Thursday, December 31, 2015

New Year, New Me...just kidding..

Tomorrow is New Years Day, so tonight we will ring in the new year, a new day, a new chapter in our books. As I look back at 2015, all I can say is "I survived." There were many moments when I wanted to give up, yet I kept pressing on. Josh and I always joke that we wish we could pack everything up, grab our dog in Florida, and go to a remote island to live. This is usually said after a grueling chemo session or a extremely exhausting week. Ever so often we add people to our island, family..friends..his Oncologist. Most times it's just us two and Archie. It's a fantasy world for us. A place where we are just married, not caregiver and patient. Where cancer doesn't exist. Where we can do as we please and often times we never want to leave. As the year is coming to an end, we are starting to see our fantasy world become a reality. No, we are not jetting off to some remote island (though, how cool would that be?!) but within the next few months (realistically, 6-7) we will be packing up everything we own and moving back to our own Paradise..aka Florida. Now, I know most of you guys who read this actually grew up in Palm Bay and left swearing you would never return. I was apart of this group. I was a proud member, one that honestly thought that I would NEVER move back. However, life changed. In the past four years, we have grown up. We have experienced more in the past year than most, but the main realization is that no place can ever replace being home. You never realize how much you miss it until you've been in a really shitty place. I'm not saying the places we have lived are shitty, more like the situations were. I am realistic in saying I know moving home probably won't change much of anything, in fact we might end up hating it. But, it's a shot worth taking. My mood that came after this last time home made me realize that we are making the right choice. For once, in a long time, when we got to our apartment in Maryland, I was actually homesick. It has put me in a mood...or a funk these past few days. Josh finally picked up on it last night (not that it takes him a long time to realize this, he is dealing with his own stuff...so I don't blame him!) mainly because I try hard to hide it. 26 years old and I prefer to stay at home with my parents and husband, so not cool. But who cares, I love hanging out with our families..sue me!

As many know, we just spent 2 glorious weeks in Florida. I am not exaggerating when I say this was probably one of our best leave periods home! Did we do anything? Not really..it was so nice! We did have a few high lights though. One being that Josh and I took my parents to a hockey game in Tampa, which was a lot of fun. By the grace of the hockey Gods, the Capitals were playing Tampa Bay the first weekend we were home! We bought tickets in the nose bleed sections, mainly because it was the only four tickets available when I bought them, also because hockey tickets tend to be pretty expensive. We actually had good seats, right in a sea of Tampa Bay fans, haha! Of course our Caps won, woohoo! My parents were able to experience the ultimate hockey fan, Josh. I'm surprised some fights didn't start because of all the trash talking Josh was doing, lol. We spent the night in Tampa, so we went to the Hard Rock casino were we all lost money on penny slots! My luck must not be there because I lost all of the ten dollars I put in...within minutes. Josh was up by a few bucks but ended up losing it all. My parents had their fair share of good luck, but eventually it all went away and we walked away before it got worse. 

We also were able to see the new Star Wars movie while we were home! It was originally supposed to be just a low key bro date between my dad and Josh, but it actually grew to me tagging along and then to his parents also going. It was amazing! I'll admit, Josh did marry me knowing full well that I had not seen any of the Star Wars movies, surprise I know! In my defense, I had seen part of one a few years back but I couldn't tell you which one or why I never finished it. A few weeks back I borrowed my brothers blu-ray disc set and binged watched all six movies over the span of two or three days. Once I actually sat down and watched them all, I fell in love with the series! Josh and I usually don't agree on franchises like this...I hate Lord of the Rings, and he loves them. I love the Hunger Games, he hates them. But, Star Wars is our common ground and being married to one of the biggest Star Wars nerds it definitely helps to like the series as well. But all in all, the movie was great. Josh and I wore Star Wars shirts and enjoyed every minute of it. It was pretty funny because every gasp or "woah" moment he had, I had as well. 

