Moving on doesn’t mean you forget about things.  It just means you have to accept what happened and continue living.  – Unknown

Ooooeeee….now it has been almost 6 weeks since I last wrote!  Where do I begin?!  Maybe I’ll be sort of chronological about things, which I guess is more or less how I usually go about my blog, but I seem to write so seldom now that I really can’t remember.  Actually, sometimes I think I talk about the “fun stuff” and then follow it with the “medical stuff” because the fun stuff is…..well, much more FUN! 

Oh well……here goes…..

I had an appointment with the radiation oncologist, Dr. Bryant, on April 3^rd.  First I met with Cathy, the nurse practitioner, who was her usually cheery self, and we had a great chat.  I also told her the story of my amazing family and friends of the family and the “love fund” (as Nancy appropriately called it)…..and Cathy cried…..and I cried…..  Then I met with Dr. Bryant.  Had a nice chat with her, too.  She said everything looks great and feels great, with no suspicious lumps.  She said when “lesions” return, they usually return along the mastectomy scar line.  Thankfully, everything was fine there.  She said I don’t need to return to see her unless something comes up and I need her.  Otherwise, I can just continue to follow up with Dr. Sprawls.

On April 6^th, we finally launched “Whitecap,” our 25’ Albin cruiser, which was the culmination of 8 months of work (repairing, remodeling, redoing, fixing, cleaning, painting, polishing, shining, etc.) by Ken and a good friend of ours.  I can’t take any credit for anything – they did it all!  We hadn’t used the boat at all since we bought it, other than the trip Ken and his brother, Fred, took when they brought the boat from Jacksonville to Merritt Island, which WAS a great trip…..but they were on a mission.  Anyway, after launching the boat for what I had hoped would be MY maiden voyage, the engine overheated in the 10 minutes from the boat ramp to the dock.  Bummer!  Mind you, they had run the boat on the trailer several times, and it was fine every time!  Back to the drawing board.  Ken and Don worked on it for several days, and finally got the problems (yes, it had other issues, too) resolved.  Yay!  They brought it up to the park we were staying in on April 12^th – they have a little marina there, so we could keep it tied up there and use it whenever we pleased.  How cool is that?!

On April 9^th, I decided on a whim to go get my hair colored!  I was so excited about getting rid of the gray!  Unfortunately, I went to a walk-in salon instead of my usual hairstylist because I wanted to get it done “right now!”  Mistake!  I took 2 pictures with me of the basic color I wanted – kind of a sandy blonde or “bronde” (brownish blonde).  After 2 hours and 20 minutes, it looked NOTHING like either picture!  IMHO (in my honest opinion), it was quite a disaster.  The sweet girl tried to say that it must be a reaction to the chemotherapy, although I pointed out to her that I hadn’t had any chemo for almost 7 months!  I was extremely disappointed….extremely upset is more like it….and was right back to wearing bandanas again.  Now I’m kind of “over it” and have convinced myself that it’s only hair.  No big deal.  I can live with it.

On April 10^th, I went down to Vero Beach to meet stepsister, Becky, and her daughter, Rachel.  Becky was only in Florida for 2 days (from CT), and it just made me so happy that she and Rachel could meet me for a couple of hours.  We met about halfway between my place and Rachel’s place and had a most delightful lunch at the Ocean Grill, overlooking the ocean.  And it was such a gorgeous day, too!

Then on the 13^th, my college roommate, Paddy, and her husband, John, came to visit.  What fun we had catching up on 36 years of news and stories!  Well, I don’t think we covered everything, so we will definitely have to do it again!  We spent most of the afternoon “hanging out” at our campsite, chatting away, and also walked down to the boat so they could see our “luxury liner” – all 25 feet of it!  Had a fun dinner at Rusty’s in the Port and got to see the Disney Magic (cruise ship) heading out to sea.  Came back to the park and had a campfire and more stories.  They stayed in our “luxurious guest quarters” (our pop-up camper), which turned out to be an adventure because the wind was HOWLING that night.  It was almost like a bloody hurricane; I mean, it was REALLY windy.  No disasters, though.  The pop-up didn’t blow away or roll over, and all was well in the morning, albeit still quite windy.  Unfortunately, Paddy and John had to head out the next morning, but it sure was great to see them and reconnect after so many years!  Let’s do it again, guys!!       

On Sunday, April 15^th, I finally got to go out on my maiden voyage on Whitecap.  It was still a bit windy but great fun, nevertheless.  We anchored up behind a spoil island, had lunch, sat in the sun, and just relaxed and enjoyed being out on the water once again. 

