Post Surgery and Radiation and Beyond

The Light at the end of the Tunnel

In all reality, I started the draft of this blog way back in October and then life just got busy.  So this post will just be a lot of catching everyone up so you can see how everything played out. (I am getting information for this post strictly from my calendar and photos.  So I know I will be missing a bunch!)

If you are here for the first time and you want to start at the beginning, click here.

Starting Monday, October 24th

I took the last two weeks off after surgery and was back to work on the 24th.  All was pretty normal with the exception of some doctors appointments scattered through the week.  I met with Dr. Huq on Wednesday and he let me know that the surgery results all came back clear. (YAY!)  I met with my surgeon on Thursday and we scheduled my follow up mammogram for April.

I the midst of all of that, I had a TikTok video go somewhat viral.  It didn't result in a lot of orders, but I realized what kind of content people are really watching for.  So, that is going to be a big goal for me in 2023.  I will try to create more content and gain followers to try to build my crafting empire! LOL!

Check out the video here:  https://www.tiktok.com/@ritzyricki/video/7157370736263400747
(As of writing this, it has almost 80k views!

Finished that week with a fall gathering at the Wilson's.  I always look forward to spending time with family and friends, so that made for a fun time!  Check out Angie Wilson and her pretty cup! :)



When I met with Dr. Huq the next week, he let me know that I will keep coming in for infusions for the next 6 months.  They are not chemo drugs anymore, just an immune boosting drug called Keytruda.  I have been getting it all along with my chemo drugs every three weeks.  There won't be any side effects and it is about a 30 minute drip from the time it starts.  I am usually there for a few hours since I have to get labs drawn and wait for those results before I can see Dr. Huq to make sure we are good to get the infusion.  Now, I don't know if I have said this before, but thank goodness for good insurance.  When I look at my statements, this drug alone is $41,000.00 per dose!  By far the most expensive medication that has ever been in my body. PHEW!!!

I think I had mentioned some of this in the last post, but things are confusing when you think that far back!

November 2022

Me, Sandy and Amy went to see Jurassic Park at the symphony!  What an amazing experience!!!  I don't think I want to ever watch a movie any other way.  10/10 would highly recommend!




Check out these breast cancer awareness tumblers I made for a couple of craft fairs in November and December.


Here is our booth setup at the Hillsboro Primary.


The next weekend, I took a road trip to see some of my crafty friends in Mount Carmel, IL.  It was a cold weekend and my car started acting stupid, but I powered through!  I was able to meet some of the people who I consider famous in the tumbler world!

This is Randi, Sandy and Kim all getting their selfie action:


This is Kim and Laura being extremely professional demonstrators:

Fan girl moments happened, prizes were won and too much money was spent, but it was the best time ever!


After some bumps in the road, I was finally able to start radiation on November 21st.  I was supposed to start the week before, but because of the complexity of the treatment, they kept needing more time.  I had to go every morning for six weeks.  The machine was set up to rotate around me the whole time.  Anytime the machine was moving, I had to hold my breath.  It wasn't more than about 30 seconds at a time, but while laying flat on a stiff table, it was very hard.

One day while they were getting everything set up for me, I overheard the technician explaining to a new person how I had to hold my breath.  This was probably more than three to four weeks in.  I was shocked!  I was like, "Everyone doesn't have to hold their breath???"  I mean, it makes sense, it is hard to hold perfectly still while you are breathing and there is a beam pointed right next to your lungs.  I just thought everyone had to do it!  I even practiced daily to try to get my lung capacity stronger, so it wasn't so hard to keep holding on.

Radiation went through the end of November and then all the way through December.  I feel like that is all I did.  I would go to radiation, grab an early lunch and then head to work.  The treatment was every day except weekends. I did get off on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, but that was it.  (Oh, there would have been a snow day in there, but Robert was home and drove me over.)

There was some discomfort from the radiation after a while.  It really was more like a sunburn than anything.  My biggest complaint was just being tired all the time.


Now to backup and fill in with a few stories from that timeframe.

Sometime in late November, Izzy brought home goats!  She has always been a farmer at heart.  She will always have animals by her side.  Well, she lives in an apartment, so when she got the opportunity to purchase a couple of goats from the farm she works on, she jumped at it.  Meet Bike and Theven:


Also during that time period, my car was still having the coolant issues that started on the day I went to the craft event in Illinois. Almost every trip started with me having to add coolant.  I was finally able to get it in the shop.  Izzy went with me so we could drop the car off in the morning and then hopefully pick it up after treatment.  It was going to be a longer day because I was also seeing Dr. Huq and getting my infusion after radiation.  I was all over that building that day.  It was the LAST day of radiation! (So, I got to ring another bell!)



(I can't tell if that video is going to load!)

Here is a wreath at the cancer center that I just loved:


Hair was trying to grow back in, but it had a mind of it's own.  I started trying to wear hats less often so it could straighten out.  Unflattering photo alert:


We had Christmas with my family early in December.  It was just the only time we could get together before Christmas.  We had so much fun and I didn't really take many pictures.  Here is the pumpkin pie that I thought must have deserved the pic!


Cookie baking with the Roth family is always a blast.  Just look at those hard workers in the kitchen!


Hair update on Christmas morning:

Then, Christmas with the Roth's on New Year's Eve Day. (The kiddos had fun playing Twister.  And, Robert had a new buddy!)

New Year's Eve was back at the Kutz's.  It was a pajama party!  Again, not many pictures, but here is Greg and Angie rocking their PJ's:

We finally got to go see Avatar on January 4th.  Robert was about to get rid of me if I didn't get us there quicker.  We saw it in IMax and it was phenomenal. 10/10 highly recommend!

My friend Taylor came to visit at work one day with three out of four of her kids.  They are exhausting just watching them go!  I don't know how she does it!


The second annual Friends of Andy Kutz night was held in Perryville.  We rented out a newly renovated house just off the square.  It was a night to never forget! (Andy likes to remind us we play on our phones too much, but just look at him!)


That photo bomber was adorable!


Some rapid fire...because this is getting too long...

We had a baby shower form my co-worker Courtney.  I got a gift basket from one of my favorite instructors.  I started learning how to draw in Procreate on my iPad.  We went to the GFI annual meeting at the Lake of the Ozarks. (Robert got to play in a Delorean.)  I started working on my inner Ursula (by Halloween, I should have it perfected!)  Did a big cup order for some besties.  Saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the symphony.  Got cute cupcakes and flowers from my bestie for my 50th birthday!







A few things to note:

  • I will try to update this blog at least a couple of more times.
  • 0/10 Don't recommend last year, but I do know that I am blessed to have been supported and loved all the way through everything!
  • The short and grey hair is not helping me to NOT feel 50!
  • I didn't go into details about my knee issues, so I will try to do that in the next one.
  • Surgery for my knee is scheduled for March 6th.  I would appreciate some prayers on that front.
  • Ringing the bell for a second time was great!
  • I will keep the Amazon link open until I am finished with the infusions. Click here for link.  Venmo is @ricki-roth / Paypal is paypal.me/RickiR or ricki.roth@gmail.com / Cash App is $rickiroth (Posting those makes me feel greedy, but it does cost a lot to do all of the running around.  Even though I am pretty much done, I do have to pay down some of the credit I used during that time.  Please never feel obligated to send absolutely anything.  Insurance has been very good to me through all of this.)
Thank you all for joining me on this ride!  I appreciate you all!
Ricki



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