Dear Family and Friends,
It is with a smile on my face and immense gratitude in my heart, to God and all of you who have prayed for me, that I report my "passing grade" on my first post-cancer CA-125 test! As you may remember, the "normal" scale for the ovarian cancer tumor marker in a woman's blood is 0 to 30. My score yesterday was a 13.4!!! Smack dab in the middle of normal!
This first test score weighed heavily on our family's minds and hearts because you don't know what will happen once you no longer have the weekly chemo that has been destroying your cancer cells. Did it miss a few? Are they multiplying like crazy again? This great score tells us my cancer remains firmly in remission, and allows us to relax, breathe, and live each day to the fullest for another three months until the next test comes along.
Since we last blogged, we "took a break from cancer" to celebrate the end of the long surgery/chemo journey. The four of us enjoyed a wonderful trip to the coast of Maine where I believe we saw just about every lighthouse and ate just about every lobster and gourmet ice cream cone on that 350-mile stretch of coast we covered! If you love sandy and rocky beaches, quaint little towns and coves filled with fishing boats, and the aforementioned lighthouses, lobster, and ice cream, then go to the coast of Maine!!!
Last weekend Steve and I travelled to San Diego for our nephew's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and great chance for Steve and I to go on walks and lay on a sandy beach in the sunshine doing absoultely nothing (didn't even bring a book to the beach). We also hit the pool with enthusiasm as we are both training (along with Renee) for a Children's Hospital fund-raising swim on Aug. 25. It is 1.4 miles across Lake Washington and I am up to 45 minutes of continuous swimming so far. Need to get to one hour, 15 minutes before the race (I think I can, I think I can...).
I have also returned to work at SPU! Just three days a week to start. The first week back, I would get home from work and collapse on the couch before I could even think about helping with dinner. Did you know that if you remain collapsed on the couch long enough, your husband, son, or some other kindly person visiting your home might end up making dinner for you?! ;-) But each week I feel my strength returning, about 5% per week, I would estimate. By September, I hope to be strong enough to resume my normal four-day work weeks.
I can't tell you what joy it brings me to go to work, ride on an airplane without getting sick, to work out again to near my previous levels of fitness, and to EAT all the foods that I couldn't tolerate during chemo, including last night's splurge of king salmon with some friends...king salmon being my all-time favorite protein. It was also a joy to go crabbing and to catch so much that we could give crab cakes away to family and friends and take a crab meal to a family just beginning their cancer journey (surgery over, but chemo yet to start). To be able to give again, and not just be on the receiving end of so much love and kindness, is both humbling and heart-warming. Thank you, Lord!
I will try to get Daniel to add some photos to this blog post later this week and then we will blog again in August. Until then, bless you for your continued prayers for the nerve pain in my feet (a long-term side-effect of chemo) and that my cancer will remain FIRMLY in remission. I hope you are having a wonderful summer, wherever you live, and that you will find moments (or big huge hunks) of joy in each and every day of your life this summer!
Love,
Gabrielle
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
6/3/13 Celebrating!
Dear Family and Friends,
I'm sorry I haven't written sooner to tell you how overjoyed I am to be done with cancer treatments...but I've been so busy celebrating, I haven't had a second to touch the computer until now!
Final chemo #18 on Friday was so much fun. I know--how weird is that to call chemo fun?! But Daniel and I and everyone at the Seattle Women's Cancer Care Center were celebrating that my chemo was ending. They sang to me and blew off those New Year's paper poppers. Then we ate chocolate raspberry cake from Simply Desserts (my favorite cake bakery in the world). We couldn't even finish a Scrabble game because everyone kept coming in and hugging me and congratulating us. And we gave hand-written note cards and Molly Moon's ice cream gift cards to the six people on the team to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude for helping me through. They loved getting those!
Since then, I feel as if I am floating and need to pinch myself with how surreal it feels to be done. To have plucked the last pink paper chain ring from the banister. To not have to return to get blood work checked until July 19. Seven glorious weeks of life ahead with no visit to the cancer center. And knowing that each day will bring back my strength, my taste buds, my hair--it's all too wonderful for words.
