Day 278. Video - CMA Fest.

I thought I would share a video on here that I made with pictures and video clips from my "celebration vacation" to Nashville for CMA Fest.  Enjoy!

Day 277. I'm still here! :)

Holy lack of updates, Batman!  I can't believe it's been almost 100 days since I last posted.  I'm the worst blogger on the planet.  Sorry, guys.

I finished chemo on March 25th!  It was the most incredible feeling knowing that I was done with that portion of my journey.

Three days after finishing chemo, I went to see Dan + Shay in Seattle with a friend of mine.  It was the first concert I went to since being diagnosed, and it was amazing.  It felt like I was finally getting my life back, and it was the first thing I was able to do that resembled my life before cancer.  I'm not one to ever take signs with me to shows, but I felt like I had to for this one.  I made a sign saying I'd just finished chemo and was celebrating by being there.  I held it up during a song late in the set, and Dan noticed it immediately and loved it.  He even gave me his guitar pick after the song finished.

I had the opportunity to meet Dan + Shay after the show, and they were very sweet.  Dan recognized me and asked me to get my poster back out and hold it for a picture since we were celebrating my remission.

If you ever have the opportunity to see Dan + Shay live, I'd definitely recommend it!  They're crazy talented.

I went back to work a week after I finished chemo, on April 1st.  OH MY GOODNESS.  You have no idea how glad I was to go back.  I'd gone stir crazy being off work.  I hardly did anything in the five months I was off, other than be lazy at home and go to chemo.  I rarely went anywhere or saw anyone.  So I was very glad to have something to do again!

My first night back at work!

A couple of weeks after my last chemo, I started having problems with my lungs.  It hurt to breathe in deeply, and I became short of breath while doing very easy tasks - walking up stairs, folding laundry, etc.  I'd known that one of the chemo drugs I received (Bleomycin) could cause lung toxicity, but I was surprised that it would show up AFTER I finished chemo.  I ended up having to go to the emergency room on April 12th to make sure that it wasn't a blood clot in my lungs or pneumonia.  They did show some lung damage, but said it was most likely from the bleomycin.  I was able to go home, but I had to miss the Garth Brooks concert I was supposed to go to the next day.  I still wasn't able to walk more than a few steps without getting completely winded.

Stuck in the ER.

I was supposed to start radiation when the lung issues started, and went to a couple consultation appointments.  I even got my radiation tattoos (pink dots that will show up under a black light, in order to line up the machine). But then my oncologist decided to postpone radiation until my lung issues were sorted out.  To this day, I still haven't gotten radiation.  I'm not sure if we're still going to do it.  I have an appointment with my oncologist tomorrow, so I'll find out then.  However, I'm no longer having issues with my lungs.  I'm no longer short of breath or in pain, and they seem to have gone back to normal.

The radiation area mapped out on my chest with Sharpie before it was postponed.

In late April, a couple weeks after returning back to work, the police squad that was working all came into the comm center.  I figured something had to be up, because the whole squad never comes in at once, but I didn't know what they would have been there for.  Turns out they were there to present me with an award - the police union had voted me as dispatcher of the year for 2014!  It was the second year in a row that I'd received the award, and this one was definitely the most special of the two.  I take pride in being a good dispatcher, and it's nice to know that my efforts to do well at my job don't go unnoticed.  Especially when I hadn't been at work in a few months.

I tell you what - if I thought dating was difficult before cancer, it's ten times harder after having cancer, haha.  I've been on a couple dates since being in remission, but I've struggled with it.  I don't know when it's appropriate to bring up what I've been through, or how to talk about it without being awkward.  And since I still wear a wig when I go out, I feel like I'm obligated to say something before they find out on their own.  It's hard.  My self-confidence has definitely taken a hit.  It doesn't help that I gained back nearly all the weight I'd lost prior to my diagnosis, so I feel like a whale on top of having boy hair.  I know it will get easier.  I'm just anxious to get back to my pre-cancer life, and I know that will take a while.

In late May, I broke out in hives like crazy.  It started on my legs and under my arms and just spread.  Within a week, my entire body was covered.  And nothing helped - allergy medicine, Prednisone, nothing.  It was miserable.  I itched so bad.  Eventually the hives mostly went away, but I'm still dealing with breakouts on my hands and what appears to be heat rash on my legs and torso.  I guess it's not uncommon to break out in hives around the two-month post-chemo mark, because it takes that long for the chemo to get out of your system and some peoples' bodies just freak out.  I just hope it goes away soon.

I'm also dealing with neuropathy in my feet.  Several of my toes are numb, as well as a portion of my heels.  I'm hoping to find out more about this tomorrow when I talk to my oncologist.  I don't even know if it will ever go away.

The first week of June, I travelled to Tennessee for my "celebration vacation."  It was a trip that I'd had planned for over a year that turned into an "I'm done with cancer!" trip.  I went to Memphis for a few days to visit my aunt and uncle that live there, then met up with friends and went to Nashville for CMA Fest.  We went to the CMT Music Awards, attended some private fan parties, and went to LP Field for the big concerts each night.  

Loaded up with tech before our tour at Graceland.

                                     

With Charles Esten, who plays Deacon on "Nashville," on the red carpet before the CMT Music Awards.

I was on TV!

At the CMT Music Awards.

Luke Bryan performing at his private fan club party.

Front row for Dustin Lynch on the Riverfront Stage.

With Chris Young.

Outside of Fan Fair X.

Front row for Chris Young's performance on the Close Up Stage.

Dan + Shay performing at their private fan party.

With Dustin Lynch.

Brett Eldredge performing at his private fan party.

Meeting Wynonna.

Our group, plus a couple of photobombers.

With Brett Eldredge.

Front row for Eric Church at LP Field.

At the iconic Nashville mural.

Front row for Dierks Bentley at LP Field.

Needless to say, it was an incredible trip.  Photos can't even begin to show the amount of fun we had and the experiences we got to have.  But they're ones we'll have again - we've already booked the condo for CMA Fest next year!  :)

Oh, and I haven't posted a hair status photo in a while!  So here you go:

That picture was taken while I was in Memphis.  It's not to the point that I can really style it at all, but it's getting there!  It also seems to be growing in a bit darker than it was before chemo.  The grays are coming back though, haha.

I think I've covered everything that's been going on.  I'll try to keep update this way more often than I have been.

Take care, readers!  Xoxo.