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| Here we Are!! |
Here are 3 of the chickies at 1 week old. From left, Frizyllis, Bounce and Pierce.
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| GANG OF FOUR! |
They are currently 11 weeks old and I need to get some new pics of them! Will put them up soon.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Summer of Chicks!
Here are 3 of the chickies at 1 week old. From left, Frizyllis, Bounce and Pierce.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Everythings All Right!
I realized I hadn't posted in a while and just wanted to give everybody a quick catch up. I actually still have a couple videos to put up and a bunch of photos depicting my hair growing in over time.
I decided to not have any radiation - I really believe that radiation is not a positive step in my healing, so it was a no to that.
I continued to have herceptin infusions through December 31st. And expect to see my oncologist sometime the end of this month.
I had a mammogram in December - which was negative, but all of my mammogams had been negative. But boy, did it hurt. The technician managed to line up the machine exactly with my scars from the lumpectomy and it hurt so much! I think I would have better served with an MRI at that point.
I currently feel strong and positive!
Love to you all and thank you so much for all the support, good wishes and prayers throughout the past year and a half.
I decided to not have any radiation - I really believe that radiation is not a positive step in my healing, so it was a no to that.
I continued to have herceptin infusions through December 31st. And expect to see my oncologist sometime the end of this month.
I had a mammogram in December - which was negative, but all of my mammogams had been negative. But boy, did it hurt. The technician managed to line up the machine exactly with my scars from the lumpectomy and it hurt so much! I think I would have better served with an MRI at that point.
I currently feel strong and positive!
Love to you all and thank you so much for all the support, good wishes and prayers throughout the past year and a half.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Lumpectomy
Surgery Day - May 10th 2012
I had a Reiki Master with me for the day - she's in the video and explains how it all works.
(Looking back at these videos I'm amazed that I thought I looked pretty good, cause I look HORRIBLE! I was so exhausted at this point, the easiest tasks were becoming a chore.)
The surgery was pretty easy. They gave me a prescription for hydrocodone which Simon was able to get filled right there at the hospital pharmacy. I was able to keep the pain down with just advil, until we removed the bandages after about 2 days. I found that the wound would rub, especially at night on my sheets and I would be in a lot of pain. I ended up taking the drugs a couple of times, especially helpful for getting to sleep at night.
Waiting for Surgery - It was FREEZING and the back of head was cold so I had to wrap the blanket they gave me around my back and over my head.
There were 2 incisions. One on the breast and one in the armpit for the lymph nodes. Surprisingly the armpit incision has healed much faster than the one on the breast. I have put vitamin E oil on the wounds daily (they close them up with a glue of some sort, no incisions) and now after 4 months they look really good.
Here's what the breast incision looks like today
I had a Reiki Master with me for the day - she's in the video and explains how it all works.
The surgery was pretty easy. They gave me a prescription for hydrocodone which Simon was able to get filled right there at the hospital pharmacy. I was able to keep the pain down with just advil, until we removed the bandages after about 2 days. I found that the wound would rub, especially at night on my sheets and I would be in a lot of pain. I ended up taking the drugs a couple of times, especially helpful for getting to sleep at night.
There were 2 incisions. One on the breast and one in the armpit for the lymph nodes. Surprisingly the armpit incision has healed much faster than the one on the breast. I have put vitamin E oil on the wounds daily (they close them up with a glue of some sort, no incisions) and now after 4 months they look really good.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Playing Catch Up
Okay, So it's been a couple of months since my last post. I have some video I'm going to put up of past infusions. But I"ll give you a quick overview here as well. 5th infusion went pretty well. Some friends suggested fasting before the infusion which I tried and would NEVER RECOMMEND to anyone. Ok it could just have been that since this was number five everyhing was finally catching up with me but I felt sick from day 1 and normally the chemo took 24 to 36 hours to catch up with me.
Then I got highly depressed. I started to wonder why I was working so diligently to keep myself nourished with organic foods and high alkilines when I was willingly walking into a center to be poisoned every 3 weeks. I figured what's the point, right. I had a couple of melt downs in which poor Simon became the target of my anger "Why can't you support me? nobody is listening to me" That sort of tirade. Simon - rock that he is - took it all in stride, assured me that he loved me and that he will support any decisions I make.
I eventually pulled out of the funk. I've been surrounded by so much love it was hard to stay there for long. My dear friend Sandy came by almost every weekend to go for walks and bring food for my fridge. My siblings sent me hats, scarves, shirts, a teddy bear (healing bear which I"ll talk more about in a post surgery blog!, tinctures, jewelry, alternative therapies, healing stones, etc. My mother-in-law, Viv, sent me a box of scarves and hats and a ton of organic veggies and fruits. And many friends have and still send me positive notex, letters, emails, call me etc. So, I will now start posting past videos and get you all caught up.
Cheers!
Then I got highly depressed. I started to wonder why I was working so diligently to keep myself nourished with organic foods and high alkilines when I was willingly walking into a center to be poisoned every 3 weeks. I figured what's the point, right. I had a couple of melt downs in which poor Simon became the target of my anger "Why can't you support me? nobody is listening to me" That sort of tirade. Simon - rock that he is - took it all in stride, assured me that he loved me and that he will support any decisions I make.
