Chemo complete! Now time to take a break...

Hello friends! I am sorry it's been a few weeks since I last posted. I took a much needed mental break over the past few weeks, and not posting much on the blog or social media was a part of that.  My final day of chemo and the Donut Day celebration were wonderful! Tim coordinated a yard sign and for our friends to decorate our house to celebrate being done. We also bought ten dozen donuts and lots of popsicles to hand out to friends who stopped by to say hi and celebrate my last day. We had so many people come to say hello and celebrate with us outside despite the rain. It was wonderful to see everyone who joined us! I got so much joy from all of the photos that were sent my way showing how you were celebrating with us! Your photos will be added to a photo book I am creating to remember such a wonderful day. It feels so good to be done with this chapter and I am thankful for your support through the past 5 months. 

Slowly but surely my energy is coming back which is wonderful - as I write this I realize that I have tried to clean my house for the last hour and am now sitting down taking a break. I also have been saying that I was going to clean our bathroom for the past 2 weeks and that has yet to happen.  So maybe my energy isn't doing as well as I want it to be? Likely, but I still feel better than I did 4 weeks ago. I still have lingering side effects like muscle pain, nerve pain, and muscle stiffness. Some days are worse than others, and it seems that the pain is worse in the evening than in the morning. Most days my body feels like I have gone on a long run - sore knees, feet, quads, and calves. 

We're starting to get back to doing "normal" things like eating outside at restaurants, hanging out with friends, and going to the grocery store. A couple of weekends ago we had a stay-cation (thank you Dean!) downtown and ate at some of our favorite restaurants. I am so grateful that both restaurants let us reserve tables outside. It felt great to get out of the house after 5 months of staying in and playing it safe.

Covid is rampant here in San Antonio, so we're wearing our masks everywhere and doing our best to protect ourselves. We've had a few friends have breakthrough infections even though they were vaccinated.  I had hoped that I would know more about the status of my Covid antibodies this past week. But the study that I am a part of doesn't release results very fast. Just to be safe I went and got my booster shot on Thursday, for which I am thankful. 

Beyond that we're just trying to get back to "normal" before my first surgery on Sept. 15th. I am still not looking forward to this surgery - I am not looking forward to any of them really. But I have come to terms with it. At the end of July I had a meeting with a genetic counselor who informed me that my genetic mutation lands in the "Ovarian Cancer Section" of my BRCA1 gene. I knew that I already had a heightened risk because of my mutation - but this tells me that my risk lands on the high side of the 40-60% range. With that news I have begrudgingly embraced that I need to do this surgery if I want to do everything in my power to avoid ovarian cancer - and to avoid having to have chemo again. That was the pits. 

We hope you're doing well! I'll post occasionally with updates, especially after my surgeries to let you know how we're doing. Sending lots of love out to you - thank you for all the love you have sent our way. 

- Nicole & Tim