Almost 20 Months in Remission

I am pretty sure the official date I found out I was in remission was February 8th, 2008. I am also fairly positive I wrote about it on this blog so I could go back and find it for sure. I like reading back through my old posts for many reasons. I remember so much all that I felt. I remember the fear and uncertainty. I also remember the faith and the hope I had during that time.

It's hard to believe it's been almost 2 years. My blog has become less about me and the cancer so much as more about Gabbi and how she has grown. As I said in the news interview I did, she is a symbol of me getting better. Each day she grows, each new word she speaks, everything she does is just an outward sign of each second that goes by that I am cancer free. I'll judge the length of time by her age truly. She'll be 2 on November 17th if you can believe that. Oh how time flies. haha I'll be 2 years in remission on February 8th. My radiation treatments had started on December 3rd of 2007 and I had the scan once all of those were done. That's when we knew the cancer was gone. It's amazing. I lived in constant fear the first year that it would come back. As time goes by I have learned my body is not exactly the same. I am more tired, I have remaining pressure in my neck and throat though not as severe of course as before. I have adjusted to these changes. They are now me and they don't scare me. I know I'm not out of the woods as my doctor told me Hodgkin's is something that will always be with you. It could always come back and though that's scary he doesn't think mine will. He said it's something you'll watch for the rest of your life, hoping to never find it. I will live with that.

I look at the pictures and videos I have posted of Gabbi in the past month and it just makes me think. I had just finished chemo literally. My last chemo was October 23rd 2007. I delivered her November 17th 2007. I began daily radiation on the 3rd of December. My life was a whirlwind in those days. It was harder when it all stopped so suddenly. I enjoy my checkups now. I like seeing my doctor and the familiar nurses. I like chatting it up and showing off Gabbi. I love the drive and seeing the familiar sites. It's not so bad at all.

Just a little reminder of what my Gabbi looked like on that wonderful day in 2007!

I always loved this pic of Gabbi and Daddy







Please don't forget to vote for me. Remember the contest? I made a clickable picture on the right of my blog!

Just a Quick Note....A Car Crashed Into Gabbi's Daycare....

I posted this on my other blog and no, Gabbi was not there when this happened. The owner of the vehicle claimed their brakes went out. I pulled up to the daycare and saw this two days ago. I took the pic from inside my van when I pulled up. Someone just jumped the curb and sidewalk and crashed right into the building. I am just thinking wow. I am glad no one was hurt! There are almost always kids there. People walk up and down that sidewalk. There is an office on the other side.....not a classroom thankfully. Anyway I have been meaning to post about this. I was stunned.

And here is Gabbi after she gleefully stole my diet soda from Subway. Now I must stress I do not let her have soda...but I do on a rare occasion give her a sip. She wanted this so bad and she drinks from a straw so painfully slow that I just let her for the drive. She was so darn cute!



Oh and yes I painted her little fingernails pink to match mommy. haha It's her first time and let me tell you she loves it. She walks around saying "pretty!" while holding out her hands.

She Was So Happy

Gabbi was very happy in that video I made yesterday. After that I picked up the girls from school and then we had to go to the doc for my oldest daughter Lexi. Due to the fact that Gabbi would not lay down when I wanted her to and the fact that I had to get the kids from school, run to the doc myself for a follow up on my TB test and then take Lexi to the doc, Gabbi did not get a nap.

Well on the way home she fell asleep, for about 10-15 minutes then she awoke with the most painful screech you have ever heard. It was the cry of someone who was not feeling well. I noticed her nose was totally stuffed up. It had not been earlier! I know she has been working on cutting at least FOUR teeth and she has never ever dealt with teething well. My other girls barely noticed it. Poor Gabbi does very poorly with it. Even ibuprofen never helped much. I bought teething tablets and they were heaven sent. It was like almost instant relief for her the first time I tried them so now I keep a constant supply.

Anyway we got home and she was crying pretty good. I tried to give her the teething tablets which she'll normally gladly take but she was so upset she wouldn't eat them. Thankfully they are almost instant dissolving so I just managed to keep her mouth closed long enough for them to dissolve and she couldn't do a thing about it. haha They helped. Within in 10 minutes she was happy again.

I sent her to bed that night after the tablets and some Motrin but she still woke up around 2:30 a.m. She has done this the past two or 3 nights. Now on top of that she cannot breathe through her nose at all. She has been sneezing and sniffling and all that. It came on so fast! My poor baby just fought taking a nap SO hard but I knew she'd be miserable if I didn't make her. So even though she screamed at me from her bed I held out and she did fall asleep. We'll both be thankful come tonight. She sleeps better at night IF she has a good nap. I am prepared for her to wake up in the night. She comes in and just sleeps with me rather than fight to put her back to bed. (which doesn't ever work) I still always put her in her crib first. Eventually the teeth will come through and she'll be back to her old self. I don't know what this cold will turn into though. I went to the daycare today and one kid had GLOBS of green goo coming out of her nose. I figure that is where Gabbi got it. As long as it's a minor cold we'll deal with it!

This is what having children is about folks. One minute everything is happy, lalalala, the next you never know what will happen!

Gabbi's Version of a Beyonce Video

I fell in love with the little Beyonce dancing baby boy. (Just right click and open in a new window if you aren't familiar with that video.) He's so cute. From behind he reminds me of Gabbi but she's got some chunkier thighs! haha Anyway Gabbi actually loves that song and sings along to it all the time. It's pretty repetitive (though I do enjoy it) so she finds it easy to sing along to. She also likes to watch Beyonce dance. I admit that girl can move. Anyway if you've heard the song you know the uh uh oh, wuh uh oh, part. I am not sure exactly how it goes but you know what I mean. Gabbi will sing to it loudly and it surprises me how dead on her uh ohs are. haha She's cute and yes I'm a bit biased but I tried to record her on my webcam. She pays more attention to herself on the webcam unfortunately. I tried to minimize it and she gets angry. So I kept it up and she apparently finds herself adorable as shown by the kiss blown at the end of the video. Regardless she is cute and if you want to see Gabbi in action, listen closely and you can hear her singing along.