Best Christmas present

I am pretty sad that Christmas is already over. I feel like it came so fast and then it was over. I usually like to start shopping pretty early but this year I really didn't get started until the Friday before. I finally finished up on Christmas Eve and still felt like I didn't have enough. Even though everything went by extremely fast I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with my family and Kyle's family. I love watching people open presents especially the kids. 

I had a CT scan done on the Monday before Christmas and then saw th doctor on Friday. Dr. Koeneke delivered the best Christmas present I had gotten so far.  My scans showed nothing in the lungs and two very small spots in the liver that were hard to tell what they were. He said if these spots showed up on a healthy person's scans he wouldn't be concerned at all but knowing there was something there before we are going to do at least one more round of chemo maybe two. If feels so good knowing that this chemo reginmin is doing its job so hopefully it will be a little easier to sit through this round. I will go in on Tuesday this week. Looks like I'll be having my own "cocktails" to celebrate New Years. 

I had a MRI of the brain done Friday morning before I saw Dr. Koeneke. I was scheduled to see the radiologist on Jan 2nd so I wasn't even thinking about those results yet but Dr. Koeneke eased our minds and let is know that the scan came back clean as well. So that was my second favorite Christmas present!

On a side note, married life is great. Our wedding was a amazing and I couldn't have asked for it to go any smoother. It was so nice getting to share our special day with so many special people in our lives. I will share pictures on my next blog!

I want to give a special shout out to all the racers and their families who showed their support by purchasing Team Jeryka items from dragraceresults.com. It is greatly appreciated and I hope to be able to thank you all in person one day at the track. I also want to thank Scott Lemon, Luke Bogacki, Danielle Davis, Rick Huffman and Jeremy Maples for helping to make it happen. 

Hope everyone has a great New Years!

Love,

Jeryka

Missing out

So this weekend is our first gymnastics meet of the season, which I am pretty excited about. But what I'm not excited about is that I will be laying in a hospital bed all weekend for round 4 of chemo and won't get to see the girl's hard work pay off. This is going to be extremely hard for me. I want nothing more than to be there with them during their first meet. I'm not going to be able to help calm their nerves, give them last minute corrections or give them a hug after they do an awesome routine. These kids mean the world to me and I just want to be there for them. Tonight after practice was extremely difficult. It was so hard looking at the girls as I was giving them last minute advice because I could see the disappointment on their faces and it killed me. I couldn't let them know I was hurting inside so I held back the tears as we said good bye. I want them to be strong while I'm gone so I had to put my strong face on even though I didn't feel strong at all. Tonight was also hard because I have a gymnast who is struggling and there is nothing I can do for her before the meet. I can't help her work through her mental block from the hospital and it really bothers me. I just want to fix it for her and make it all better, but I can't. I feel like I am letting her, along with the other gymnast down for not being there for them whee they need me the most. It's not fair to them that they have to be put through this battle with me. They shouldn't have to worry about me, they should just be able to focus on doing their routines to the best of their ability.

This round could be my last round. It will all depend on what the scans show this time. After two rounds the spot in the liver shrank a lot from the original scans. If it looks like the chemo is still working I could do up to 2 more rounds. If everything looks stable we may take a break after this one. Since I am tolerating the chemo pretty well, Dr Koeneke would be okay with doing more rounds after this if it looks like it is still doing its job. I haven't been sick at all this time around, it just wears me out and sucks sitting in a bed for 4 days straight with only being able to get up to use the restroom. I take plenty of things to do but I never have the desire to do anything. Last time we took the clock down because it was directly in front of my bed and I couldn't stand watching the time go by so slowly. Last round my hemoglobin levels dropped pretty low so they did a blood transfusion. I was a little worried about this but it went fine other than being done in the middle of the night. I just want to sleep when I'm there but the nurses won't leave me alone no matter what time it is.