What else happened...oh I spent some time in the ER! Fun times! It was surprising this trip that I was the one who was sick the entire time. Usually it's Josh, last year he got the flu. Over Thanksgiving he had a severe cold/sinus infection. But this time, apparently my body was tired of all the attention he usually gets and wanted to get sick instead. Two Sundays ago I felt like complete shit. I was lethargic and had a head ache the entire day. Around 5ish, I started having chest pains. I thought it was odd, but didn't really look to far into it. Around 8ish though, I had thrown up five times and thought...hmm this is serious...lets go to the ER! (Side note, I realize how appropriate the picture next to this is. Honestly, Josh and I always take "tongue out" pictures..I just feel this one is perfect for this paragraph haha) Aside from the audience I had at home, no one knew I was sick. (See it is possible to not post everything on social media!) I say audience with love, as everyone in the house was so concerned and making sure I was okay. No one likes throwing up, so I really hate it. It's surprising how fast the ER moves when you say you are having chest pains. They had me in the back within moments of checking in. I was immediately given an EKG and then they did a chest x-ray to rule out anything dealing with my heart. I was given fluids for dehydration and morphine (yay!) for the pain. They ruled out (and I quote my nurse) "any life threatening..things you might die from...conditions" haha I had to laugh at that. They assumed I pulled a muscle, because I did have a very stiff neck the day before. They sent me home with some strong pain killers and muscle relaxers. I was down and out for two whole days. I felt terrible but Josh assured me that it was okay to take a break, how sweet lol. Christmas Eve I also had a battle with a 24-hour stomach bug! I'm telling you all, my body just wanted a break apparently..that and I think it was because my mom was there to take care of me. I don't care how old I get, I will always need my mom when I am sick, lol.

 I am thankful that I was able to spend Christmas with our families! I love Christmas, always have, always will. I love it even more now that I have a niece we can spoil. I also love recreating other peoples pictures of their children tucked in bed, sleeping, waiting for santa to come with our dog Archie. He looked so cute and facebook was blowing up with kids tucked in their beds and since we haven't been blessed (yet) with that, we did the next best thing and tucked Archie in haha. We spent Christmas Eve with Josh's family at his Aunts annual Christmas Eve dinner blow out. Half way through is when I started having my *eh hem* stomach bug symptoms, so for those of that family reading this, sorry we left so abrupt! It was amazing as always though. Then our Christmas was very low key..and hot. It was 80 degrees! But we opened presents from each other and from Santa (aka my parents, lol) and took Josh''s grandma out for Christmas lunch. We then went home and spent the rest of the day doing nothing, it was great, lol. 

Now it's New Years Eve. I used to make the cliche resolutions. Lose weight. Be a better person. Blah blah blah. As of last year though, I swore that I will no longer make resolutions. I have realized my life isn't in my control. I always go back to my tried and true "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Every plan I have ever had has been blown some how. If life went by my control, I would have two kids, a house, a masters degree, and my husband wouldn't have cancer. But, I can't control it. So for now, I have my health, my happy marriage, and my husband. Why mess with something so good? Josh and I have decided to be responsible adults and stay home. Okay, honestly, we have no place to go and honestly, I really don't feel like being in a tight room, surrounded by drunken people just to watch a ball drop. I can get drunk at my house, watch the ball drop on my tv, and avoid the whole crowd thing, lol. So our plans for tonight is to hang out, binge watch Big Bang Theory until 11:30 where we will watch the countdown..if we stay awake until then..lol

**I hope everyone had a great holiday season and has a very Happy New Year!!!**

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Chemotherapy Shmemotherapy!

There are many milestones happening in the Hearndon household. For one, Josh and I have started the process of buying our first house! I hate to say it, but it is blind leading the blind situation. We applied for a home loan and when we got word back that we were pre approved, we both looked at each other and said "okay...so what does that mean?" I swear we will be experts after this process is over...that or anyone who helps us will want to rip their hair out with the many questions we have! I will say that I am VERY thankful that we have amazing people backing us in this process. My parents, his parents, and of course our awesome realtor that is willing to answer any question we have (no matter how stupid). We are in the infant stages of it all, just looking at houses and filling out paperwork for home loans, but it gets me so excited every-time we get one more step checked off of our list. It's bringing back the normalcy into our lives!