Oh, I finally decided, after much contemplation, to go ahead with the Zometa infusions that Dr. Sprawls wanted me to start (for osteoporosis and decreasing the chances of bone mets).  So I made an appointment for my first infusion for April 20^th.  HOWEVER, I had a dentist appointment for a routine cleaning (and to get him to sign the dental clearance to start Zometa) on April 16^th.  Well, guess what?!  He wouldn’t sign the clearance because I have 3 “problem” teeth.  He said I have 2 choices:  I can have 2 crowns and possibly 2 root canals and a filling, or I can have the 3 teeth pulled.  UGH!  What a choice, eh?!  Gotta say I’m leaning towards the extractions because we’re talking $750 versus $4500 (roughly speaking on both figures), but I’m not ready to make a commitment either way yet.  I’m planning to talk to an oral surgeon and see what he says.  At any rate, extractions are a contraindication for starting Zometa (or bisphosphonates in general) due to the possibility of ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw) and/or other complications.  Waaaahhhhhh!!!  Just when I had finally made up my mind to move forward with it.  I was extremely bummed out when the dentist gave me that news but, as with the hair, I’ve more or less come to grips with it.  So be it.  I just have to deal with it.

On April 17^th, we got a spectacular view of the space shuttle Discovery departing the Space Coast on its final mission – heading to the Smithsonian!  They flew right over our campground.  What a spectacular sight – very beautiful (and very sad)!

On April 20^th, I had an appointment for a Doppler flow ultrasound of the DVT (blood clot) in my leg.  After a few minor snafus, it was finally completed.  And, yes, I still have a blood clot.  I was truly hoping it had “reabsorbed” itself….or whatever they do…..but it was still there.  In fact, the ultrasound tech wasn’t even going to let me leave the office until they got in touch with Dr. Sprawls to make sure he was aware of it.  They were way more freaked out than I was.  I told them I HAD to leave because I had another appointment – for a D-Dimer blood test and a breast cancer blood panel – at Dr. Sprawls’ office.  I assured them that he and I were both well aware of the DVT.  So off we went to Space Coast Cancer Center.  Ken waited in the car while I went in for the blood draw because I knew it wouldn’t take long.  Hah!  While I was having the blood drawn, the medical assistant informed me that I had to see Dr. Sprawls.  I said, “Oh no I don’t.  I have an appointment with him next week.  I don’t have time to do that today” (knowing full well that would be another hour or 2).  She said they would squeeze me in between patients and I would be next, but he had to see me!  Well, they did just that.  And I was next.  And he had to see me because the cardiology department called him from the hospital and said my ultrasound was positive for a DVT!  Okay, okay.  We know that.  He said I don’t have to go back on the warfarin unless my D-Dimer test comes back positive.  It didn’t.  And the tumor markers were within normal limits, too.  I don’t understand why the tumor markers aren’t zero, but at least they were in the normal range.  Alas, no more warfarin.  And the coolest thing about my surprise visit with Dr. Sprawls was that he let me cancel the appointment I had for the following week!  Yahoo!  And I don’t have to see him until August!      

Kenny’s brother, Fred, arrived for a week-long visit on April 25^th.  It was really great having him around.  I wish Janice (his wife) could have come, but she was tied up babysitting grandbaby #1 in Maryland.  Fred got to go out on the boat, he and Kenny also went kayaking, and he accompanied us on our trip to St. Augustine, which is where we are now.  He got a whirlwind tour of St. Augustine – really only had one full day – saw the old fort, walked down

St. George Street

, went to the beach, and had some great meals around town.  He had to leave a couple of days ago and head back to Rhode Island.  We’re slowly getting settled into our campsite at Anastasia State Park where we’ll be campground hosts for the next 3 months.  Looking forward to it.  It’s a beautiful park, and we love St. Augustine.  Our duties include cleaning restrooms (not as bad as it sounds) and cleaning the campsites in between campers.  We work 3 days on/3 days off – great schedule.  And a really nice perk is that our campsite is in the “admin area,” which is actually a little section off to the side of the St. Augustine Amphitheater parking lot.  Well, they get some pretty good entertainment here.  Our second night here, the Beach Boys were playing!  So we sat outside, had a glass of wine, and listened to the Beach Boys live in concert!  Tonight the Fray is playing.  Never heard of them, but they sound pretty good….so far…..  Ringo Starr will be here at some point, along with other great venues. 

Well, as usual, I have rambled on and on…..and on and on.  Time to quit.  Not sure when I’ll be back here.  Just not too much to report on these days.  Feeling fabulous…..and life is good!  Hope all is well in your various corners of the world!  Sending hugs from Florida!   

Whitecap is launched!

Becky, Rachel, and me -- enjoying a fun and fabulous lunch!

Paddy and me catching up on 36 years of news and stories!

Shuttle Discovery heading to the Smithsonian

Fred and Kenny out on the boat

Ready for our move to St. Augustine

Fred and Kenny at Anastasia State Park

Kenny and me at Sangrias in St. Augustine (I'm not ready to display photos of me without a hat or bandana, although Dr. Sprawls made me remove my bandana and told me, "Your hair is beautiful.  You need to quit wearing bandanas!"  So I rarely wear them anymore; just not ready to display photos.)