My mom has been doing very well since her surgery on September 7th. She got her drains taken out last week which allowed her to take a shower! She said she was so excited she takes a long one everyday now. =) She still has stitches so she can't raise her arms very high, lift heavy objects or drive. We are hoping the stitches will come out in 2-3 weeks. She had her second fill for her ta ta's this week. When this is all said and done we will have two sets of twins in the family for the new year! My mom and I will both have B cups. I am excited because I will have bigger ta ta's and my mom is excited because she will have smaller ta ta's! It is a win win for both us!
She met with Dr. Thome this week and she will not need chemotherapy or radiation but is having an ultrasound on her ovaries. Because she has a mutation and given her age the chances of getting ovarian cancer are extremely high, 87%! So the next step for my mom is to have her ovaries removed in the next couple of months.
As for me I have 2 more chemo treatments to go! Yay!
Last week's treatment (#13) a friend of mine that I met in college took me to my chemo treatment. Laura Morrow and I enjoyed a couple of spring breaks together in Cancun and Myrtle Beach. We spent a lot of time together in college and still get together to hang out and catch up. Ironically, Laura is an accountant and had some very helpful suggestions on getting my Auntie Em's Angels charity launched.
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| Me and Laura |
My friend Lyndsey stopped out as well and we all had a brainstorming session for Auntie Em's Angels. We narrowed our focus to just helping cancer patients and different ways Auntie Em's Angels could make an impact in their life. Thank you for your suggestions and input! =)
I met with a long time friend of mine Alex Wolf who is an attorney at Koley Jessen. He pointed me in the right direction to help set up Auntie Em's Angels as a non-profit. I am still brainstorming and hope to have a clear mission statement in the next couple of weeks. I am praying to have a few corporate sponsors as I have narrowed it down to educating the public on proper nutrition and exercise to prevent cancer, for cancer patients going through treatment and staying healthy after treatment. My goal is to have everything planned, non-profit paper work complete, sponsers, fundraising events planned and Angels signed up to host birthday parties by the New Year!
Chemo #14 -- September 29 - Steve my husband took me to my treatment. It was his birthday so we had a mini celebration with all the nurses and cancer patients that were also getting their chemo treatments. My friend Lyndsey asked her mother-in-law to bake a cake and was it was delicious! Cinnamon swirl...YUMMY! Thank you Karen for making it and thank you Lyndsey for delivering, cutting and serving! If you need a baker I will post Karen's information if you need a cake for your next birthday party.
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| The nurses gave Steve this stylish hat and sang happy birthday to him. Thank you to the nurses of Midwest Cancer Center for making his birthday so special. |
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| I think we put a dent in it! |
Thank you to my husband Steve who has been there every step of the way. He has been so supportive and has taken such good care of me and Olivia. I could not get through this without him.
I love you more then words can say...
My side effects from chemo are minimal. I am tired more then usual and now the knuckles on my hands are red and cracked. Dr. Thome said this will go away once I stop chemo as it is a common side effect. Thank goodness I only have two more treatments I can't stand to look at them for much longer! I have ONE eye lash on my left eye and no eyelashes on my right eye. I am holding on to the one eyelash as long as I can and hoping my other lashes can catch up to it once I am finished with chemo. My hair is starting to grow back and I am happy to report it is the same dark brown that I had before. I have one more fill for my ta ta's before I start radiation and I LOVE them so far! I officially for the first time in my life have ta ta's you can physically see! Radiation should start around November 1st and treatments are everyday for 5 weeks. Once that is complete I wait a month and have my final surgery in January. This will be to take out the expanders in my chest and have them replaced with implants.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am running towards it! Thank you again to all our family and friends for all your love and support!
More pics from Party for Pottebaum! Thank you for coming out to support us!
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| Lori Armiger, Laura Morrow and their friend. Lori started a fun event in Linclon called Giving Spirits. Become their friend on Facebook! |
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| Jody and Nate Tate |
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| Shannon Schiltz and Sara Thompson I have known Sara since kindergarten...ironically she is now a kindergarten teacher. She brought her friend Shannon to the event. Thank you! |
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| Sherri Harnisch, Leah Buller, Emily Wilson Leah is my cousin and she went to high school with Sherri and was in the same sorority as Emily. |
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| Sherri Harnish, Leah Buller, Kirstin Ricketts, Tammy Braasch Emily Wilson, Me, Nelly Sagehorn I also met these lovely ladies through my cousin Leah. Congrats to Leah, Kirstin and Nelly! They are all expecting babies this year! |
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| Brent Sagehorn, Chad Buller, Adam Braasch |
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| Pat Ricketts and Chad Buller |
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| Megan Dannelly and Kendra Hayne I went to high school with Kendra and met her friend Megan. I also found out we all live in the same neighborhood! Hopefully we can get together soon! =) |
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| Nicki and Neal McMahon Nicki and I met in high school and she recently moved back to the Omaha area. She owns Big Frog T-Shirts located next to the HyVee on 180th and Q. They were one of the sponsors for the event! Thank you so much! |
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| Erica and Patrick Sullivan Erica and I were on dance team together. She was so kind to drive in from Lincoln for the event! Thank you! =) |
