Fight Like A Girl

My Journey Through Breast Cancer

Reconstruction -Round One January 30, 2010

Filed under: Reconstruction — Nicole Cassity @ 9:56 pm

Thursday morning I was on the operating table once again. This time, however, was on a much lighter, happier note. It was the beginning of being put back together. The first steps to getting my femininity back.  It’s a surgery I’ve been looking forward to from the day that I decided  a double mastectomy was the right decision for me.  It was reconstructive surgery.

This is how my day went:

Arrived at Dr. Wigod’s office at 8:30 AM to get prepped and  ready to go. When the Dr. arrived I was marked  (just like they do on Dr. 90210) with a blue marker, that by the way, is nearly impossible to scrub off. Brock had Morgan with him so while I was getting ready to go under, he was meeting my sister so Morgan could spend the next couple of nights with her and later a night with her Nana and Papa.

After awaking from surgery, I stayed in the recovery room for about 45 minutes and soon Brock joined me. The Dr. talked to us, well Brock (I was so loopy that I hardly remember seeing his face after surgery, let alone the words that came out of his mouth), and gave us all the information we’d need for at home care. They scheduled my post-opp appointment for the next day and we were off on our merry way.

I don’t remember if I’ve explained the procedure on here in the past, but if so it’s neat enough that I’m going to share it again. Even though I took the most aggressive move to make sure cancer does not come back (by doing a double mastectomy my chance for a recurrence went from a 60% chance down to a 5% chance!!!) there will still always be that slight chance and fear of something returning. Because of this they put in a spacer (basically an empty implant) with a special seal that allows a needle to add saline without having any spill out. They put the spacer in under the breast muscle (not on top of like a normal breast augmentation) so that if something does return, I would be able to feel a lump instead of  having an implant covering it up.

During surgery they were able to put 100 cc’s of saline in each spacer instead of only 50. This gave me a very tiny “A cup”. They do this with a spacer so your breast muscle can slowly expand to make room for the real implant. I’ll be going back once a week to have more saline put in until it’s either a size I am happy with, or the size my skin allows it to get to. Basically, I’ll be lucky to make it into a “B cup” (which by the way, I’d be totally happy with). :-)

Warning- bellow is a note from “shallow” Nicole:

I really hope he can get me out of an “A cup”. I have not been in an “A” since maybe the 6th grade (I developed very quickly) and I can just picture people coming up to me asking, “So I thought you were going to get reconstructive surgery?” AHHHH! Haha. Seriously though, I would have to get a new bathing suite and everything. Oh well… I’m done complaining…

After the spacers reach their desired size, I’ll leave them in for 3 months (to make sure it’s nice and roomy in there). After that they’ll go in and replace the spacers with an actual implant. From there I decide on whether of not I want to go through with skin grafting (making a nipple and dark area around it) or if I decide I’m happy without. Right now I am leaning towards going without.

Over all, this surgery was a walk in the park compared to the double mastectomy and chemo. I’d be lying though if I said I wasn’t in a lot of pain. They gave me some great meds, but they make me so tired that I literally can fall asleep sitting straight up. Once I do let my eyes close, a bulldozer tearing down the house wouldn’t wake me up. In the last three days, I have no doubt slept at least 40 hours. I’ve only been getting up to eat, use the restroom, and periodically check my emails only to feel exhausted again and head back to bed.

I am so thankful that Morgan has been in great hands. It’s hard living so far away, but through out this whole process, friends and family have really stepped up and helped out more than I ever would have imagined possible. Thank you so much. With out all of this help, it would take me much longer to recover from all of this. I love her more than anything in the world, but I also know I wouldn’t have been capable to take proper care of her during this time with out help.

So….

Thank you, to everyone, for everything!

Lots of Love,

Nicole

 

Fourth and FINAL treatment!!! January 21, 2010

Filed under: Chemo — Nicole Cassity @ 4:07 pm

I’m DONE… I’m DONE… I’m DOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE!!!