The four of us went out to dinner Friday night to celebrate at my favorite Mediterranean restaurant--The Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue. After, it was a sunny evening and we walked about the beautiful park near Bel Square. On Saturday we went to the Saturday farmer's market in Edmonds and then out for a boat ride on Lake Union. And on Sunday we took the boat to Blake Island with my sister and her husband where we picnicked, laid on blankets on the beach talking, and hiked the island trails. What a great weekend of celebrating the start of cancer remission. Thanks be to God!
From this point on, I will need to have my chest port flushed every six weeks (or seven this first go around), and every 12th week they will also check my CA125 to keep it "under surveillance" and make sure it remains in the normal range of 0 to 30. They will keep the port in for a minimum of two years (!) just in case we need it again. Those words send shivers through my spine!
Will you please continue to pray for me that we won't need the port again? That I will be in the "statistical group" for whom this cancer will not recur? I know recurrence is a possibility. I had a very advanced stage of this dreadful cancer. But each day I pray that God will allow me to see Daniel graduate from medical school, to see Renee and Daniel get married, to know and be a blessing in the lives of my grandchildren, and to be there for my beloved husband, Steve, in our old age.
And while I lift that prayer to God each day, I also ask Him to help me trust Him when fear of the future creeps in. To focus on the gift of the present day and not waste the days God is giving me now on worry about things that may or may not occur later. I know Who holds the future and He can be trusted with all of it. He has proved that time and again.
When the disciples were afraid on the Mount of Transfiguration it says "But Jesus came and touched them. 'Get up,' he said. 'Don't be afraid.' When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus."
And it all boils down to that. The words my friend, Loretta, gave me right at the start of this difficult journey. "Eyes on Jesus," she said. How right she was (is)!
Love,
Gabrielle
P.S. Thank you all so much for reading our blog and praying for me/us these past five months. We felt every prayer and were encouraged with every card, meal, and kindness. Please continue to pray for smooth remission sailing and we will update the blog from time to time to stay in touch. We estimate we will write about once a month moving forward (so we won't have to think/focus on cancer "too" often in this surveillance period)! We love you all and could not be more grateful for our magnificent "rope team!" :-)
I'm sorry I haven't written sooner to tell you how overjoyed I am to be done with cancer treatments...but I've been so busy celebrating, I haven't had a second to touch the computer until now!
Final chemo #18 on Friday was so much fun. I know--how weird is that to call chemo fun?! But Daniel and I and everyone at the Seattle Women's Cancer Care Center were celebrating that my chemo was ending. They sang to me and blew off those New Year's paper poppers. Then we ate chocolate raspberry cake from Simply Desserts (my favorite cake bakery in the world). We couldn't even finish a Scrabble game because everyone kept coming in and hugging me and congratulating us. And we gave hand-written note cards and Molly Moon's ice cream gift cards to the six people on the team to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude for helping me through. They loved getting those!
Since then, I feel as if I am floating and need to pinch myself with how surreal it feels to be done. To have plucked the last pink paper chain ring from the banister. To not have to return to get blood work checked until July 19. Seven glorious weeks of life ahead with no visit to the cancer center. And knowing that each day will bring back my strength, my taste buds, my hair--it's all too wonderful for words.
The four of us went out to dinner Friday night to celebrate at my favorite Mediterranean restaurant--The Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue. After, it was a sunny evening and we walked about the beautiful park near Bel Square. On Saturday we went to the Saturday farmer's market in Edmonds and then out for a boat ride on Lake Union. And on Sunday we took the boat to Blake Island with my sister and her husband where we picnicked, laid on blankets on the beach talking, and hiked the island trails. What a great weekend of celebrating the start of cancer remission. Thanks be to God!
From this point on, I will need to have my chest port flushed every six weeks (or seven this first go around), and every 12th week they will also check my CA125 to keep it "under surveillance" and make sure it remains in the normal range of 0 to 30. They will keep the port in for a minimum of two years (!) just in case we need it again. Those words send shivers through my spine!
