Back at the Poison Center

Well here I am again in the infusion room at the Huntsman center! What a fun day :) I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous to start chemo back up. I still haven't really healed all the way from my last surgery so I was nervous that I won't handle these upcoming treatments as well as I did last time.

I just woke up from my Benadryl coma. It still knocks me out and makes me feel so weird! Super yucky. But I'd rather feel yucky for an hour or two than have all the other crappy side effects lots of people get from chemo. I have been so blessed that it has been such a breeze so far. I mean compared to what it could be :)

Our puppy is doing great! He is so cute and fluffy and fun :) Even though he cries all night. We tried the "cry it out" method on him last night and he rewarded us with pooping in his kennel all over himself and his toys. Lucky us! Haha, I'm sure he'll learn soon enough that he needs to sleep in his kennel, but right now all he does is cry very loudly! Other than nighttime, he is a great puppy. Well behaved and learning "no" and "good job". He is starting to get use to his name and responds about 60% of the time.

I counted out the weeks, and my last chemo ever (cross my fingers) lands on Christmas Eve! How cool is that?! Isn't that the coolest Christmas present ever?!?!? I think it sure is.

Happy Halloween!

We got a Puppy!!!

Yesterday I met with the chemo doctor. She said we are going to keep the exact same regimen and I start on MONDAY! Holy crapola I don't think I'm ready for it, but guess it doesn't matter if I'm ready or not. Yucky :) 

BUT the real reason I'm writing a post is to show off our new PUPPY!!!!! Holy moley I love him sooooo much :) No wonder people are all obsessed and annoying about their babies cuz man everything our little puppy does is the cutest thing ever! I love when he drinks water and when he hops through the grass like a bunny rabbit and when he sleeps and when he takes a bath and when he looks at me and.....etc. etc. =)

I will let the pictures do the talking now, cuz he is the cutest ever. Oh and we decided on the name Picasso Koda. But he will go by Koda all the time. Koda comes from Dakota which means "friend" or "ally" in Sioux. We liked the name Picasso too so its an honorary name.

Trey isn't all too fond of his new friend yet, but they played a little

I'm the happiest person in the world!

Kalina Fillet

Well, I am still just healing. There isn't really much to say or write about, but I know lots of people are wondering how I am doing. I have really been doing pretty great. I get up and down the stairs great (good thing, since I live in the basement) even though I am pretty winded by the time I get to the top. I haven't taken any pain killers for 3 days now! So that is pretty awesome. I am REALLY sick of my online classes. My math class has been so much work and it is suddenly a ton more work. We have two huge projects along with assignments due every other day. It is crazy and making me feel a little overwhelmed.

A lot of people think that I say I am doing much better than I really am. I don't know why people think this. I really am doing well. Seriously. I am tired and don't have a ton of energy, but I am plenty fine to run to the grocery store or go out to lunch. I am not in any pain, nor have I pain for a while. My stomach is still pretty sore and it is tender to stretch it out.

Also, my hair is coming back! And my eyebrows are coming in with a vengeance! Like seriously I have Chewbacca eyebrows, its crazy. I really enjoyed not having to shave. In fact, I forgot that shaving was a thing to do until I looked at my pits one day and found a forest! Yuck. Haha. So I've had to start shaving my pits and sort of my legs. Its pretty lame :) My new head hair is sooooo soft and fuzzy and fun to play with! It's so sad its going to come back just in time for me to lose it again. Oh well! I have a doctor's appointment on Friday morning with my chemo doctor. So I should find out then exactly when I am starting chemo back up and if it will be the same regimen as before (although I am pretty sure its going to be. That's what she said when I was in the hospital).

So, I don't have much else to say, but I will write more when we get our PUPPY!!!!!!! :) I am so so so excited and I can't even wait. Saturday is only 3 1/2 days away!

Healing at Home

I got to come home on Tuesday! Best day ever. It actually wasn't that good of a day, I was sick and sore and not feeling very well, but I'd much rather feel like that at home than in the hospital!

Leaving the hospital

It has taken me a long time to write a post about everything because I don't really have anything great to say about the hospital stay. It sucked. Being in the hospital sucks. It is miserable and uncomfortable and noisy. Yeah, the nurses are all super nice and they'd do anything for you. They try to make the stay as good as possible. But its just not fun. What was fun though was when my mom's dog Gizmo got to come visit me! He was a wuss and all nervous and weird being in the hospital but it was fun to have him come anyway.

