surgery

My surgery will be Wednesday (7-29) morning. The surgeons have decided that it is best to fix the heart defect, so I will be having the tumor removed and having the heart defect fixed at the same time. I should be in the hospital for about 6 days. I am nervous but ready to get this behind me.

July 27- A man must have designed the bras I bought because they are so uncomfortable. I cut the under wire out and now they are much better.

July 26- my new hat

July 25-At Benno's in Galveston. The birds were very aggressive and trying to steal food.

July 24- I finally got my permanent cap, the last part of the root canal.

July 23- Detailed instructions for my neighbor who will be taking care of the animals when we are gone.

July 22- I think I like children's hospitals better than adult hospitals. This is the welcome sign, it's so colorful and cheery.

July 21- I was in a program called chemo angels during my first round of chemo in 2003. I graduated from the program but stayed in touch with my angel and we became great friends. This is my card asking me to be her maid of honor in December. I of course said yes and am so excited! I finally get to go to Kentucky!!

July 20- My new favorite drink, iced vanilla rooibos tea latte from Starbucks. They will swear they can't make it iced, but just tell them to pour the hot one over ice, very simple.

July 19- I love this hat, it's so soft.

July 18- I had to carry these around for 2 days. I kept having nosebleeds because my platelets were low.

July 17- My eyelashes are growing back, I get to wear mascara again!!!!

July 16- Happy Birthday Kim! We stayed at the St. Regis. This is my beautiful bed, so comfy.

July 15-(i can't get this photo to flip) my parents have been buying so many watermelons, they can't find a sweet one.

July 14- Rain, rain go away...

July 13- I don't even know what number blood transfusion this is. This was a bad day, I can't remember a day that I have felt so terrible.

July 12- I love okra, but I HATE the ends of the okra. I don't know why. My mom picks them out before she cooks the okra.

July 11- I can't believe this plant is still alive because I always forget to water it. Someone gave it to me when I first got sick 6 years ago. It used to be so tiny, it's really grown.

Don't stop 'til you get enough

I have just finished my 9th round of chemo and I feel like I have just finished my 9th round of chemo.

The heart cath was a lot easier than I thought, it went pretty smoothly. I am still waiting to see if I will need to have my heart fixed. The heart cath showed that while my heart in anatomically different, it works quite well. Thank you for all the well wishes concerning this procedure.

I will see the cardio thoracic surgeon this week, so hopefully (cross your fingers) I will get a surgery date this week.

July 10- Dad's pineapple plant has a baby pineapple growing.

July 9- He loves the sun. He runs right out to the grass, flips over and sunbathes.

July 8- Just finished changing the dressing. I look forward to the day that this is removed.

July 7-A mushroom growing in the backyard. I joked with my mom that I was going to pick it and eat it because this is something that I tried to do when I was little.

July 6-My chemo bag. I have so much stuff in this bag that I DO NOT use but I'm scared if I leave home without it I'll want it.

July 5- Everett brought me some macarons from Dallas.

July 4- This is NOT how I planned to spend my holiday (all day in the hospital) but it turned out to be a good day. I'm with my friend Everett who came to visit from Dallas.

July 3- 1st day of my 9th round of chemo.

July 2-I love these things. They make my tummy so happy.

July 1- A few hours before my heart cath. I was very nervous, the doctor was kind and ordered a Valium for me to relax.

June 30- Sen. McCain toured the part of MDA that I happened to be at. He was there for some kind of health conference.

June 29-One of the stacks of clothes mom folded for me and left on my bed. I love this kind of stuff but I can't get used to it, because when I'm better, I'm out.

June 28 *throwback pic* from Christmas '08. Toby aka Merlin looking divine in the jacket Auntie Camille bought him

June 27-On the way to a friends wedding. Oh and please note the new fabulessness sitting upon my head.

June 26-My new bracelet.

June 25- R.I.P. MJ. I watched CNN all evening.

I am so sad...

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

Monday Funday

My heart cath will be on Wednesday. Think of me. I am more nervous about this than surgery because I will only be under conscious sedation. Meaning I will only get to go about half way to lala land. The doctor has reassured me that I will be comfortable. He said he will give me a good "margarita" and 2 if I really need it : )

June 24-When life gets to be too much, go get a massage.

