Chemo

Cancerversary – 3 Years Fighting Leukemia

/ Trips and Salsa / Leave a comment

Three years ago, I began on the fight of my life. Today, I’m beyond proud to claim that I’ve won! 

I freaking BEAT cancer. I completed chemo in October. I am still recovering from 2 and a half years of treatment and unfortunately broke my ankle and foot in January. Just another setback. But broken bones heal, and I can do hard things. And it’s nothing in comparison to what I’ve dealt with. Just annoying af. 

But as you can see, I am thriving! I feel so much better. My hair has grown out. I moved into a cozy apartment that feels like home. I see the doctor less and less and I get stronger every day. 

The day the doctor said I had cancer feels like a lifetime ago and the journey I took to get here was one I wouldn’t wish on anyone but I’m here to say it’s possible.

You all gave me the strength to fight through and keep going on the darkest days. I can’t thank ya’ll enough for being my support system.   

The highlights from the last year fighting leukemia are my No Mo Chemo party, my bell ringing day and the trip to Paris with my girlfriends. It’s insane to think that the worst thing that ever happened to me also gave me the best days of my life. 

#cancersurvivor #cancerversary #icandohardthings

NO MO CHEMO

/ Trips and Salsa / Leave a comment

We’ll folks. We’re officially at the end. I say “we”, because ya’ll have been on this damn journey with me.

I didn’t cry when I was first diagnosed (probably because I was in shock) but I almost cried in my doctor’s office a couple weeks ago when he said he wanted me to do another month of chemo. That meant I wasn’t going to be done before my big bash. The venue was booked, people had travel arrangements, invites were sent out and it was too late to postpone. But I quickly got over it because after almost 3 years, what’s another 21 days?

Speaking of celebration – on October 1st we did just that. My “No Mo Chemo” Party was everything I could have asked for and more. It was very surreal. I knew that so many friends and family were flying in to celebrate but it didn’t hit me until 100 of my favorite people were all in the same place to celebrate me.

This was before the sun went down and people were still arriving so this is only some of the guests.

Since there were so many people from various aspects of my life I had everyone wear a name tag with their name and how they knew me. This helped spark conversations / break the ice. One of my favorite things from the night was watching my friends become friends. I’ve lived in many different places thus meeting tons of people but have been very selective with who I pour energy into so I’ve created a life filled with top-notch friends. And it was beautiful to be surrounded by them all on this glorious evening.

We had delicious food trucks, a super talented live musician, a gorgeous view and sunset, glitter tattoos and face jewels, and a grooving dance floor with an epic playlist. On top if it all, people went all out with their outfits. I suggested “Disco/NYE” attire because I wanted a lot of sparkles and there sure were lots of sparkles. It was one of the best nights of my life.

I had disco-afied all the centerpiece vases. It took me hours and hours but they turned out so cute. I also made giant disco balls out of hula hoops. I wanted a neon sign but they were several hundred dollars so I attempted to DIY one but I didn’t like the way it turned out – it would have been funny (to me at least) because it said “Staying Alive” – a little double entandre. 😉

I felt like I needed to give a speech, even though I hate public speaking. I barely got 5 words in before crying my eyes out, which I knew was going to happen but was trying not to. It was ok because everyone else was crying too. But it was happy tears, because I FREAKING DID IT, I kicked cancer’s ass. Basically the gist of the speech was, “holy cow – I didn’t die, that was rough, but ya’ll made it a little more bearable and I could never thank you enough. But let’s boogie the night away!”

There’s a tradition in the cancer world where you get to ring “the bell” when you’ve finished treatment so I gave all the guests a mini bell to ring on Oct. 21 with me as I ring “the bell” since they’ve all been on this journey with me. For those that couldn’t make it to the party, if you have a bell at home, I encourage you to ring that thing TOMORROW because in the wise words of Elle Woods, “WE DID IT”!