My fourth and FINAL treatment was on the 5th and I must say I am so happy to finally have THAT pot hole behind me. It’s been a frustrating ride. The only thing I can compare it to is riding in a rusty old truck, with zero shocks left, down an old dirt road FULL of pot holes, and having to pee REALLY REALLY BAD. Each bump leaves your bladder a little weaker (as the treatments accumulated, the worse I felt) and the closer you get to the rickety old outhouse at the end of this beat up road -the more your bladder feels like it’s  going to burst -which makes each passing second feel ten times longer (each treatment took me longer to get back on my feet). But, the good news is I made it to the outhouse and other than a couple minor side effects like Mee’s lines, which are these crazy white lines that cover the entire width of my nails, getting tired really easily, lack of short-term memory, and still no taste buds… life is good!

This treatment I had a lot of extra help too which made a huge difference! My wonderful mother in law, Tami -which has helped out like this through out this WHOLE journey, took Morgan for the night on the day of and then my sister, Jessica, decided to take her from there and keep her for a couple extra nights. Although it was hard to accept this much help and man did I miss my little girl like crazy, it was the best gift in the world. I was able to sleep, sleep, sleep, and for the first time out of all of my treatments, I had far fewer headaches from total exhaustion. So thank you, to Jess and Tami, for all that you two have done for us during this whirlwind treatment phase.

Bellow are a couple of pictures of Morgan, totally passed out for a nap, the day after I got her back from my sisters. Notice all of the toys she drug onto her bed to play with while she should have been napping… gosh I love this girl! :-)

 

America’s Cutest Family? January 21, 2010

Filed under: Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 3:03 pm

The photographer (Barbara Walker) that took our Christmas pictures this year decided to participate in this charity event. She also decided to enter in one of our family pictures to be a part of it. :-)

All of the proceeds go to the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep charity. Here’s a little bit about them:

regnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.

But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.

This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.

So here’s how it works:

  • Click on the “Enter Gallery to view all families and vote” under the top pictures that are displayed.
  • Under Photography…highlight “Walker”
  • Under Last Name…highlight “Cassity”

Votes are only $1 per vote and 100% of your vote/contribution goes to the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep organization.

You can vote as much as you want and there will be winners in each tour state plus the grand prize winning family will receive a CAR!!! Woohoo!!!! If we win and you’re a part of it, I promise to give you a ride in our new wheels! :-)

To View more of Barbara’s works go to: http://www.barbarawalkerphotography.com

Here’s the black and white version of the picture she submitted:

I was trying to teach Morgan how to catch snow on her tongue. :-) BUT, she just though it was funny.

 

What is Hope? January 11, 2010

Filed under: Benefit, Chemo, Diagnosis, Enjoying Life, Surgery — Nicole Cassity @ 9:17 am

A group of kids who had cancer and their siblings were asked one day by a social worker to describe hope. They sat there like portraits.

Finally, she said, “Okay, let’s imagine that ‘Hope’ is an animal. Now what does he look like?”

Slowly and thoughtfully they began to put together this mythical animal that had been such an important part of their lives.

“Hope is about two and a half feel tall.”

“He is covered with fur and it’s fluffy.”

“And soft.”

“Hope smiles a lot and has blue eyes and a short bottle brush tail that wags. It is the color of sunshine and happiness. One ear stands up and the other flops down.”

“Hope giggles.”

“When it talks, you’re the only one who can hear it.”

“Hope raises its voice sometimes. It has to talk louder than fear.”

“Occasionally, Hope is shy and likes to hide.”

“Sometimes you can coax it to come to you, but most of the time you have to be patient and wait. Then it will come to you.”

“It has to sleep with you as it’s too fragile to sleep outside.”

“If you don’t take good care of it… it can die.”

“You musn’t cling or hug it too much because then it will become too big… and it would control you.”

“It’s an animal you can’t buy or cage. You have to keep looking till you find it.”

“It will come to you only when you need it.”

“Hope has offsprings like any other animal. They’re called ‘Hopelets.’ You don’t keep them. You share them with other people  who need one.”

To these kids, “Hope” came out looking suspiciously like a thirty-inch, sun-drenched rabbit.

