In the blink of an eye, everything can change!

So it has been a while since I last updated, almost four months to the date. A lot has happened since then from a health and life perspective. The health part may be a little clinical so I apologize for that!

Health - My last update was as of when I was receiving radiation for my brain lesions. Before the radiation of the brain, I had had one treatment of Gemcitabine a new kind of chemo that was paused when we found the brain lesions so that I could get the "Cyber Knife" radiation. When I returned from Harry Potter World I resumed the Gemcitabine regime for about two months. The first treatment of the new chemo was like sticking my finger in a socket and pretty much lost all my hair in a span of three days, so much for styling the chemo curl! While getting the chemo I had a couple of MRIs of the brain that thankfully showed the brain lesions remaining stable and even shrinking a little. My next brain MRI has been pushed back to three months because it has responded so well.

After two months of the Gemcitabine I had a CT scan done of the abdomen, unfortunately this CT scan showed progression of the cancer in my Peritoneum and Lungs. I included the picture below for all my non-medical people to see what the Peritoneum is... basically the inside of the belly skin.

Since the Gemcitabine did not seem to work great, the doctors decided to go back to the very first chemo that I received. The original chemo was a "blend" of three chemotherapy drugs shortened to be called Folfirinox (fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin), however this time around I am only going to receive the first two drugs (Folfiri) to give me better quality of life (read: less side effects) although my hair wont be growing back.

I have now done one treatment and remembered how much I hated the 48 hour backpack with the chemo pump...

The current plan is to do this for about two months and then do another CT scan to see if it is working to keep the cancer stable with my same quality of life. I can say that while the backpack is beyond annoying, I do seem to have more energy under the new regimen and definitely more appetite as the chemo does not mess with my sense of taste!

General Life - The last four months have been pretty good, I was able to visit with several friends new and old and receive quite a few visitors. Some of my outings/visits include: Trey Pike who I had not seen since fifth grade! Ruth Arellano a friend I met while I worked at Disney World (age 18) that now lives in Austin; Aimee Witherspoon dear friend from Team in Training; Melanie Fisher friend and friends sister; Leslie Morse life ling friend from college; my Dad (visited twice!); Sheryl Kowbuz who crazy nut drove down from Denver, and more. I am thankful for all the people who have taken the time to visit, or even send me goof thoughts and prayers. Also not to bribe... anyone who visits gets to pick pottery that I made while supplies last!

I was also able to take a couple of vacations and make progress on the remodel of my house (link to remodel blog: https://vpons1.wixsite.com/texican/post/hi-ho-hi-ho-it-s-off-to-work-we-go )

Walt Disney World - First vacation was in September to Walt Disney World with my Mom, Guicho, Drake and Kate. We went for about four days which was great fun as Kate is really into Mickey and friends. We also super cheesed it up with family T-shirts and ears! Her favorites being Minnie and Daisy Duck. During the trip I was able to get around in the scooter, and Disney gave me a special pass so that I did not have to wait too long in line! My favorite moments were the character dinners and watching Kate's reaction to the characters, especially Minnie and Daisy! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Puerto Vallarta - The second trip was with girlfriends from all aspects of my life, Lisa from High School, Holly and Leslie from College, Melanie from after College, and Sheryl from the PCAOB. The trip was in October and the weather in PV was phenomenal! The whole week was full relaxation with the backdoor facing the beach less that 20 yards away, an almost full time cook making delicious meals, and lots and lots of Mexican train (Okay this last part was not relaxing for Lisa and her competitive nature). We were also extremely lucky to witness baby turtles hatch and make their way to the ocean!