After Vegas, we spent two days here before flying down to Florida for a week. I love being home, and being home this time definitely sealed the deal on moving back. I love the familiartiy of it all. I love being 20 mintues away from the beach. I love having family around us. Yes, I will miss Maryland and all that is has to offer. I will miss the snow. I will miss fall. But, I believe Florida has more to offer us. It was always the plan to move back, we just didn't think it would be under these circumstances. Getting this post back on track, we had a fantastic time home! Josh and I made it a point to be total Floridians. We went to Publix and bought a sub and then we to the beach and had a pinic all while wearing our Florida shirts, shorts, and flip flops! In the middle of November! If you looked up Floridians in the dictonary, our pictures would be there..it was that good. We blended in so well, except our severe Northern pale skin might have given us away a time or to.

Thanksgiving was great. My mom and I cooked all day while Josh recovered from a cold. Side note, I would like to state that yes, Josh was sick while we were home. This guy, I swear, can never catch a break. However, he did power through a lot of it. He kept going until he couldn't take it anymore and literally slept for a day and a half! Admittily I was the one who gave him the cold, eek. I was sick the week prior and tried EVERYTHING to keep him from getting it. I felt really bad, not only is Thanksgiving one of his favorite holidays, but he was also trying to keep his body on track for Chemo. Luckily his body fought hard and he was over it within a few days and didn't really miss out much on leave. The Sunday after Thanksgiving we flew back to Maryland so Josh could finish out his last round of chemo.

He had his appointment on that Tuesday where he was cleared to start cycle 12. He made it through this session with a breeze. He only suffered from minor fatigue. But....

JOSH IS NOW DONE WITH CHEMOTHERAPY! 

Wow, I never thought this day would come. He did the full 12 rounds (which is kinda like an over kill for the military. A guy we have talked to that has been on the same medicine only made it to round 8, where his body started rejecting it.) I remember his first round like it was yesterday, mainly because out of all the 12 rounds, that was the most scariest, intense moment out of the whole year. Aside from him throwing up, I couldn't fathom having to experience this every month. But lucky for us, we played with his medication and found the right routine to make it as easy as possible.

So...what does this mean? Well, first and foremost, it does not mean the cancer is gone. The harsh reality of it all it just means that chemotherapy extended his life. He is not in remission, he never will be. He has already accepted this. That doesn't mean that we don't pray for miracles. It doesn't mean that we have given up hope. It just means that we live in the reality of the situation. We, more than most people, know that living in the reality of it all is hard, but I believe living in a fantasy world would be worse. Knowing all of this, we appreciate every day we have. We don't look at any holiday as "well this might be his last...lets make the best of it.." NO. I want my husband to look back and say "Well, if this was my last holiday together, it was a fantastic one and for that I am grateful." Chemotherapy is over, so that means we move on with our lives. When we get back from our Christmas leave, we will start the process of medical retirement. This process is a long and lenthy one, but we are so anxious to start it as once it's over, we will be in our house in Florida! The process itself should take 290 days, give or take. Probably longer..it is the military after all! But, we are prepared to wait. The outcome weighs out the struggle we are going to have to go through. Basically in this time, Josh will be filling out paperwork and just waiting. This might be the time he enrolls into college but we will cross that bridge when we get there :)

What else....oh, I was featured on the Official Blog of the Navy !!!! I was nominated by Master Chief at Navy Safe Harbor for a caregiver spotlight. I honestly had no idea what day it was going up or if it was going to even go up at all. I was nominated a couple months prior to it being posted. I actually got the call the day we were flying out of Vegas that I was selected! When it went up, I had just landed in Florida and my friend from Sicily found it on the internet. It was posted by the Fleet and Family service! I am so honored. It's honestly very hard to get recognized as a caregiver of a cancer patient. I am often over shadowed by the family members who are taking care of their combat injured service members. While I could never imagine the struggles they face in their day to day lives, I am glad that cancer caregivers are getting the spot light we deserve!