Cancerversary – 2 Years Fighting Leukemia

/ Trips and Salsa / Leave a comment

TWO YEARS FIGHTING CANCER in selfies. Another rollercoaster of a year, this time with more hair. It was slightly easier than the year prior, thank goodness. There seem to be more good days, some realllllly crappy days, but mostly just ok days.

I’ve gotten used to feeling super down during steroid weeks. I know when I’ll be out of commission and when I’ll typically start feeling better. My chemo is manageable and way less intense. I calculated it and I’ve had almost 80 chemo infusions since I started treatment two years ago, and almost 25 lumbar punctures. I tried to calculate the number of labs, pills, shots, and clinic/doctor’s visits but it was impossible.

I can’t believe it’s been two whole years since we thought I had COVID and it ended up being Leukemia and my whole life flipped upside down.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. I’ll be done with it all in September, if all goes as planned. It was kind of smooth sailing-ish up until recently. I’d been excited to update ya’ll on how great I’d been doing (relatively) but then… this past month I started feeling really lousy with extremely low energy, fevers and strange pains and we’re not really sure what’s wrong. I’ve been in and out of the ER and clinic trying to get to the bottom of it and haven’t been successful. I even got a blood transfusion for the first time in over a year because my hemoglobin took a dive randomly. I had a 2 year cancerversary tea party planned last weekend that I had to cancel and a work trip I didn’t make it on this week. I’m on a break from chemo to help my immune system fight off whatever’s going on. I seem to be on the mend, I hope.

I’ve taken full advantage of the good days. I try to adventure and spend time with friends and family as much as possible, to make up for lost time. I am so thankful for my support system and medical team. This has been an insane two years, but I am coming out on top. 

#cancerversary #leukemiawarrior #cancersucks #leukemia #cancerfighter 

Fake it til you make it?

/ Trips and Salsa / Leave a comment

Often times my response is “Great!” when people ask how I’m doing these days. That response is relative to how I felt last year but in comparison to my healthy life pre cancer it’s not so great. Does that make sense? I feel crappy 10/7 instead of 24/7 so to me that’s a win. Basically cancer gave me perspective. Or I’m a 7 (enneagram) and I just want to exude rainbows and butterflies.

I had a moment last week where I realized I might have some ptsd or something going on because I found some hair on my pillow. I am still on chemo. I just wasn’t expecting to lose hair again since it’s been growing like crazy. And then I had a visit with my oncologist and usually it’s just him and I in an appointment but this time there were 4 people in the room and he sat next to me and a moment of “oh crap I’m about to get bad news” flashed through my mind but really it was just that there was a fellow shadowing him and a nurse training with my case manager/nurse.

Maybe I need a therapist lol.

Then my doc was like “your liver numbers have been regular the past couple labs”, which is great cuz they sky rocketed for a couple months, and I thought he was going to say “so you can have tequila shots again” but instead he said “so we can increase the dosage on one of your chemo pills”. Major buzzkill.

A couple people in my life have recently been diagnosed with cancer and it breaks my heart. To know what they’re about to go through and how sick they’ll most likely feel. I just hope and pray they don’t feel as awful as I did and have a quick and successful treatment protocol ahead of them.

chemo infusion, but make it cute

Well, the good news is I’m now 11 months away from my end of treatment. Less than a year left!!! *Insert party dance gif*

K tootles I’m off to get a needle in my spine. 😝

A Day in the Life – on Chemo Steroids

/ Trips and Salsa / Leave a comment

Wanna know what being on chemo steroids is like?

It’s 3am. You’re wired from insomnia, in excruciating back pain, full-on sweating.

Then you…

Read an entire novel.

Take Pepcid so you don’t die of heartburn the second you eat something.

Grind through a work project that would typically take 4 hours in approx. 55min.

Create an itinerary for your friend’s upcoming bachelorette party.

Eat 500 white chocolate cookies from Subway.

Send some emails.

Immediately regret emails.

Eat a pickle.

Edit the grammar of old Tweets.

Eat a banana.

