On Friday 4/12, I finished my last radiation treatment! Overall, I’d say radiation was pretty easy. I had an excellent doctor and radiation team so everything ran like a well-oiled machine. 

The family and I celebrated with donuts and a trip to the zoo before packing for our trip back home! In just a few hours, I will get to step foot inside our home for the first time in 5 weeks. It felt like I had been staying in Houston for so long but the time also felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. It’s a weird feeling. But that’s also how the last six months have felt. It feels like I was only diagnosed yesterday but that also seems like it happened a lifetime ago.

October 5, 2023 changed our lives forever. I’m thankful that, six months later, I’m still here and my outlook is good. My attitude is even better.

The night before we flew back to NY, we spent the evening with our neighbors (who were also volunteers at Houston Haven, the charity organization we rented our house from). We are so grateful to have met them. They are some of the nicest and most genuine people we’ve met. They felt like family. 

While we sat and chatted about the cancer and treatment, Caleb and I realized that in the last 180 days, I’ve been in Houston for 100 of them. That definitely explains why the city doesn’t feel so foreign to me now. It’s crazy to think that Caleb and I have been away so much. I will say that, when we aren’t home, we do what we can to make the best of it. We definitely did that with the kids. There were only a few of the 19 days they were with me when we weren’t out exploring and having fun. We were able to make so many wonderful memories.

It’ll take a few weeks to heal from the treatments. I have some soreness and blistering/peeling (and man, does it itch!). After that, I’ll have about a month before we move into the next phase: surgery. I anticipate the recovery being one of the harder parts of all of this. But I also know that I can handle it, especially with all of the support that I have. For those of you wondering, surgery will consist of a single mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction on the cancerous side as well as a reduction on the healthy side. I will probably be in the OR for at least 9-10 hours. I’ve already started doing research to prepare myself for what recovery might be like and to find out what sorts of things I may want to purchase that will help me during that time. 

Surgery is scheduled for May 29th. Until then, I’m going to be soaking in all the hugs and snuggles I can. I’m looking forward to a month of “normal” life with my family and friends. Hopefully I brought back some sun and warmth with me!