12th AND FINAL inning. :)

Pure joy.

We are one day out from the 12th and final chemo treatment and I feel so good.  Usually this day is met with nausea and blahness, but with God's grace I feel great.  As we finished this last treatment our nurses presented me with a Certificate of Accomplishment and a very special bell ringing.  

Goofy grin for the bell ringing.

Action shot

Great great nurses

Up next:
PET scan Aug 27 for more follow-up
ECHO Sept 5 to complete the cardiac study I've been apart of throughout these treatments
Oncology appointment with Dr. Nasta Sept 20 (then once every 3 months)... and as long as my labs and tests are ok I can schedule to have my port removed.  :)

As far as celebrations go we will continue to take fun little weekend trips and welcome visits from friends anytime... then our big celebration will be our honeymoon next April in Croatia!

Thank you for more support than I could have ever asked for.  It's been quite an adventure and we couldn't have done it alone.

I've posted this video before... but I can't get over how true the words are so here it is again.

"Beautiful Things"
Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

Love,

katy

10th and 11th innings.

Hi friends,

This much appreciated leave of absence from work may be making me somewhat lazy... as you can tell by this combo inning post plus apartment pictures.  Everything has been going pretty well here.  Lots of good rest complimented with weekends away and great visitors.  In the last month Erik and I have welcomed 4 out-of-towners (including my mom) and traveled to Fire Island, Boston, and Ithaca to visit friends and family.  We have also had 2 successful innings with pretty tolerable side effects.  Right now I'm looking forward to another month of rest and marking the end of this season with inning 12 on August 16th.  I am so grateful to feel well and know that I am well.  I'm anticipating a few more tests following this last treatment:  a PET scan, ECHO, and pulmonary function testing to ensure everything is still ok, then the appointments and tests will space out and life may feel a little more normal.  Below are some pictures of our new apartment in West Philly.

Welcome to our new apartment.

View from near the front door of our "dining room" table and kitchen

Kitchen close up

Living room

Our funky stairs... soon to have a one of a kind Philly mural

Our upstairs bedroom

Beautiful exposed brick wall opposite our bed

The stairs begin right under the hanging bike

Loft living room

Phillies corner at the top of the staircase

1 more "inning" to go!

Thank you all for the incredible support you've shown us throughout this hopefully once in a lifetime baseball season.

Love, 

Katy

Extra note from my mom:

I have been thinking of the two most beautiful words in the English language.  They are: REMISSION and GRATITUDE.  I go over these words in my mind every day all day.                

Love,

Mom