Not Just Another First Day of School!

Today is a GREAT DAY! Not only does Kyla start 1st Grade, and Cruze start Preschool; today is my LAST DAY OF RADIATION! These are all such wonderful things to celebrate! My babies are growing up and starting some exciting journeys in their childhood, and I my friends am closing a chapter of my life that I wish never happened, but I am greatful that it did. There is one more reason that today is so special to me, and that is because I am at a place today where one year ago I was not...

One year ago, my sweet Kyla was off to her 1st Day of Kindergarten. An emotional day for any mother. It was also one year ago when my mother learned that she had stage IV colorectal cancer. I was an absolute basket case. My mom was sick, and I was scared to lose her. I didn't know what her future held let alone my own (as I had breast cancer, just didn't know it yet). I looked at my 5 year old daughter so excited, happy, and proud of her to have her entire future ahead of her. She was so excited for that 1st day, and did not look back with any hesitation. I knew in that moment that I must have done something right with her so far. I left her at school, went home and cried a river of tears and said a million prayers to God begging him to get my mom thru her cancer journey as she had radiation, chemo, and surgery in her near future. I begged and begged Him to keep her in my life, as I needed her to grow up with me and my family to see my kids do the amazing things I know they will. The emotions I encountered one year ago were very scary.

Fast forward to today! This amazing day! My prayers today no longer begin with begging God for a 2nd chance at life. All of my prayers begin with thanking God for the wonderful life he has given me and my family. This is going to sound rediculous, but I thank God for giving me Cancer, because even though it's now apart of me forever, it taught me the biggest and most valuable lesson about how to live your life. Am I still scared that cancer and tragedy is going to reoccur for me and my mom? Yes! I don't want this to ever touch our family ever again, BUT I've learned that you have to let your FAITH be GREATER than your FEAR!! 

Today I close another Chapter of my journey, my mom is in remission and thriving, and we are here to see Kyla and Cruze head off to another school year! I am so proud and thankful for the happiness I feel in my soul today! I counted, and since December, I have been in this cancer center (where I am currently sitting) about 48 times, and will be here about 6 more times between now and the end of the year. That's just here in Waterloo, not counting my follow ups in Iowa City. It's been a time commitment for sure, but today is a HUGE milestone!! Although my radiation has caused me physical discomfort, from here on out I am going to heal! My mom and I are both physically and mentally stronger today than we were 1 year ago, and it feels amazing! Many Thanks and Praise to the God we have! We could not have gotten thru this year without the absolute best support system of Family and Friends! 

So how are we going to celebrate?? BLAKE SHELTON concert this weekend with my mom, aunts, cousins, and family! I can't wait to get one great weekend of fun and celebration in before I head back to work Monday. That too, will be an adjustment after being off for the last 14 weeks, but it means I am moving on with my life, and this is what I've been waiting for all year!! 

So, today is not just another 1st day of school. Today is a really good day for me and my family! I hope you all can do something or find something that makes you happy today, and thank God for whatever it is you are thankful for!

Radiation

I started radiation on July 11th, and I have completed 3 full weeks of my 6.5 weeks of treatment. What they told me is that you won't have any symptoms or skin reactions til about the 3rd week. Again, they were right. I had no symptoms what so ever until this last weekend, and it's mostly skin burns. I've been lathering myself in the radiation lotion they gave me since I started hoping to avoid it, but it is there. As you can see in the picture below, there is a straight line down the middle of my chest, and very obvious that my treatment field is on my left side (right side in the picture). I'm praying it doesn't blister; that will be very uncomfortable but they told me it is possible. The other major side effect of radiation can be fatigue, and they said that can come later as the radiation builds up in your body. So far, the fatigue has not been an issue, but I've noticed it a little bit. What it sounds like is that it will get worse before it gets better, but if you all know me, I'm not going to let a little tiredness and skin burns bring me down. The radiologist in charge of my radiation advised me not to return to work until my treatments are complete, so I'm going back to work on Aug 29th. 

   Radiation burn on the right side of my chest in this picture.

I've been being good to myself by eliminating stress, eating healthy, and beginning to run! My goal is to run in the breast cancer 5K on October 2nd, so I've been training to do that. If the fatigue kicks in I will feel highly inconvenienced if I can't keep up with my 5k training schedule, but it's a goal that I have currently and will be pretty proud of myself if I can run the whole thing! 

Other than that life has been well at the Owen household. Last week was pretty sad for us as we had to put our beloved dog Dawson to sleep. He was 10 years old, and what Ryan and I consider our 1st baby. He got really sick really fast and after hundreds of dollars in vet bills, medication, and care we finally came to the realization that it was his time. I think that was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life. I really wanted him to die on his own, and I didn't want to make that decision, but once you realize they are suffering it was the humane thing to do. Either way it's hard to be home without him here. Everytime the doorbell rings or someone knocks, his bark and greet is no longer there. It is such an empty silence I can't get used to! It is definitely harder on Ryan and I than the kids. Dawson has been with us through our entire marriage and we loved him dearly. The kids just keep asking when we are going to get another dog. 

   Our last family picture with Dawson the night before we out him down. We miss him so much 🐶

My hair is growing back quite quickly. This is a good thing, except for its dark with A LOT OF GREY! I wear a hat a lot now since my wig is no longer that comfortable with hair underneath. Not to mention its summer and hot out anyway. I made my 1st appointment to get my hair colored next week, and I'm pretty pumped about it! I need to hide those greys... I look like an old lady! 

That's all I got for today, have a great week!