Chemo, bye bye bye...

There are few dates that I actually write down and keep in my memory bank, other than the obvious birthdays and anniversaries of family and close friends... but April 11, 2013 is a date I will forever keep as a celebration, marking in my life a sign of strength and endurance. I made it through chemo!

Below are a few pictures of my last day! 

My last check up with my oncologist, Dr. Orr. 

Meet my nurse, Sandy. From day one of chemo she was by my side, laughing and crying with me. Sandy was a godsend, she showed me true love and compassion. So thankful for her! 

My nurse taking out the needle and flushing it with saline. I was concentrating
on taking a deep breath when the needle came out.

I never felt it- she was good! 

The skittles on my lap helped take the taste away as she flushed it.
It always made me gag. :)

I was pretty sick at this point.
 I was trying to show some excitement of being finished! 

Olivia showing off her support! Some close friends from church showed up at my house the night before
my last chemo treatment - it was a surprise gift bag with two other shirts for Greg and I and a sweet frame that read, "Though she be but
 little she is fierce." 

According to the Bible, God knows how many hairs are on my head... and now so do I. My hair is sloooowly growing back and for now I can actually see every individual hair on my head.  Little baby peach fuzz, kind of cute and kind of not so cute. I sometimes stand in the mirror and just stare in hopes it will somehow grow back right before my eyes... I've been thinking that If one has to go through all of this that they should at least get the texture they want right? I'm hoping for my red and my what once was straight hair to be full of curls!

Update: 

My doctor called me with great results on my MRI - my lymph nodes on my left side have shrunk to the same size as on the right, which is excellent.  No sign of new re growth and the tumor and signs of cancer have shrunk!
I will have a bilateral mastectomy on May 13th with radiation to follow for 6-8 weeks. With radiation comes no hair-loss but extreme fatigue can set in. Please pray with me for a fast recovery from the surgery on the 13th and when I do start the radiation that I will handle it the best I can.  I also get my port taken out on the 13th, which means no more chemo!
We all go through trials and face things that seem humanly impossible to get over. My only explanation for getting through this journey is the peace of God...it that has stilled my heart the last six months and has caused me to go on and remain hopeful.   "I have told you these things, so that in me you have have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33 NIV.

This verse helped me get through chemo...