Well, it's been a busy week in the Austin household! Tim has several household projects going at once. He has built a wall to create a formal foyer, is digging a well to water the lawn with, in order to save money on our utility bill, and has been landscaping. On top of that, we are moving forward with the plans to build another bedroom and bath upstairs. Unfortunately, our engineer friend that is working on that project seems to be dragging his feet. I was hoping to have that project well on it's way by now, and finished before Christmas, and they haven't even started it yet! Grrrr.... Oh, and we haven't even gotten any of our Christmas decorations out yet!
Besides the chaos of living with constant construction, I have also been moving forward with my doctor's appointments. I had my post-surgery check-up on Tuesday, and everything came out fine. There was no new news from pathology, which is good! I am unhappy with how my breast is healing because I have a large divit removed, and the "girls" are definately not a matching set anymore. This bothers me probably more than it should. Tim says we'll just worry about reconstruction later if need be. That still doesn't make me less angry.... although I have nobody to really be angry at. The surgeon? No, because he had to take it all out. Me? No, because it's not my fault that I got breast cancer. Who else? Really, it's just the nature of the beast. I know that, but I don't have to like it.
I also went to see my Radiologist on Tuesday. She had some interesting news for me. She is the doctor that I really like. She is clear, takes her time explaining things, and just gives me an overall comfortable feeling. But, she had some surprising news for me. Apparently, they are going to do Chemo before doing radiation. I was expecting it to be the other way around, since I haven't even spoken to the doctor that does Chemo yet. But, she said that they usually start Chemo 3-4 weeks after surgery. So, let's do the math.... My surgery was the day before Thanksgiving, so that would put my first treatment right around Christmas. Merry Christmas to me.....
So, from what I understand, it takes a few weeks before you start feeling really crappy, so my Mom wants to visit and help out. I'm looking at having her come down and stay sometime after the new year. That way, she won't have to deal with the holiday travelers and by that time I will be feeling pretty crappy and will be needing some assistance. It'll be nice to see her again, too. I hate that it's under these circumstances. Plus, maybe the upstairs will be finished by the time she gets here, and she'll have her own place to stay! That would be nice. We'll see, though. That project is taking too long.
Meanwhile, on a lighter note.... Tim and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last night. It was very nice. For those of you that have known us for a long time.... it's a miracle that we are where we are right now. Because of all the crap we went through, we've grown up a lot, and have grown a lot closer. He is truely my best friend and I couldn't ask for anyone better. So, we went out to Carraba's for dinner, and enjoyed a wonderful meal including champagne and chocolate cake (heaven) for dessert. We went home stuffed to the gills, happy, and exhausted. lol! The years must be catching up to us. That's ok, though. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be spending my life with!
Oh, and one final note.... my last cigarette was on November 18th. Does that make me an official quitter yet??? lol! Anyways, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love, ~Brenda
