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Today I went to the hospital for Herceptin. As I drove into the parking lot, all the feelings of being a cancer patient came flooding back. I mentioned before how nice it was to be in Florida, sporting my short hair with a hat and no scarf. It was so much fun to ride roller coasters and go on a jungle safari. We explored the oldest city in the US. I relaxed in a jacuzzi and walked in shirt sleeves. We ate so many delicious meals. It was a great time of getting away from all the things we've gone through this year.

 Here I'm sitting on the steps at the fort in St. Augustine. The kids acted out battle scenes and Walt talked about the history. The sun was shining, and while the temperature was a bit chilly, it still was a remarkable day. 

 We had a fabulous time on all the rides at Disney World earlier in the week. On the wild ones, I took off my hat. I felt a certain amount of freedom feeling the wind in my hair again.  Our expressions are fun..such joy and good times for our family.

 My favorite ride was the Rock-N-Roll Roller Coaster. I went on it with the boys one day, and talked the rest of my family into joining us the next morning. This is us when we finished...Nathan took the picture. (Becca said she wouldn't go on it again, but she's glad she did it.)

Walt and I in St. Augustine. 

For those interested in more pictures and descriptions of our trip, go to our family blog, www.adventuresinalifetime.blogspot.com  I'll finish blogging about our trip there.

Today at my appointment, the nurse withdrew several vials of blood. She jokingly promised she'd leave some blood for me.  I was scheduled for a CBC to see how my white and red blood cells are doing. Dr. Kohn also ordered several tumor marker tests.  If a recurrence of cancer is somewhere in my body, tumor markers can usually be detected in the blood. My prayer, of course, is that no evidence of cancer shows in my blood. 

I don't have the results of the tumor markers yet, but my CBC came out well. Most of my blood counts have come up into the normal range, so that's a great feeling to be bouncing back from the effects of chemo. 

I've had a strain in my back. Before we left for Florida, I treated it with lots of long soaks in Epsom  salts and gentle stretching. Even with the lifting of suitcases and wild rides, my back felt almost 100% when I was in Florida. On the day we returned, I forgot about my back strain and decided to take Sugar for a walk. She was a crazy dog, lunging on the leash and pulling after dogs. I think she was responding to the excitement of having her family home again. I came back, feeling pain again in my back. I am back to TLC to get it back in shape.  It's frustrating that it hurts again, but at least it seems that it is a muscle strain and not something more serious. Any time I have a pain that doesn't go away, we have to consider whether it is something more serious than a muscle strain or sore muscles. My doctor said the longer I am in remission, the easier it'll be to determine if a pain is more than just an ache. Usually if something responds to heat or ice or ibuprofen, then it's not cancer. Anything that lingers, though, will have to be evaluated further. I wish my back pain would just disappear, but I wonder if God isn't using it to keep my attention. Life's been really good. My health is great. It's only this little pain in my back that reminds me that I am fully dependent on God's grace regarding my health.

 Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So, on this Friday night, I am glad to be home, although I miss the sun. Herceptin is causing me a bit of achiness, which is normal, so coupled with my back, I plan to head up for a bath soon to relax. I can fully rest in the wonderful knowledge that God loves me and has everything under control.