I'll be your chemo buddy

I said I wouldn’t blog but here I am. The deal was that if you’re Lynne’s chemo buddy then you have to be a guest blogger…so here goes nothing.

 

When I first heard of the news that Lynne had breast cancer my thought was lightning really does strike twice. We had just gone through this whole ordeal with our other sister, My, not long ago and now it’s happening again to another sister. But it really didn’t take me long to understand that this happened to us because the big guy up there knows we’re a strong family and we’ll get through it and come out even stronger. My second reaction was feeling like it was unfair that it happened to Lynne and not me because I was the one that wanted free boobie implants. Lynne doesn’t care that she’s flat like a pancake! I guess it’s also the big guy’s way of saying that he’s going to take care of the flat pancakes for her if she wasn’t going to do anything about it.  ( . )( . ) J

 

I accompanied Lynne to her 6^th treatment. It was a milestone because it meant she was at the halfway mark and only 6 more treatments to go for the first round. When I saw Lynne, after the hugs and the hellos, the next thing she said was “take these (slap bracelets) home for Alyssa and Dylan” and I knew it was going to be a good day. If you know Lynne, you know she loves free swags. Chemo wasn’t going to get in her way of getting of free swags. Chemo was uneventful and Lynne took it like a champ! Not once did I have to remind her to “relax your body”. Chemo flew by fast probably because I was entertaining the both of us with my shenanigans and entertaining skills. J

 

Surprisingly Lynne had a lot of energy after chemo. I’d like to think it was her chemo buddy’s energetic vibes rubbing off her. She’s usually really tired and wants to go home to rest but today she asked to go to the mall. So off to the Natick mall we went. We spent time shopping at all of our favorite beauty stores. Our first stop was at Mac. Lynne bought foundation and powder for an upcoming trip to Myrtle Beach. Our next stop was Sephora. As soon as we stepped into the store, they had brow powder on display. This was also another sign from the big guy saying she needed to do something with her non-existing brows. I showed her how to apply it and voila…instant makeover! As we were checking out Lynne tells the cashier that she has a “Sophia” reward card. Of course the cashier’s reaction was “what kind of card?” She didn’t have a Sephora reward card but she had a “Sophia” reward card… priceless!

 

After shopping we were hungry so decided to stop at the Cheesecake Factory to get food to go.  As we’re waiting for our food to come out Lynne decides she wants bread to go as well. She approached the waiter and asked if she can have the dark chocolate bread to go. Yeah, I didn’t realize Cheesecake Factory had dark chocolate bread either! What she really meant was the wheat bread. I would like to think it was the chemo brain but no, that has always been Lynne. She has her own vocabulary that only she understands.

 

We get back home and chemo brain kicks in and Lynne forgets the code to the garage door so we’re stuck outside. Making the most of our time we decide to have a romantic lunch on the patio. We put out the nice spread of food from Cheesecake factory and just enjoyed the food and soaked in the beautiful weather. And as we’re sitting there eating, Lynne tells me she’s never sat outside on the patio since they’ve moved in. Spending the day with Lynne made me realize to really enjoy the little things in life.

 

I would like to end by saying a few personal words to my sister, Lynne. I’ve never been good with showing or expressing my feelings but I do hope you know how much I love you (and that goes for all my other siblings). Even with thinning hair and eyebrows, you still look beautiful. When we were growing up, I took the punishments for you and fought your battles and I would gladly take on this cancer for you if I could. But I know you’re strong and fierce and you can face anything that comes your way. Just know it’s not about the cancer. Anything that you’re going through, you’re really battling yourself; you’re not battling the cancer.  It’s all about what you’re willing to put in to overcome the obstacle you’re faced with. It’s about how tough you are mentally to do what you do. Stay physically and mentally strong, sis. I’m here for you always and together we can get through this and kick cancer’s ass again!

 

Cheers to the best chemo buddy there is (that’s me!)! J