Apply heat pack to back.

Scarf down a huge breakfast.

Write a review of the book you read earlier.

Get lost in a Pinterest rabbit hole of delicious-looking food recipes.

Eat carrot cake.

Work on 35 more work tasks simultaneously.

Reapply heat pack to back.

Glance at clock and realize it’s only 8am.

Online shop.

Overthink every single word spoken and typed all day.

Plan outings for the weekend then talk yourself out of them.

Google pain symptoms for the millionth time, as if anything has changed.

Text everyone in contact list to say “hi”.

Eat chips and guac.

Daydream about having a hot-tub to sooth back pain.

Text cousin with hot-tub.

Apply heat pack to back.

Brainstorm gift ideas for someone’s who’s birthday isn’t for another 6 months.

Scroll TikTok.

Eyeroll for 5 minutes at the video you found that says going to the LACMA lanterns is “cheugy”.

Eat Cheetos dipped in Del Taco hot sauce.

Open phone to do something and immediately forget what you were in the middle of doing.

Update bucket list.

Yell at your oh so sweet and extremely helpful mum for no reason.

Change Spotify playlist for the 100th time.

Start planning a random dinner party.

Meticulously read through a work email to ensure you understand exactly what it says.

Worry you possibly read emails wrong in the past.

Eat mashed potatoes.

Deep dive Yelp for future restaurant reservation ideas.

Map out closest thrift shops.

Massage swollen face.

Clean out inbox.

Scour internet for specific tube top.

Try to start a series on HBO but don’t follow through because you are having a hard time focusing.

Start a new book. But stop because of same focusing issue.

Attempt to quiet your mind from reliving horrible moments from the last year.

Browse Goodreads to update book list.

Google ways to reduce swelling from salt consumption.

Design a graphic for a friend’s new business.

Knead sore calves.

Remove all clothes because fabric hurts to touch.

Research online classes to learn new skills.

Reapply heat pack to back.

Google anxiety coping mechanisms.

Decorate dream home in your mind.

Cry in discomfort and extreme hot flashes.

Make notes in phone to remember how and when these damn steroids affect you.

Stress about weight gain from all the crap you ate today.

Giggle at cancer satire insta account that perfectly sums up your situation.

Reapply heat pack.

Eat chips.

Force yourself to realize this is all temporary, will pass in a day or two, you’ve been through so much worse & YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.

All while laying flat on your back in bed because ow.

*slightly exaggerated for emphasis…but not really.

I write notes on the tops of pill bottles to easily grab them. My steroid is Dexamethasone.

The Cure is Trying to Kill Me

/ Trips and Salsa / 2 Comments

I think I jinxed myself by wearing this shirt.

nawt.

I started feeling lousy on Christmas. I had a lovely brunch with my parents and we watched Christmas movies and then I went to bed for the next two days because I felt like crap. I got a blood transfusion on Sunday which usually makes me feel better. But the following days I still felt like crap. I just figured I needed another blood transfusion and I go into my appointment on Thursday, which was so hard. I could barely walk to the car. I almost fainted twice that morning. I get to the clinic and they take my temperature and see that I have a fever so they send me to the ER, because my counts were so low. My ANC was at 0.0. I’m admitted to the hospital and they find out I have an infection in my blood and start me on antibiotics. Then my c diff came back and I started to have PTSD from my last visit to the hospital and start to worry that I’ll be stuck there for a month again. My fever wouldn’t go away for days. It’s pretty scary to be in the hospital with several infections and a fever with almost no white blood cells (to fight infections) and super low counts. But the medications started working and my counts started to come up (with the help of daily shots in my belly) and I’m out of there in a little over a week. Thank goodness. That was not how I wanted to start my new year but whatever.

sunrise from my hospital bed

The pharmacy called me before I was discharged and they’re like one of your medications is a bit pricey and I’m like oh yea that’s because it’s a new year and I haven’t met the deductible yet so I’ll just pay for it. The cost was $2400. For 12 pills. That is just INSANE. What do people who don’t have insurance do? Die?!

