Mrs. Moore-what do you want to do when you finish radiation???

I want to go to DISNEY WORLD!!! It's the truth, but it's also an old commercial they used to air (don't be in denial, you KNOW you remember it!) all the time!

My last week of radiation was a blur, everything was happening so fast, and preparing for our special trip...well, poof! It was gone baby gone!

I will start this post on a positive and end this post on a positive, giving you a bit of real life experience in the middle (did you think nothing less?).

We had an amazing opportunity to take a special trip to Orlando (Rhett's Dad lives there as well as here in Charleston) just the 3 of us....Momma, Daddy, and Lexi Lou. Cameron did not want to go at all and since he had his special trip snow skiing, we figured this would be a wonderful chance to travel just the 3 of us. We have never really had that one on one time with Lexi and it was the best experience. I don't know who had more fun, Lexi or the two of us watching her. I teared up just walking in the park, it may be every kids dream to go to Disney (except my Cameron's), but it's every parents dream to take them there. It was a simple trip, we drove down, took her to the Magic Kingdom Friday, Rain Forest Cafe and Downtown Disney Saturday, and then took the long way home yesterday. All in all, it was the perfect trip, thank you to all the parents who made that happen, we are so grateful! I posted a few pics here, and the rest I will put on Face book later today, we got some cute ones! Seeing Disney through the eyes of a child, particularly your child is a life changing experience we were blessed to have! Through the grace of God I was able to make it through a very long day (over 14 hours) only stopping a few times to rest and then it was off to the next adventure...all only 2 days after 28 rounds of radiation! Whoa Tonto!

A very strange thing happened to me last week. I wanted to share it with you because it may be helpful one day to someone reading this post (or helpful to someone they know, etc.) Okay, so last week I had my second appointment with Dr.C (my wonderful therapist) which is downtown. Well, I headed down in plenty of time to make it on time, however once I got down there...it was a different story. I became very confused and disoriented. The more I drove around, the more confused I got, and became so "lost" I had to pull over. I couldn't remember where I was going, so then I couldn't remember how the heck to get where I was going (duh?). I sorta knew I was downtown, but wasn't sure exactly "where" I was (I was in front of Colonial Lake the entire time-a landmark location downtown). I knew enough to pull over, I wasn't sure what was happening, reaction to meds or radiation? seizure? stroke? Do I call Rhett? 911? Drive myself to a hospital? Certainly, I passed one somewhere...it was nuts! I closed my eyes and put my head back for what I thought was a minute or two. I recall looking at the clock when I felt this "confusion" coming on....by the time I really remembered where I was supposed to be 18 minutes had gone by! Holy Cow!

Needless to say, I was still disoriented, but made it to my appointment 40 minutes late! I walked in and she was waiting on me arms and door wide open. I was pretty frazzled and just shrugged my shoulders...I didn't really have an explanation, I didn't know what the heck just happened to me! After some very deep breathing, she explained to me a bit of the cognitive effects of chemo and how they are accelerated once again after treatment. She also explained that studies have shown that looking at a person's brain who has gone through aggressive chemo and a person's brain who has dementia...mmmmm, are very similar! What the *#&@?? That most times we regain most of our functioning back, but that right now I was not firing all cylinders! In other words CHEMO BRAIN!! Wow, I had no idea. I called my sister and after telling her what happened, we were both just quite for a second and then busted out laughing. I mean really, what else could we do and it was pretty darn funny. On a serious note, I just have to be accounted for while I am out and about for a few months! It got me thinking though, my poor Granddaddy (who has Alzheimer's)...this is how he feels all of the time. I cannot imagine, once again-it gave me new perspective and I appreciate the days that I have that I am sharp and in tune (wink wink).

Well, I am done with chemo, done with radiation, I will have many follow up appointments to start a post treatment med regime...but for now-I am holding off on any more surgeries. I still have a handful in the future, but not right now...my body needs a rest and my mind needs to catch up.

I have had so many prayers being lifted up for many of my friends and "Pink" sisters having their surgeries. I have touched base with them all and they seem to be resting and recovering. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my life and what the past 10 months have meant to me, both good and bad (mostly good). My job now is to focus on looking ahead and now getting a grip on staying healthy, finding the "new normal" in my life and my families life. My short term goals are to slow down my schedule, be in the moment, and pick and chose what I try to control (who needs all that anyway...control is OVERRATED!).

My plan is to continue this blog until we hit the year mark...coming up on June 1st. Then I would like to convert this blog into a book, at least for my keeping.

Who knows what the next chapter in my life will hold...eyes, mind, and heart are wide open...ready to see what God has in store for me and my family!