Keeping You Abreast: Volume One

1. I went to my Oncologist's office today for my "Day 8" bloodwork.  My appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday, January 4th, but the office closed that day because we were hit with a foot of snow!  Since that amount of snowfall (or really, ANY amount of snowfall) results in the entire shut down of our area, my appointment was rescheduled for today.

One piece of fantastic news is that my blood work came back great, and my Nurse Practitioner dubbed me the "Star Patient of the Day."  Between my "great reaction" to my Chemo meds (read: only fatigue) and my white blood cell count, I guess I make for a stellar patient!  Ha!

2.  I bit the bullet and shaved my head this weekend!  I knew that in most cases it would start to fall out around 14 days after my last treatment, and I decided to shave it for two reasons.  The first is that this is really just something that I wanted to be in control of, and I wanted to determine when the hair came out.  The second is that the timeline could result in me losing my hair this weekend while I'm still dealing with the fatigue of this Chemo cycle, and I didn't want to deal with hair loss on top of that.  Brian took lots of photos and videos, and it was a family affair with everyone helping a bit.  I'll share those soon, but here's a preview for now!

3.  Reese started playing travel softball this fall (well, she got in a lot of practice and one tournament before she broke her arm), and she joined the most amazing team.  Most of the girls played All Stars together over the summer, and this group of girls and their parents and coaches have really become like family.  Yesterday we all got together for a bowling outing, and they surprised me with new pink breast cancer awareness jerseys for the girls to wear this spring!

I was so touched by the surprise. Not only was it so incredibly thoughtful of them to do for ME, but they also had BAKER put on the back of every girls jersey above their number.  It just shows me that they are a team that is rooting for me, but they are ALL there for my girl.  The trek along this cancer timeline is long and can be confusing and overwhelming for me as an adult, and I know that at times it can be for her too.  Knowing the she has a fantastic group of girls and their families supporting her while our family goes through this means so much to me.  From checking in on me, offering to hang out with me at chemo, giving Reesie rides to and from practices and workouts, it all makes this easier for her and for me.  It was the best surprise, and I can't wait to see them out playing softball in their pink jerseys!