On another note....We also forced our dog to love us and get family pictures done for Christmas, haha
 

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Viva Las (we are tired) Vegas!






Monday was our last full day in Vegas. We had signed up to go to the Pawn Stars set and to meet the stars. The one thing for those who have not been to the shop, is that it is actually really small! We were so surprised, TV makes it look so much bigger. We were able to walk around and look at the items they had for sale and then we were able to go in the back where they had items that had not been priced yet. We didn't get to actually meet any of the stars, which was a bummer but we did get a picture with Rick.




Later that night, we got dressed up one more time for a dinner at a very nice steak house and then we went to another show. We saw Terry Fator perform. He won Amercia's Got Talent a few years back and then signed the biggest contract in Vegas history at the Mirage for 100 million dollars! He was so funny and it was a great way to end our trip to Vegas. Josh and I again went back to the hotel room and had club Hearndon turned to the max. We packed and then were in bed by 10:00, haha.

The next day was a full day of flying. We had our Thank You brunch and then boarded the plane back to Maryland. It was an awesome weekend.

I am so lucky to be able to do this with Josh. It was a Salute to the Troops trip, but it was an experience for this wife. Josh serving in the military always made me proud, but it was so nice to see how many people support us. Every place we went to, every time we got off of the bus, every time we entered a hotel, we were welcomed. There were people holding signs, yelling and cheering for us. It was nice to see such support.

Day in and day out our lives revolve around this cancer. I can't say "it's like we live at the hosptial because we are there so much" no, we actually do live at the hospital. Though Josh isn't confinded to a bed, I can look out my living room window right now and actually see the hosptial. Day in and day out it's appointments, cancer treatment, medication, being poked for blood draws..on and on. It was nice to get on a plane and leave it all behind. Yes, I was still his caregiver. Yes, he still had to take pills. But aside from me asking him a few times, no one knew anything was wrong with him. Everyone focused on his service. No one knew he had cancer. All they saw was a man that devoted his life to his country, a man who signed his life away knowing the consiquences. All they saw from me was a wife that was completely and utterly in love with her husband. Who is eternally grateful for all the sacrifies he has made and for the commitment he has made to his country.

Fore the first time in a long time. we were normal.

Viva Las Vegas....part two!

Sunday:



Sunday was  by far my most favorite day. We got up early for breakfast and then loaded up on the bus to take a helicopter ride over the strip. Now, I have flown my whole life. I have never had a fear of flying nor have I ever shy'd away from doing something new. However, this helicopter ride had me nervous! I was shaking the moment we walked into the hanger. Josh kept telling me over and over that it will be fine, he would be next to me, that they do this all the time..don't worry. I was fine until the lady came up to me and said "Okay Jenna, you're going first and you're going to sit up front." I almost passed out! I could feel my body moving towards the helicopter, but my mind kept saying "no no no no no" haha. I was so nervous I couldn't even strap myself in! Eventually Josh boarded and he was seated behind me. I looked at the pilot as they were closing the doors and knew there was no going back now! I mustered up the courage (while holding Josh's finger behind me) and decided to just have fun. Take off was easy and once we were flying in the sky, I forgot how scared I was. It was amazing! It was a 20 minute flight but I honestly could have stayed up there all day, it was so pretty. 