I’m behind on my chemo schedule since the little hospital visit set us back a bit. I’m starting up again on Thursday and will just have 2-3 more weeks left before I can move to maintenance. I’m looking forward to finishing but not looking forward to feeling like crap until then. It’s crazy how the cure and treatment can be almost worse than the cancer. Someone needs to find a better way to fight this crap. Cancer sucks. But so does chemo.

My set #WFH set up in the clinic

Sometimes I spend all day at the clinic. This day I had labs, a blood transfusion, two chemo infusions and a shot in my booty. Luckily I had a big project at work so I put all my energy into that instead of focusing on the fact that I was in the clinic for like 10 hours. My AirPods died towards the end which was a big bummer. I really need to start bringing a charger with me everywhere. I don’t know how I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I am so not going to miss long days like that.

My hair does not look like the picture above. It’s falling out like crazy but I look so funny. It’s like an old man with a receding hairline because the front is falling out but the sides are still pretty long. I look like George Costanza from Seinfeld. I think it’s time to buzz the rest off.

This sweet nugget was so happy to see me when I got home from the hospital. She laid on top of me for like 20 minutes as if to say you’re never leaving ever again.

Wish me luck as I finish off this never-ending trying-to-kill-me round of chemo.

Tootles.

I Barfed in a Garbage Can…

/ Trips and Salsa / 3 Comments

Fighting cancer this week has had its ups and downs.

I am on day 9 of round two of chemo. And it’s a lot of work. Right now I’m going in 4 days a week to get chemo, labs twice a week and a lumbar puncture once a week with doctor’s appointments in between. My chemo includes a pill twice a day, a shot in my tummy when I’m in the clinic and sometimes an IV, and an injection in my spine during my LP.

so many pills 🤪

The first week I was feeling ok from the treatments but towards the weekend I started to slow down. Nothing major just some fatigue. Then yesterday I was getting my normal belly shot and my labs came back saying I needed a blood transfusion. They gave me some blood and I decided I’m going to get those Halloween vampire teeth to wear next time. But towards the end of my transfusion, I started to feel weird and just figured I was starving since I’d been in the clinic all morning and it was lunchtime. So I rushed to the cafe to get a bite before my LP. Hunger was not the feeling because I could barely take a few bites. So I headed to the waiting room for my LP. I felt horrible and just wanted to go home. All of the sudden I knew I was going to get sick. This was a new waiting room and I couldn’t find a bathroom in time so I barfed in a garbage can. I apologized to some lady and she was very sweet. Bless her heart. Last time I barfed in a garbage can was at Fiesta Del Sol last year when I drank 1 million wines and then went on 3 sketchy spinning rides in a row. My how things have changed.

Then I had an LP. It was successful but took longer than normal because the fluid wasn’t flowing quickly like it normally does and we all know it’s not my favorite procedure. The lady that does it is very sweet and the nurses gave me cold rags to help with the nervous sweating. They gave me some Zofran to help with the nausea and then I felt better but I was beyond ready to go home. It was a long day. I had a sweet care package to come home to. Y’all keep sending me candy and I have no self-control so all that weight I lost in the hospital will be back in no time lol.

My physical therapist said she was expecting me to be worse off this week since I started such a rigorous chemo regime but was surprised with my progress.

My balance is much better and I’m managing stairs and walking longer distances. I’m on a new heart medication so that helps. But the other day my Apple TV wasn’t working so I wanted to unplug it and I couldn’t reach the plug and it was so frustrating. I finally reached it after struggling for a while and then was basically stuck in a corner on the floor. Something so simple was extremely exhausting and almost impossible and that’s something I’ll have to get used to. I wanted to cry. I’ve been fairly strong through all this just taking it as it comes but some days I just can’t believe how much my life and body has changed in a matter of months.

