Team Tina

Sundays are coming way too quickly these days. What used to be my favorite day of the week, has now become the day I have to leave my kids for two and a half days.

I have a new kind of gratitude for the four and a half days a week I’m home, and have noticed that I have been much more intentional about trying to enjoy every minute. Snuggles with Creed are sweeter. Talks with Maddie are longer. I revel in all these ordinary moments that have now turned sacred.

Today, before the last-minute cleaning, shopping, and packing activities that have become a big part of Saturdays, the kids and I spent some time on a little art-turned-mental-health project that was recommended to me by Mary Dev, who is a counselor at MD Anderson, and now part of my healthcare team.
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After another 11 hour day at MD Anderson on Monday, we arrived home last night about 11:00. And let me tell you, I have never savored the deliciousness of those soft cheeks or the warmth of the sweet hugs from those kids of mine like I did last night! I grabbed them up the moment we walked in the door and held them oh-so-tight. I never wanted to let them go.

And I while I don’t want to spoil the moment for you, after our dramatic hugs, Maddie returned to her homework and Creed started digging through our luggage to see if he could spot a bright yellow bag from the Lego Store. So that sweet, sappy moment didn’t last long. 🙂

Just know this, it’s good to be here. There is no place I’d rather be, than in this house, with my three favorite people. When I’m here, I’m good.
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Let’s Do This!

 

You make me brave
You make me brave
You called me beyond the shore
Into the waves

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now
The love that made a way

You make me brave
You make me brave
You called me beyond the shore
Into the waves

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now
The promises You’ve made

Today was a typical Sunday, yet it wasn’t. We went to church, ate lunch at our favorite Little Rock restaurant, listened to the kids tell us all they were looking forward to in their upcoming week with school and friends, and activities.

It all seemed so normal, yet it wasn’t. Because every minute of this day, looming large in my mind, was the fact that tomorrow I would be undergoing my first chemo treatment for a very aggressive cancer that is trying to take me away from these precious Sundays.

Today was tough. I kept soaking in every normal second, knowing that the clock would continue ticking, and rather than winding down this weekend by checking backpacks and making Monday lunches and snuggling with my two favorite kids, I would instead be in the car. Again. Making the 7.5 hour trek to Houston. Again.

And this time when I get to Houston, seven very potent drugs will be injected into my body over a five hour period of time; a body who seldom has any more than an occasional Advil, and it’s mission will be to destroy the abnormal cells that are trying to destroy me, but in the process, will also destroy all the good cells that keep the rest of me healthy.

I was discouraged today.
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We are home!

I completed all of my diagnostic tests at MD Anderson in only one day, rather than the standard five days, and we were able to come home last night and surprise the kids with our early arrival! Besides getting to see their sweet faces much sooner than anticipated, I was so blessed to be at Maddie’s first game as a Wampus Cat dancer.

We arrived at the football stadium a mere five minutes before her dance team took the field. I wish I could have taken a picture of the shocked look on her face when she saw me; it was such a fun and memorable night for us all!

We will leave for Houston again Sunday afternoon and I have to be at the hospital at 8:00 Monday morning for a few more tests and my first treatment. If all goes well, and I am fully believing it will, we should be home again Tuesday night.

My chemo regimen is a little complicated, and while I don’t want to get too technical, I will try to explain it for those who are interested.
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