The last two weeks were the best. Between getting to marry my best friend and spending a week in Mexico. I got to forget about everything and just have fun.  I think that is why this round of chemo is extremely difficult on me. I went from an extreme high to an extreme low. I am so sick of this thing running my life. I feel like everything revolves around it and I can't just live a normal life. I didn't get to race as much as I would have liked this summer and now I can't go coach my girls at their first meet.

On a brighter note, our wedding was amazing. Everything came together nicely and I had the time of my life. It was so nice to have our families and friends all come together and help us celebrate our special day. The dance floor was rockin' all night long and so was the photo booth! We got a good laugh from the photo album that was put together from the photo booth. I will try to post some pictures from the night real soon.

Love,
Jeryka

Why

Why?

That is a question I constantly ask myself. Why do I have cancer? Why was I chosen to walk this rough path? Why do I have to fight so hard to live? Why do innocent people get this disease?

I know I won't ever get any answers but I just don't know why it happened to me or why it happens to anyone. This disease is constantly on my mind. I wish more than anything that I could just forget about it and not have to worry anymore. I don't want to be sick anymore. I don't want to wonder if the chemo is working or not. I don't want to wonder if what we are doing is enough or the right thing? Should I be doing something else to fight this?

I am so ready for our wedding day. But of course me being sick is always in the back of my mind. What if the next round of chemo really kicks my butt and I'm too sick to make it to our wedding. Or if I do make it, what if I can't enjoy the day to the fullest because I don't feel good. What if I feel bad and can't enjoy our honeymoon?

I am just so frustrated with everything right now. This is my last free week before my next round of chemo and I was just wanting to feel good and today hasn't been a great start to the week. I just hope the next few days get better so I can enjoy them.

On a side note. I got an MRI two weeks ago and everything in the brain looked good. So that was a relief.

Love,
Jeryka

Starting over

I didn't get as lucky as I did last chemo treatment. My hair started really coming out this weekend. I didn't wash it hoping I wouldn't lose any more than I already had but I woke up this morning and it was pretty patching. So before I went in to get an MRI, Kyle shaved my hair off. It was depressing because I had finally had a decent amount of hair and I was actually starting to like it. Now I got to start over and what really bothers me is not having hair to do for our wedding in a month. But on a positive note, maybe this means the chemo is actually working this time and I will get to sleep in longer since I won't have to worry about doing my hair.



This pile is a lot smaller than my first pile!



This Thursday will start round 2. I will get to do treatment here in Manhattan so that will be nice to stay close to home and not have to travel.

Love,
Jeryka

Blank

I'm gonna try this blog again. I have started two times but couldn't finish. Now that I have my feelings some what under control I can share with everyone what is going on.

Kyle and I flew down to Houston last Tuesday night. This was suppose to be a routine 3 month check up with the oncologist. I had my CT scan Wednesday. Which took forever to actually get it done and it didn't help that the lights went off while we were waiting (me being me, I was scared that was a sign). Thursday was the day I saw the doctor. Of course she was late but now I wish she wouldn't have even showed up......

The results we got were not what we were looking for. Th CT scan showed that the spot in the liver had grown from 1.2 cm to 2.8 cm and there were spots in the lungs that were bigger from the scans done at the end of June......

I was speechless. I wanted to go back to bed, wake up and start the day over again, only with better news. How could there be anything left in my body after the horrible rounds of chemo I just finished. I just didn't understand. I still don't understand this. 

Once again the doctor reminded me that I am a very rare case (I have mixed feelings about this). She gave us two chemo options to do. We chose the one she felt was the most aggressive but she wanted to admit me into the hospital down there to get this chemo. 

We got out of her office around 9. Went to admissions to get admitted and they told us we had to wait until someone was discharged. So we waited and waited. Drove around Houston, went back to the hotel, watched tv, ate, and oh yeah, waited some more. I was ready to just get on a plane and fly home. I was finally admitted at 10:30 that night, over 12 hours later.

Surely they wouldn't start anything that late.... I was wrong. They put a picc line in my arm since my port had to be removed. Which only took about an hour. Premeds were started around 3 and then chemo was started around 3:30am. The first chemo which is call IFex would be administered for 4 days at 3 hours a day. The second chemo is called Doxorubicin and would be give 3 days in a row going for 12 hours each day.

