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Care Calendar Details and Link

Care Calendar Link

Hello friends!! This is Jen Gray hopping on here to let you all know how you can access Sara's Care Calendar over the next few months.  We all know that Sara is like a machine...she just goes and goes. She jumps at the first chance to bring meals, treats, thoughtful gifts, cards, hand-me-downs, homemade granola and banana bread. She jumps in and get her hands dirty right alongside others at a moment's notice, often at the expense of her own sleep or personal needs. My hope is that we can show her that we see that and that we are all just as eager to roll up our sleeves and fill our calendars with ways to serve and support her in return.  We are creating a "wish list" of things we anticipate she or her family may need or want. If you want to help with that list in any way, you can leave comments here. I'm imagining we will need to put our core group's contact information on this blog so that if you want to communicate with us directly about anything you can do
Recent posts

Celebrate Recovery!

“and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans‬ ‭5:2-5‬ ‭ “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭  Closing the door on what’s prayerfully the last chapter in this cancer journey. Surgery was smooth, safe, and swift today PTL! I’m defintely sore but nothing compared to the first (double mastectomy, exploratory lymphectomy, removal of chemo port-a-catheter, placement of expanders under my chest muscles, drains). This was easy-peasy comparatively and gratefully! And no drama with “going under” if any of you remember my crazy anesthesia story from last time.  I told my (Dutch!) anesthesiologist about and asked him if could not have a repeat performanc

Final Chapter, Last Hoorah!

 Well it’s been a while. I’m back from a long hibernation.  So much to write about since my last entry but that’ll have to wait. Right now I’m focusing at the issue at hand....my reconstructive surgery tomorrow at 10:15am, 10 months after my first one, a double mastectomy last November and 6 months after my last radiation treatment. This time they’ll remove my “Barbie boobs” and replace them with “normal” implants, along with a little needle liposuction to fill in and pad around them as I don't have any of my own breast tissue- I have plenty of adipose (aka fat!) tissue, just none there so they’re relocating some. I’ve never been “well indowed” and never need to be but take as much adipose tissue from my belly and thighs. Like they say it’s all about “location, location, location!!” 😊 My skin, muscles, nerve, tendons, etc are still stretched tight and taught, numb and tender on the radiated side so I’ve faithful done my daily pool routine with laps and exercises to stretch and loo

Crossing the finish line!

Well the 6 1/2 week radiation race & 10 month cancer marathon is complete! (Just hormone therapy, 5-10 years of it!, & reconstructive surgery in a couple months left in the treatment plan!) Amen! Praise the Lord for getting me through it with a plethora of His perfect (perplexing) peace, protection & presence bringing purpose & personal progress (aka spiritual growth) through it all! Hallelujah!! My skin is healing up great! I saw my radiation oncologist on Tuesday after my second to last treatment. She said “it’s perfect. I want to see something to know it’s working.  It’s pink but not red & angry.” Especially for areas of my fair Dutch skin that’s never seen the sun! And the open raw areas are healing up beautifully! God has been so gracious! I just have this weird stinging tightness in that breast (even though there’s still not much normal  sensation) as the skin gets “shrink-wrapped” & burned with the radiation   I saw my regular oncologist Tuesday as well &

Fascinating biotechnology

    I love learning about the science, biology & technology of it all. I observe & try to figure things out as I am getting treated and then ask the techs about it too. I’ve learned some interesting things about how, why & where they map out the radiation waves. One is that different kinds (electron, proton, etc) have different strengths & “half life”(that’s not what they called it but that’s basically what it is) where the potency of their waves decreases. Therefore they do what’s called a “bolus” (totally different meaning than how we nurses use that word) where they put a mesh or rubber layer (mimicking a layer(s) of skin) of varying thicknesses to pull the full potency of the radiation closer to the surface. Another thing i learned is how they determine the angles. The radiation goes straight at my upper chest where they’re hitting the lymph nodes all the way through to my back because it doesn’t go through any vital organs. It’s kind of funny- I can actually clear

Charis, cold & cream are my saving grace in the radiation race!

I started writing this update last week but kept writing more (so I split it up) in little spurts as I kept getting pulled away before I could finish. Sorry it’s so long & late!🥺 but here it is... My last day of regular radiation is done!! Woohoo!! I just have 5 days of a “boost” left! That is where they focus directly on the incision area in case there was any “seeding”. Basically they’re aiming to destroy any cancerous cells that possibly got left behind when the tumors & positive lymph nodes were being surgically removed.     It’s quick & “easy” as far as radiation goes. It takes them longer to set it all up perfectly & precisely on the right spot than it does to actually radiate it. My doctor keeps reminding me that the side effects peak a few days to a week after it’s done but so far I’ve gotten through it pretty well all things considered! There’s just a couple spots that are red & raw- at my clavicle along the line where my skin folds when I lift my arms abo

Song for the Soul: God who Listens

  https://music.apple.com/us/album/god-who-listens-feat-thomas-rhett-radio-version/1550623244?i=1550623250 God Who Listens.  By Chris Tomlin & Thomas Rhett Another new one I heard & instantly loved! I thought about doing another one of the great contemporary Christian artist’s songs (like Jesus, How can I keep from Singing, or Whom Shall I fear...all great! And ones I’ll probably do in the future!) but I heard this one today in the car driving home from my treatment with Thomas Rhett’s crooning country voice and decided to do this one! What a sweet truth to hold on to that the One who holds it all is holding me & hears the cries of my heart! “ Oh, oh, oh, oh The God who made the winters and the summers  ( He is the Creator & Sustainer of every season of life...the new growth of spring that comes with rain, the freedom & fun of summer when the heat turns up, the crisp chill & coziness of fall when things get dry, and the white whimsical wonderland of winter (exce

Purposeful Pain & Redeeming Reflections

Well things were rolling along smoothly on Radiation Road, cruising day after day with slowly increasing but tolerable redness, tenderness and irritation.  Then we went rolling downtothe beach on a bike ride with some other families.  It was a great day biking from a park (where we love to play pickleball too!) near our house down to Doheny State Beach (our go-to long board surf beach) along a creek that empties into the ocean there.  The dads picked up lunch from a local favorite Mexican place and we eat/played around there for a bit.  Then we took the trail & headed south down the coast to the San Clemente pier for ice cream & treats (= Bear Coast Coffee for me!).  Then we retraced our steps and headed back.  It was a cool crisp beautiful sunny day! Couldn’t beat the views or the company! That night after I showered & we were getting ready for bed, I was putting cream on the radiated area of my right chest & axila as I do everyday. When I lifted up my arm I saw a big