After the ride, we went back to the hotel to find out what we wanted to do next. When we first found out we were going to Vegas, I set only two goals. One was to get Josh to gamble (check) and one was to go to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. I figured we wouldn't be able to eat there because of it being Gordon Ramsay's resturnant AND the fact that it would probably be packed to the brim. I figured we would have to have a reservation or something. But damn it, I was determined to at least stand outside and get a picture! So we did. Then for the fun of it we walked up to the hostist where she asked how many was in our party. Uh, two please! I have a huge crush on Gordon, not only because I love Hells Kitchen, but also because I have read all of his books and have watched all of his shows. I think he is an amazing chef and an amazing person. So yes, I was fangirling so hard! Josh was excited too, but not as excited as I was. I was terrified to look at the prices but figured, what the hell we are in Vegas! 
(this was me just happy with a picture..before we walked over to be seated)

 

If you are ever near one of his resturants, GO. I'm not just saying this because I love the man, I'm saying this because this was probably the best sandwich I have ever had, lol. We would have gone a little more adventurous, but we did just do a helicopter ride and were still feeling a little queesy. However, everything down to the ketchup (which I am almost certain they make their own) was amazing. And, the prices were not toooo bad. For the both of us, plus a beer and dessert, it was around $75. I honestly thought it was going to be more.


His signature dessert, Sticky Toffee cake with ice cream. 
We were so full by this point but we had to get it!

We then met back up with the group to go to the Belliago for dinner and then to see Cirque du Soleil the "O" show. Josh and I had the pleasure of seeing one of their shows while we were in Italy, but it was entirely in Italian and a very small production. The "O" show was absolutely speckatular. There was so much going on that if you blinked, the entire set had already changed and there was new people out. After the show, we decided to walk around on the strip. We really wanted to do the Observation tower, that we found out earlier that morning was the tallest in the world. We walked over there and went on the ride. The ride itself was 30 minutes round trip and it was amazing at night time. All of Vegas was lit up. 
 


Viva Las Vegas!

There are times in your life that you consider to be your one in a life time experiences. For me, it was meeting Josh, our wedding day, and I know..in a few years, it will be the birth of our first child. Along with those "normal" experiences, I can also add the five day trip to Vegas!

First thing you must all know is that Josh doesn't gamble. Since we have been married I have only been able to get him into one or two casino, and that was to only do penny slots! I don't gamble much either, but I am no where near as bad as Josh. He hates it. Along with not gambling, we have also slowed down on drinking..weird right?! We were the party house in Sicily! But since being diagnosed, we have to watch him, which means I watch myself to make sure I can still take care of him if needed. We rarely drink. We rarely gamble. All of this is funny because we just spent five days in Vegas! 

We received the phone call a few months ago from Josh's Neuro Oncologist nurse case manager. She had zero details. No idea what we were doing and no idea where we were staying, all she knew was that it was an all expense paid trip to Vegas. Most people would have passed, but Josh and I signed right up. We have been talking about going out west since moving back because Josh has never been past Texas, haha. We were literally the first people on the list. Besides our parents and a select few, no one knew we were going. I do this for two reasons. One, I don't know if in a few months Josh will be able to do it so I don't make a big deal about it. We try to not plan in advance, so I keep everything on the down low in case Josh can't go. It's easier to not have to explain than have a million people asking what happen. The other reason I don't talk about it is to surprise people. If I just say "oh on Friday we will be doing such and such" then people can give us an honest response.."oh wow, I'm so happy for you guys." If I talk about it constantly, people tend to get annoyed..you know? So yes, we knew months in advance and just kept it to ourselves. 

We had to go to a meeting a week before our trip to get the run down of everything. First off, I must state this trip was COMPLETLEY free. I'm not saying flight was free and we had to pay for food, or that the food was free but we had to pay for the hotel..no. This entire trip was free. I think in the beginning there was a total of 140 of us on the trip..I know towards the end that number had grown though. The flight, the hotel, the food, the entertainment. all of the trips and adventures we did, was free. The whole trip was put together by the USO. Along with them, they also had American Airlines that donated the plane. Yes, we flew on a chartered plane with only the people on the trip on it! As well as many supporters that donated money, time, and effort to make sure we had a memorable trip. 

