Hello!

Lot's of things to celebrate today 🥳

NEW CHEMO

I started a new chemo today, Vinorelbine (say that 9 times quickly, though I'd be impressed if you even said it one time slowly).  I of course was anxious about having another allergic reaction. But all went smoothly! There are no pre-meds with this one (so no steroids, Benadryl, nausea meds, etc.). So that's a huge bonus, because those meds are usually what makes me feel like crap after a treatment and they come with their own side effects. This afternoon I was tired, but didn't have a foggy head and didn't really feel like I got a chemo treatment. So that's a great benefit. The dose is really small and only takes 10 minutes to infuse. Nurse Andrew sat with Ben and I the whole time and did an awesome job keeping me distracted so my anxiety didn't flare up. 

Since this is a low dose, I will go in once a week to get it infused. But it only takes 10 minutes! So that's not that bad of a deal. 

Side effects with this chemo are similar to the chemo I was on last year. Fatigue and blood count damage will likely be my biggest battles. GI side effects could occur as well. 

COVID

(This is not a celebratory item) I ended up with COVID early last week...of course I did. I found the last box of Plaxlovid in a 10 mile radius of our house. I think it definitely helped lower the effect of COVID. But it did a number of my stomach. I wasn't hungry, some times felt nauseous, had a really hard time eating all week. I lost 7 lbs. Let's be honest, I had some room to lose some weight anyway, but I need to keep my calories and strength up. My stomach is still not back to normal, and I'm still finding it hard to eat. So I'm hoping this resolves quickly!

RACE FOR A CURE!

What a day! Thank you to EVERYONE who donated to our team and who showed up on Saturday. My crew definitely lifted me up! Our team raised the most funds ($23K) and I was the highest individual fund raiser ($17K). I got a hat as my trophy, and was asked to say a few words on stage. I was not prepared for that! The event was so uplifting. Last year I was afraid to go because I was still processing through this disease. I thought the event would make me sad. But now I know its a celebration! I'm so grateful that we were able to raise so many funds to help find a cure! 

So much to be to be grateful for this week!💜