Only the Beginning - new this week & some good news!

Hey there everyone :)  I have some good news to share with you this week....after the funeral for Eric's father this Monday morning, we came home completely exhausted....and we both felt like we could sleep for a week.   The weather had turned nasty - snow, freezing rain...and the temp's were dropping.  I was scheduled for a doctors appointment in Lacrosse early Tuesday AM - - and was also waiting for a phone call from my doctor.  On Sunday, we realized we had voice mail from LAST Thursday that we hadn't listened to....and the call was from my oncology doc - heck, I hadn't even made it home from the CT scan I had last Thursday...and the message was that "he wanted to talk to me about my test results".......which scared the pants off of me.   Since it was Sunday, I called his personal voice mail number at the hospital...and left the message to please call me back on Monday - gave him times to call....he didn't call before we had to leave, and since we got home an hour earlier than I had predicted - I called up to Lacrosse immediately when we got home from the funeral.   I got my doctor's nurse, who had already relayed my message....my doc was working at a satellite clinic on Monday...but promised to have him call.  That was at about 330 pm...and at 345 pm, my doc called back.   I'm going to make this short and sweet hear, as the technical info takes a while - but the short version is that the chemo has gotten all of the cancer at this time.  There ARE a couple of lymph nodes that have a few cancer cells in them yet - they are NOT active at this time.   Those little spots they saw in my brain?   They aren't cancer after all.  They are small clusters of benign abnormal cells.  They are the exact same size as they were back in October....and if they were cancer, they would have doubled in size by now.   The end result?  No more chemo.  No radiation recommended at this time.  I am officially in 'recovery' mode...not quite remission yet, as there are a couple more things to check - but I am to keep eating...start a slow regimen of exercise to rebuild my energy levels and stamina as the chemo anemia fades away.....and they will call me to schedule a 'recheck' appointment next week, as they cancelled my Tuesday appointment. 

To say I was in shock is putting it mildly, and I still have a bit of trouble believing all this!  I mean...things seemed so very dire mid October....and here I am in recovery?   Thank you GOD.   All those prayers helped - keeping busy helped - just plain believing helped.   Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and support these past few months, everyone.  It was all very much appreciated :)    While I will never be 'cured' - this type of cancer is a permanent thing....it's wonderful to know I'll be around for a while yet!  and that my hair will grow back, lol :)    

So....I'm back, and catching up again.   And yep - I have a new collection this week!  Only the Beginning is named for one of my favorite Chicago songs from the early '70's - and is filled with color, awesome elements and some great addon packs for  your scrapping needs.   Best of all, it's on sale until Monday for 30% off in my shop at The Digichick!  I have some awesome clusters to share that were made with this, too - starting tonight with one from Jenni!

 

and a little inspiration!

Aren't those fun and fabulous?  I love my Creative Team!

Just click on the image to download - see you tomorrow! - Kim