I eventually pulled out of the funk. I've been surrounded by so much love it was hard to stay there for long. My dear friend Sandy came by almost every weekend to go for walks and bring food for my fridge. My siblings sent me hats, scarves, shirts, a teddy bear (healing bear which I"ll talk more about in a post surgery blog!, tinctures, jewelry, alternative therapies, healing stones, etc. My mother-in-law, Viv, sent me a box of scarves and hats and a ton of organic veggies and fruits. And many friends have and still send me positive notex, letters, emails, call me etc. So, I will now start posting past videos and get you all caught up.
Cheers!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Infusion Number 5
March 27th, 2012
Just got back from infusion number 5. Pretty easy. The oncologist told me all my meds were as they were last week, but she had actually upped the steroids again. Got it figured out with the nurse fairly quickly and we were in and out pretty easily.
I tried the pre-chemo fast. It actually ended up being a little over 60 hours since I ate Saturday night at 7pm and then the chemo started at 10am on Tuesday morning. The Benadryl didn't hit me as hard and instead of sleeping through the entire infusion, I slept for an hour and was ABLE TO READ for an hour and a half. I have NEVER been able to read or use the computer for at least 5 days after an infusion (and obviously I'm using the computer right now!!) I'm not going to push it though. Once I get off this and check emails, I'll just do a cursory email check twice a day - unless I still feel great.
It may not have all been the fast - my dear friend Tracy met Rabbi Stanley Kolt at a solar convention and started talking about energy for healing - Tracy is an acupuncturist. It just so happens that Stanley built a machine based on Scalar electricity that he says can regenerate cells. Layman's explanation: any mutated or bad cells vibrate at a lower voltage than strong healthy cells and if the body can appropriately regulate its energy, healthy cells take back their electrons from the unhealthy cells, leaving them to be eliminated. Jon Barron describes it much better than I can here http://www.jonbarron.org/natural-health/remedies-special-reports-scalar-energy.
Stanley's machine is super simple - it consists of bronze and copper and runs a 12 volt through the ring that you wear around your waist or neck or legs (perpendicular to your body). I joined Tracy, Stanley and 2 of Tracy's other friends and for 3 hours we all sat at Caroline's house with the rings around each of us - chatted and laughed, ate apples and avocados, drank tea, and took pictures or felt the differences in our particular ailments throughout the 3 hours.
There were a number of ailments present, a sciatica or bursitis complaint through a hip and down a leg, my tumor, scars with raised centers, ruptured blood vessels, etc. We all witnessed or felt palpable changes. Everyone's faces definitely opened up and became more vulnerable (it reminded me of how people look after they skydive - like they are a kid again, totally eager and childlike). I took one of the rings home to try out.
It was hard to determine if we all really noticed differences or if we were in a sort of mass hysteria stage, all confirming that there was change. I used it again Sunday night and Monday night. It seemed to me that daily the tumor was getting smaller. But was it all just wishful thinking? Had I lost my objectivity. Today when my oncologist felt my tumor she said she thought it had gone from 3cm to 1cm and felt much more rubbery and soft. She said the cells could even be dead and just aren't sloughing off yet. Wow!
You can see Stanley's website here - http://stanleykolt.com
Just got back from infusion number 5. Pretty easy. The oncologist told me all my meds were as they were last week, but she had actually upped the steroids again. Got it figured out with the nurse fairly quickly and we were in and out pretty easily.
I tried the pre-chemo fast. It actually ended up being a little over 60 hours since I ate Saturday night at 7pm and then the chemo started at 10am on Tuesday morning. The Benadryl didn't hit me as hard and instead of sleeping through the entire infusion, I slept for an hour and was ABLE TO READ for an hour and a half. I have NEVER been able to read or use the computer for at least 5 days after an infusion (and obviously I'm using the computer right now!!) I'm not going to push it though. Once I get off this and check emails, I'll just do a cursory email check twice a day - unless I still feel great.
It may not have all been the fast - my dear friend Tracy met Rabbi Stanley Kolt at a solar convention and started talking about energy for healing - Tracy is an acupuncturist. It just so happens that Stanley built a machine based on Scalar electricity that he says can regenerate cells. Layman's explanation: any mutated or bad cells vibrate at a lower voltage than strong healthy cells and if the body can appropriately regulate its energy, healthy cells take back their electrons from the unhealthy cells, leaving them to be eliminated. Jon Barron describes it much better than I can here http://www.jonbarron.org/natural-health/remedies-special-reports-scalar-energy.
Stanley's machine is super simple - it consists of bronze and copper and runs a 12 volt through the ring that you wear around your waist or neck or legs (perpendicular to your body). I joined Tracy, Stanley and 2 of Tracy's other friends and for 3 hours we all sat at Caroline's house with the rings around each of us - chatted and laughed, ate apples and avocados, drank tea, and took pictures or felt the differences in our particular ailments throughout the 3 hours.