Before I left, I also drew a picture for my friend Jennifer who got surgery the same day as me. She was two doors down. I thought we'd see a lot more of each other in the hospital but we both laid in bed too much instead haha.

I am so happy being at home in my own bed, on my own couch, with no one waking me up every 4 hours to check my blood pressure and heart rate. No more beeping IV bags saying "infusion complete". No more beautiful hospital gown. No more waking up at 5am to the prick of a needle so they can run blood tests on you (every single morning!). However, I did make it out of the hospital without having to get a bloody NG tube shoved down my nose and throat!!!!! That was the absolute best part of this surgery :)

I can't wait to get my puppy!! It seems like that is all I think about and everyone keeps asking me about it. I think we're going to pick him up next Saturday. He'll be almost 7 weeks old by then. He is soooo cute. Yesterday we went to visit him and it made me so happy. Then we bought him some puppy food and the cutest little Halloween Frankenstein sweater :) he he he. We also got him some shampoo cuz man he stinks! He's living in a barn with a bunch of other dogs right now so the first thing that's happening when he gets home is a bath.

Anyway, I am healing up nicely. Today I got my staples out! YES. I hated those things. Not only did they look hideous, but I feel so much better without them in. I am still sore and move around slowly, but I am not in a lot of pain. I finally was able to eat a decent amount of food Wednesday, and today I am eating pretty good. In all, I feel pretty good, but I can't wait until I can move around with no limitations. It is definitely harder coming out of this second surgery, last time was easier to go with the flow and not be so antsy and frustrated. I know I'll be better in no time though! Hopefully next week I can move around and not be sore every time I try to bend over or stretch my tummy.

Peace.

Staples are the New Zipper

HI. Today is my 4th day being in the hospital. It's hard to write posts in the hospital so sorry I haven't updated since surgery! Also I apologize now for spelling and grammatical errors....my brain is all fuzzy :)

The surgery on Tuesday went great! It was only about 3 hours long which was a little shorter than expected. The removed my uterus, ovary, all surrounding lining, 2 spots on my liver and a section of my diaphragm. The doctors feel very confident that they removed all visible evidence of cancer and that chemotherapy will take care if there is any remaining. And they remembered to take pictures!!! I have a picture of my liver, of them holding me open, and of my uterus and ovary in a bucket. It's pretty cool but I didn't think everyone would want to see them so I didn't put them on my blog. The doctors got quite a laugh out of my zipper tattoo, they really liked it.

Headed to the hospital

The chemo doctor hasn't quite decided what our future course of treatment may be. They will probably change one of the drugs I'm on to something else, and I will probably have 12 more weeks to finish instead of 9, but that could all very likely change. She also said that they can start chemo as soon as 2 weeks after surgery! But they will wait 3-4 for me

I have been kind of mobile. In the mornings I am pretty awake and alert and able to get out of bed or at least be awake and visit. But the past couple days by 2 I am completely wiped out and pretty much sleep the rest of the day!! So sorry to any visitors that have come and I was just sleeping the whole time. A lot of people have been asking my parents if they can come visit. Please just direct all questions to me or Sterling. We are fine to answer questions. I have been fine having visitors, but like I said I have slept through most of them.

me sleeping. All these pictures kind of look the same....sorry

Yesterday my beautiful cousin Shaeley came and we did a Halloween craft!!!! It was so much fun! I had such a good time, it was such a fun thing to do and easier than just trying to have conversation the whole time.

She spray painted mason jars and then we painted cool Halloween things on them.

Today I finally showered!! Well got washed with a washcloth...but it felt so good to get washed and put a clean gown on. I luckily haven'r been sick/nauseous at all yet which is awesome. And this morning my stomach was making gurgling noises which means it wants to start working! I have been able to eat popsicles and smoothies. I think I am doing much better than last time but I think I am in more pain. They cut me good! For those of you who haven't seen this picture on Facebook, here is a picture of my new scar. It stapled shut with 43 staples! Yikes, I can only imagine getting them taken out!

Hope I keep feelin' good and that I can go home soon! I CANT WAIT TO GET MY PUPPY!!!!!!