Will you please continue to pray for me that we won't need the port again? That I will be in the "statistical group" for whom this cancer will not recur? I know recurrence is a possibility. I had a very advanced stage of this dreadful cancer. But each day I pray that God will allow me to see Daniel graduate from medical school, to see Renee and Daniel get married, to know and be a blessing in the lives of my grandchildren, and to be there for my beloved husband, Steve, in our old age.
And while I lift that prayer to God each day, I also ask Him to help me trust Him when fear of the future creeps in. To focus on the gift of the present day and not waste the days God is giving me now on worry about things that may or may not occur later. I know Who holds the future and He can be trusted with all of it. He has proved that time and again.
When the disciples were afraid on the Mount of Transfiguration it says "But Jesus came and touched them. 'Get up,' he said. 'Don't be afraid.' When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus."
And it all boils down to that. The words my friend, Loretta, gave me right at the start of this difficult journey. "Eyes on Jesus," she said. How right she was (is)!
Love,
Gabrielle
P.S. Thank you all so much for reading our blog and praying for me/us these past five months. We felt every prayer and were encouraged with every card, meal, and kindness. Please continue to pray for smooth remission sailing and we will update the blog from time to time to stay in touch. We estimate we will write about once a month moving forward (so we won't have to think/focus on cancer "too" often in this surveillance period)! We love you all and could not be more grateful for our magnificent "rope team!" :-)
Friday, May 31, 2013
5/31/13 To my wife on this, her last chemo day.
Dearest
Gabrielle,
Well,
today’s the day, the one we have been eagerly awaiting since way back in
January when we started this journey. It
seems so long ago. In a few hours, you
will pack your trusty chemo bag with your special blanket, snacks, hand-held
Scrabble and People magazines and head off for your eighteenth and final treatment.
I want to
take this moment to tell you how proud I have been of you in all of this. From Day One, you have faced this pesky
little problem with tremendous grace, courage and dignity. Your resolve in fighting cancer has never
wavered and your joy has shone like a beacon of hope. You have been such an inspiration, not only
to me but to countless people out there whose lives you have touched. At a time when you have been at your most
vulnerable, you have made it a priority to reach out and minister to others,
helping them with words of wisdom, encouragement, thoughts and prayers.
The thing
that has most struck me is your amazing faith and trust in God. Your inner faith shines through so
beautifully in your words, your blog entries and your calm demeanor throughout
this journey. Anger? At a time when you have every right to be
angry at God, that is not something that I have observed in you. You have an unwavering faith
that God is on His throne and holds you in the palm of His hand and that
wherever this journey takes you, God is there with you. What better place to be?
You have
reminded me of this verse from Isaiah and which I give back to you:
When
you pass through the (deep) waters, I
will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the
fire, you will not be burned; the
flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Is. 43:2-3
Please
indulge me one more passage from the Bible.
This one is a little paraphrase of mine from Psalm 91. It goes like this:
Psalm. 91. Gabrielle who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of
the Almighty. Gabrielle
will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my
fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save Gabrielle from the
fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He
will cover Gabrielle with his feathers, and under his wings Gabrielle will find refuge; his
faithfulness will be Gabrielle’s shield
and rampart. Gabrielle
will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by
day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that
destroys at midday. A thousand may fall
at Gabrielle’s side, ten thousand at Gabrielle’s right hand, but it will not come near Gabrielle. If Gabrielle makes the Most High her dwelling—even the
LORD, who is Gabrielle’s refuge—then no harm will befall Gabrielle, no disaster
will come near Gabrielle. For he will command his angels
concerning Gabrielle to guard Gabrielle in all Gabrielle’s
ways; they will lift Gabrielle up
in their hands, so that Gabrielle will not strike
Gabrielle’s foot against a stone. Gabrielle will tread upon the lion and the cobra; Gabrielle will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves Gabrielle,"
says the LORD, "I will rescue Gabrielle; I
will protect Gabrielle, for Gabrielle acknowledges my name. Gabrielle will
call upon me, and I will answer Gabrielle; I will
be with Gabrielle in trouble, I will deliver Gabrielle and honor Gabrielle. With long life will I satisfy Gabrielle and show Gabrielle
my salvation. Psalm 91, RSV*
(* Revised Steve Version)
Good stuff, huh? It is almost as good as my favorite Bible
verse: “Now, Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders
and miraculous signs” Acts 6:8. Not sure
why I like that one so much. For some
reason, it just speaks to me. But that’s
just a little aside.
