I thought it might be a good time for a short update since it’s been almost three months.  April and May are always full of excitement for me but also mixed in with a little sadness.  These months mark the gym anniversary and my wedding anniversary – 21 years and 19 years now. They are also the start of all the things I look forwards to most – summer weather, fishing, working on new skills in the off-season at the gym, weekends off and more time with friends and family.  

But these months also mark my original cancer diagnosis anniversary and the metastatic diagnosis anniversary – 4 years and 2 years now, which is always in the back of my mind.  I have my next PET scan scheduled in exactly two weeks, Friday, May 10th at MN Oncology.  It never really gets any easier – I feel the same anxiety and worry with each scan, no matter how the last scan went. In fact, I think each one gets a little harder because it feels like time is flying by way too quickly! 

But with that said, we have a lot of exciting things going on that help keep me focused on the present.  We finished up the competitive season 2 weeks ago in Iowa at Regionals.  The kids peaked at just the right time and had a great meet, I could not have been happier!  Directly from Iowa, Patrick and I drove to Minneapolis to fly out to New York City, where we embarked on an 11 night cruise.  We are currently on our last day and it’s been an amazing trip.  We were able to visit St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.  It was a nice little rest after a very busy winter.  

This month, I decided to cross off another bucket list item and I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk on Saturday, May 11th in Eagan.  I created a “team”, “Andrea’s Posse-tivity” and I am very excited to participate in this event – it’s something I’ve never done before!  

We also have my nephew Emmitt’s 4th b-day party at the gym, my niece, Beatrix, is graduating high school and we are having a team potluck to celebrate our two graduating seniors, Sophie and Kate, and the end of the season.  I’m looking forwards to fishing opener and a two-day visit the following week from my brother, Tyler, dedicated to nothing but fishing!

Patrick and I can’t begin to thank everybody enough for their continuous support.  Every conversation, message or comment reminds us of how much there is to be grateful for and how important those connections with friends and family are to us.  Hopefully we will have a positive update in a few weeks after the PET scan results are back.