You take the good, you take the bad.....da da da da da da da....the facts of life!

You take the good, you take the bad.....da da da da da da da....the facts of life!

Well the past couple of weeks have brought both the good and the bad. Again, I apologize for the lack of posting! Believe me, I've been yelled at by all of my family members about it! I've gone from having friends and family visiting me and keeping my spirits high to the dreaded "symptoms" the doctors warned  me about visiting and keeping me in bed! These past two weeks have seen it all. Please forgive me!

I, again, got to show off the city of Houston to two new visitors, Anna and Erica. We spent a lot of time reminiscing, laughing, and just being silly! If there are two people that can keep a girl smiling, they are! Unfortunately, they were also there to see the beginning of these symptoms that started rearing their ugly heads. Mainly the fatigue and the difficulty swallowing. I was so hoping I could avoid them!! Not so lucky! The girls were good sports though :) They made me rest when I needed to and Erica even watched a Dave Matthew's Band concert from start to finish on TV with me to cheer me up! What can I say? They love me! And dare I say, Erica loves DMB now? I have a verbal commitment from her & Roby to go see them in Charlotte with us this summer!

So the symptoms. I was warned from the beginning that they would show up but I started to believe that I may out smart them! It was already week 5 and I had only felt a little nausea. I was sure my green juice was working magic on all the junk that was being pumped into my body. The fatigue I could deal with. I like naps anyway  :) The swallowing issue was a little harder to come to terms with. Anytime something messes with my food intake, I'm not happy! I'm a Casella.....I love to eat! I first noticed it with pizza. I felt pain in the center of my chest (my esophagus) when I swallowed the crust. Of course, I ignored it and continued to eat. Hello, it was pizza! In fact, I ignored it for most of the week. I'd pause a little as I swallowed but would keep on going. When I spoke to the doc, he told me it was time for the meds. It was soon apparent to me that he was right! It got to the point where even mashed potatoes were hurting to swallow! Even with the meds the next week was pretty rough in the food department.

Here I am entering my last full week of treatment and I think I have the kinks in the meds figured out. I was able to eat a little bit of Easter dinner comfortably, which made my mom and Aunt Kathy very happy! I'm still focusing on soft foods and even.......ugh....ensure shakes to get in as much nutrition as possible. Only 8 treatments left and then it will begin to heal and I will be able to eat! This to shall pass!

The biggest boost to my spirits has again come from all of you! Last week my family did an amazing job hosting 2 events in my honor that were complete successes! I am floored by the support that my family, friends, and strangers have shown. The bowling alley fundraiser was a blast and Chili's was jam packed! I wish I could have been there with all of you. Thank you to everyone who came out and especially to my dad, erika, aunt mary, aunt kathy, and julia for your planning expertise! You guys are the best!

So here we go with my last full week of treatment. I may not be able to eat much and I may need to take frequent naps.....but I have a support system that others would kill for and I'm still.....Happy. (You have to sing that Happy like Pharrell) :) Let's go!

Hurdles:
-The symptoms
-food
-not being able to spend Easter in WPB with Brandt and the usual Casella family  festivities
-not being with my students for FCAT

Jewels:
-Anna and Erica! You guys are amazing :)
-Having Aunt Deb and Aunt Kathy here! You guys are invaluable! Aunt Deb helped with every aspect of care for my mom, the kids and me! I don't think she stopped the whole time she was here! And Aunt Kathy brought the Casella love I was missing and made food that I was able to get down!
-My mom. I can't say enough how much I love her! She has been here every step of the way doing EVERYTHING! I'm so glad she's with me in Houston. Talk about a rock!
-My dad and Erika. Thank you for all of your hard work for that bowling fundraiser! You know how much I wished I could have been there!
-This week brings Brandt, my dad, brother and Jenni!!!! I can't wait!

-Angie and Tod's life group from Tallahassee. They have reached out to me and sent well wishes and prayers everyday last week! Each time I went to the mail there was another uplifting card. Thank you, Thank you!
-Uncle Vinny! Thank you for sending the coffee cake! I doubled up on meds to eat it, but It was so worth it!
-My work family! The cards from the various teams have brightened my days! I can't wait to see you guys to thank you in person! Love you all!

My world!!!! This melts my heart!

Anna, Erica and the kiddos at the park!

Yum! Thanks Uncle Vinny!!!

Happy Easter!

From the trenches!

