A couple weeks ago my friend Debbie called asking if she could drop off something at my front door. Debbie is one of my many stamping friends who I have missed since I had to stop teaching classes due to my cancer diagnosis. I told Debbie that I was home and that I would love for her to stop by for a visit. Debbie came in with a very thoughtful gift, a ceramic pineapple pitcher filled with brightly colored roses.

During our visit, Debbie spoke some very encouraging words to me, gave me a hug and reminded me that she was praying for me. It was so nice to see her. Debbie’s visit reminded me of how blessed I am to have such a loving support system.

I felt so strong that week, I started exercising in the morning, I got behind the wheel of my car for the first time in months and I even went into my studio to do some stamping. It was the most “normal” I had felt in a very long time and it felt good.

Since I was about to go in for my third treatment, I decided I wanted to make cards for the nurses at the Cancer Center. I wanted to bring them something to say thank you for the excellent care they give to me. I pulled out the stamp set, To A Wild Rose and created this card.

Are you wondering how I came up with this color scheme? Well, I placed Debbie’s thoughtful gift on my studio table and used the colors of the flowers as my inspiration.

I used the stamp set Accented Blooms and the Tailored Tag Punch to create the bold sentiments on the cards I created.

I colored the Red Rose using Lovely Lipstick ink and the two step stamping method using stamps. The other two flowers were colored using Stampin’ Blends. I added envelopes and bundled a bunch of sets of cards together. I gave them to everyone who helped me that day in the Cancer Center and even sent a package home with my Oncologist for his wife. Everyone seemed happy to receive these brightly colored cards and it certainly made me feel happy to bless others.

At my third treatment things radically changed from my previous two treatments. Since I had been having an unusual reaction to one of the pre chemo medicines, I was given a different anti nausea medication. The minute it hit my system, I was a mess.

What I mean by a mess is that I felt super drowsy. I became instantly so sleepy that I had to lay back and close my eyes. My mother in law was in town so she was with me and so was my friend Kristy.

I was glad that they had a lot of catching up to do so they could talk while I just rested and tried to get out of the “funk” I was feeling from the heavy meds.

Sadly, that “funk” lasted overnight and half way through the next day. I called my Oncologist and told him I didn’t want to continue the anti nausea pill that they had sent home with me. I hated the feeling of being so drowsy. Thankfully, after stopping the pill, I began to feel better and the drowsiness went away.

Later that week, I faced more unexpected challenges. I had to go to the Cancer Center twice for fluids because I was dehydrated and my blood pressure was really low. I continued to feel weak and tired and with each passing day things seemed to go from bad to worse. First, I ended up having a really bad headache that lasted a couple of days. Then last Wednesday evening I went to bed super early but woke up around 10pm with a high fever so my husband Derek rushed me to the ER.

I had been in the ER before but this time was very different. It was apparent to me that I was being isolated from the other people there because of my condition. The staff went out of their way to protect me from exposure to germs. I had an amazing nurse named Russell who took excellent care of me. Since I was there for several hours we enjoyed talking with him about traveling, kids, work, life, etc. As I rested there, multiple doctors came in and out and I could tell something was very wrong. There was a concern about my blood pressure that continued to drop. My head was still sore as I heard the doctor mention that they needed to admit me to the ICU. They also mentioned needing a blood transfusion. I felt a little overwhelmed and I wondered, “is this how you die of cancer”? Russell was like an angel that evening. He took the time to explain about the ICU and the transfusion and helped put my mind at ease. Even though I had concerns and still a really bad headache, I tried to be positive so I would occasionally say funny things to get Russell to laugh. He looked at me and told me that he loved how positive I was. He said, “you are going through so much yet you are in here smiling and happy, I love that about you”. I told Russell I was at peace because I knew where I was going if I died, so I had no reason to fear. He continued to speak words of kindness and encouragement to me that made being in the hospital easier to bear. I am thankful for people like Russell who are passionate about what they do and they do it with excellence.

Russell delivered me to the ICU and I loved it when he called me Aunty and gave me a hug! As the ICU nurse called for help to get me moved to another bed Russell said, “she can stand, she’s strong” and when I did the nurse was amazed. The nurse told me, “we are not used to people arriving in the ICU in the middle of the night and being so strong, alert and awake”. Hearing her say that made me feel thankful to God for giving me the strength even though I was going through something really challenging.

I stayed in the ICU for two days while they worked on raising my blood pressure. I finally was released to go home on Friday evening. I found out today from my Doctor that I was released earlier than usual but they allowed me to go because I was doing so well. Just another reason to praise God for His faithfulness to me.

I was still a little groggy and tired right up until Monday night when I watched the Seahawks beat the undefeated 49ers with my friend and fellow Seahawks fan Karin.. It was a crazy game!. I am quite certain that my blood pressure went up substantially during that very entertaining game!!!

Yesterday, I saw my friend Karin again, as she took me to the hospital to have a CT Scan. It was the halfway point for me.

This scan gave the doctor the opportunity to see if the treatment I have been given is working. Leading up to this scan I would get emotional thinking about all the “what if’s”. What if the treatment wasn’t working, would I be sent to the mainland and miss the holidays with my family and the arrival of my first grandchild? What if the treatment had worked and to the doctors amazement there was no more cancer?

Well, I hoped for the latter scenario to happen! However, today I sat with my oncologist to find out that the treatment shows some improvement so I am going to continue to finish out the three more rounds as planned. As I heard my doctor and my husband talk, I got a little overwhelmed because I was reminded that my case is harder than most. Because my cancer has a rare subtype part to it that comes with inflammation there are still lots of questions as to whether all of the inflammation will be gone when we get to the end of treatment. It took me a couple hours to process the meeting I sat through with my oncologist today but for now I am choosing to focus on the positives. I do not have to leave the island now. The treatment showed some improvement and I still believe that at ANY moment God could touch me and heal me completely.

The bottom line for me is that I know I am blessed. I am in a Win-Win situation, because I have Jesus in my life and I trust His perfect plan for me. I know that it’s because of Him that I have such tremendous peace even at moments such as in the ER where I wasn’t sure if I would make it through the night. I look at Cancer as a gift. It gives me time to stop and reflect on each day I am blessed to live and consider how I want to live it to the fullest.

November is here and I am thankful, grateful, and BLESSED. At the end of this month will be one of my favorite days of the year, our annual Home for the Holidays Craft fair at my friend Karin’s House in Waikele.

Since I have not had the strength to stamp a lot, you might think that I would have to withdraw from this event this year. However, due to the love and blessing from a group of supportive family and friends, my booth will be the best it has ever been. In my next post, I will begin to share with you how I have been blessed for this event and how I plan to use that blessing to bless others.

Thank you for continuing to walk through this journey with me. A day doesn’t pass that I don’t sit in amazement at how much this season has allowed me to feel incredibly blessed by all the love, support and encouragement that continues to surround me.

I hope and pray that wherever you are and whatever you are going through today that you will find your strength in the Lord. I pray that you will come to know the peace that surpasses all understanding that has helped me during this season and that you will, like me, find blessings in unexpected places.

With lots of love and many blessings,

Cindy

Blessed

Stamped With Aloha

Blessed

So Thankful

Embracing Change

Stamped With Aloha