I have been blessed to have you as my
wife for over 30 years. My love for you
has never been deeper than it has been right now as we face this struggle
together. You are a champion and I
admire you so much. Thank you for
everything. Now, get into that ring and
kick the stuffing out of cancer one more time!
Looking forward to a big celebration when all this is said and done and
while you’re still hopped up on steroids.
Did someone say Mexican food??
Love,
Steve
p.s.
And, of course, a major thank you to Renee and Daniel who have been so
amazing throughout this as well. You are the best children I could ever hope to
have. I feel so blessed and humbled to
be your dad.
p.p.s.
As for the rest of our “rope team”, a big thanks to you as well. We could not have done it without each and
every one of you.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
5/26/13 Scrabble champ!
Steve
As Gabrielle may have alluded to on more than one occassion, she loves Scrabble. It's a great way to kill time during chemo (or any other time, for that matter) as she schools Daniel or me (or anyone else wandering by) in this game of wit and verbal creativity. She may have also mentioned that most of the time, she wins (though I did manage to eke out a rare victory on Friday). She LOVES to win! What she may have not told you is that I secretly photographed some recent sessions she has had with the Scrabble board, and am including them here for your perusal. She also seems to think that having cancer means that she can make new Scrabble rules and has made two:
1. The words don't have to touch.
2. You can use any letter you want as a blank if you run out of the letters you need.
So here they are:
On this game, for some reason, I was the one playing words like "I" and "no", while she came up with "fighter" and "no quitter" and "butt". Needless to say, she cleaned my clock on this round. I protested over the word "butt", saying it was a little too racey for a family game like Scrabble. I tried to make my own rule of: no "ifs, ands or butts", but she shot me down. I guess you get veto power of new rules if you're the one getting chemo (emoticon wink inserted here....I don't know how to make those little doodads).
It's really hard to beat her when she gets the "x" and "z" and comes up with such nifty words. I made "and", "on" and "can-er" (that's cancer, not canker, though it would be nice to be zapping the pesky canker sore I'm dealing with right now).
I thought I had her on this one, as I knew that the one who is supposed to hit the road is "Jack", but then she throws a curve ball at me and tells Zeke to hit the road. I protested, to which she waved a "Q" in my face and told me that she could have told "Zaraq" to hit the road. That shut me up.
I will leave it to your imagination as to what Gabrielle was thinking when she played those four blanks. She just got a big grin on her face when she played them. Rear? Heck? Snot? Butt? Can't think of anything else that might fit there...like I said, this is a family friendly game.
Can't argue with that!
Yep, thought I had her again when I threw the "nada" on at the end of her "nothing", then she pulls out her last letters and plays them on the triple word score...nothing like using your "z" in a triple. I had no chance. Perhaps this one should have read, "Steve...what are his chances of winning at Scrabble? Nothing. Nada. Zip."
Good, positive thoughts. Short game, but I couldn't think of anything to add after "cancer", so we called it good.
There she is, playing a high scoring letter over the triple word score again. Mega, mega points! I couldn't protest too loudly at her good fortune to score so well. After all, who wouldn't want a triple serving of Jesus at a time like this? Or any time at all, for that matter?
And with that, we called it a day!
So, if any of you out there want to take her on, be my guest. This is especially true if you like having your clock cleaned by Gabrielle. Fortunately, she takes the same winning attitude into her chemo sessions and is closing in on being done with the whole shooting match. Perhaps I should add "eyes on the prize". Any way you slice it, she's a formidable opponent...mini golf, Scrabble, ovarian cancer. It picked the wrong person to take on, that's what I say.
And with that, I'm going to sign out, eat some shrimp, and study the Scrabble dictionary.
