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| Me!! August 2015 |
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| Vidal Six ~ August 2014 |
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| February 2013~ 3 rounds of Chemo of 17 total. |
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| August 2013 |
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| November 2014 |
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| Carla and Phil March 2015 |
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| June 2015 |
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| July 2015 - Vidal children |
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| August 2015 |
Well, it's hard to believe......it’s 2016!!!! OMG!!!! I am 3.5
years post diagnoses, healthy and cancer free!! I have to have a mammogram
every 6 months and I have had some little medical pop-ups here and there but
I am cancer free!!! Yahoo!!!
A VERY dear friend of mine and I were
talking the other day and she made a good point. I should update my blog
for anyone who stumbles across it to let them know that I am doing well.
In fact, I would say I am doing better
than just well......I am doing great!!
So I will let er' rip, as they say.....Here's
the scoop:
In the last four months of chemotherapy
(September 2013) I made a decision to go back to school. I have had a
longtime goal of becoming a nurse (13 years) and have been working in
healthcare as a hospital unit clerk for almost 7 years at that point. My
foresight was clear and I decided to forge ahead with obtaining the last of two
prerequisites I needed to apply to the nursing program. I needed Chemistry
11 and Math 11 two of my worst subjects...YUCK! It wasn’t easy and I had
chemo brain some days but I did it and I was finally able to apply to the
nursing program, something I had not been able to do because I hadn’t completed
the lengthy list of pre-req’s.
The college had revised the entry process
to a competition entry which would include a complex interview process (5
separate interviews) as well as an essay. All of this, after meeting the
requirements, and actually getting offered an interview in the first place.
Needless to say I was selected!! I found out in April 2014 that I would be
entering the Nursing Program in the graduating class of 2018 starting September
2014!!
I am now in the second half of my second year! I am almost ½ nurse! School is going well and
I love every minute of it. I have made
so many wonderful new friendships and have learned more than I could have ever
imagined. I tell my nursing peers all
the time “In this moment, we are the smartest we have ever been!!”
On the family front, everyone is doing really well. Aside from the normal dramas of everyday life
living with THREE teenage girls, life is pretty good. Abby is graduating this year, got her driver’s
license and has her own car. Georgia has
made the city volleyball team and has changed her sport focus to volleyball
permanently now. Stella is dancing and
is also playing volleyball!! Vinnie is a
fun lovin guy who enjoys all sorts of outdoor activities. My person, Phil, has taken a permanent job
with a local construction company working as a site foreman (more often foreman’s
confidant) and we are slowly regaining some financial stability.
If I can speak to anything outside of a person’s cancer
journey, is that it is almost financially ruining. We spent all of our savings and endured a
small fortune of debt but we are starting to climb out of the hole. If you ever have anyone close to you,
especially if they are young (but that really doesn’t matter) diagnosed with
any long term medical condition, if you can help them financially then do so!!
They will never be able to show you how grateful they are, believe me when I
say it touches them to their deepest core and they are very thankful. We were very fortunate and had lots of
supporters and I am forever grateful to them.
I pay it forward daily. Please know that my friends.
There are big things coming in my future and I plan to continue
writing more blogs…so stay tuned and live your life well.
Xox C.
PS. About the hair..... I have had my hair cut several times and even though I thought it would never grow back it most definitely did!!! I started colouring it again about 18 months after it grew back and it has been a major debacle to keep it from turning orange every time but I have persevered and I am a blonde once again.
It is a different texture than before but still thick and so soft!! I am grateful for my hair especially at this time of year, as I remember how cold I was when I was bald.
PS. About the hair..... I have had my hair cut several times and even though I thought it would never grow back it most definitely did!!! I started colouring it again about 18 months after it grew back and it has been a major debacle to keep it from turning orange every time but I have persevered and I am a blonde once again.
It is a different texture than before but still thick and so soft!! I am grateful for my hair especially at this time of year, as I remember how cold I was when I was bald.