Friday morning we met at the USO to get chartered by a bus to Reagan airport. Once we were there, we were introduced to the welcome that we would become so accustomed to. There were people standing outside, with signs clapping and yelling for us. It was overwhelming! Once we were checked in, we received a TSA escort to security where we experienced THE FASTEST security check! I was floored, lol. We walked to our gate where they had a band playing, food and refreshments, and more people thanking us for our service. After a few speeches, we then boarded the plane where Josh and I had the whole row to ourselves! I was so excited! Josh didn't sleep much the night before and since it was going to be a long flight, he was able to stretch out and catch some z's.

Before flying out, we received a salute from the Airports fire department! This is usually used for diplomats and very important people, so now we are apart of the few that have received a water salute. It happened when we landed in Vegas as well. 


(I stole this picture because obviously I was on that plane!)

    
The first night was a fancy night so we downed our fanciest attire! I actually wore a dress...something I probably haven't done since my wedding day! Josh actually wore a tie, one that he tied all by himself..that's how fancy you know it was! It was basically a night for all the donors to get together and welcome us to Vegas. We had an amazing dinner and I was even able to drink a little, yay! It went on a little longer than I wanted. With being jetlagged and the time difference I was exhauted. Most people went out after and partied it up.. Josh and I went back to the room and had club Hearndon which consisted of a shower, a snack, and sleeeeeep! 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday:

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed out to our tour of the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We had some time to kill before boarding on the bus so I asked (more like told) Josh if he wanted to gamble a little. He said he had to, he was in Vegas after all! We put in $20 and split it between us both. He put $10 in his machine...played literally 5 minutes and won 90freaking dollars! I was absolutely floored (and kind of annoyed, lol). He decided to test his luck and decided to play until he hit $60. That was his limit, he was going to cash out if he didn't win by then. It was almost down to $60 when he hit it big again! He ended up cashing out with $85. Meanwhile I was losing everything. Grand totally I lost about $30 the whole trip (we only played penny slots, so I wasn't to bummed). Josh still has some money left over from his big winnings. I want to call it beginners luck...but maybe that's just me being bitter lol.



We then loaded up onto the bus and headed to Mandalay Bay where we went to a Shark Reef. Being aquarium nerds, we loved this! Afterwards, we went to the Siegfried and Roy Tiger exhibit and they also had dolphins. We then decided to walk around a little while waiting for our bus. I honestly love just to walk around the hotels, each one of them is so unique with their own atmosphere and restaurants. It nice to just walk and appreciate the beauty of it all. 






Dinner that night was at Bubba Gumps and it was amazing! We were able to meet Gary Sinise, who played Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump. He is a HUGE supporter of the troops. He has his own foundation, The Gary Sinise Foundation that does amazing things. It was so surreal meeting Lieutenant Dan, at Bubba Gumps, surrounded by movie movie memorabilia. It was truly amazing and Gary is really a nice guy. Josh and I were nervous to ask him to sign the hat because we had already met him in the line when we first arrived. But he made his way around to every single table and I'm almost certain he didn't want to leave the restaurant until he had met everyone there. He took time to talk to us and to take pictures. 

 


I'm not entirely certain, but I think they had shut down the restaurant for us. There may have been a first floor but I know we had the entire second floor to ourselves. They had set up menus for us, which contained SO. MUCH. FOOD! They also kept pushing alcohol onto us, so we happily accepted. I will say, Josh and I got really buzzed that night and I even woke up with a hang over! Honestly (mom) we only drank two or three drinks, I have no idea when we became such light weights, lol. We then were bused off to old Vegas at the Golden Nugget where we watched Gary and The Lt. Dan Band play a free concert on Freemont Street. It was amazing but SO cold. Josh and I really didn't plan on it being cold, it's Vegas which is in a desert..so we didn't pack a lot of winter type clothes. That night, we froze our butts off. By the end of the night I swear my toes were ice cubes!