Taken from Erma Bombeck’s book- I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to go to Boise- Children Surviving Cancer

 

Catch up! January 9, 2010

Filed under: Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 8:35 pm

Now that the holidays are over and every day routine is back in place, I figured I better get on here and catch up. It’s been a couple of weeks and a lot has happened. Oh my dear blog, how I have neglected you! Here are my favorite highlights of what you missed:

Giving Back:

On Christmas Eve Brock, Morgan, and myself along with the help of our great friends Tamara and Matt showed up at the Community Family Shelter in Nampa to deliver just over 150 gifts the three of us had gathered up to give some folks in need the ability to surprise their own children with a little something special on Christmas morning. The shelter was very excited to hear we were bringing them and decided that later that evening they’d put a room together where the parents could go in and choose some gifts, wrap them, and have them to give the next morning. Although our time at the shelter was very short and felt somewhat rushed, I know in my heart it brought some much needed joy to some very deserving children and that made the poorly planned trip totally worth it! Next year we hope to be able to volunteer a lot more of our time. I’d love to serve the families lunch and get to know each one of them. Not enough people realize just how close each and every one of us could be to being in the same situation that each of these families are in. In all honesty, when Dr. bills came piling in after I had just been diagnosed, it wasn’t a fear, but a reality that sooner rather than later we would lose everything we had put our hard earned money towards. Paying it forward is the best reminder in the world that we are all just as human as the next guy. If each one of us showed some love in a small way, the world would be a much safer place.

Pictures from top left: Brock, me, Matt, & Morgan unloading the car; Morgan & all the presents; “Caught off Guard”, Morgan; “Crazy Girl”, Morgan; and another of us unloading the car. AND we can’t forget Tamara… behind the photo lens.  :-)

Christmas with the family-

Christmas this year was great! We got to split our time with lots of different people and man was Morgan SPOILED by “Sansa”! Seriously! I’m trying to brain storm on what we can do for her birthday. Maybe we’ll sponsor a family or something. She honestly has any and everything a little girl could need. We’ve been very blessed.

Pictures from top left: Morgan with Mommy; Morgan, Elmo, & Aunt Elyse; Morgan; Morgan, Peyton (my sisters baby), & Oma (my mom).

Girls Night Out-

My girlfriend April was in town from Texas, where her husband’s stationed in the US Army. He is currently serving in Iraq and the strength that April has never seizes to amaze me! Here she is, THOUSANDS of miles away from her friends and family, her husband in harms way, alone with a 6 year old daughter, and far from life as she once knew it and yet she holds it together and shows her daughter every day what it means to be a strong and independent woman. What an amazing role model! I’m so proud to call her a friend!

Pictures from top left: Tamara, me, April; Tamara; Alisha; Wendy & Tamara; Tamara, Me, Amber, Alisha, April, Wendy, & Amanda.

So we gathered seven of the girls up and we met at Olive Garden to be wined and dined. After that we hit the bowling alley and then polished the night off with seeing The Blind Side in the theaters.  All and all it was a great evening and I’m sad to announce that she is already back in Texas. :-( On the bright side, her hubby will be home from Iraq soon!!! Yay! Thank you for all you do Skip and April… I already miss you!

Hope everyone had an amazing holiday!!!

Lots of Love,

Nicole Cassity

 

Treatment #3 December 23, 2009

Filed under: Chemo — Nicole Cassity @ 2:29 pm

Tomorrow I get the pleasure yet again being poked and prodded for lab work to check on my white blood cell count. It’s my half way point between my third treatment and my upcoming 4th. I went into this treatment a lot better off than the last because I was  no longer sick, but I’ll admit, I was a little nervous about another allergic reaction. Last time had me kind of freaked out. This round went without incident though and I got to spend some bonding time with my friend Julee Hunt making Christmas decorations. It was a lot of fun and I was really excited when Julee asked me if she could come to my treatment with me. Here’s how my weeks this go around have panned out:

Week one and most of week two: I pretty much felt dead to the world. My body was exhausted and unlike my last treatment, I had no problem sleeping. That was actually ALL I wanted to do. When I wasn’t sleeping my head was pounding and I couldn’t focus on anything. Laying in bed was the only thing that felt comfortable. Taking care of Morgan was a challenge this week. She got another cold, which I got and together we were the snot nose queens of the house. I probably should  have asked for help this go around with her, but I’m stubborn and I hate asking for help and feeling like I’m putting people out so instead she and I camped out in my bedroom, on my bed, watching cartoons 24 hours a day. This worked out great the first couple of days because she wasn’t feeling that great either, but soon my busy girl was tired of my room and we had to move on to living on the couch. :-)

Week Two ended with my sister Jessica, her husband Beau, and my adorable nephew Peyton bringing us Chinese takeout. Perfect ending I’d say! Thanks guys! It was great spending time with you.

