The Bell Started to Ring

The bell started to ring and suddenly I woke up. 
Yesterday, I was receiving treatment #24, my 4th dose of Kadcyla, when I heard the bell start to ring.  The bell hangs quietly in the main area of the pod B infusion center anxiously waiting to be rang by those who have finished their chemo or other treatments.
Today, it was a woman in her 50's with a beautiful purple and teal scarf on her head.  She was smiling from ear to ear as her friend took a picture of her holding her "Last Chemo" sign.    She was so happy, looking so relieved to finished.  I remember that feeling. I rang that very same bell once as I finished my last chemo.  I remember being so very thankful that it was over. 
The bell started to ring and suddenly I woke up. It wasn't sleep that it woke me from...I had just infused a bag of steroids.  But it woke me from a daze...a daze I seemed to have fallen into since I had to switch treatment plans in November.  I was so happy to watch this woman ring the bell, and at the same time so sad because ringing the bell is not in my horizon unless a cure is found. And as I clapped for her, I realized that it was time to bounce back.  The cancer suddenly spreading and requiring a treatment change was devastating to me, a setback that I wasn't prepared for. I realized that I hadn't even written a blog post since then. 

So here I am!   I return!  Here's what I have been up to...

 My friends Brandi & Becky took me to treatment #22 the day before Thanksgiving.  A day full of laughter!

 I was co-chair for our church's Jubilee Christmas site.  We were able to provide Christmas gifts for ten families with a total of 30 children.  It was a wonderful feeling to have a gym full of volunteers and parents wrapping gifts while the kids did "cookies and canvas" paintings of snowmen.  Great day!

 My dear friend Dawn took me to treatment #23.  We have been friends since we were 15.  It was so great to spend the day together reminiscing and catching up on our busy lives.

We hosted Ben's family for Christmas Eve.  I love having this in my home, 34 of us spending the day together, eating drinking, playing games, and watching 19 kids/young adults open gifts. 

 Then we changed things up this year.  Christmas morning we jumped in the van and headed to Orlando.  We spent the week with my brother's family and my parents to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary.  We had a wonderful time, and the weather was beautiful!  I quickly learned that we weren't the only ones who thought it would be great to go to Disney this winter break. We shared the Magic Kingdom with over 100,000 other people causing the park to shut down the gates at 1:00 pm because it was at full capacity!!  Talk about a lot of people!

 The bell started to ring and suddenly I woke up, and it was 2016.  A new year...a new year to show gratitude and live each day to the fullest! So let's do it! Happy New Year!

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