There were a number of ailments present, a sciatica or bursitis complaint through a hip and down a leg, my tumor, scars with raised centers, ruptured blood vessels, etc. We all witnessed or felt palpable changes. Everyone's faces definitely opened up and became more vulnerable (it reminded me of how people look after they skydive - like they are a kid again, totally eager and childlike). I took one of the rings home to try out.
It was hard to determine if we all really noticed differences or if we were in a sort of mass hysteria stage, all confirming that there was change. I used it again Sunday night and Monday night. It seemed to me that daily the tumor was getting smaller. But was it all just wishful thinking? Had I lost my objectivity. Today when my oncologist felt my tumor she said she thought it had gone from 3cm to 1cm and felt much more rubbery and soft. She said the cells could even be dead and just aren't sloughing off yet. Wow!
You can see Stanley's website here - http://stanleykolt.com
Friday, March 23, 2012
Eating and Fasting!
May 23rd 2012
It's Spring and that gets me excited about gardening which gets me excited about growing and EATING food.
Last Friday I had lunch with my dear friend Maureen and afterward we walked over to our community garden and she gave me a bunch of stuff she had wintered over. I walked away with tons of kale, sorrel, onions and garlic. Encouraged, I came home and pulled out some carrots and arugula - and instead of being discouraged that my brussel sprouts never sprouted, I pulled the plant and the leaves taste like broccoli - delicious.
I've started watching The Chew on Channel 7 cause all they do is cook food. They had a great early spring recipe that I decided to change slightly and try. Here's the video of the food from my house (with 2 fresh eggs I pulled from the chicken coop) and the video of what I cooked with an explanation of what's in it.
Carrots, arugula, and brussel sprout - with eggs.
I placed the onion and garlic in a sauce pan with olive oil and let it sautee then added the the carrots, kale, brussel sprout leaves and sorrel with some tumeric. I dashed in a little white wine and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. I then added some grilled chicken from my dinner the night before with some tumeric over all of it and let it simmer for about another 3 minutes. Pulled it out, drizzled some more olive oil and sprinkled it all with parsley I dried this fall/winter.
I've also been juicing ALOT. In the mornings I have a fresh organic juice drink which I wrote about in the last blog - but in the afternoon I have a veggie drink. Usually start with a couple of apples and about an inch of ginger, then juice about 6 carrots (no need to skin anything) - today I added 4 leaves of collards, about 5 handfuls of Kale, a few leaves of sorrel (they are a little bitter) and the rest of my arugula - about 2 handfuls. That made a pint of juice! And it was delicious!
On another note, my friends Chad and Gretchen told me about a study they had read about fasting for 48 hours before chemotherapy can get rid of any side effects. I decided to look it up -and so far they haven't done any human studies - but it certainly works on mice. The idea is the starvation causes the healthy cells to protect themselves but the cancer cells leave themselves vulnerable, so the chemotherapy becomes targeted instead of just randomly destroying all cells - cancerous AND healthy. I have my next infusion this coming Tuesday and figured it wouldn't hurt to try the 48 hour fast beforehand. I'll let you know how it ends up!!
It's Spring and that gets me excited about gardening which gets me excited about growing and EATING food.
Last Friday I had lunch with my dear friend Maureen and afterward we walked over to our community garden and she gave me a bunch of stuff she had wintered over. I walked away with tons of kale, sorrel, onions and garlic. Encouraged, I came home and pulled out some carrots and arugula - and instead of being discouraged that my brussel sprouts never sprouted, I pulled the plant and the leaves taste like broccoli - delicious.
I've started watching The Chew on Channel 7 cause all they do is cook food. They had a great early spring recipe that I decided to change slightly and try. Here's the video of the food from my house (with 2 fresh eggs I pulled from the chicken coop) and the video of what I cooked with an explanation of what's in it.
I placed the onion and garlic in a sauce pan with olive oil and let it sautee then added the the carrots, kale, brussel sprout leaves and sorrel with some tumeric. I dashed in a little white wine and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. I then added some grilled chicken from my dinner the night before with some tumeric over all of it and let it simmer for about another 3 minutes. Pulled it out, drizzled some more olive oil and sprinkled it all with parsley I dried this fall/winter.
I've also been juicing ALOT. In the mornings I have a fresh organic juice drink which I wrote about in the last blog - but in the afternoon I have a veggie drink. Usually start with a couple of apples and about an inch of ginger, then juice about 6 carrots (no need to skin anything) - today I added 4 leaves of collards, about 5 handfuls of Kale, a few leaves of sorrel (they are a little bitter) and the rest of my arugula - about 2 handfuls. That made a pint of juice! And it was delicious!
On another note, my friends Chad and Gretchen told me about a study they had read about fasting for 48 hours before chemotherapy can get rid of any side effects. I decided to look it up -and so far they haven't done any human studies - but it certainly works on mice. The idea is the starvation causes the healthy cells to protect themselves but the cancer cells leave themselves vulnerable, so the chemotherapy becomes targeted instead of just randomly destroying all cells - cancerous AND healthy. I have my next infusion this coming Tuesday and figured it wouldn't hurt to try the 48 hour fast beforehand. I'll let you know how it ends up!!
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