Zipped Up and Ready to Go

Well, today was my last day before surgery! I have to be to the Huntsman at SIX IN THE MORNING. Holy cow, who do these doctors think they are? At least I won't have to wait around all morning for it. Surgery is at 7:30.

I went for my last run for a couple months this morning. It was a balmy 30 degrees! It was really nice to get out one last time for a while. Sterling has been so awesome and has been running with me every day for a week or two.

Me and my best friend Try

I also got to go to lunch with my family. We ate at Corner Bakery. Then I had to finish up a ton of homework since I am still in online classes. I got it all finished though! Phew, such a relief.

Then I got to have FHE with one of my bestest friends Brooke. Her and her husband came to see our new house. It was fun to catch up.

So.....this is what the doctors are going to lift up my hospital gown and find:

The zipper will go over my current scar, and the dotted lines will go up to my sternum. The two notes say "Don't forget to take pictures!" and "Please don't let me have a colostomy bag!"  

hahaha, I wonder if they will think I am funny or if they will be annoyed because they have to clean it off. I will take a picture of my actually stomach tomorrow, but I didn't want the marker to smear in my sleep. In case you don't know, they are going to be doing a full hysterectomy, removing 2-3 spots on my liver and possibly a spot near my colon. The surgery is scheduled for 7:30am and will last anywhere from 4-6 hours. Well, they told me 4 but I'm sure it will be longer than that.

I am definitely dreading it A LOT more than last time since I know more what to expect this time. It is a lot harder going in knowing how miserable it is! But I also know better what to bring and I am more determined to get out of there fast! I have made it a goal to walk a mile every day, even if it takes me all day to do it. A mile is 12 laps around the hallway so I could go 2 laps every 6 hours.

Wish me luck! Think about me! They are cutting me open all the way to my sternum!!! Yucky :( :(

Puppies, friends, chickens, soccer....

On September 28th, Sterling's birthday we visited the Utah County Animal Shelter. We found this super cute blue heeler puppy and took him outside to play with us. He was so much fun and so soft and he loved playing tug-of-war with me :) I would have loved to get him, but he is going to grow up to be too big for us right now. But he was sure fun to play with!

Now for the REAL puppy.......

This is probably our future puppy!!!!!!!!!!! He is only 2 weeks old in this picture and you can't take them away from their mommies until they are at least 6 weeks. Which will be perfect timing for me to be all recovered from surgery (*fingers crossed*). This litter has four puppies and when they are ready we get first pick. This was our favorite so far, but it could change in 4 more weeks!

These guys are the same type of puppy as the one we will get but they are about 3 months old.

I CANT WAIT TO GET A PUPPY!!!! He's gonna love me soooo much and follow me around and go running with me and snuggle me all day long :) Yay! I have the coolest mom ever that she wants to get him for me. It seems like EVERY single time I get on Facebook I have another friend announcing they are pregnant. Everyone in the world is having kids and all I'm having is a hysterectomy. It sucks. But a puppy will make me sooooo happy :) Yay!!!

I also got the opportunity to play with my friend Cesia! She's so cool and fun and she has chickens!! Chickens are pretty cool and really soft to pet. See how pretty hers are?!

We went to lunch and played with her chickens and then we did the cutest best craft ever!

Look at these amazing pieces of art. Seriously, aren't these incredible? And so perfect. It was really fun and now I have cute Halloween decorations.

On Friday, October 5th I had the amazing opportunity to be part of the UVU soccer team's pink game. Since October is breast cancer awareness month, each team at UVU has a "pink" game where they fund-raise money for a cause or person in the community that needs it. They were so thoughtful as to include me and another awesome girl who has leukemia. I am so lucky to have such an amazing support group. It really makes me feel so loved to have so many people thinking about me. Thank you to the UVU soccer team, you guys really made my night, it was so fun to watch you WIN!!

I got a signed poster and soccer ball from the team and an awesome pink shirt that says "Stronger: Pink for a purpose"

I want people to know how much your support means to me. I don't know how people can make it through cancer treatments without outside help financially and emotionally. Every single donation and every note, comment or email has helped me. Especially as I prepare for surgery again it has been so nice to have people lifting me up. Thank you!

