8-23-09 Not much to tell..which I quess is really good news! Kecia still wakes up each morning wondering how she will feel that day because it's still "hit or miss" right now. She finished radiation two weeks ago, but it stays in her system for at least six weeks according to her doctor so it is not unusual that she would still have some pretty yucky days. Because she is such a go getter, Kecia has a hard time accepting that she isn't back up to speed already. She was pretty down the last time she met with her oncologist because even the smallest amount of activity still wears her down and can cause her significant pain. She worried that this was the best it was going to be and wondered if she would ever be "up to speed" again. He did a great job of putting it all in perspective for her. He said "if you knew someone who had been run over by a train and miraculously survived, you would not expect them to be "up to speed" after only a year. You would expect them to walk with a limp, work part time (if they could even work at all) tire easily, still need pain meds, and require lots of therapy." He pointed out that while the outside of her looks pretty healthy, the inside of her body has been hit by a train and that her bones were literally exploding from the inside out. He reminded her of the original prognosis and how far she has already come from those early days. When he found out that she had taken herself off of all her pain meds except for on the "as needed" basis, he scolded her good. He reminded her that when her body is fighting to aleviate pain it is not able to do as much work on repairing old bones and fighting off infection. He insisted that she at least keep using her pain patch which time releases pain meds on a low, but continual basis. She agreed once she understood the reasoning behind it and is in a much better frame of mind concerning her speed of recovery.
Another good thing...Kecia and I hooked up with one of our fellow prayer warriors from Team Kecia the other day for coffee and left with an invitation to join her Bible study. It won't start until mid September but we are very excited!

8-9-09 The bad news is that for each week of Kecia's radiation, the side effects got worse. She suffers lots of dizzy spells, nausea, headaches, and blistered skin on her neck, breast and shoulder. NOT a fun 7 weeks! The good news is....SHE"S DONE! At least for now she is finished with radiation. Her doctor said the scan reveals that radiation has done all it can for now so she is free from that for at least several months. She goes in for her monthly chemo treatment on Tuesday which means she will be out of commission most of next week, but from there we are expecting every day to feel just a little bit better than the day before. She was able to go in to work for about 3 hours early last week and while that may seem like nothing, it was a big step for Kecia. It wiped her out and she slept for 4 hours after returning home...but that's not the point..she went to work! YEAH! Kecia knows that she is a walking miracle and is so thankful for this "second chance". Keep her in your prayers!