Week three so far has been great. I’m feeling much better, my appetite is back, and I’m really excited about the holidays! I hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas! Take care!!!

Lots of Love,

Nicole

P.S. Bellow are some pictures of the last time I was at my sisters. There’s a picture of my adorable nephew Peyton, the only one I got of Morgan in her pretty dress, and the final one is of my Dad’s girlfriend Audrey with the dynamite duo! :-) Enjoy!

 

Santa Clause is coming to town!!!! December 23, 2009

Filed under: Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 2:01 pm

So here we are, the day before the day before Christmas! I can’t wait! I’m going to have lots to blog about after this weekend comes to an end. I’ll be documenting our trip to a local shelter to deliver around 150 gifts to families in need, Christmas and Christmas Eve with my family, and a girls night with a bunch of girls I went to high school with to celebrate a holiday visit from one of our good friends, April who now lives in Texas.

This year I feel like we have SOO much to be thankful for. For one, I’M ALIVE! Thank you Jesus! Haha. But there is so much more! I feel like this is the first year in I don’t even know how long where the true Christmas spirit is inside me. I feel like this year isn’t as commercial as what some in the past have felt like and there is more focus on what Christmas is supposed to be about and not so much about the gifts. Both sides of our families have decided to cut back on gift giving and we are only exchanging gifts for the little kids (which I love!) and focusing our time, money, and energy on just enjoying the holidays together. It’s amazing how less stressful this holiday feels like. I think it’s because we are not so tight on money from endless spending on gifts that people don’t really even need and instead we’ve had extra in our checking account. Who would have THUNK IT!?!

Growing up Christmas was always my favorite time of the year and I’m not going to lie… a lot of it had to do with the gifts, but a huge part of it was my whole family always getting together (I mean WHOLE FAMILY) and I LOVED seeing everyone. I got to see my favorite aunts and uncles, all of my cousins… everyone. For some, it was the only time I seen them each year. When all of the “kids” grew up and started having family’s of their own, we had to put an end to those big gatherings. We simply got too big! There were too many mouths to feed and not enough of space to really hold all of us. It was a hard adjustment to make and the last couple Christmas’ felt a little awkward and like none of us really knew what to do with ourselves, but this year feels different. This year feels good! I’m done being bummed about change and am instead embracing it. I’m having fun with it… what a change!

Brock and I really want Christmas to be a special time of the year for our kids, but both of us think it’s important that we don’t put a main focus on the gifts. We want this time of the year to be about giving back, being with family, and creating memories. This year will be the first year that we are gathering gifts to give to a local shelter and I hope that maybe next year we can even spend some time with the family’s at the shelter (we volunteered to serve them lunch, but another family has already filled the slot). I want our kids to see how great it feels to give back and how blessed (even in hard times) we really are.

We’ve also, for the last couple of years, have made a tradition of driving to the Cascade area and cutting down our own Christmas tree. Permits are only $10.00 so it  makes for a MUCH cheaper alternative to buying one from a lot and it makes for a fun family trip. This year while we were up searching we came across a few families that made a day out of it and packed up BBQ’s and sleds and after they found their tree’s they met back up and enjoyed time together eating and sledding. What an awesome idea! I’d love to start that tradition next year! I think it would be so much fun! Another tradition I’d like to pick up on that trip is making tree decorations out of all natural products and dry foods and while we are up there and then picking a tree to decorate for the animals in the forest to enjoy and feed off of.  I got this idea out of a book and fell in love with it. We didn’t do it this year due to poor planning on my part (I didn’t even wear snow boots and FROZE on our hike for a tree), but I hope next year I’ll have things planned out better. :-)

I’d love to hear comments about your family traditions and your favorite part about this time of the year.

