more everyday! :) I've said this whole time that my humor would get me through this and that's even more true now. I'm actually thankful (now) that God made me flat chested because you can't really tell that I've had a mastectomy!

I have to thank everyone for going through this journey with me, we've reached the top of the roller coaster and we are downhill from now on. I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and I'm very blessed to have all of you there with me on this ride. I'm looking forward to giving my body some much needed relaxation from everything that I have put it through this last 6 months!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

Camp Thomas

So I'm 7 days removed from surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. The surgery went well from what they tell me since I was asleep at the time. Although apparently when the hospital attendants wheeled me into my room I asked the one guy if he was participating in No-Shave November and then told him I was also participating but with my hair. I'm pretty sure I'm going to win! I came home Tuesday afternoon and slept for the entire day. Thursday I felt good enough to go out and run some errands that I needed to get done. I think mom and I were gone an hour and when we got back I was pretty tired and proceeded to sleep for the rest of day.

I was able to get my drains out today, last week was no fun having those in. No words can express how nice it was to have my parents here last week taking care of me and draining my drains. I'm sure I was not the easiest patient to care for but the fact that they were here meant a lot to me. I got some other great news today, my pathology report came back and my tumor was .02cm which apparently is really small. Also, when they first did the lymph node biopsy 2 lymph nodes were positive, well when they tested the ones they took out they were all negative. Which means I am CANCER FREE and I have a really good prognosis of it not coming back! I can't begin to put into words what all your prayers have meant to me and this is the result of all of your prayers! So from the bottom of my heart I THANK YOU!! I have waited for this news for 6 months and have gone through a lot but today is a great day!! :)

With that being said, I have just a couple more hurdles to get over and then I can put all of this behind me! We meet with Dr. Kennedy next week for my post-op appointment and to also hopefully start discussing radiation treatment. I'm not gonna lie I haven't actually looked at my non-boob, that is still a little hard for me right now. I know I've been really strong this whole time in dealing with the fact that I have/had cancer but the surgery just made it a little more real for me.

So in closing I thank each and everyone one of you who reads my blog for your continued prayers, you all have helped me get through this journey that me and my family have been on. It hasn't been the easiest or most fun but with your words of encouragement and prayers it has made it more bearable so I thank you!

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

The Uniboob Chronicles

This morning finds me reporting to you from Kaitlyn's hospital room. The surgery is over and she is recovering nicely. We arrived right on time yesterday....9:00 a.m. and reported to Admissions. Soon after we were on the second floor in Pre-Op. Surgery was scheduled for 11ish but didn't actually happen until the afternoon. The nursing staff got her prepped and they wheeled her down to the operating room around 12:45. The staff at Clarian is great and they kept us posted thru out the procedure on how things were going. By 3:30 they were telling us she was in recovery and after talking to Dr. Kennedy, Brad and I were able to see her.

She, of course, was still pretty out-of-it but was alert enough to know we were with her and that the procedure was over. Not too long after that they wheeled her upstairs to her room and got her settled in. She has done remarkably well and is, for the most part, in good spirits. Glad to have this part of the process behind her. She's been around the proverbial block this morning for a nice walk thru her ward and even has managed a shower. If everything goes well, she'll be sprung from this place this afternoon.

She'll leave with a couple of drain tubes still in and I will be responsible for maintaing those until they are ready to come out. I'm sure she will be thrilled to be back home in her own bed. Hopefully, at that point she will be able to blog again. Until then, thanks for all the prayers that went up for her yesterday. We continue to be blessed by you all.

Peace, Love and Hope,
Lisa

2 boobs, 1 boob

So today is the day that I lose my boob, if it gets rid of the cancer than take it away! Camp Thomas is here and ready to hold down the fort for the week. So instead of the chemo cave it is Camp Thomas. We might have a bonfire later and roast some marshmallows if we have enough time. Continued prayers for today and the rest of the week are much appreciated, I don't think I will ever be able to express how much all of your support and words of encouragement have meant to me and my family. It has helped us tremendously in getting through every day!

My mom will post an update tonight for you!

Much love to you all

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

Drainage Tubes, Morphine Pumps and Camisoles Oh My!!!