My hands are still numb and annoying and now my feet are too. I hate wearing socks but my feet are so sensitive to hot and cold that I have to wear socks now. My hedgehog hair is still falling out. I wish it would all just fall out already. My face is slowly getting slimmer… not as fast as I’d like but whatever my face mask covers it anyway.

I have to take a break from watching 90 Day Fiance because who knew there were all these spin-offs that suck you in?! I am deep in the rabbit hole but these crazies are stressing me out so I can’t do anymore. So any new TV suggestions would be appreciated. 🙂 Mahalos

Tootles.

Prednisone CRAVINGS

/ Trips and Salsa / 1 Comment

I’m on a steroid that is doing weird things to my body. I’m actually losing a lot of weight here in the hospital. Best diet I’ve ever been on.

I gained a bit of weight last year so I tried a diet in November that my friend and mom both had huge success with but my body did not react whatsoever. The nutritionist was baffled that I had ZERO results. It’s all starting to make sense if the cancer was already in my body at that point it might have been throwing everything off. ANYWAY I’m losing weight. Yay. If only I could choose where the weight was coming from (RIP tatas and booty 😭).

And thank goodness because this steroid is making me SO HUNGRY. I can’t stop thinking about food. I’ll be mid-conversation with my mum and be like “omg I want stir fry.” Or when I can’t sleep at 4 am, I glance at Pinterest and I swear it just shows me endless images of gigantic platters of french fries, tater tots, curly fries, crinkle-cut fries and alllll the dips. It’s pure torture.

I’ll be mid breakfast and start getting sad that I’ll have to wait a few hours til lunch. That’s how bad it is. Usually, people gain weight on prednisone so I’m counting my lucky stars (for now) and will keep eating that carrot cake with dinner. Let’s hope it doesn’t all catch up with me soon. My face is starting to swell like a chipmunk a little but the doc said it’ll go back down once I stop such a high dose in a few weeks.

But the craziest part is I’m craving things that I don’t even eat!

It doesn’t help that all the commercials on cable in here are of fast food restaurants. I’m craving a spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy’s! WTF I haven’t eaten meat since 2007!

I’m making a list of places I want to eat as soon as I’m released from the hospital. I want a mahi burrito from Rubios, a veggie burrito from Lourdes in Cardiff, yellow curry and veggie spring rolls from Bangkok Bay. I would love a poke bowl but guess I can’t eat raw fish for a while… But once I can, you bet your butt I’ll be booking a flight to Oahu for a spicy ahi donburi bowl from Sushiya. (UPDATE) I just received some bad news that our favorite couple who owned my old neighborhood sushi spot sold it to their nephew 😭. I hope Mr. Sushiya (in his plaid shorts and pink polo) is enjoying retirement. I guess Station Sushi will do. Much closer. Still nommy.

I’m even considering a cheeseburger! Who knows, maybe I won’t be a pescatarian after all this. LOL!

The two things I miss most about not eating meat are hotdogs (yuck I know) and meatball subs from Subway (mind you, I was a teenager when I stopped eating meat). So kudos to my Troll homies for guessing these are also part of my cravings.

So if you’ve noticed me “loving” all your delicious food insta stories you now know why. This girl is drooling over your meals.

Yesterday room service brought me a bag of kettle chips but it must have been the bottom of the bag because it was all crumbs. So I added it to some left over Italian dressing and ate it with a spoon. This is my life now. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Just for fun let’s make a list of more yum yums I could go for:

– #2 Pinto Bean with a side of ranch from Taco Time (duh)

– PV (double duh)

– A giant bowl of pasta from this tiny Italian place I ate at in Venice once… this might be a little harder to access but hey this is my dream list, give me a break.

