Life is a beach!

We vacationed for a week in South Carolina. It was nice to escape and enjoy life pool side and at the beach. I tried my best to forget and simply enjoy my time with the family. We celebrated the 4th of July like no other year prior. We sat on the beach and were able to see fireworks from every direction. It was fantastic and memorable!

The trip was fun but at times difficult. I wore my wig for the first time! I went back and forth on bringing it but knew my hair was barely holding on. In the end, I was happy I packed it. It definitely took a bit of getting use to. At times, it was very hot and uncomfortable, especially in the heat and humidity! It's interesting that once I lost my hair, I can not wear fitted hats. They are just too big! I didn't realize how much hair I had. Something else I learned during this trip was how susceptible I am to sunburns with chemo. I was warned by the doctor and nurses prior to the trip to be careful in the sun.  On the beach, I sat under an umbrella. I fell asleep one afternoon and my toes must not have been not covered. Ouch! Boy, did I ever feel pain!!

During our time in SC, I lost a good portion of the remainder of my hair. Hair was everywhere! It was bad to the point that I needed to sweep, even on vacation! I thought to help the kids (mostly Carter) with the hair loss, we'd do an exercise that they could take part in. I asked them how they felt if they could cut my hair on the last day of our trip. Katherine was excited and couldn't wait. Carter was reluctant and kept saying 'I don't want people to make fun of you!' We worked on it throughout the week.  I knew he was personally struggling with the physical changes. I tried to explain to him, I would still be the same person. I would still love, kiss, hug, and play with him. I also reminded him that this change is temporary and my hair would grow back.  On the last day of our trip, I gave the kids the option. Katherine couldn't wait. She made the first cut. Carter was still reluctant and ran off initially. He finally came around as we were cutting and agreed to one cut. Immediately after the one snip, he ran off and said he was done. Mike helped me fix the haircut to even it out. I went to show Carter but he still wasn't having it. He took the wig and asked me to put it on. When I did, he seemed better.

Carter, mama knows this is a big change. I hope you can finally come around. I love that you care about me and what people may say. I promise you I'll love you the same way with or without hair, buddy! It's just hair and shouldn't define who we are and saddens me that you have already picked up on what is deemed the 'norm' at six! We'll get through this and I hope witnessing what mama is going through will help make you and your sister be braver and have more compassionate for others.

We made it through the holiday weekend without being reminded I had cancer. Early Tuesday morning, on the 5th, I received a call from the hospital. It was Jenn from Dr. Specht's office looking to schedule my surgery. I quickly was reminded of life as a cancer patient. We went ahead and booked the surgery for Monday, September 12. Prior to the surgery, in mid August, I'll be meeting again with Dr. Specht to discuss the details of the surgery. I will also be meeting with a plastic surgeon to talk about reconstructive surgery. Jenn emailed documentations regarding the appointments and guideline about the surgery procedures. With family history, I'm leaning towards an aggressive approach of bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery. We will finalize the plans when we meet with the surgeons.

Since I took a week off from treatment, I had my makeup treatment on Monday, July 11. Dr. Commander is not at MGHW on Mondays so I was scheduled to see her nurse practitioner, Lucy Miller. The blood work and normal procedures went well, as did our appointment with Lucy. We ran into issues as I was in the infusion room waiting for treatment. Since my typical appointments are on Thursdays, the computer had me scheduled for last Thursday. The pharmacy would not release my order without Dr. Commander's authorization. Once again, I was assigned to nurse, Ann, and she helped track down Dr. Commander at MGH in Boston. We waited close to an hour before treatment began. Treatment #7 will go on record as one of the longest treatment but fortunately, it was uneventful!

This week Carter is at a local camp that runs from 9-3. My appointment on Monday was at 8:45. In anticipation of this appointment, we made plans for coverage but found out on Sunday we needed to make alternative plans. Luckily we found friends and neighbors to help with AM drop off and serve as backup for PM pick up. We are reminded in these situations, how incredibly blessed we are to be part of a great community! Special thanks to The Careys and The Walshes for coming to the rescue!! ❤️