Let's just say that was a long four days in a hospital bed. I was able to get up and walk around but most of the time I just wanted to stay in bed. My energy level was low and there were times I didn't feel great. 

I finally got discharged on Monday around 5pm. Kyle had to go to two classes on how to take care of my picc line. Then he had to clean it, change the bandage and flush it while a nurse watched him. They wouldn't discharge me until he passed the test! We were suppose to fly out at 6:30 but didn't make that flight. We got on the 7:00 one with a stop in Dallas. We got to KC an hour and half late because the plane from Dallas to KC had something wrong with the navigation. The best text I got about that was from my BFF Sarah, "well I guess you don't want to end up in Indiana!" At this point I didn't care where I ended up as long as it wasn't in Houston or a hospital. 

When we got to KC I was feeling fine. Tired but I could handle that. I was excited because that would mean I would feel even better on Tuesday and would be able to go on with the week. That was wronge. Tuesday was a struggle. I had no energy, felt sick, my head was cloudy and I was really upset at this situation. I tried to go to practice but only made it two hours before needing to come home. I am so glad I have people in my life that will listen and let me cry when I need to.  One of my parents finally saw me lose it as I was leaving the gym. All she did was ask how I was feeling. That was all I needed to hear at that time and I lost it. I don't like to show my emotions around the girls. I don't want to worry them. If they see me upset or worried then they would get that way and they don't deserve to have that on their minds. 

I'm at a point in this fight that I really wonder if what we are doing is the right thing. Is going through chemo really going to get rid of everything? Is there something we are missing or not doing that we should be doing? Should I go get another opinion? Why isn't the chemo working? Do I want to go through this all over again? Why does it keep coming back? Am I going to lose my hair again after I worked so hard to get it back? How am I suppose to plan a wedding when I am in a hospital bed for four straight days and have no energy to get out? All of these questions plus a thousand more are all what was through my mind since getting the news. And Tuesday night I had had enought and broke down. I lost it but luckily I have some very special people in my life that allow me to break down and they help pick up all the pieces. They put everything back into prespective and got me back on track.

Wednesday was 100 times better. The morning was a little rough but as I got the day started everything got better. We got to see Dr. Koeneke this afternoon and he answered all of our questions. He really makes me feel at ease with everything. He takes the time to listen and answer questions we may have. We asked him about going up to Ohio to get a second opinion from the University and he was all for that (thank you Samantha and Jeg!). He also told us that more than likely they could administer the chemo up here. Which means we won't have to travel down to Houston every 3 weeks like the doctor down there was wanting us to do. He is also setting up an appointment to get a port put back in, which means I can get this dang picc line out (it's pretty annoying and a lot of work). 

Every hour in the day got better. My energy was up and I didn't feel sick at all. I made it through the whole practice with the girls and they even got to try on their new leotards for this season!

Thank you to everyone that has called, text, or sent me a message. Your thoughts and prayers really mean a lot. I love you all!

Thank you to Joey Keith who made a trip down to Houston to sit with us during the first day of treatment. 

Love,

Jeryka

Nervous

I am starting to get real nervous about my check up next week. I have a CT scan on Wednesday morning and then I will see the doctor Thursday morning to get the results. I know I can't start worrying before I actually get results but how can I not worry about this. I am scared they are going to find something and make me do chemo again. I don't know what I would do if that was the case. The last round of chemo was horrible and I just can't see myself having to go through that all over again. I am trying hard to keep a positive mindset but at times it gets real hard. Everything has been going great and I just don't want that to stop. I have been busy with work, wedding planning and a little racing so that has helped keep my mind from wondering.



Abby, Angel and Sherman (my pets) sent my flowers at work.
Mom had sent me flowers last week also but I didn't get a picture of them.

 

Dad is so excited that he got all 3 dragsters and the S-11 to fit in the trailer. Don't worry its safe!

That is my car that gets to ride all the way up there!