As Gabrielle may have alluded to on more than one occassion, she loves Scrabble. It's a great way to kill time during chemo (or any other time, for that matter) as she schools Daniel or me (or anyone else wandering by) in this game of wit and verbal creativity. She may have also mentioned that most of the time, she wins (though I did manage to eke out a rare victory on Friday). She LOVES to win! What she may have not told you is that I secretly photographed some recent sessions she has had with the Scrabble board, and am including them here for your perusal. She also seems to think that having cancer means that she can make new Scrabble rules and has made two:
1. The words don't have to touch.
2. You can use any letter you want as a blank if you run out of the letters you need.
So here they are:
On this game, for some reason, I was the one playing words like "I" and "no", while she came up with "fighter" and "no quitter" and "butt". Needless to say, she cleaned my clock on this round. I protested over the word "butt", saying it was a little too racey for a family game like Scrabble. I tried to make my own rule of: no "ifs, ands or butts", but she shot me down. I guess you get veto power of new rules if you're the one getting chemo (emoticon wink inserted here....I don't know how to make those little doodads).
It's really hard to beat her when she gets the "x" and "z" and comes up with such nifty words. I made "and", "on" and "can-er" (that's cancer, not canker, though it would be nice to be zapping the pesky canker sore I'm dealing with right now).
I thought I had her on this one, as I knew that the one who is supposed to hit the road is "Jack", but then she throws a curve ball at me and tells Zeke to hit the road. I protested, to which she waved a "Q" in my face and told me that she could have told "Zaraq" to hit the road. That shut me up.
I will leave it to your imagination as to what Gabrielle was thinking when she played those four blanks. She just got a big grin on her face when she played them. Rear? Heck? Snot? Butt? Can't think of anything else that might fit there...like I said, this is a family friendly game.
Can't argue with that!
Yep, thought I had her again when I threw the "nada" on at the end of her "nothing", then she pulls out her last letters and plays them on the triple word score...nothing like using your "z" in a triple. I had no chance. Perhaps this one should have read, "Steve...what are his chances of winning at Scrabble? Nothing. Nada. Zip."
Good, positive thoughts. Short game, but I couldn't think of anything to add after "cancer", so we called it good.
There she is, playing a high scoring letter over the triple word score again. Mega, mega points! I couldn't protest too loudly at her good fortune to score so well. After all, who wouldn't want a triple serving of Jesus at a time like this? Or any time at all, for that matter?
And with that, we called it a day!
So, if any of you out there want to take her on, be my guest. This is especially true if you like having your clock cleaned by Gabrielle. Fortunately, she takes the same winning attitude into her chemo sessions and is closing in on being done with the whole shooting match. Perhaps I should add "eyes on the prize". Any way you slice it, she's a formidable opponent...mini golf, Scrabble, ovarian cancer. It picked the wrong person to take on, that's what I say.
And with that, I'm going to sign out, eat some shrimp, and study the Scrabble dictionary.
Friday, May 24, 2013
5/24/13 One week to go!!!
Dear Friends and Family,
Gabrielle here. I am thrilled to report that I completed chemo #17 today in four hours, 15 minutes! After five days of the Neupogen shots in my stomach my white cell counts are good again. Not only is this great in terms of allowing me to get chemo, it also frees me up to do a few more things (safely be in the grocery store, a restaurant, etc.) and has helped me avoid catching the Steve, Daniel, Renee horrible cold! Amazing!
Due to Daniel's cold, I went to chemo alone today. But to my delight, Steve had a little break in his day and was able to ride his bike over from work long enough to cream me at Scrabble. Now in my defense, you must know that we started to play EXACTLY when they started dripping into me a huge bag of Benadryl. If you have ever taken that, you know it makes you SO sleepy! Try playing smartypants Steve in Scrabble with sleep drugs dripping into your veins. I'm not a poor loser...really I'm not...I'm just explaining the extenuating circumstances of my slaughter. ;-)
Another happy surprise in the middle of chemo was that they brought me the most delicious dessert! We often bring them cookies, so today they said it was my turn. They brought me lemon cake (lemon has been my favorite flavor when nauseous), with lemon curd filling, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream and fresh raspberries and blueberries! Oh my goodness...it was so delicious. I ate it for lunch instead of the quick string cheese, wheat crackers, and apple slices I had brought.
