Shout out to the baldy :)

So Brooke and I always comment how runners are the rudest people as they never say "hi" as they pass each other. So you can imagine my trepidation of going on my morning walk without my head being covered. But seriously...its like 80 degrees here and this morning it was just too hot to wear a baseball cap for my four mile power walk. So I lathered up the skull with some sun block and very self-consciously left my place. My first encounter was with a guy riding a Harley-Davidson who whistled at me from the intersection, which admittedly still didn't leave me uber confident...And yet, the first runner to pass me by not only looked me in my eyes, she even actually said "good morning." Even the yuppy moms on their morning walks at least acknowledged me and scooted their kids out of my way-which is more than they usually do. The next runner I came upon was a young BALD USC student and I got the double thumbs up-yah baby!!

I doubt that any of the people that said "good morning" to me or even just nodded their head as I passed by understood why my head is bald and how hard it is each morning for me to get out there for that walk, but this morning I must have done 12 minute miles and I hardly felt winded. That's when I realized that its going to be one cool summer with my bald head!!

Still feeling the love!!

It continues to amaze me the amount of support I have received. I continue to get care packages on an almost daily basis. Most notably I received a huge box from the librarians (and their friends) at the Pierce County library. It was full of hand knitted caps, comfy pajamas, and games to keep me occupied. Then today I received approximately 20 pounds of homemade bars from family to make sure I keep my appetite :)

Regardless, I have to admit that there are times when I am sitting in my condominium with just Sven and Oli to keep me company and pangs of loneliness creep up. But all I have to do is look around my place to see all of the cards, my collection of hats, and the continued supply of food to know that I am not alone in this struggle-that I am truly blessed to have the support of family, friends, and friends of friends, from around the world.

Successful Head Shaving Party!!

So the posse and some of the PCR peeps got together to shave my head...and after a few shots of vodka we commenced with the razor :)

Waaahhhh!!

So what I have been dreading the most has finally begun to happen...I am losing my hair :( I don't know why but losing my hair is the most traumatic thing I have experienced so far. The mastectomy didn't even scare me as much as what I will look like bald.

However, the good news is that I am starting to get my strength back and I was able to go for a 40 minute walk today! I also began my physical therapy but they say that it will take months before I get full mobility in my back and shoulders. So what this means is that I am stuck at home very bored!! Without Brooke around, my entertainment now consists of taking over her job of harassing the cats and playing lots of solitaire games :)

There's family and then there's family...

A member of my "family"at Pierce County Library is the fab-u-lous movie and music librarian Kati Irons. Kati is going to do the three day, 60 mile walk for breast cancer research in September. She mentions Lindsay and my cancer in her blog as a reason that she is doing this. This walk is no small thing. It takes a lot of training and time and I am overwhelmed by her wish to do this. Anyway she has a blog that is very fun where she explains more about this project, so please check it out!!!

http://populucious.blogspot.com/2008/03/plug-and-then-back-to-regular-scheduled.html

Thank you Kati, and people after us will thank you too!! Love you Patti

In the clear...

Having heard so many horror stories about the effects of chemotherapy, I am greatful to report that the only effects that I have experienced thus far is a nasty metallic taste in my mouth and skin sensitivity (even the cats licking feels like my skin is burning off). For the most part I spent the weekend napping with no signs of nausea or bone pain!!

I also continue to make baby steps in my rehabilitation from the surgeries. I am able to finally pull a shirt over my head by myself and can now make it an entire day without a nap. Yesterday was especially exciting when I got to drive my car for the first time in almost two months-albeit it took both hands to put my car in reverse and release my emergency brake. However, the most frustrating part of the rehabilitation is how my body no longer feels like my body. I am in a constant state of uncomforableness due to the skin sensitivity, pulled back muscles, strained ribs, and random streaks of pain. I also still don't have feeling in most of my chest from the mastectomy, which makes the expanders feel like metal balls in my chest. Even the fact that I no longer enjoy my favorite foods because of the metallic taste in my mouth makes it feel like this is no longer my body but somebody elses.

The good news is that I am finally strong enough and mobile enough to take care of myself so that Brooke will finally be able to go home...I think the cats are the most excited about this news since they will no longer be subjected to Brooke's "affection" and Brooke is uber excited since she will be able to get a full nights sleep without Sven wacking her head and sleeping on her face :)

Chemo in Stilettos

Determined to be the sexiest cancer patient ever, I of course had to wear the stiletto heals that I bought in Paris...the whole time I kept singing in my head "I am too sexy for my cancer." And I have to admit that it did put me in a better mood while I was hooked up for five hours as they pumped my body with poison. As everyone has said, I will not feel the effects today but that they will start to develop over the next two to three days. Also, they say that I can expect to begin to lose my hair in approximately three weeks so Brooke is currently researching how to appropriately fold the scarves that we have already begun to collect-good thing I look good in hats :)