We were also VERY late at getting our Christmas cards this year (again due to bad planning on my part) but they are done, beautiful, and on their way. I thought it’d post the finishing product for everyone to see. One is the front and the other is the back. I hope you like them! :-)

 

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree… December 15, 2009

Filed under: Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 10:41 pm

A couple weekends ago we decided to purchase a $10.00 permit and once again drive up to Cascade and cut down our own Christmas tree. I love doing this and I can not wait to do it more as Morgan and hopefully our other children grow. We had a lot of fun doing this and look forward to many more years of it to come! It always gives us a good giggle when we get it home and placed in the tree holder and realize that we once again managed to get another Charlie Brown Christmas Tree! Haha. They always look so much fuller, straighter, and prettier in the forest. Nothing beats the smell of a fresh tree though! I love it!

Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Afterwords, we stayed the night with my Aunt Donna and Uncle Larry up at their cabin. We got to visit our cousins Dan, Kat, and their kids Zach and Megan and see their beautiful house they are almost finished with. It was a great weekend! Morgan found a bin full of Megan’s Polly Pockets and was playing with them. She got to digging through them and found one where the hair must have been pulled off of it and held up the bald figure and said “Ma Ma’! Haha. It was really cute. Over all, this has been a great start to what I am sure will be a great Christmas. I’m really excited to experience the holidays with my family and friends this year!

I hope this finds everyone well! Take care!

Lots of love,

Nicole

 

Brothers and Sisters December 15, 2009

Filed under: Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 10:12 pm

So I began watching this show when it first premiered and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve missed quite a few episodes here and there, but it’s never hard to tune in when you can and get all caught up (or watch free episodes of it online to fill in the missing pieces.) But once they decided to write in Kitty’s (one of the main characters) battle with cancer, I’ve been hooked. They portray her journey in a way that only someone who’s been there, who’s lived it, who’s had those worries, had those thoughts, those feelings, would know what she’s feeling. It also gives people who have not been there or seen someone close to them go through something like this an amazing insiders view to what life is like for those of us who are fighting for our lives, for our futures right now.

If you have not seen any of their episodes and would like to, here is the link to their latest one. Although the ending made Kitty’s battle look bleak, I know she’ll pull through and kick its ass in the end. That’s her style, afterall! :-) So here it is:  http://abc.go.com/shows/brothers-and-sisters/episode-guide .
Bellow are my favorite moments from this very touching episode:

Kitty and her husband Robert are waiting in the Dr.’s waiting room so she can undergo another MRI to see if the Chemo treatments are having any effect on her tumors. While waiting, she quizes her husband on what his next speech is going to be about in his run for governor (He’s only still running because SHE wouldn’t let him drop out of the race when she was diagnosed). He decides that his subject is going to be on love. She teases him and he bounces some ideas on how to start it off of her. She teases him some more and they share a special moment of laughing together about it. After that, this is what he says next. I’ll admit it right now, I’m totally weak at the knees for anything romantic so this touched my heart! :-)

See… It’s this. Both of us just sitting here in a waiting room, together, both of us pretending we are not scared. That’s love. Not being able to concentrate on writing a speech about love, because you are so scared you might lose it and nothing would ever be the same and realizing that the ONE PLACE-the one place that you feel the most YOU is when you are lying next to her, just breathing.

Sigh… *tear*! I love it!

And to end this on an equally good note, here’s my other favorite part from this episode. Justin asks his sister Kitty to read the EE Cummings poem I Carry Your Heart With Me at his wedding. So here it is! :-)

I Carry Your Heart With Me

I carry your heart with me, I carry it in
my heart. I am never without it anywhere
I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling.

I fear no fate for you are my fate, my sweet. I want
no world for beautiful you are my world, my true
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you.

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows,
here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart.

I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart.

 

So He’s no Tiger, but close! Brock’s 3 Mistresses… December 15, 2009

Filed under: Chemo, Enjoying Life — Nicole Cassity @ 1:12 am
Tags: , , ,

You know, when I first thought about losing my hair, I thought I’d rather go with scarves and hats then mess with the maintenance of “itchy wigs” that I had read about in books. I’m glad two amazing friends of mine had other plans. They gave me theirs to borrow just in case I changed my mind. Man, I’m glad they did.