One shout out to Daniel--even though he has been sick as a dog all week, he arose before me this morning to pack my chemo bag and make me breakfast. When I got home, he had gardened and then made a fabulous veggie lasagna and homemade foccacia bread topped with fresh garden rosemary and salt for dinner without letting me lift a finger. And we only get to keep him for three more months, then he's off to live near the U.W. campus. Twenty-something women of the world--if you come across a guy like this, grab him quick! (Daniel better not read this...he will be mortified.)
As usual, I want to thank those who sent me loving, encouraging cards this week. There is one friend who sends cards EVERY week and she knows who she is. You are precious to me, as are all of you. :-) And thanks to the world's cutest newlyweds, Ami and Matt, who brought us an amazing Thai Food feast last night (Thurs. nights being my least nauseous night). So good to spend time eating Thai food, playing Canasta, talking, and eating my Martha Stewart homemade hot fudge sundaes and Daniel's cookies for dessert. Ami and Matt can eat like true Dudleys!
I wish you were all here to see my little, tiny, minuscule, almost non-existent pink chemo paper chain. Seven little links. I'll ask Steve to put on a photo for you (most of you know that a technological genius I am not). The end is in sight. God, and all your prayers, love, and kindnesses have seen me (us) through. My heart is overflowing with joy and hope tonight.
In closing, on this Memorial Day weekend, we are to remember. Let's remember and thank God for those who have given and risked their lives and limbs for our freedom and security...and "I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember your wonders of old." Psalm 77:11. I will always remember His faithfulness to me and my family and the gift of you who have been on our "rope team" for these last five months!
Love, Gabrielle
P.S. This week's prayer requests--for Renee and Daniel to be healed of their colds, for me not to catch them (the colds, not the kids), and for the chemo-induced neuropathy pain in my hands and feets to quiet down and when chemo ends, to go away. Thank you!!
Gabrielle here. I am thrilled to report that I completed chemo #17 today in four hours, 15 minutes! After five days of the Neupogen shots in my stomach my white cell counts are good again. Not only is this great in terms of allowing me to get chemo, it also frees me up to do a few more things (safely be in the grocery store, a restaurant, etc.) and has helped me avoid catching the Steve, Daniel, Renee horrible cold! Amazing!
Due to Daniel's cold, I went to chemo alone today. But to my delight, Steve had a little break in his day and was able to ride his bike over from work long enough to cream me at Scrabble. Now in my defense, you must know that we started to play EXACTLY when they started dripping into me a huge bag of Benadryl. If you have ever taken that, you know it makes you SO sleepy! Try playing smartypants Steve in Scrabble with sleep drugs dripping into your veins. I'm not a poor loser...really I'm not...I'm just explaining the extenuating circumstances of my slaughter. ;-)
Another happy surprise in the middle of chemo was that they brought me the most delicious dessert! We often bring them cookies, so today they said it was my turn. They brought me lemon cake (lemon has been my favorite flavor when nauseous), with lemon curd filling, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream and fresh raspberries and blueberries! Oh my goodness...it was so delicious. I ate it for lunch instead of the quick string cheese, wheat crackers, and apple slices I had brought.
One shout out to Daniel--even though he has been sick as a dog all week, he arose before me this morning to pack my chemo bag and make me breakfast. When I got home, he had gardened and then made a fabulous veggie lasagna and homemade foccacia bread topped with fresh garden rosemary and salt for dinner without letting me lift a finger. And we only get to keep him for three more months, then he's off to live near the U.W. campus. Twenty-something women of the world--if you come across a guy like this, grab him quick! (Daniel better not read this...he will be mortified.)
As usual, I want to thank those who sent me loving, encouraging cards this week. There is one friend who sends cards EVERY week and she knows who she is. You are precious to me, as are all of you. :-) And thanks to the world's cutest newlyweds, Ami and Matt, who brought us an amazing Thai Food feast last night (Thurs. nights being my least nauseous night). So good to spend time eating Thai food, playing Canasta, talking, and eating my Martha Stewart homemade hot fudge sundaes and Daniel's cookies for dessert. Ami and Matt can eat like true Dudleys!
I wish you were all here to see my little, tiny, minuscule, almost non-existent pink chemo paper chain. Seven little links. I'll ask Steve to put on a photo for you (most of you know that a technological genius I am not). The end is in sight. God, and all your prayers, love, and kindnesses have seen me (us) through. My heart is overflowing with joy and hope tonight.
