As my PET showed in March, the cancer is gone and it has been surprisingly absent from my thoughts as well; I am ready for chemo to be done.   My hair is so thin that I now exclusively wear a hat.  I catch myself in the mirror now and then and wonder how Eric and Brennan can still have such a crazy love for me.  But of course, they do.  Brennan continually takes my glasses and my hat off; both of which I wear to make me look more normal.  Bren just wants to see his Mom, or perhaps he's just a 1.5 year old who likes to play with and analyze everything within his reach (the first explanation sounded so beautiful, didn't it?)

I'm not sure my heart could be more full of joy; I'll spare you the details but I am incredibly grateful to my doctors, my family, my community ... you all ... you get the idea.  The perfect Chicago weather has something to do with this tidal wave of gratitude.  Weather plays such a predominant role in a Chicagoans life that when we finally emerge from hibernation, you can see the happiness spread across everyone's face like a thick princess pink frosting.  Chicago in the summer is unbeatable. As the saying goes - thank god for the awful Chicago winter, or everyone would want to live here.  I'm guessing you all would agree that the end of chemo and the beginning of the summer coincide nicely (whoo hooo! I feel like I've written that paragraph already on this blog .... hmmmm.... a false start to the Chicago summer perhaps had me fooled, but now the Chicago weather is going to be consistent until October ... I'm sure of it.)

Chemo #11 wasn't a cakewalk, but wasn't bad either.  The absence of Bleomycin from my chemotherapy regimen due to pulmonary issues didn't lessen the side effects.  I slept more than my past chemo sessions, I have blisters forming on my feet that are starting to annoy me, and I have pesky body aches.  To sum it all up, I'm really doing very well.  AND, I only have one session left.  One week from today, I will have completed 24 weeks of chemo (well 22 and then I'll have another week of side effects but who's counting). 

As chemo comes to an end, Eric and I are making normal, everyday life plans.  (I am however keeping in mind that the cancer could come back.  I don't think it will, but if it does, I want to have at least taken a good look down that path.)   Super, super cool (I'm not kidding) boring stuff (I love boring) like looking for a new car.  We have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix, and we have discovered that it will cost more to fix the air conditioning than the car is worth .... um yeah.  Buying things seems to be difficult for Eric and I; a car with air conditioning, furniture that isn't free, clothing that we didn't wear in college.... you get the idea.  Eric's hour commute to work in 90 degree heat may not kill him, but his mood after the trip may kill me.  (If you know of a good used car or van we could buy, please take pity and give us a shout.)