June 23- So behind on P365

June 22- It got in the house, I tried to kill it, it wouldn't die so I let it go outside.

June 21- Happy Father's Day Dad!

June 20- Our street was egged by, I'm guessing, bored teenagers.

June 19- A lizard got into the house. When I was little I had excellent lizard catching skills but they have escaped me. I ended up using Keymo to help me get it. It was safely returned to the yard.


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Forgot to take pics for two days so I'm using some pictures from my trip to Asia last summer.

June 18- Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia.

June 17- At Batu Caves in Malaysia with my new friends. I had a great time but it was so hot and humid, I had a hard time getting up all the stairs to the top.

June 16- Love this place, it was hot in Dallas I had to go everyday.

June 15 -I was able to visit with my old onco. nurse at Presby Dallas where I was first treated.

June 14-Visiting with my friend Adrian. This is her male cat named Pheobe who is strangely aggressive. I'm not a fan.

June 13-This cookie was so good, I've wanted to taste on for a very long time. It was everything I thought it would be...

June 12-Thank you Kim for introducing me to Salata.

I need some wine please

I'm back from Dallas. I had a cardiac cat scan yesterday and met with my surgeon today to discuss surgery.

Good news: The tumor only appears to be attached to the sac outside of my heart. It should be fairly "easy" to remove.

Not so good news: The cardiac cat scan showed a very interesting discovery of my anatomy. I have a congenital heart defect that has gone unnoticed for 26 years. Crazy. Simply put, I should have 2 coronary arteries attached to my aorta supplying oxygenated blood to my heart, but I only have one. The other coronary attery is attached to my pulmonary artery. The one that is supplying the oxygenated blood is doing a great job! It is a lot larger than it should be because it has been overcompensating. Of all the tests I have had in the last 6 years, only the one I had yesterday showed the defect. The surgeon said only certain tests show it. I also had no symptoms. I did sports in high school, and am still very active and other than a few palpitaions I had no reason to think something was wrong with my heart. The cardiac cat scan was to better see the tumor!!! Often the first symptom is something very scary that I'm not going to type, so I'm anxious to get this fixed.

So now, not only do I have to get the tumor removed but I need the heart defect corrected. I am going to see a specialist at Texas Children's-usually these problems are corrected during infancy/early childhood. They will try to coordinate so I can have it all done at one time. I will have a cardiac cath done next week and then possibly a little more chemo just to keep me safe until surgery. The surgeon who is removing the tumor is going out of town for 2 weeks (ugh, i know) so the surgery will not be for at least 3 more weeks. Blah.

Oh happy day!

I received great news from the doctor yesterday, the tumor is small enough for surgery!!!! He said he could not be more pleased with my results. I will meet with the surgeon next week and I could have surgery as soon as the end of next week, but more than likely within the next 2-3 weeks. I am very happy to get this part over with. Not so good news-after surgery I will need 4-6 more rounds of chemo. I almost fell out of my chair when he said this. But then he said when we are done with those rounds we stop, that's it, I'm done and hopefully off into the land of remission. I hope to live there for the rest of my life...

June11-packing for Dallas. I need a break from my house and the two people who live there. I love them, but everybody needs a little break sometimes. This is just food and meds. I am an over packer.

June 10- my "couldn't be more pleased" test results. The big gray blob is the tumor, the first square is from November, the second is from February and the third is from 2 days ago.

June 9-Next day, new dressing room, waiting for CAT scan

June 8-in the dressing room waiting for my PET scan

June 7- my dirty dozen pesticide card I take to the grocery store with me so I know what I need to buy organic and what I can buy conventional

June 6-Me and Kev

June 5- I think this is my first bruise ever. It's from a combination of low platelets and me being clumsy.

June 4-playing in the mirror

June 3- Beamer (the white dog) came into my room at about 7am and wanted up on the bed so I helped her up. She then squats and empties her bladder on my bed!!!! I threw the dirty sheets on the floor and this one came along trying to sleep on them. Gross.

June 2- my delicious salad. I cut up all the veggies as soon as I get home from the store and put them in this container.

June 1- I ordered this great tray from QVC and it arrived today.

May 31- Out to eat with mom