In closing, on this Memorial Day weekend, we are to remember. Let's remember and thank God for those who have given and risked their lives and limbs for our freedom and security...and "I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember your wonders of old." Psalm 77:11. I will always remember His faithfulness to me and my family and the gift of you who have been on our "rope team" for these last five months!
Love, Gabrielle
P.S. This week's prayer requests--for Renee and Daniel to be healed of their colds, for me not to catch them (the colds, not the kids), and for the chemo-induced neuropathy pain in my hands and feets to quiet down and when chemo ends, to go away. Thank you!!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
5/23/13 Hole-In-Wonderfuls Round 4!
Hello all! Sports reporter Daniel here.
The Hole-In-Wonderfuls have competed in three more mini golf cups over the last several weeks, and I am here to report to the blogosphere all the adventures:
In an attempt to play at every course around us, we drove north to Lynwood, WA for the 18 hole course at "Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle's Restaurant". This 18-hole championship miniature golf course offers 9 holes in a tropical, tiki, mid-century Hawaiian vacation-styled indoor course, and 9 holes outside in a pirate adventure theme. It was quite an experience! My mom and I noted how we could save a lot of money the next time we wanted a Hawaiian vacation, by just coming here! They even had a vintage sounding Hawaiian lounge music soundtrack. An added bonus, was the fact that we were playing around 11 am on a Tuesday, and there were no other players in site. It was like we were members of a highly exclusive mini golf country club! |
| Gabrielle preparing to sink her shot! |
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| Mom and the large tiki! |
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| One of the main advantages of mini golf over regular golf is the wide variety of ball colors |
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| The Brady Bunch goes to |
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| With our Hole-In-Wonderfuls mascot, Mrs. PotatoHead |
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| My awesome mom and golf partner! |
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| What fun monsters these were! A definite must next time you are looking for fun at 220th and Aurora Ave! |
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| Tropical plants (real and faux) set the tone |
At the end of our 18 holes, we could have also played lazer tag, driven go carts, hit balls in the batting cage, done the ropes course, or bumper boats, but instead we went to Chipotle and ate delicious burritos with guacamole and chips. Somehow that sounded better than a bucket of fried chicken at Bullwinkle's Restaurant.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
5/21/13 Home Stretch
Dear Family and Friends,
Gabrielle here. I can't stop thinking about the fact that when I pull off my little pink paper chain ring tonight, there will be just TEN rings left. That's right--ten days from tomorrow I will have my final chemo treatment! Thus, on our walk today (in the pouring rain, I might add), Daniel and I had fun discussing what my top ten things things were to look forward to about ending chemo. Of course there are many more than ten, but here are my Letterman's Top Ten--in no particular order.
10. Energy. Today, like most people would feel after 16 straight weeks of chemo, I had little energy. Barely enough to shower, brush my teeth, eat, and have a short walk. Other than that it was just reading and t.v. I can't wait to have a normal amount of energy again!
9. Hair. Bye bye hats, scarves, and the wig I've probably only worn five times because it gives me headaches. Hello to needing more shampoo than the size of half of a grain of rice to clean my scalp!
8. Sushi. Japonessa happy hour and fresh, raw fish--here I come!
7. No nausea. Nausea was much better when you knew that it was going to produce a beautiful new baby to love. I so look forward to not feeling nauseous...though it was surely not a price too high to pay for medicine that has killed my cancer.
6. No metal taste in my mouth. Try eating your next meal while sucking on a penny and you will understand how much I look forward to this one. (Don't really try this...or if you do, have someone standing by to Heimlich you!)
5. Crowds and Kids. When your immune system is blasted by chemo, you are frequently told by your chemo nurses to avoid crowds, kids, and sick people. I look forward to enjoying crowds and kids again....though if you are sick, please continue to stay away until you are well!
4. Blue Cheese. I love blue cheese and while on chemo, it's not the best idea to ingest moldy foods. I have cheated on this one a time or too, but not without a large slice of guilt and anxiety. Here's to the return of moldy cheese!