So today was my Pre-Op meeting with Dr. Kennedy I also met with the Rehab facility to learn about the exercises I will be doing after surgery. Thank goodness mom and dad were there today to soak up all the information given to us. I have to report to the hospital at 9 Monday morning. I think they are planning to do surgery around 11 and it will last around 2 hours. I will have to stay overnight Monday night and will be able to come home Tuesday afternoon. When I wake up on Monday I will have two drainage tubes attached to me as well as a mini morphine pump called an ON-Q pump. It's job is to help with the pain after I come home and when it has drained you can apparently pull it right out of my chest. So that job as been given to my mom. I know she is really looking forward to doing that. The tubes are even better, my mom has to empty the tubes twice a day and measure how much fluid is coming out. I also get to wear a special camisole that holds the drain pumps in a pouch that is connected to my camisole, needless to say today was a little overwhelming.

On a change of topic, last weekend I participated in the Making Strides against Breast Cancer in South Bend. I walked with my Aunt Donna, Mom, Jaymie Hartzler and her mom Shari Hartzler, Amy Calvert, Erin and her daughter Addy. They had a great turnout and it turned out to a beautiful morning for a nice little walk through South Bend sporting our AWESOME orange shirts. After the walk we went and had lunch at the Olive Garden where we got free cake at the end of our meal. I'm still pretty sure its because I have cancer, so if anyone wants me to tag along with them I can get you some free stuff! :)

I will be updating one more time before Monday. Then my mom will be updating on Monday after the surgery as I know a lot of you will want to know how that went. I want to say thank you for all the prayers so far and I ask that you say just one more prayer for Monday. I'm a little anxious to have the surgery, but I trust that God will be watching over me and keep me safe. I also trust my surgeon and medical team and know I'm in very good hands.

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

Yay It's an Update!!!

Get excited its an update!!! So a lot has happened since the last time my mom posted. Just to give a quick update on whats been happening. After my last chemo which was a month ago, I got really sick and started to run a fever due to an infection I was fighting before I had chemo. I noticed that I felt really warm and took my temp it was around 100.7. After talking to the Oncologist on duty, Scott and I proceeded to go to the ER where they drew my blood and ran some other tests. Come to find out my counts were dangerously low and they were thinking of admitting me but thankfully my oncologist said I could be released and I was prescribed antibiotics and told to rest. Mom came right away and spent a couple of days and then came back with dad when my temperature flared up again. Then the following week I was having some problems using the bathroom so I went back to the ER only to find that I had a urinary tract infection and was given more antibiotics and told to rest. That last chemo took a lot out of me and even laughed in my face a little bit, but with every one's prayers and words of encouragement I was able to fight and get through the worst of it.

I also have had my first herceptin infusion which was a piece of cake just like the nurses and doctors told me it would be. Both mom and Scott were along for the ride. Because it was my first one I had to sit there for an hour and half so they could monitor me while having it. The infusion went fine and will only take about 20-25 minutes the rest of the time. I go every 3 weeks for the infusion for a year and my next one is next Thursday.

Mom, Dad and I met with Dr. Kennedy, who is my surgeon, last Wednesday to discuss my options with surgery. Since the chemo shrunk the tumor so much Dr. Kennedy thought we might be able to do a lumpectomy. She ordered a mammogram and a MRI. Mom and I went in last Friday to get those done. Dr Kennedy was able to look at the imaging and due to there still being some spots of concern to her she feels the best course of action is to have a mastectomy. I have scheduled my surgery for Nov. 1st. That way I will be able to be healed in time to enjoy Thanksgiving and the holidays with my family. I (and mom and dad)have a pre-op meeting next Wednesday with Dr. Kennedy to go over the specifics and make sure we are all on the same page.

On a happier note, I participated in the Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk here in Indy last weekend. The Hartford organized a team to walk and I felt very honored that they did that and asked me to walk with them. I had a great time and was actually able to walk the whole thing, I was a little tired afterwards and definitely took a nap when I got home. :) It was great to be out there raising awareness and money for this disease. I am also planning on walking in the same event this Saturday with my mom and the Fulton County Relay for Life team in South Bend. Our team name is the Fulton County Rack Pack and they even got orange t-shirts in my honor. I had my dad put a link on here called Making Strides so that if any of you would like to donate money you can go to that site and give.

I just want to thank everyone again for all your support and words of encouragement through all of this, it has meant the world to me and made me fight harder. Now on to the next chapter which is surgery and then its down hill from there, and I promise to update on here more often.

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn