Healing at our Happy Place: making GOOD 2017 memories: Mar, May, Aug, Oct, Dec TRs (3/24 UPDATE)

[kittylady1972]

Dang it. Can you go through any more stuff? I have a friend who, because her mom and sister both got breast cancer and she had the gene, had both removed. If you would like to get in touch with her if you have question, I can make it happen.

My mom was the one who fought for her sister to NOT do hospice. It was so traumatic for the rest of the family. Your FIL will eventually understand and hopefully the doctors can really explain everything to him.

Well you already know the answer to that one don't you now? Actually my brother's wife has the BRAC1 gene and after she had their two kids (my little nephews) she had a double masectomy and a hysterectomy as well. She was taking no chances. If I recall, my mom tested negative for that gene or she would have told me otherwise I'm sure. However I've already decided if this is anything even remotely close to cancer, I'll be looking into having both removed as well. I cannot go through this and honestly I'm good with getting rid of them. I told that to my husband and he said he'll support me in whatever I decide.

I definitely think hospice is a great resource, it's just that my FIL is NOT QUITE THERE yet. Since yesterday my MIL made a bit of a rebound after being taken off some of her meds, or at least weaning down on them, it's just made him more determine to keep fighting with her. She may get out of the hospital today, but I have no idea how he plans to get her in/out of his house with his stairs on Friday when he has to take her to dialysis again.

My mom has had lumps in the past and they were only calcium deposits. I hope this is all it is or nothing at all. I will be thinking about you guys this week.

Believe me, the kinds thoughts are much appreciated. I recognize that something like 80% I think of these things turn out to be nothing. However the odds have been against us for so many things in the past, and I have such a strong family history of cancer, I still have to recognize the fact that my chances might not be as great.

Sorry my previous post was so jumbly. I dislike typing on my kindle and it kept getting stuck last night. My thoughts are with you. and I am sending you a virtual hug.

Thanks so much and no problem at all. I find when responding on my phone or tablet I do the same thing, and I don't think to go back and check spelling or words, and then I read things later and I'm like that's not what I wanted to say!

 

[iheartbelle87]

First all, I am so sorry you're going through all of this! I am keeping ALL of you in my prayers <3

And now onto happy stuff...can't believe we are less than 60 days away from our trip! I may have mentioned I was going to surprise my family by leaving a day earlier than planned, but I did tell my husband because I was logged into his account to make flight changes.

Yes for less than 60 days! 47 days for you, right? We're at 46!

Let's face it...I know I have a problem that many other people have here as well.

Change-vacation-itis.

Guilty as charged!

The flight changes resulted in money back in SW credit for ONE flight, points back to my husband's SWA account for a future flight (points I purchased that now aren't needed...but we will use them) and no additional money to me or from me for the other two flights. Three different reservations means it's risky to change them but it worked out fine.

Yes!! I just changed our SW flights too and got $60 in travel vouchers! I'm glad it worked out for you with the three different reservations !

After lunch, we'll head over to check into Beach Club Resort and then maybe have some pool time there.

Yay!! Maybe I'll see you there! Do you have snap chat? I'm ashleegoulette on there! I'll be snapping all throughout my vacation lol.

When crowds get crazy we'll head back to the resort for pool time. We can grab lunch at our resort. Around 3pm or so, we'll head out to EPCOT probably via boat where I'll have my first DisBoards meetup and dinner with her and her son at Via Napoli!

YAY!! Amazing plans! Plus you get to walk (or boat) to Epcot! Yipee!! I've never tried Via Napoli, but it looks delicious!

The doctors and nurses refuse to listen to them regarding what kind of care she needs and want to treat her with things that we know won't make a difference based on experience. It's frustrating for them. I assume they will at least line up an appointment for her to get dialysis there at the hospital but beyond that...if she is released and can't walk...I don't know what their next steps will be at this point.

I'm so sorry you guys have to go through this <3

The doctor on call was fantastic. He could not have been better about explaining the situation and speaking to the family with the options at this point.

Thank goodness the doc was amazing!

That's where my day got worse as my doctor detected a lump during my routine exam.

Oh my lanta! You have been through ENOUGH! I hope you can get this taken care of before the trip so that you can truly relax

 

[kittylady1972]

First all, I am so sorry you're going through all of this! I am keeping ALL of you in my prayers <3
Yes for less than 60 days! 47 days for you, right? We're at 46!

Thank you...we are at 46 days now!

Yay!! Maybe I'll see you there! Do you have snap chat? I'm ashleegoulette on there! I'll be snapping all throughout my vacation lol.

I don't do snapchat...have it installed but it's the one social media tool I haven't taken the time to figure out!

YAY!! Amazing plans! Plus you get to walk (or boat) to Epcot! Yipee!! I've never tried Via Napoli, but it looks delicious!

We haven't done Via Napoli in a long time so I'm definitely looking forward to it!

I'm so sorry you guys have to go through this <3

Thanks.

Oh my lanta! You have been through ENOUGH! I hope you can get this taken care of before the trip so that you can truly relax

We have...and I don't even go into more details. I feel like this PTR/TR is getting sad enough with my life event updates.

 

[kittylady1972]

So I am going to keep my sad life updates to a minimum here because really who wants to hear more and more BAD stuff anyway? This is a place for happy thoughts right??

All I will say for right now is that I am heavily researching surgical options and will most likely be discussing them with my primary care doc and requesting referrals. It's probably too late for me to have surgery scheduled before vacation so most likely it will be very soon after we return, so we will take this vacation as an opportunity to really enjoy ourselves! However it does depend on the outcome of the biopsy I'm having done today, results to be returned to me no later than Wednesday. I think no matter what happens, I can't go through this again and surgery is the only thing that will make me feel better. It will mean giving up many things that I enjoy in the short term but that's okay.

Anyway no other updates to report at this point. I'm pretty happy with our current May plans, we still don't have good prices for our return flights in October and won't worry about our December trip for a while.

 

[iheartbelle87]

However it does depend on the outcome of the biopsy I'm having done today, results to be returned to me no later than Wednesday. I think no matter what happens, I can't go through this again and surgery is the only thing that will make me feel better. It will mean giving up many things that I enjoy in the short term but that's okay.

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!

 

[ariane37]

Not what I wanted to read when I came to see your updates

but my FIL pretty much admitted he was not ready for hospice and to give up fighting even though there is zero hope of recovery

When my grandmother was suffering from Alzheimer's in the late '80's there were so many horrible things that happened. Some wouldn't have happened if my grandfather had made decisions quicker but like you said, it's hard for loved ones to give up the fight and admit there's little to no hope.

. Since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer initially back in 2005, I've had regular annual mammograms and did have one last year which was fine. Now I will go back this Friday to have a diagnostic mammogram to determine what this might be.

Nothing I can say except I hope your May trip is filled with magic, and that when you get back, whatever you need to do to be healthy gets done with as little disruption and pain to your daily life as possible xoxo.

 

[kittylady1972]

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!

Thank you so much. It means a lot to have so much support.

Not what I wanted to read when I came to see your updates

Not what I wanted to post here...but it is what it is and all I can do now is accept it and prepare to deal with it. My mom battled cancer for 11 years, not constantly but more often than not, and I've trying to mentally prepare myself now as well. I always ALWAYS knew I was most likely going to get it as well with such a strong family history. I just wasn't expecting it until much later in life I guess.

When my grandmother was suffering from Alzheimer's in the late '80's there were so many horrible things that happened. Some wouldn't have happened if my grandfather had made decisions quicker but like you said, it's hard for loved ones to give up the fight and admit there's little to no hope.

I agree...it's very hard and right now I can no longer even think about anybody else unfortunately.

Nothing I can say except I hope your May trip is filled with magic, and that when you get back, whatever you need to do to be healthy gets done with as little disruption and pain to your daily life as possible xoxo.

Thanks so much. I'm determined to make this trip special...as well as every other trip we have planned for 2017. When I began this PTR, I only thought we'd be healing from the loss of one person. I had no idea we would have so much more to deal with in 2017 but it just makes me more determined to enjoy every moment we have now. While I don't have official results yet, I already read the initial lab report from the sonogram done Friday and during yesterday's biopsy the tech that worked in the room with the doctor even mentioned she had just had something similar. I know she couldn't tell me the results but based on our conversations...I just know that they will be positive for cancer. I'm just reading all I can about things right now.

 

[kittylady1972]

So here I am, beginning a new chapter of my life titled "After Cancer Diagnosis". I've been mentally preparing myself since last week so the news last night from my doctor wasn't exactly shocking. I'm going to wait to tell the kids until I have a plan for treatment. They really don't need this on their plates right now.

I can say that we will do everything we can do to make this May trip happen, but if surgery ends up making it too difficult then we will postpone it until probably August and combine it with our current Vero Beach plans. We will just have to see.

This has certainly prompted a lot of sudden lifestyle changes for me. I'm changing my diet and exercise plans for the better. It's the push I needed to do that.

****************

So my daughter was looking at the MDE App on her phone last night and checking out all of our plans. As far as I know, I'm not planning on changing ANYTHING right now for May. I think I like everything about our current plans. She seemed pretty happy at least with our ride selections for now.

I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to this trip, this escape from reality. It can't get here soon enough for me.

 

[xlsm]

So here I am, beginning a new chapter of my life titled "After Cancer Diagnosis". I've been mentally preparing myself since last week so the news last night from my doctor wasn't exactly shocking. I'm going to wait to tell the kids until I have a plan for treatment. They really don't need this on their plates right now.

I can say that we will do everything we can do to make this May trip happen, but if surgery ends up making it too difficult then we will postpone it until probably August and combine it with our current Vero Beach plans. We will just have to see.

This has certainly prompted a lot of sudden lifestyle changes for me. I'm changing my diet and exercise plans for the better. It's the push I needed to do that.

****************

So my daughter was looking at the MDE App on her phone last night and checking out all of our plans. As far as I know, I'm not planning on changing ANYTHING right now for May. I think I like everything about our current plans. She seemed pretty happy at least with our ride selections for now.

I can't even tell you how much I am looking forward to this trip, this escape from reality. It can't get here soon enough for me.

I'm so sorry to hear this.

You've got me over here in your corner though, wishing you the best and I know the other Dis-ers will be as well.

I hope you get a treatment plan worked out quickly and that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

I also hope May stays on the table and you get to have your escape - you deserve it!!

 

[piglet1979]

I am so sorry. Hopefully you get your treatment worked out quickly and you will still be able to go on your trip. I will keep you and your family in my prayers as you take on this new journey.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I am so sorry! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Keep it positive!!!!

 

[dalmatian7]

Thinking of you

 

[kittylady1972]

I'm so sorry to hear this.
You've got me over here in your corner though, wishing you the best and I know the other Dis-ers will be as well.
I hope you get a treatment plan worked out quickly and that everything goes as smoothly as possible.
I also hope May stays on the table and you get to have your escape - you deserve it!!

Thanks so much. I definitely am more than ready for a vacation right now.

I am so sorry. Hopefully you get your treatment worked out quickly and you will still be able to go on your trip. I will keep you and your family in my prayers as you take on this new journey.

Thanks so much. All indications as of now are the May trip will happen as planned.

I am so sorry! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Keep it positive!!!!

Thanks...working on it I promise!

Thinking of you

Thank you!

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok, thought I'd pop in and provide a quick update on me as well as our plans moving forward.

Yesterday was a long day at Johns Hopkins. I'm very thankful to live so close to such a top notch medical facility. Once I was diagnosed there was no doubt where I'd go for treatment. They did not disappoint in pretty much every aspect and I have a full support team who were absolutely wonderful yesterday. The current plan, as of now (because we are still awaiting some more detailed labwork) are that I will proceed with lumpectomy surgery most likely in early May. I discussed my travel plans and have been assured that I should be more than okay for travel by that time. I'll still be doing some healing but there shouldn't be any restrictions on my plans. I'll most likely have radiation after that, but it won't begin until I've healed from surgery so maybe June? Other possible treatments, such as hormone therapy or chemo could still be on the table at some point, hormone more likely than chemo it seems.

I managed to hold to together pretty well most of yesterday until the very end, when I met with a final team member who will oversee my overall care. She was great, a survivor herself with family members who have also battled breast cancer. She is available for me to call or email at any time and provided resources for me and my whole family as well.

And speaking of family, we did sit down last night and tell the kids. We assured them that my prognosis is very very good, this was all caught early, and they shouldn't worry but if they had questions/concerns they could talk to us at any time. I think they handled it well. How much more can we put on them?? I'd like to hope we are done now.

Of course, my MIL ended up back in the hospital again on Wednesday, and they are doing more tests on her today so we'll see what happens there. I don't know what these tests will tell them, because physically and mentally she is just up and down every single day. We planned to try to spend Easter day with his parents but we have nothing planned right now until we know they will be home and up for it.

**************************

So May is on and will be an emotional as well as physical healing time for me in particular. Nothing has changed so far and at this point I'm just going go keep things as they are and hope that surgery is scheduled as early in May as possible.

We are keeping Vero Beach on the table for August, as that will most likely be after I'm completed additional treatments over the summer. We are contemplating a short Disney cruise in August instead of the Grand Cayman trip but we are waiting to book all of that as I think we have plenty of time.

October still remains on the table as well...and possibly December too.

 

[piglet1979]

Yay!!! for your trip still being a go. I am sure it will be a much needed break. I am glad to hear that it sounds like you have a good prognosis. Stay positive and I will continue to pray for you guys.

 

[kittylady1972]

QUICK UPDATE

So yesterday I read on another PTR that the hours at MK had been extended. This was to be expected anyway (MK closing at 9pm on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend? That's crazy!) so I had to go check for myself. Sure enough...many extended park hours as well as AK having some extra EMH evenings as well, I'm sure due to the expected crowds with the opening of Pandora.

First order of business was to modify the few FP+ reservations I had for Friday evening. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 6:25pm at MCO. Let's hope we don't sit on the tarmac for 30+ minutes like what happened during my March "surprise" trip with my daughter. That was insane. We are not checking luggage, so we should be able to head right to the rental car area and be on the road hopefully no later than 7:30pm.

Initially I had I think a 7pm-8pm FP reservation which I knew was pretty impossible. I also had two additional FP+ reservations, the latest one being 8:10pm-9pm on 7DMT. That was probably the only one we would make *IF* we arrived at our resort, checked in and were up for getting out for a while. With the hours extended to 11pm it now means we could maybe have about 3 hours in the parks that night, and I now have 3 FP+ reservations scheduled: 7DMT, Space MT & BTMRR...all the favorites! Still not sure if I'll be able to handle some of the more "intense" rides due to surgery recovery but we'll see. I'm fine with letting the family enjoy them though!

So the other changes included Monday having both an early entry morning AND an extra Magic Hours evening at AK Park! My current plan that day was to arrive for the early morning (which is now 7am...let's see how that goes), hit some of the new stuff at the park, then head back to our resort for some pool and chill time. We have a 3pm dining reservation at Beaches and Cream and then afterwards we'd head BACK to AK to do our 3 FP+ reservations (Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest and the later 10pm Rivers of Light showing) and then probably head back. Now the park is open until 1am. Considering we have NEVER been at AK in the evening, this should be interesting. We'll see how long we can hang.

Nothing planned for Tuesday morning, our last "full" day at the parks. My thought was perhaps a waterpark but we'll see. Our FP reservations are all at MK after 5pm so we can wing it for the most part that day at least until that time. I figured we'd spend our last evening at MK so we would head over for those rides and MAYBE eat at Skipper Canteen as planned...or just grab something quick and do more rides.

Oh I also rebooked my rental car AGAIN...saving a few more dollars and moving back to the rental company I usually use (DOLLAR). That's my May trip update...now we are at 38 days away!

************

Other trips updates...well I continue to try to find prices for our October flights but no luck so far. I still have our flight down to Florida booked but not the return flight. I'll just keep checking since we are still pretty far away from the trip and I have to believe prices will drop at SOME point.

August...that trip continues to change. At one point last week I was thinking of doing a Disney cruise and then heading to Vero Beach. That has not been booked. While I would love to do Grand Cayman, I'm now not so sure I'll have the time off to do the trip I wanted to do with taking time off for medical reasons. Plus I really would like to spend some time with my dad if he's going to be at home in August, so it may be better to head down to Vero Beach, do a few days there that we have booked, then come back to NC and hang with my dad and do some Myrtle Beach time. That's the most likely scenario for August but we'll see as there is still plenty of time to make decisions on that trip.

And of course December...we'll most likely do another long weekend during that time as well just because I want to experience Christmas at Disney again. I can't book December until May anyway.

Then comes the other thing we are considering...not so much Disney but there is some Disney possibilities...and that's a trip to Aulani. We have friends who have a timeshare presentation vacation that they need to book in Hawaii. We talked about it over the weekend and are thinking next June so celebrate my oldest graduation from HS and my youngest graduating from middle school. They said they could upgrade the condo to a large enough one to hold all of us. It happens to be right next to Aulani, so we may also book a few nights there for fun as well. Hawaii has been a trip my kids have wanted to do forever but thinking about forking out that airfare just makes me cringe. However, sometimes things happen that make you realize just how much we should make the most of our lives while we can, and so I think we've moved Hawaii up to the front of the list and we'll probably do our best to make that happen next summer.

That's where we are right now, so many things to look forward to this year despite the fact that life keeps throwing so many unhappy things our way. More time at our Happy Place is needed to balance that all out!

 

[kittylady1972]

CLOSER AND CLOSER....

We at just over 5 weeks away from our trip now. Wow...so hard to believe that it will be here before we know it. I'm so looking forward to just relaxing by the pool and spending quality time with the family, and leaving behind the worries that are happening now.

My MIL continues to hang in there, but there's definitely been more of a decline in the last week or so and several falls and visits to the E/R so it continues to be a sad situation. We have no way to predict how much time she has left of course, but we do feel like it's getting shorter for her. My FIL's birthday is next month, right before we leave, and I would be surprised if she holds on for that much longer but you NEVER know.

I'm still waiting for an update on my surgery dates as well. If I don't hear anything today I plan to call and check into that.

*********************

Now for the fun stuff...at home we've been working on a kitchen redo of sorts. I have a kitchen table that was in pretty bad shape after years of kids doing crafts and such on it...which was fine as I knew when we bought it that it would take a beating. Last thing I wanted to worry about was furniture being ruined. So I've been refinishing it myself and hopefully I'll have it done this weekend. We are also looking into redoing our kitchen island and countertops, so last night we ordered the new cabinets we needed for our island replacement. The should be here in about 4 weeks (yes anyone else realize that timeline...that we could be in the middle of that when we leave for vacation) and then my husband will put those in place. After that we'll order a new cooktop and countertops, which we have already priced out but the cabinets need to be in first. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all comes together.

*********************

I also forgot to mention the update to our October trip as well. Still no flights booked, but I'm seriously considering the possibility of extending our stay and leaving Monday instead of Sunday (we arrive on Wednesday night). I've also rented a 15 PASSENGER van for our time there! As it turns out, there's a good chance that there will be...14 of us all together for this trip so with that I/we could shuttle people around if we wanted to do so and the price was pretty good. We already have another family of 4 joining us for sure...they just told their two girls (who are close in age to my daughter and son) on Easter Day that they were going to Disney World! They have booked at Shades of Green and we will sponsor them. Another close friend and her husband, who just spent Easter day with us, also may go and she will bring her dad and her sister and nephew and also plan to stay at SOG. Plus there's the chance my FIL will want to join us also and we can get a room for him too. If this works out, it will be the largest group I've had to plan for, but that's okay...I've done 10 before and even 12...so it's all good.

May trip right now is pretty much set in stone. The only unknown right now is if my FIL will end up joining us last minute and if so I'll work on getting things arranged for him as much as possible.

 

[xlsm]

I'm so looking forward to just relaxing by the pool and spending quality time with the family, and leaving behind the worries that are happening now.

Yes! You definitely deserve a relaxing break for sure!! Nothing else gets my mind off of "regular" stuff like a visit to WDW. It's the only place I feel removed from worries.

Now for the fun stuff...at home we've been working on a kitchen redo of sorts. I have a kitchen table that was in pretty bad shape after years of kids doing crafts and such on it...which was fine as I knew when we bought it that it would take a beating. Last thing I wanted to worry about was furniture being ruined. So I've been refinishing it myself and hopefully I'll have it done this weekend. We are also looking into redoing our kitchen island and countertops, so last night we ordered the new cabinets we needed for our island replacement. The should be here in about 4 weeks (yes anyone else realize that timeline...that we could be in the middle of that when we leave for vacation) and then my husband will put those in place. After that we'll order a new cooktop and countertops, which we have already priced out but the cabinets need to be in first. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all comes together

I love refinishing furniture! I did our casual dining table when we bought our house, reupholstered the chairs, the whole nine yards. I think about replacing it all the time but then I think about all the time I put into it and back out.

I'm also familiar with being in the middle of projects right before a trip! We bought our house right before our 2014 trip and I decided to install chair rail in the dining room the day before we left for WDW. I'm not sure what I was thinking, LOL!!

I also forgot to mention the update to our October trip as well. Still no flights booked, but I'm seriously considering the possibility of extending our stay and leaving Monday instead of Sunday

Same for me on flights...the prices just seem crazy right now for some reason! We have our eye on one that is probably going to be perfect, but it will cause us to extend the trip by a day too. Not that I'm sad about that!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Yes! You definitely deserve a relaxing break for sure!! Nothing else gets my mind off of "regular" stuff like a visit to WDW. It's the only place I feel removed from worries.

I love refinishing furniture! I did our casual dining table when we bought our house, reupholstered the chairs, the whole nine yards. I think about replacing it all the time but then I think about all the time I put into it and back out.

I'm also familiar with being in the middle of projects right before a trip! We bought our house right before our 2014 trip and I decided to install chair rail in the dining room the day before we left for WDW. I'm not sure what I was thinking, LOL!!

Same for me on flights...the prices just seem crazy right now for some reason! We have our eye on one that is probably going to be perfect, but it will cause us to extend the trip by a day too. Not that I'm sad about that!!

I totally agree about needing a break. I only wish I had just "regular" boring life stuff to worry about, but that's not the case unfortunately. I've joined a club now where worry will probably become constant and I have to do my best to stay positive. It is not easy.

Yes furniture is definitely time consuming. I'm so looking forward to the finished product though.

URGH...those flights. Well the only good thing is that every time I check I see that the plane isn't even close to full..in fact it's mostly empty...on the flight that I think I may take back so I suspect in order to sell seats they will have to drop those prices at some point.

 

[kittylady1972]

35 DAYS!!


Not that I'm counting or anything. Decided last night I'd like to maybe squeeze in a trip to Sanaa...or maybe try Yak and Yeti...and so I've now booked BOTH for the trip. I'm not sure how I'll squeeze them in really but they are there.

Other than that...nothing has changed for the trip.

Nothing has changed for life yet. Spoke to my doctor/surgeon last night. Got some final pathology results back...some good, some not so good but trying to focus on the good parts. Should expect a call any day now to setup surgery, still on track for early May...and then expect to meet oncology doctors to discuss follow-up treatment plans.