Friday...
Well hello there virtual reality. I hope today is finding everyone with smiles and happiness. So lots is goin on in the Hoff household. Busy, busy, busy. Which is great. Life is cruisin by with lots of good times happening. October I celebrated my 32nd birthday and it was breast cancer awareness month. PINK was everywhere.
One thing that just came out of the blue was a survivor make-over that I won. I have been to Wild Hare Salon a few times in the past but obvisouly took a hiatus when I had no hair. My 1st haircut after chemo a girl named Samantha cut my hair and was very careful to not cut too much for she knew I was trying to grow it back out. After the cut she gave me a big hug and said, "This ones on me!" Sooooo sweet! So in October when the salon was asking for names to be put into a drawing for a free makeover, Samantha put my name in without me even knowing it! And out of hundreds of names my name got drawn. I won a cut and color from Sam. They did my nails and make-up! And I even got a free dress from chicdevotion.com. The salon held a big champagne reveal for all of the 7 make-overs they did! It was amazing!
Here are some before....
And some after shots...
See I just keep getting blessed.
It's funny because the universe just answered my wishes. Anthony and I had gone on our first trip away alone as a couple without kids to Key West. That also was perfection. We called it our mini-moon!
So while we were there I kept complaining about my mini-mullet and saying I needed a haircut. Then as soon as we walked in the door from vaca, I got a call from Gina, the manager of the salon, informing me that Samantha had entered me into a drawing and that I had WON!!!!!!!!!!!
I FREAKED OUT!!! SOOOOOOOOO STOKED!
Here is a video that they put together about the event!
http://vimeo.com/m/51958076
Over-the-moon about how it turned out!
Thanks Samantha for an incredible day!
So their is more good news. I got my PET scan results back and all is clear. I was nervous because when we were in Key West I got a call from the doc saying that my bone scan had come back showing major trauma on the right side of my rib cage and that more tests were going to be needed as soon as I got back into town. It looked like a broken rib and they needed to make sure it was not more cancer. I tried not to freak out since we were on vacay but my mind started going a million miles a minute. I am gonna need xrays and a PET scan. Ugh. Guess I better just get used to tests. Not again also kept surging through my gut. But Anthony was great. He did everything in his power to keep me occupied and entertained.
But as soon as we got home the testing started.
A PET scan isn't too bad. You just get poked and injected with radioactive isotopes. then you need to lay still for an hour then lay in a machine for about 30 minutes while they look at how the body absorbs the radioactive crap! It's a long two day wait for results so when they call with the news that the results are clear you just wanna scream at the top of your lungs in relief!!!!!!!!!!
But the Xrays came back showing 3 broken ribs. They are healing but will be deformed for the rest of my life.
BUT AT LEAST ITS NOT CANCER!!!!
I can deal with broken ribs.
No wonder I have been in such pain. I thought it was still pain from expanding the expanders I have in my chest. I remember after the last time I expanded, the pain was sooo bad I told the surgeon that it felt like I had a broken rib. Well that's because it WAS breaking my rib....3 of them!!! Sure glad I said no to trying to keep expanding!
Doc said that cuz my calcium levels were low and radiation weakened my bones that expanding just pressed against my rib cage and crushed the bones.
But slowly I am healing. Just crazy that they never told me that was a possible side effect of radiation. Guess I know now! LOL!
So what else?
Well Hurricane Sandy just passed us. Didn't do much damage around here but SLAMMED the upper East Coast in Jersey and New York. Frankenstorm they called it may have been the worst storm New York has ever seen. I saw a reporter interview a woman who was crying. She said she was crying out of joy of being alive! She lost everything but her family and herself. She's coming into this day with nothing, starting a new life but still praising God that she's alive!
It really touched and inspired me to not sweat the small things. Again and again we see how fragile and precious life is and yet we take it for granted at times. Human nature I guess. But I am thankful for the people like the woman on the news who bring me back to the place of gratitude and thankfulness.
God bless all of those suffering up north. Give them all the stregth they need to get up, be thankful and start fresh in life.
This sounds like a great meditation mantra for each morning.
God give me the strength to get up, be thankful and start a new life fresh today. For now is what counts!
Love to all,
J