– Tatsu Ramen – (ugh note-to-self: still need to find a good ramen place in San Diego)

– Tim’s Cascade Jalapeño Chips

– The pineapple fried rice I made for my “Roomie Easter” this year

– Papa Johns Cheese Pizza

– Trader Joe’s goodies – all these Tik Tok TJ recs should be banned because they’re making me drool

– Easy Mac lol

– Popcorn with jalapeños from a movie theater

This is the culprit 👿

Tootles Mermaid Hair

/ Trips and Salsa / 5 Comments

I have the most beautiful hair. People compliment it all the time. I don’t dye it, dry it, or use any special products. It’s just au natural. I always considered it my best asset. I liked to hide my body insecurity underneath it as well. In the back of my mind I always worried that if I was diagnosed with cancer that I wouldn’t know how to manage without my hair.

My first few thoughts after finding out I have leukemia was 1. my life’s about to change significantly 2. how’s this going to affect my fertility? (that’ll be a post for another day, perhaps) and 3. bye bye beautiful hair.

At first I thought I’d donate it since I didn’t want it to go to waste but then people kept saying why don’t you make a wig for yourself? I’d need to buy one anyway, why not use my own hair? Duh.

So I cut it off.

I had no idea that when I went to the doctor on that Monday that I’d be spending the next however many weeks in a hospital so I was so unprepared. I didn’t have a brush so I hadn’t brushed my hair in days. It was a complete mess. But I wanted to get it cut off while it was still healthy. I had to put it into a million ponies after a full day of brushing out dreadlocks. And then a sweet nurse cut each pony off and placed it into a bag one by one. Then she buzzed the rest and then BOOM I’m bald!

I thought I’d be more emotional but I didn’t cry or anything. I just sat there and chit chatted with the nurse about her kids and then it was over.

Some days I sit here and think how am I doing all this? I just take it one day at a time. That’s how it was with cutting my hair off. I just did it. I remember a therapy session once when I was going through a rough patch I told my therapist I was having a hard time doing things I used to like to do and then one day I just got up and went for a hike, or went to church, or met a friend for coffee and she asked how I was able to do it and I said “I dont know, I just did”. I don’t really have an explanation for how I’m dealing with all this. I just do it. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

Ok I lied, I had a little emo moment in all of this. I was concerned that my BFF Amelia’s daughter wouldn’t recognize me without my hair so I FaceTimed her before I cut my hair off and then a few days after to show her the difference. She was a little standoffish but she was eating dinner and she’s 2. In my mind, she just didn’t know who she was talking to. Amelia texted me the next morning and said she asked Alana when she was putting her to bed, “Did you get to talk to Auntie EE on FaceTime today?” and Alana replied, “Yes, EE wearing green shirt”. Which instantly made my heart melt because my (awful) hospital gown is green. She recognized me.

We found a wonderful local place to make my wig. It’s a little on the expensive side but it’s worth it to help me feel a little more like myself. Plus my sweet grandma wanted to do something to help so she’s covering it. Which makes it a little more special.

Amelia picked up my precious cargo yesterday from the hospital along with a wave from the “waving bridge” and dropped it off at the salon. They weighed my hair at 8.5oz! I’ll have a gorgeous wig of my own hair in about 12 weeks.

Until then I’m rocking this bald head!

#nofilter

My hair hasn’t started falling out yet so it’s actually growing in a little. I feel a bit like a Chia Pet at the moment. It’s fuzzy and fun to pet.

When I get released from the hospital, I may whip out some pink wigs from Halloween and plan to accessorize with bright lipsticks and funky earrings so stay tuned for some epic looks.

Well F*ck, It’s Cancer.

/ Trips and Salsa / 5 Comments

Life just threw me a major curveball. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) 14 days ago.


I was sick as a dog in bed for 3 weeks. Many of the symptoms were similar to COVID19 so we figured that’s what I had. I self-isolated in my room for weeks with just virtual doctor visits to discuss my symptoms. At first, they said I didn’t need to get tested unless I was having trouble breathing and to just stay home and isolate. After a few weeks, I thought I was getting better and then crazy lymph nodes in my neck and my eyes started to swell up. That’s when I finally decided to get the coronavirus test. I celebrated when the test came back negative. The next day I made an appointment to get the antibody test to make sure I had it in the first place and to see what was up with the swollen neck of lymph nodes. When the doctor came in with a negative antibody test and saw that I had an extremely high heart rate she sent me straight to the emergency room. Thank God she did.


