see danette tri

After training all summer, I participated in my first triathlon. It was only a sprint with small distances, but I had a blast!
My parents came to watch and cheer me on, along with Joseph, Kai and Zoe. They were at every transition yelling, "Go Danette!" "Yaaay Mom!" It felt great and I was so proud of my new body. Turns out I came in 19th out of 118 women in my age group. Onward and upward.

Baggage

I love vessels of any kind. Boxes, containers, pouches, tins, backpacks, baskets and bags. Before school started last fall, I bought a handsome new school bag to tote my work back and forth. I only do this every few years and love getting to know all of the different compartments that are hidden here and there. Well, after working just one month, my school bag became my chemo bag. It was filled with nausea bands, a deck of cards, mints, sudoku, a journal, water, my ipod, a sweater and my blue cancer center card. I would set it next to me while getting my infusion, rummaging through it as needed. During my two week recovery periods I came to loathe that bag. I'd see it sitting by the front door waiting eagerly for my next appointment.

These days my bag is filled with sunglasses, a whistle, post-it reminders, lotion, snacks, lipstick, ungraded spelling tests, confiscated student notes, and a calendar..... I'm back.

First Day Back

I'm pooped! But it's a good tired, one from working hard, not from being sick. So, I'm conducting my first lesson of the day, and am using the new, high-tech LCD projector to explain the writing assignment. As I'm going through the guidelines, an e-mail pops up in the corner of the giant screen that reads, "j.jacobs: how my heart soars (like an eagle) to see you full of life and cold in the wind...." The kids start reading it out loud and going, "OOoooooooo!" I turned extremely red and sprinted over my desk like an Olympic hurdle-jumper, closing Outlook. Okay, at least he didn't write a racy one.
The day progressed and I only wished I could go home to take a nap once. After work I picked up Zoe, went grocery shopping and picked up Kai. Just finished cutting up 3 lbs. of meat (yuck!) to make beef jerky for my students. They're starting the state testing tomorrow and I made a batch for them last year. Wouldn't you know? They remembered and requested it again! Dinner is on the stove and dishes in the washer. After a little bit of Junie B. Jones and Truck Mania I'll be ready to crash......with a smile on my face.

Totals

4 chest x-rays
4 body scans
3 surgical procedures
12 visits to 4 doctors
1 bone marrow biopsy
2 lung function tests
13 blood draws
6 missed veins (oops! sorry!)
39 self-administered shots
12 chemotherapy sessions
countless pills
10 massages
8 months
13 missing pounds (8 of which have found me again)
140,000 missing hairs (all of which have found me again)
1 remission

results

i didn't mean to freak anyone out. i only told a couple of people that i had found a lump and was worried sick about my pet-ct results. word spreads, though. no matter! joseph called doctor tuscano this morning (i had him worried sick too, i think) and my pet is CLEAR! i do have a node that showed up in the scan, but it's not lymphoma. good old scar tissue. so i get my port out this friday (yahooooo!) and i'm good to go for one whole year. let's get back to normal, shall we?

hair!

here are my brows. they're coming in full steam ahead! very itchy, but wonderful.

had a pet-ct scan yesterday. came home stressed out and anxious, as it hit me what this means. the results shall be revealed tuesday.

tick, tick, tick.....

Elaine

One of the highlights of that book club a week ago was that Elaine came from Arroyo Grande to be with us. She doesn't make it to many gatherings since her move to the coast, but this one, she moved mountains to attend. Speaking of moving mountains, she read my blog about the mustard seed necklace and found one for me in Arroyo. It arrived in an envelope, sounding like a packet of seeds when shook. Seed, yes. Out came the most beautiful necklace, more beautiful than my grandmother's I must admit, and perfect around my neck. Along with it came a poem by Elaine:

The strength that lies within a seed
A miracle indeed,
It gives us hope and courage
A belief we will succeed.

Alone, sometimes our thoughts awry
We question or we doubt,
The seed locked tight within
Requires love and care to sprout.

She and I have cultivated a friendship during the last 6 months that I treasure. Her emails and surprises in the mail have been nourishing when I needed it most. Once again, it's proof that cancer itself is not a gift, but the process changes you and your relationships forever.