Life

I thought I would do a non cancer related post since there is a lot going on in my life that doesn't revolve around cancer (finally)!

My dad has been in Iraq since the 5th of January. Since he is a jet engine mechanic in the Air Force he is safe on the base. We are able to talk to him a few times a week, but he is not very talkative about what is going on over there. The one thing he does say is he is ready to come home. It looks like he will be home the first week of March. I try to deny that I am not like my father, but I know I am. Since he works a different schedule than me I wouldn't see him until the weekend, but I have missed him since he's been gone.

School is getting busy. I teach an integrated 3 year old class in the morning and since Christmas I have added 3 new kids bringing the total of students to 16. 9 of them are teachers kids from the daycare and 7 have special needs. It is a busy class and I am very glad to have the help of my assistant. I couldn't do it without her. My afternoon class is self contained meaning these kids have high needs and are not ready to be integrated with their peers. I have 9 of them. 8 boys and 1 girl. The girl gets a lot of attention from the boys. I have to keep them from kissing her! I can't believe there is only 4 more months of school left. I have been extremely lucky to have made it this long without catching any little bug that my kids have had. These past few weeks I have had 2 kids come down with the flu. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't catch it next. I am looking forward to the summer. Right now I don't have any plans, but I would like to take a trip. I have a friend in Hawaii that I would like to go and see. Then I know someone in Singapore. I want to get my passport so I will be prepared if I ever need to make a quick trip out of the country!

Well my life is good right now. I enjoy my job, I am planning on moving out of my parents house and I am dating a great guy. I am very lucky to have this chance for a fresh start.

Scategories

I was reading Camille's blog and I thought this little game sounded like fun.

Scategories Rules: IT'S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! HIT FORWARD, ERASE MY ANSWERS, ENTER YOURS, SEND IT ON TO 10 PEOPLE INCLUDING THE ONE THAT SENT THIS TO YOU. USE THE 1ST LETTER OF YOUR NAME TO ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. THEY HAVE TO BE REAL PLACES, NAMES, THINGS.NOTHING MADE UP! TRY TO USE 2 DIFFERENT ANSWERS IF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU HAD THE SAME 1ST INITIAL. YOU CAN'T USE YOUR NAME FOR THE BOY/GIRL NAME QUESTIONS

1. What is your name? Samantha
2. A 4 Letter Word: sand
3. A Boys Name: Shawn
4. A Girls name: Stephanie
5. An Occupation: Senator
6. A Color: Scarlet
7. Something you wear: Socks
8. A Beverage: Sprite
9. A Food: Spaghetti
10. Something found in the bathroom: Shampoo
11. A place: Spain
12. A Reason for being late: Slept late
13. Something you shout: Shut up!

Prayer

On the day of my transplant the Chaplin read this prayer before I received my stem cells. I wanted to share it with you. I cry every time I read it.


We come today to celebrate a new beginning.
We feel afraid and anxious about the unknown, while we also feel excited and hopeful as we look forward to new possibilities.

The cells we bless today offer new possibilities for Samantha's healing.
These cells, as tiny as they are amazing, are a gift from the Creator of all Life.
Thank you, God, for the gift of life and for this transplant as a means of using the gift for healing.

Gracious Giver of Life, we thank you for these cells.
We are especially thankful for the courage and compassion of Samantha's donor.

Spirit of all grace and mercy, bless these cells for Samantha's healing according to her deepest needs of body, mind and spirit.
May Samantha feel your healing power flowing through every cell, bringing a new day of health and joy and creative energy.

Loving Creator and Friend, come with us now on our journey into the new.
Lead us forward with your vision of abundant life, and help us to continue to become all you created us to be in your divine image, now and forever.

Samantha, may Divine Love and Wisdom "be healing to your flesh and marrow to your bones" (Proverbs 3:8)

1 year ago today

I am amazed that one year ago today I was in the hospital recieving my stem cell transplant. This picture is from my "birthday party" I guess today is my 1st birthday.

I am suprised how fast this year went by. A year ago I was at my lowest and now I am feeling great and back to my "normal" life. I never expected that I would have gone back to work only 8 months after my transplant and not be completly exhausted. Don't get me wrong, I am tired and somedays I need a nap, but I feel 100% better than I did a year ago. I still make monthly trips to Dallas for check-ups and I still have a few issues that we are trying to resolve with the right medication. I am so lucky that I found the perfect donor and I have not had the complications that I could have that would make my life difficult. Now that it's been a year I am able to release my name to the donor center letting them know I am interested in being found by my donor. It is up to her if she wants to be found. I would love to meet her and to let her know how grateful I am for her selfless act. Without this transplant I would not be here. She is my angel and I hope to meet her one day.