Check back Monday to see my surprise for the surgeons on Tuesday :)

Race T-shirts and Lost & Found

Everybody! So sorry to the same day registrants that didn't get t-shirts. All the seasoned race people told us only to order like 10 extra so that's all we did :) But we did finally get all the shirts ordered for the people that registered same day!

My mom has them and they will be available for pick-up at 2104 E. Fort Union Blvd. from 8:30 am to noon on Friday Oct. 5. PLEASE pick them up, they are super cute and we don't want to be stuck with them, especially because you already paid for it.

UTAH COUNTY: For those of you in Utah County, you can pick them up after Friday night at my new house in Cedar Hills and I will also come to Utah Valley University sometime....


We really want everybody to have their shirts, they are super cute and we ordered shirts for everybody that paid.

If for some reason none of these pick-up times work for you, message me and we will see if we can work something out.

Also, we found a pair of women's sunglasses. If they are yours, message me so I can get them back to you!

Race Recap

Phew I have been BUSY. So busy. We were packing all week, moved into my in-laws on Wednesday, Sterling's birthday on Friday (I forgot to get pics, sad), and the race on Saturday.

I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everybody who was so incredibly supportive and generous. I cannot believe the amount of people that showed up to the race, the amount of people that donated and the amount of people that stepped in to help the race be a success. I am so so humbled, I cannot even begin to express the gratitude I have for everyone. It is ridiculous the number of people that helped in one way or another. I wish I could name every single person but it would be in the tens of thousands and I would leave people out. I have hundreds of thank you notes to write and I just want to tell you, if you don't get a thank you note, please don't be offended! I tried so hard to keep track of everybody that I need to send one to and I know I am going to leave out a ton of people :( I wish I could personally thank each and every person but it is impossible.

The race was so much fun Saturday!! I had the funnest time ever and I ran pretty fast! It was almost the fastest 3 miles I have run since having surgery. I couldn't have done it without everyone cheering me the whole way and my two favorite guys right next to me. Thanks Dad and Ster for running next to me the whole time :)

We had 463 total registrants and 83 people that registered the morning of. Sorry for those that had to wait in line and almost didn't or didn't get registered in time!! We didn't expect so many many people and the police made us start the race because we couldn't have the road blocked off that long. Also, to those people that didn't get their shirt yet, they will be ready on Friday. You can contact me, Trudy Zufelt or Wendy Hone to get those (email me to get the contact info).

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. I got so many compliments, so I think everyone enjoyed it. I have to thank all the companies and people that sponsored the race too. We had so many companies that were incredible generous that I just want to give them all a shout out: Creamies (yum), Daniels Chocolate (also yum), Dan's for the donuts, Utah Truffles for all the chocolates, Clear Channel for the radio ads, Staker Parson, Hair Restoration Center of Utah, Cardinal Mortgage Services, McDonalds for all the cookies, Destinations, Geneva Rock, Morgan Asphalt, Road ID, Intermountain Concrete Specialties, Granite Construction, Jessie Oberg Photography, Chocolate Chic, Hart's Gas Stations, the guy who painted the beautiful deer/elk pictures, everyone in my extended family, Massage Envy, Park City ski resort, and so so many more that donated to the silent auction that I can't think of right now but totally deserve to be named. We could not have done this race without our sponsors, putting on a race is expensive! Who knew.

To view the results go to http://runnercard.com/runner/data/1825/4310/Result/2012_Fallen_in_Chocolate_5K.htm
If you were an age group winner and did not get your prize please contact me!

And now for the fun part, pictures!!

My teammates are so cute!!! 

 

Love you Grandpa :)

I had so many people I didn't know that came to support me and wanted pictures with me. It was so cool

My former roommates! Awesome friends

My good friends from Jr. High and High School

Awesomest teammates ever

I already miss our old ward and it's only been 5 days since we moved :( I love you guys!

These people put in so much time, effort and money to make this day a success

UVU wrestlers are the coolest. 

Thank you to John McAtee and Taylor Jay Photographer for providing these pictures. They are both on Facebook and there are hundreds more if you want to check them out.

Again, I am so sorry if I left someone out or didn't get to talk to some people at the race. I got to see so many people and talk to so many of you, but I know there were people that came that I didn't get a chance to visit with. Thank you so so much everybody!