The emergency room was scary and they ran a million tests to get to the bottom of what was going on. They all still figured it was just a false COVID test result but after a 3rd negative they realized it wasn’t. So I was just sitting in a depressing room watching trash tv waiting for results and this frantic doctor comes in and briefly says “we are going to have to admit you to the hospital. It looks like it’s ALL” and then closes the door and walks away. It was the most surreal moment of my life. I didn’t have time to process what was happening and nobody really explained to me what was going on so I just called my mum and said what had just happened and then made arrangements to have my roommate come pick up my car because they were going take me in an ambulance to the hospital with the cancer ward.


The next day was more tests to make sure it was in fact ALL, and it was. They started me on chemotherapy the next day. They let me know I’ll be in the hospital for at least the next month and then be on chemo for the next year and maintenance for the following 2 years. What a journey I have ahead of me.


The craziest part of this is that my brother, Cory, passed of ALL 35 years to the day that I was diagnosed. My poor mother. She is in Momma Bear mode though. I just can’t help but feel guilty that she has do to this with a second child. Especially someone who’s dedicated her life to helping others in similar situations that she’s been in with the damn “C-word”.


I have faith in God, my incredible doctors and medical staff and myself. I will kick cancer’s ass and this is just another chapter in my book.


I wanted to keep this post short but I just have so much to say. I’ve been trying to sit down and blog about this since I got to the hospital but I haven’t been able to mentally. So sorry in advance for all the words words words but I know people want to be updated.


There are no visitors allowed in the hospital at the moment due to COVID restrictions which sucks. It also means I can’t have packages or deliveries. There’s a small pedestrian bridge I can see out my window that my friends have been coming to wave at me from. It’s so sweet. And I have been OVERWHELMED with the number of people reaching out to me to send support, love and prayers. You all make being stuck in isolation so much more manageable. And the generosity of the Go Fund Me page that my friends set up brings me to tears. I was not expecting any of this. I am so loved by so many. Thank you.


My job is being AMAZING through all this too. I am so truly blessed to have found such an incredible company to work for that cares about its employees in a way I never knew possible. I’m working as much as I can while I’m feeling well. It actually helps pass the time and I love what I do, so it doesn’t even feel like work! Plus I’ve convinced all the nursing staff on this floor to purchase some Peepers! 🙂


Everyone in the hospital is so great. I’m clearly the favorite on the 6th floor. 🙂 I’ve made friends with most of the nurses. I have more human interaction here than I did while I was sick in bed for 3 weeks so it’s great!


I’m feeling pretty good. Just some weird side effects and the occasional health hiccups here and there but overall not feeling super lousy. Yet. I think it’s supposed to kick in either this week or next. But they’re good at doing as much as possible to prevent feeling ill ahead of time. I had a little bit of pill phobia for a couple days but I think I’m getting over that. I just got an unexpected shot in my belly and that wasn’t fun either but I’m managing.


The food isn’t bad. I’m on a steroid that makes me RAVENOUS so all I can think about is food all the time haha so good thing the hospital food is decent. I’ll write another blog post about all the random food I’m craving at a later date. You’ll laugh.


I know a lot of friends and family want to reach out and don’t know how. And I don’t expect you to. I’d love a text or a message on social. I’m just chilling all day erry day so I’m down to text. I’d love to NOT talk about cancer and just talk about life and funny memes and pics of your dogs or your babies or anything really. So please keep reaching out. I love hearing from you. Just know that sometimes I might be too tired or ill to respond and ALSO my fingertips are going numb (which is very weird) as a side effect so there might be typos but I’ll get back to you when I can.

I appreciate all the well wishes but know that I’m doing ok and I freaking got this.