This picture was taken at the State Fair a couple of months ago. Look how much hair I have!

Long overdue update

I decided to change the name of this blog because I feel since I have been in remission for 10 months I no longer have leukemia. I am now living my life after having leukemia and dealing with the changes in my body since the transplant. I still go to Dallas once a month for check-ups. I don't see that changing for a while since I am dealing with some issues in my mouth that make eating difficult. We are trying to figure out what is going on and what medications will help fix the problem. I can no longer eat spicy or salty foods because they tear up the insides of my mouth. I am sad that eating french fries is no longer a joy. I can deal with not having hot sauce because I usually over do it before my food comes anyways, but I miss my french fries. Other than my mouth issues I still have problems with chronic dry eye and my skin texture is just not the same. I also now have allergies that I can thank my donor for. Unfortunately those are common side effects that I'm not sure will ever go away. I am having to get use to a new "normal." I did finally write my donor a thank you letter and sent her a small gift to thank her for her selfless act of donating bone marrow to a complete stranger. Hopefully in January I can sign a release of information to hopefully get the chance to know her name and meet her in person. It is funny that I like things that I didn't necessarily like before. I now eat yogurt. That is something I wouldn't touch unless it was mixed with granola because I hated the texture. I also like to eat tomatoes. I eat more eggs and drink more milk that ever before. My hair has also grown in curly. I would just really love to meet her and thank her in person for what she did for me. I can't believe that this time last year I was bald and sitting at home waiting to hear if a donor had been found. I look back at pictures for then and I am amazed at how much has changed in less than a year. When I feel down all I have to do is look at where I was last year and realize how lucky I am to be where I am right now.

My mission moment

This morning I delivered the mission moment for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training's (TNT) Saturday morning team run. My friend Carlo is a trainer and introduced me to the team last Saturday. I have wanted to get involved with TNT for a while, but I just never did. There are 25-30 people that get together to train for various races and raise money for the society. Each week they have an honored hero come and share their story with the team as inspiration. I was honored to be asked to do this. I am not much of a public speaker, but I felt it was important for me to share my story with people that are dedicated to raising money for the Leukemia Society since I have benefited so much from their financial assistance. I practiced what I wanted to say because I know when I get nervous I draw a blank and forget everything. As soon as I started talking I started to tear up. I get emotional when I talk about what I have been thru, but it is important for me to share my experience with others. I am very fortunate that I am doing as well as I am only 5 months after my transplant. Since I started working at the YMCA I have been working out and I feel that my strength and energy level is back to where it was before the transplant. Things are finally starting to look up for me.

I can't believe how bad I am at keeping this blog updated. I would be surprised if anyone still reads this. Well I am doing really good 4 months after the transplant. I still go to Dallas every other Monday for check-ups. About a week ago I started to get a GVHD rash and my doctor put me back on my steroids. I am not having the problems that I was having since I was taken off them. About a week after I stopped taking the steroids my joints started to feel stiff. I really thought I was starting to develop arthritis. As soon as I went back on the steroids I felt so much better. I guess I will have to be on a low dose for a while until my body can adjust itself.

About a month ago I started working part-time at the YMCA near my house. Since I am feeling so much better and have more energy, I decided it was time for me to get out of the house and get back to work. I plan on going back to teaching in August, so I thought this was a good way for me to ease back into working. So far I really like working at the Y (day camp hasn't started yet!). I have met lots of great people and I have been able to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in years. I have decided that this is the time that I need to make a change and start working out regularly. I have read a lot about how diet and exercise can help reduce your cancer risk. Since I am already at risk for developing other cancers I figured this is a good time for me to start an exercise routine. I feel so much better about myself after I work out. Since the transplant I have lost about 20 pounds. My appetite is back now that I am back on the steroids so I have to start working at keeping the weight off that I have already lost.

I am still amazed that I had a stem cell transplant 4 months ago. I never thought I would be feeling this well so soon after. Every time I go to Dallas and see people that have just had their transplant I realize how far I have come in such a short amount of time.