Quick life update, new clothes, and tools for progress.

I realize it's been a while since I've posted an update. The more energy I have, the more I have to do. What is it that they say? "Life is what happens while you are blogging about life?" Ok, so maybe that's not exactly it but you know what I mean. There's been a whole lot going on. On the medical front, no news is good news. I have a scan scheduled for tomorrow (results Wednesday) and I have two more rounds of chemo (one starts this week). Kudos to Lois for dropping everything to accompany me to Houston this week when Jason's work schedule got busy. I do not yet know what happens after my 12 rounds of chemo, but I've been told I will be on a scan schedule and it will be "wait and watch." I'm feeling pretty good 13 months out from surgery. Very focused on each day as it comes and it's getting easier to use the necessary daily tools I have to move forward in the new normal. 

I started seeing a therapist at MD Anderson. They really are a one stop shop. Their supportive care services department is all about helping cancer patients and families find the tools they need to improve quality of life. It's probably a good sign that they chose to not prescribe medication to keep me emotionally stable. Snarky friends, I know what you are thinking but the doctors either think (1) I don't need the SSRIs or (2) drugs won't help. I choose to believe the former. The primary treatment is mindfulness training, which is very helpful. It's amazing how technology assists in this. I have an app on my phone that talks me through various forms of meditation. Also, Jason purchased an apple watch for me so that I could track my exercise, meditation, sleep, and heart rate. I was on the fence about the watch but now that I'm using it for these purposes, I highly recommend it. Of course, Aidan says the apple watch is useless and "dumb" because "it doesn't do anything your phone doesn't do." He clearly doesn't need a meditation, sleep, exercise, and breathing tracker so what does he know?!

Before Nana and Poppa left for the summer, we did some closet cleaning. I now have inherited clothes that Aidan has grown out of. Yes, that's right. I've lost enough weight that I'm growing into shirts and pants that Aidan has grown out of. The best part is all of the Kentucky t-shirts, workout clothes, and athletic gear. I won't have to purchase those for a while. As an aside, Jason can now wear Aidan's shoes and vice versa. So we are officially getting into the teen years soon. Anyone want temporary custody of a slightly sarcastic, very athletic, and occasionally academically oriented teen boy? Yeah, I didn't think so. I guess we will suffer through.

I realize I still haven't fulfilled my promise to give the summary of the ketogenic diet conference and I do still plan to do that. In the meantime, expect a short update about my scan this week with any new news. Besides the scan, I also have blood work, a meeting with the nutritionist, an appointment with Dr. No Naps, and a breathing treatment. Of course, each of these activities happens to occur at very different locations within the hospital. Here at MD Anderson, we are all about building exercise into 2 days of appointments. Very clever...