 




Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Octob...HOCKEY SEASON!

I love fall time, but what I love more is the start of hockey season! We started off October with Chemotherapy. Josh did SO great that we actually forgot he was on it, oops! Aside from the normal fatigue, he made it through like a champ. Because of this, I figured I would treat him with hockey tickets. Our first game of the season was a total bust, we lost 0-5. Because of this, we decided what the hell and splurged on tickets for the next game, which was won! Lucky for our bank account, the team went up north to play three games in Canada so we are on a "game break." Along with the tickets, we splurged (and I mean, realllllly splurged) and bought two jerseys of our favorite players. I was completely in love with how excited Josh was. Seeing that made all the money spending a little less important. Money will always be there. It will always replenish itself one way or another. The memories however, will last a life time. I will go out of my way to just put a smile on his face. For in that moment, he is not a cancer patient, he is just Josh. A guy who loves his country, love his wife, and loves hockey!

Josh also had his 3 month check up MRI. He does two MRIs, one with contrast and one without. He has done so many of them, we have lost count. However, Josh did ask his oncologist for a slideshow of all the MRIs he has had, which I thought was a cool idea to see how things have changed. Speaking of change, the doctors have seen some in Josh's tumor. It's not dramatic, but basically Josh is responding well to treatment. The MRIs have shown improvement since moving here. Tumor is stable, not growing yet not shrinking. For now, we are doing great. He will never say he is a survivor, but stable is just as great. As long as it is maintained and hasn't grown, that is music to my ears. His blood work came back normal. Because of all the traveling we are doing for November, he was cleared to start Chemo the last week of October.


This month, we also had the pleasure of speaking on the panel at the Warrior Symposium for Navy Safe Harbor. I am forever grateful for this organization. They were the first people we met when we landed in Maryland. They were with us every step of the way the first few months. They sat with me during Josh's brain surgery, they help file paper work for my parents travel expenses, they took care of everything when dealing with Josh's old command and checking into his new command..basically they took care of everything. We have developed a friendship with our non-medical care team, a Master Chief who get's along perfectly with Josh and I. He has always helped us and stuck up for us when needed. We actually spoke on the panel as a favor to him. They asked us the general questions, what was his diagnosis, how has it changed our lives, and anything they could improve on. We are so thankful that we were placed in this organization, it has definitely helped us in time of need. We had nothing but good things to say on the panel. An added plus was I got to see my sexy Sailor in uniform, hubba hubba!



Wrapping up my October post...Halloween! Since Josh was on chemo, I wanted a simple costume for him. Out of the blue he said he wanted to be Waldo. Lucky for us, Target had his shirt. I toyed around for a little while on what I wanted to be, but at the Halloween store I found out they actually make the female version of Waldo, Wenda haha. So I bought the costume and tah-da, Waldo and Wenda was born! I really didn't think people would know who we were, I didn't think Wheres Waldo was as popular as it was when we were kids. But there were many adults who loved our costumes and one little boy said, with the biggest smile on his face, "Where's Waldo is my favorite book!" Success! We went to my brothers house to celebrate because trick or treaters were so minimal last year. It was a ton of fun handing out candy and seeing all of the costumes.

While I am sad to see October go, I am SO excited for Novemeber! It's going to be filled with tons of traveling and making ever last memories!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Loving every minute

Looking at my calendar I realized that October is almost over and I still haven't updated on September! A few weekends ago, I worked on the blog itself. I spent the day trying to figure out why my pictures were not showing up. After a little bit of research and me literally sitting down all day fixing all the posts, I am happy to see the pictures finally showing up! So..here is my update on September...half way though October..I swear, I will get this blog on schedule once again!

For the first time in a few months, Josh was able to start chemo on his schedule time. His blood work came back good, so no delays this month. He took his chemotherapy like a champ. Nine sessions in and I am still in awe on how well he handles it. He powers through the fatigue. He forces himself to eat, even when he doesn't want to. He treats the nausea like a seasoned veteran. I try to make chemo week easy for him, we limit activities and I make sure his schedule is clear for the week. 