Through most of this I’ve been pretty confident. In some ways I felt more comfortable in my skin than I did after seeing the damage done from breast feeding. In other ways, I did not. I’m not as self conscious in front of a Dr. or a close friend or family member that asks to see. But then there are moments where I  just get out of the shower and I have to face the mirror. Sometimes those moments bring strength and pride. I feel like a warrior with my battle scars as a sign that although cancer fought tough, I’m ahead of it. I’m winning. Other days it makes me sad. I miss seeing a body with feminine curves. Having nothing on my chest makes my shoulders look broad and my body look thin. Some days I feel like I look more like a skinny 16 year old boy than a 23 year old woman. On those days the only words I can say back at myself that give me hope is, “this too shall pass”.

Going out in public has been tough. Although I feel very empowered from this experience, when I feel the stares of complete strangers or catch someone double take on my head with only a scarf, insecurities begin to surface. I shared this experience with friends at a Christmas party this last weekend and was asked if I was sure it wasn’t me just being self conscious. That’s a great question because in many ways I do feel vulnerable. I’m not use to throwing myself out there in such a way. I’m a girl who’s use to hiding behind a crutch. I battled with acne for years and my hair was my security blanket for my face. If I were having a bad day my hair was there to hide my face. That blanket is gone. Who knew something so simple would be a trail of personal growth? I really didn’t think it would be that big of a deal for me. Until it was gone and I had no other choice.

A couple weeks ago I decided to finish my Christmas shopping after Morgan and I went to lunch with my Mother-in-law, Tami, and I handed her off. She watches Morgan for me over night every Tuesday through my treatments. Although I miss her like crazy once she’s gone, I know she’s in great hands and it’s really good for me to have time alone. I forget how much I enjoy me time. I forget how much it recharges my soul. I’m able to give my body the sleep it needs on those days or I’m able to roam to my own sheet of music. Music with out interruption. Now that’s a change!

Back to what I was saying… I get easily sidetracked these days. After passing Morgan off and with a car load of kisses and goodbye’s I decided to head to Khol’s in search of some great sales. In the parking lot I crossed paths with a woman in a hurry. It was cold outside and the wind was biting hard with it’s breezy chill. We glanced up at each other and then away. As she walked behind me in the opposite direction I could feel her gaze back on me. I turned and looked and there she was with a blank expression on her face. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but I felt ashamed. I turned back around as I neared the entrance and only looked back again as I pushed through the door. Her eyes were still on me, this time as she got into her car. I remember thinking “It’s official. I’m that sick girl”.

Inside the people were much warmer. As I hurried to the 80% off rack excited that I’d found gold I over heard two ladies approach me. One said “Oh, look at her. She looks so cute”. That made me feel better. I would rather be the sick girl that still looks cute than the sick girl that gives people speechless reactions. The check out lady was extra nice and as she asked about my daughter I could see the pity and sadness in her eyes. We giggled as I told her about how busy “Hurricane Morgan” is these days.

Over all it was a good shopping day. It made me face fears and I seen that even face to face with them, it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it. I was even told by a little girl out side of my dressing room that my “hat” was pretty. That made me smile. I do feel like some people are very uncomfortable around illness. I think I use to be one of them. So much so that they almost react like they are worried I’m contagious.  I hope that some day their eyes will be opened but in a way where they will never have to experience something like this first hand.

So on days when I feel like I want to blend in. On days where I just want to be a lost number in the crowd, I pick up one of these wigs. Although I can count on my hands (maybe just one) the number of times I have worn them, those times I felt like I left my problems at home. I felt like the big fat cancer sticker was removed from my fore head and a couple times I even got hit on! Even though I wanted to scream back at them “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, I DON’T EVEN HAVE BOOBS!!!” I must admit it was a much needed pick me up. Brock was probably around the corner paying them with $20’s, but either way, it put a much needed smile on my face.

So here they are… as we call them…Brock’s 3 Mistresses! :-) Enjoy!

PS. . . Morgan would not let Brock take pictures of me with out her in my arms so here she is, being my cheesy girl, with a mouth full of string cheese. :-)