I'm happy to say that I've had a pretty incredible month of April. After spending much of March in a depressed fog, experiencing the joy that has come with this month has been both welcomed and celebrated.
Michael and I went to New York City! This was the first time there and it was fulfillment of a promise I gave him for his tenth birthday ... a special trip. We were supposed to go somewhere during the first week of May 2012, but I was diagnosed with cancer in January 2012 and that trip never happened. When the opportunity presented itself to go east, we took advantage of his spring break as well and off we went.
It was such an amazing trip! We stayed just blocks from Times Square and we experienced so much of the excitement that NYC offers. Our very first view was at midnight, coming out of Penn Station and seeing the lit up Empire State Building. The billboards of Times Square, the splendor of aerial views from both the Empire and the top of the Rockefeller Building, the incredible displays of the Natural History Museum, the glory of Lady Liberty, the solemnity of the World Trade Center ... we never tired of any of it. Well, we did physically get tired, but we both unabashedly fell in love with the place. We both would go back in a heartbeat.
In the course of touring the city, I walked ten miles on Monday, eight miles on Tuesday and five miles on Wednesday. Who is this person who has cancer all over her body?
I felt like the visit was a vacation from cancer. I was able to do everything I wanted and at one point, Michael said, "Mom, I can't keep up with you!" That was fun to hear. (Granted, though, he did better later in the week when my legs were hurting from all the walking!)
We left NYC and went on to Philadelphia to see friends. I've been there before, but it was nice to walk among the historical buildings while visiting. Our time there was very short.
From Philly, we went to Pittsburgh to visit my sister who is there for some specialized treatment for Prader-Willi Syndrome. My oldest sister and her husband, as well as my brother came for a short visit as well. I also got to meet up with some friends who have stuck with me through primary and advanced cancer.
From there, we made our way back to Jersey City. I'll write about that part of the trip in a separate post.
Needless to say, this trip was one for the memory books. It was hard to come back to Cancerland, but Tuesday found me back in the oncologist's office. While I'm feeling great and have no major complaints, we did talk about what the next possible treatments are for me. We know the cancer is increasing and the latest tumor markers doubling gives verification of that. It's the largest percentage jump I've ever had. I will have scans on June 9 to see if anything shows up and where that "showup" may be. It was encouraging to hear what's in the pipeline and I'll just take things one step at a time.
In the meantime, I've been referred to physical therapy here in Sunnyvale in order to learn some better stretching exercises for my back. The PT group is under the supervision of oncology; therefore, they will understand the special needs and concerns regarding the nerves and muscles in my back.
So that's it for now ... a little bit of everything. I haven't touched my Bible project in a while, so I'm back at it. I've got some plans in the making, but the most important thing is being so incredibly grateful for the gift of every day.
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