New Beginnings

          I think it's definitely time for an update on whats been happening. Chris' and I started our move right after Christmas. We had a tight deadline to get up to Seattle, Chris had to be at his new office on January 5th. So we packed up our car with the 3 pups and made the trek up to Seattle. Chris' work was a huge help too because they helped move our furniture! We are so grateful for them! We finally made it up to Seattle after a 4 day car drive. The trip wasn't bad at all and the dogs were troopers. We've been here for 4 months now and seen all types of weather from snow to beautiful clear blue skies! We live in a small town outside of Seattle in the forest and it is the best place ever. Chris and I still can't believe we live somewhere so amazing. We take our pups out to the woods and go exploring with them as much as possible. We've found a few gems next to a river and its only 15 minutes away from our house. We have a hiking trail only 3 miles from our home! Such a drastic change from Texas and we couldn't be happier. I've met with the team of doctors here and these past few months have been crazy with appointment after appointment after MRI. We met with the neuro-oncologist and the tumor did not grow back and she's confident with monitoring it every 6 months instead of every 3 months! She said that they found out the contrast dye they use in MRI's to see if tumors react to it, stays in the brain and do not know the long term effects. So she doesn't want to monitor this tumor too much and then in the future cause me more issues due to the contrast they used....which I am ok with! But awesome news I am cancer free....its crazy to say that. I still have a hard time believing I had brain cancer. I am so grateful for everyone in my life for the strength to help fight for me. Next on the team, the neurosurgeon recommends we monitor the cluster of tumors in my shoulder because they are so deep in the joint he would need an orthopedic surgeon to help. He said if it gets to the point I can't stand it anymore then we'll do the surgery....but sometimes I feel like I'm at that point. I get so frustrated because I can't sleep or the pain is always waking me up and affecting me every minute, everyday. But I'm sick of surgeries so going to give my body a rest this year. The tumor in my forearm has grown but not by much, so its not too concerning. We're going to continue to monitor that one. The risks of that surgery is way scarier to me than the surgery to my shoulder. My shoulder is already messed up, you can't screw it up much more. But the possibility of losing my mobility in my dominant hand scares me. I already have a hard time dealing with it giving out on me but to completely lose it is hard to accept. I'm slowly coming to the realization that this is my life and I have to accept that I will continuously grow tumors. But hopefully with some visualization, meditation, proper eating, and the healing of being in nature, will help or at least help me able to cope with this shitty disease. Thanks to the lovely electric shooting pain I rarely get sleep so I watch movies and lets be real, Harry Potter. So I had an idea to start a moon garden....they're flowers that bloom at night and when the moon shines on them makes them look luminescent. I thought it would be better for my mind than to always watch movies. Well, its a bit difficult to find those flowers out here but I will find them! So to sum it up, taking a break from doctors and going to work on my mental state now that we know what our options are for my body. I have complete faith that being out here and doing everything we are doing will really help me. Shoot, its already made Chris and I so happy!