Kicking off week four with a post from the trenches (a.k.a my chemo room shown above.....for those of you who are wondering what this whole deal looks like!) What better way to spend the 3 hours it takes to pump this junk into my system? Well at least until I fall asleep.....one of those concoctions makes me ridiculously sleepy!
Once I leave here I have to run (literally) down to radiation. They cut things so close around here! Then it's off to pick up Anna from the airport! Anna has been a lot of things to me throughout my life: my cousin,  my best friend, and my roommate for a bit! It only makes sense that she's here now! I'm sure the next week will be jam packed with Casella girls craziness!
With another round of chemo came another jewel for my bracelet via my mom and Mikey. This time the jewel of choice was balance.  I'm loving this bracelet and the little rays of sunshine it's giving throughout this whole ordeal. When I least expect it, I get another reminder of 1. how amazing my family is and 2. that I have everything I need to win this battle! Bring on week 4!

Hurdles:
-saying good-bye to my dad. Just having him here felt good. Something about having your parents around during these times of need makes you feel protected and taken care of regardless of the situation. Even if he refused to watch anything except History Channel, Supernatural, and all of those junk picker shows! Luckily, he'll be back in a couple of weeks!

Jewels:
-Another fun weekend in San Antonio thanks to my mom! It's so refreshing to get away on the weekends!
-my mom is here and cooking for me! Woo Hoo!!! But more than that, just having her here makes things feel right. She is not only my mom, but my cheerleader, shoulder to cry on, and best friend! So glad she felt the need to rush back because I was secretly hoping she would!
-Brandt was able to stay for another week! My support system is #1 in this battle!
-Anna's coming today!

River Walk with the fam

My Dad's last day of yoga

Ice Cream!

Alamo family selfie!

Told you it makes me sleepy!

With a little help from my friends!

Thank you Alea! This has been my anthem!

Friday marks the end of week 3! I'm at the half way point and I'm still feeling good overall. Like I said in my last post, I have my ehhhh days but they're tolerable. My blah feelings towards food midweek cause me to lose a few pounds but I make up for it on the weekend when I'm ravenous so I stay in the dietitians good graces! Dr. Wonderful said I was making his job too easy due to my lack of complaints! Ha! Easy for him? No complaints makes it easy for me! They keep warning that the side effects will kick in here any time, but I'm secretly hoping they won't! The way I see it is, I'm already half way finished.....if those side effects can stay at bay another week or two then I'll only have to live with them for a couple of weeks until treatment ends. I can do anything for a couple of weeks. Remind me I said this when I'm in week 5 and 6! Everything else is going well. Surprisingly, my dad is doing well in Yoga! Who would have thought?! He actually said he likes it! Tomorrow will be his last session before he heads back to WPB and I'm pretty sure he's going to miss it! I'm so proud of him :) We'll see if I can talk him into going to a class back home! I on the other hand, am pretty sure I have T-Rex arms because they don't seem long enough to do some of the things they're asking me to do! LOL! Hopefully that improves before the end!
This past week also brought two West Palm Beach V.I.P's to Houston. Shout out to Tiffany and Cheri for making the 17 hour drive to Texas to spend some quality time with their friend :). It's crazy how just having some friends visiting from back home can make everything feel so normal again. They represented my entire work family and amazingly enough, they truly made it feel like I was walking the halls of COT again with everyone there. It felt great! I showed them what I could of Houston and then when we ran out of things to see.....we drove to San Antonio to see what they had to offer! Take that Cancer! We even had a theme song for the weekend...."The stars at night, are big and bright......DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!" Pee Wee Herman was right.....if you start singing that anywhere in Texas, the locals will finish it! Ask Cheri! Jude and Riley are even starting to finish it when we start singing. Should I be worried? :) Next up on the visitor list, Anna! Let's see what trouble we can get into when she gets here!

Hurdles:
-blah days

Jewels:
-having brandt, the kids, my mom, and my dad here with me! Wow! Love it! I need my brother here now!
-having a great weekend with two super star friends!
-the pizza I had in San Antonio.....tasted just like the pizza I ate in Italy...no lie!!!
-getting mail! I love all the cards and notes :) Brandt brought up the mail I got at home and then some came here to the Texas address too! You guys rock! I heard from college friends, co-worker friends, past co-worker friends, and family members! The simplest thing makes the biggest difference in someones day :) Thank you!
-the lack of side effects so far...fingers crossed!

The famous pizza I had in San Antonio...OMG! 

Cowboys and girls! Hey, we're in Texas......we had to!

My world!

I finally made it to the Container Store!

One of Houston's pretty spots!

My little scientist at the Children's museum!

Orange and Blue flowers all along I-10 between Houston and San Antonio! Beautiful! We may or may not have pulled over and frolicked in them....and picked them.

West Palm VIP's  on the River walk in San Antonio!

Oh my! I love her! Riley the diva!