I'm Finally Going to Do It!!!!!!

Pelotonia is a big deal!!  

If you live in Columbus you know all about it!!  For my friends that don't, Pelotonia was established with the objective to fund innovative cancer research.  It's a three-day experience that includes a weekend of cycling, entertainment, and volunteerism. Through its first twelve rides, Pelotonia raised more than $217 million for cancer research!!

For several years now I have been a supporter of Pelotonia - but always from the sidelines.  I have participated in fundraisers, purchased Pelotonia gear, donated financially to my awesome friends that have been riders, and cheered on riders on ride days from the front of the South High Buckeye Donuts!!

Last year was tough and the actual Pelotonia ride didn't happen as usual.  In true Pelotonia fashion, they adapted to the obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed participants to set their own goals, and over 11,000 participants still managed to raise more than $10.5 million for cancer research.

Well the year of 2021 will be different!!  Pelotonia officially announced that the Ride will happen this year and I joined a team with some of my phamily - Bible's Bicycle Brigade!!

Here soon I will begin my training and will be doing the 20 mile ride on Saturday August 7th!!  Please visit my personal Pelotonia page and donate if you can!!

Good News - My TILs Army Brought the Battle!!!!!

Wowzah!!  Going through that cell transplant was everything they said it would be - I have never before felt that beaten down and utterly exhausted!!  I really did feel like I had been hit by a bus (and then ran over a few more times)!!!

Funny faces :)

Over the last 5 weeks I have been slowly recovering and getting my strength back physically.  Each day I am getting a little bit stronger and am able to do more.

Chemo wreaked havoc on my taste buds and food just wasn't tasting good early on in my recovery.  Thankfully, that has gradually improved over time and I am back to enjoying food again (and starting to gain back the weight that I lost).

But I would be lying if I didn't say these past few months have been some of the hardest for me emotionally.  Nathan and I took our isolation during my recovery very seriously and for several weeks I didn't leave the house other than to go to medical appointments.  Not seeing family and friends has been tough but I know that a lot of people are feeling this stress during the pandemic.  And I know that this is a sacrifice I need to make to ensure I stay as healthy as possible.  I am truly grateful for all of the cards, phone calls, texts, and video calls (with and without funny faces) as these have kept me going these last few months!!

Me & Shiloh

By mid January I was mentally going stir crazy (there's only so much Netflix binging a human should do) so I started my transition back to work.  Initially I worked remotely, 4 hours a day, for a few weeks and then worked my way up to 8 hour days.  This past week I finally got the approval from the study team to return to work at the hospital.  It was so nice to be back with my team!!  And on my second day back our team was visited by Shiloh, from the Buckeye Paws-Dog Therapy Program!!  He is just the sweetest boy and I think he really liked me:)

And now for the really good news.......

I had my first CT scan on January 28th (6 weeks post transplant) and reviewed the results with the study team during my clinic visit earlier this week.  

The scan shows a 23% reduction in overall tumor size!!!!!!!! 💗💙💚💛💜

To really understand how great this is I need to explain that the oncologist had totally prepared me for the possibility that these initial scans might not really show improvement.  He said that scans post cellular transplant won't necessarily show any changes early on (unlike chemo treatments were you expect to see tumor shrinkage early).  So the fact that we are seeing this response so early on is really AMAZING!!!!!  It also really helps me mentally to feel like all of the sacrifices and grueling treatment that I went through was worth it in the end!!

In addition, there is the possibility that we will see the tumors continue to decrease - so keep the positive vibes, thoughts, prayers coming ya'll!!!

Thanks again for all the support and love!!  It means the world to me!!!  I couldn't do this without you all!!!!!

#OneGoal    

#EndCancer