Surviving Cancer

May 18th is a date I will never forget. On this day in 2022, I was knocking on death’s door. It was a day that I will NEVER have memories from, but my family and friends do. I am not going to go into detail about that awful, awful day, but if you would like a refresher please visit my previous blog post named “The trauma is STILL Real.” That blog chronicles my May 18, 2022 journey through the eyes of my husband.

If anything, this day is a reminder for me to simply, live. The way I view life has drastically changed since my near death experience. I really try to enjoy and embrace even the smallest things in life, because I know all too well how quickly life can be taken.

The past year has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride from myself and my family. I spent last summer recovering from my infection, and with a port still in my arm, it wasn’t much of a summer. I was finally able to receive my stem cell boost from my original donor in September. Ever since then, my blood counts have been normal. Normal is soooo GOOD in this instance. Fast forward to December. December the 2nd, to be exact. On this day, my husband’s and I’s dream of owning or home and planting roots, came true! We closed on our very first home, and we could not be happier. We feel so unbelievably fortunate and blessed to have found the perfect home, with the perfect yard, for our perfect little family.

In January. I said good-bye to my breast implants. Those things were nothing but a pain in the ass and I could not be happier with my choice to go flat. I haven’t felt this much myself since before cancer happened in 2019. I am flat and I flipping love it! I have so much more wardrobe freedom. No more underwire. No more bras. No boob sweat. Best of all, no more pain! My implants were always painful, uncomfortable, and foreign.

In February I started a brand new journey and started fostering for an animal rescue. Specifically, dogs. Even more specifically, pregnant or brand new mama dogs. Just before Valentines Day, we welcomed mama Shadow into our home. She had a big ole belly full of puppies, and I was beyond excited to try my hand at whelping. On February 28th, I helped mama Shadow birth and welcome 8 beautiful and healthy puppies into the world! It was one of the most amazing experiences and it will be something I remember forever! The puppies grew like weeds, and the process was challenging, messy, and amazing all at the same time. Before I knew it, it was time for them to start getting adopted. The timing happened to be perfect, because there was another pregnant dog coming into rescue that needed a safe place to have her pups. I was more than happy to welcome them into my home after my first litter was gone. Before I got mama into my care, she birthed her pups in rescue but at a holding facility. I got mama and her 6 puppies when they were just 2 days old. I now have a feisty group of male puppies to tend to! I wouldn’t trade it for the world. During the time I had mama Shadow, I also had several other foster dogs pass through my home briefly before moving on to other fosters or getting adopted.

In April, on the day my son turned 4, I celebrated not only his birth, but also my 1 year anniversary since having my CAR-T Cell therapy infusion. The recovery from this was, HARD. But this therapy is the reason I am in remission and am still considered cancer free! God works miracles. My cancer-free life, is nothing short of a miracle. After all I have been through, knowing I made it another year is truly miraculous! I can’t think of any other word that rightfully describes this new life of mine.

That pretty much sums up the major happenings of the last year. Now, here we are. My husband and I have so many projects going on at our new house. The list seems never ending. I wouldn’t trade it though. Shoveling rock sucks, but I wouldn’t trade it. We are making our home more, us. We are planting flowers, plants, vegetables, and trees. We are building and reconstructing. We are adding new things and taking away some old. We are exactly where we want to be.

Simply put, we are LIVING.