September offered us the start of football season! Now, I am an avid sports fan. I don't know player statistics and I don't care to know everything about sports, but I do have my few teams I follow and I do know enough to get through a game. My lovely husband however, could care less about sports. He will watch the game and luckily he does know what's going on, but getting him to go to a game is a struggle. (unless it's hockey, then he will actually buy the tickets himself, lol) Since we live on base, and since people are so generous to Wounded Warriors, we often get tickets offered to us. We have to act fast and sign up, but since it's a small group, we usually get tickets to what we want to do. This year, I made it my goal to take Josh to a professional football game. I didn't care who was playing, I just wanted him to experience it. (plus, we hit all the other pro teams..baseball, hockey, basketball..might as well hit football while we can) Lucky for us, they had tickets to the first game of the season, Redskins vs Dolphins! I was so excited and was happy to see Josh was to. We received tickets for a suite. Perfect view of the game and even though they lost, we still loved every second of it! I actually signed us up for the game the following week which was the Redskins vs Rams. We won that game!

*Disclaimer, For anyone who is tired of seeing us doing totally freaking awesome things, please feel free to unfriend me on Facebook. I have heard a few times "wow, I'm so jealous...you are so lucky!" No. We are not. We are getting free tickets and cool opportunities because my husband has cancer. In no way shape or form are we posting things to brag or to throw it into peoples faces. Yes, we get free suite tickets to sporting events. Yes, we get to meet awesome people and celebrities. But at the price of my husband going through treatment for cancer. I would give it all back if it meant my husband wasn't in this situation. But since we are, we are living our life and getting perks along the way. So, like I said, if that annoys anyone or if you're tired of us having so much fun, please unfriend me. Plus, you won't like whats coming in November...how dare we have fun!* 

What else happened in September....OH! Josh celebrated his 1 year of being smoke free! I read a few blogs that said you shouldn't celebrate being smoke free. I'm not entirely sure why, but it was mainly because it's a day to day battle to not smoke...well so is every other addiction so I decided to do what I want. We celebrated by going to Georgetown Cupcakes in Bethesda! I ended up buying half a dozen and still had to share some with my brother and his family. So. Many. Cupcakes. But I know he loved it. It was something to celebrate. The kid that swore he would never quit smoking, did. Not saying the year was easy for him, but he essentially quit cold turkey and I am so proud that he didn't go back. His smoking was always a problem for us as I am allergic to it. Before we got married, I would get sick every time I was around him. When we moved in together, I got used to it but I hated the way he smelled and how badly our car smelled. Now, I love walking up to him and giving him a hug and not feeling like I was standing in a smoke cloud. I love that I don't have to frequently wash his jackets and his clothes always smell like detergent. It's so nice! I'm sure Josh would have a cigarette right now if it was offered to him, and I'm sure that's something that will always be with him. But I am proud of the will power he has developed to quit and stay smoke free. 



Lastly, we met up with my brother and his family to do a little trip out to Luray Caverns. I love having family so close that we can do things together on the weekend. Since moving here, I had wanted to go out to the caverns (as they show commercials for it on TV all the time) but we never had a push to go. My brother, sister in law and niece met us out there and we walked the caverns. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved how they grew and more importantly, I loved how excited Josh was over it. I had my own personal guide with me, he taught me everything he knew about it, which was a lot, haha. 

September offered us a lot of memories, but I am also super excited for what the next couple months hold for us. For one, Josh and I are going to speak on a panel at the end of the month. We were offered to talk about getting off of base and doing things at the Navy Safe Harbor Warrior symposium. We have two trips planned in November, one I can't talk about right now and the other is to go home for Thanksgiving! After that, we will be back up in Maryland for a week of Chemo and then a few days before we fly back to Florida for our two week Christmas vacation. Busy busy, but loving every minute of it!