3. Work. I know. All of you are counting down the days until your summer vacations from work while I am just gearing up to head back. But it will be really great to have something challenging and meaningful to do with my days, to see my wonderful colleagues and donors again, and to receive paychecks again!
2. Clean Kitchen Table. If you've been to our house during chemo, you have probably been shocked by the arsenal of drugs lined up the full length of our kitchen table. Soon it will be goodbye to pills for nausea, shots to make white blood cells, pills to stop the chemo from giving me heartburn, and on and on it goes. I long to see only the old wooden table that Steve put the finish on, and that our kids grew up painting on, eating on, decorating cookies on, and scratching up with their silverware...and to see it completely bare again, with perhaps a cheery little plant or candle in the center.
1. Fridays. After 18 Fridays being taken up by chemo, Daniel and I will both have our Fridays back! We can unpack our chemo bag, return it to its rightful use as a gym bag, and actually schedule normal activities again for Fridays if we so choose. Or perhaps we'll leave them gloriously free, uncluttered, unstressed. To not overpack my schedule, as I am proned to do, would be a great lessen to take with me from having had cancer. HAD cancer. Past tense. Thank you, Lord, for those glorious words!
Love,
Gabrielle
Gabrielle here. I can't stop thinking about the fact that when I pull off my little pink paper chain ring tonight, there will be just TEN rings left. That's right--ten days from tomorrow I will have my final chemo treatment! Thus, on our walk today (in the pouring rain, I might add), Daniel and I had fun discussing what my top ten things things were to look forward to about ending chemo. Of course there are many more than ten, but here are my Letterman's Top Ten--in no particular order.
10. Energy. Today, like most people would feel after 16 straight weeks of chemo, I had little energy. Barely enough to shower, brush my teeth, eat, and have a short walk. Other than that it was just reading and t.v. I can't wait to have a normal amount of energy again!
9. Hair. Bye bye hats, scarves, and the wig I've probably only worn five times because it gives me headaches. Hello to needing more shampoo than the size of half of a grain of rice to clean my scalp!
8. Sushi. Japonessa happy hour and fresh, raw fish--here I come!
7. No nausea. Nausea was much better when you knew that it was going to produce a beautiful new baby to love. I so look forward to not feeling nauseous...though it was surely not a price too high to pay for medicine that has killed my cancer.
6. No metal taste in my mouth. Try eating your next meal while sucking on a penny and you will understand how much I look forward to this one. (Don't really try this...or if you do, have someone standing by to Heimlich you!)
5. Crowds and Kids. When your immune system is blasted by chemo, you are frequently told by your chemo nurses to avoid crowds, kids, and sick people. I look forward to enjoying crowds and kids again....though if you are sick, please continue to stay away until you are well!
4. Blue Cheese. I love blue cheese and while on chemo, it's not the best idea to ingest moldy foods. I have cheated on this one a time or too, but not without a large slice of guilt and anxiety. Here's to the return of moldy cheese!
3. Work. I know. All of you are counting down the days until your summer vacations from work while I am just gearing up to head back. But it will be really great to have something challenging and meaningful to do with my days, to see my wonderful colleagues and donors again, and to receive paychecks again!
2. Clean Kitchen Table. If you've been to our house during chemo, you have probably been shocked by the arsenal of drugs lined up the full length of our kitchen table. Soon it will be goodbye to pills for nausea, shots to make white blood cells, pills to stop the chemo from giving me heartburn, and on and on it goes. I long to see only the old wooden table that Steve put the finish on, and that our kids grew up painting on, eating on, decorating cookies on, and scratching up with their silverware...and to see it completely bare again, with perhaps a cheery little plant or candle in the center.
1. Fridays. After 18 Fridays being taken up by chemo, Daniel and I will both have our Fridays back! We can unpack our chemo bag, return it to its rightful use as a gym bag, and actually schedule normal activities again for Fridays if we so choose. Or perhaps we'll leave them gloriously free, uncluttered, unstressed. To not overpack my schedule, as I am proned to do, would be a great lessen to take with me from having had cancer. HAD cancer. Past tense. Thank you, Lord, for those glorious words!
Love,
Gabrielle
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