This kid is crazy but love him to death. He got to hang out all weekend with us at the races.

At two weeks old these little guys made their first appearance at the race track.

National Gymnastics Day was Sept. 21st.

Abigail being my backseat driver.





I am wanting to send out some prayers for a couple of people I know from the race track as they are going through some health issues. I am thinking of both of you.

 

Love,

Jeryka

 





Picture update



Here are some pictures from the last month or so. Everything is going great. I have been feeling good and my hair is coming in nicely. I will return to Houston the beginning of October for a check up.

 



The S-11 broke a rocker in Nobel.



We had to push two of the three race cars into the trailer at the end of the weekend.

Kyle won super street at the Topeka division race!

Abigail is ready to race!

I can finally get my hair into a ponytail!

My sister in law gave birth to these two perfect babies. They were born on Sept. 6th and are doing great. Mom and babies got to go home on Sunday.

Kaden James

Carter John

Jacks with baby Kaden

Haylee, Blake and Cate meeting Carter and Kaden for the first time

The twins with the twins!

This is how Jackson wanted to take a picture. With a finger up his nose!

Love,
Jeryka

One state to the next

We got back from Iowa on Monday morning about 1am. The weekend didn't end up being too bad after a rough start on Saturday. I made a lot of runs but didn't really turn on a whole lot of win lights. Dad ended up winning the super quick dragster side and then lost in the run off. Kyle won super pro but then also lost the run off. Over all not a horrible weekend.

Tuesday morning Pam, Tera and I left for Hartford, CT. This would be the first time in a long time that I have flown somewhere that didn't involve doctor's appointments or getting stuck with a needle, so I was going to enjoy the trip.

The lady at Starbucks almost got my name right!

 

 

Our flight out of KC was delayed an hour so when we got to Chicago we just went straight to the next plane and boarded. No time wasted in that airport. We got into Hartford around 4:30 with no problems, checked into the hotel and went exploring for a little bit.

I have been in a lot of planes in the last year, but not one this new and fancy.

It was an 800 series!

The view from our hotel room

 

Tumble Street

 

Gymnastics being representing all over town

While we were eating dinner coach Chow (he was Shawn Johnsons and Gabby Douglas' coach) came into the same restaurant to have dinner. As we were leaving Pam stopped so I could get a picture with him. I got to thank him for the letter and t-shirt he had sent me earlier this year wishing me good luck with my journey. He has got to be the nicest and happiest person I have ever met.

Chow and I!

 

I am going to enjoy this week and try to learn a lot before having to make a quick trip to Houston for a check up on Sunday.

 

Love,

Jeryka

Summer's end

Where has the summer gone?

A couple of weeks ago I went and saw Dr. Bell, the radiologist here in Manhattan to discuss what we should do as far as full brain radiation. My oncologist down in Houston thought I should see about getting full brain since I was done with chemo but the radiologist that did the Gamma Knife felt we should just use full brain when we need it since we can only use it one time. So we were just confused on what the best plan would be. Should I do full brain now just as precautionary and then we wouldn't have that option if something showed up later down the road. Or should I go ahead a wait, get MRI's every 2-3 months and use it if something shows up sometime. Right now I am going to wait. I have an MRI scheduled for August 18th. I am hoping there is nothing there and we won't have to worry about radiation right now.

I have been feeling great since I have been free of chemo. Everyday gets better and my energy level goes up each day. I will repeat scans, do blood work and see my oncologist in October. So I am somewhat free from appointments for a couple of months.

This coming up week is the last week of summer practice for the girls. They have been working hard (most of the time) and will get a week off before we start our school year schedule. I will miss morning practices because we can get a lot done when its just team in the gym but I won't miss having to get up early! Next week I will be going to Hartford, CT for National Congress and gymnastics championships. Congress is 3 days full of classes about coaching gymnastics and running a gymnastics business. I am really looking forward to going since I wasn't able to go last year. 

This last weekend we got to throw a baby shower for Lauren and the twin boys who have been trying to join us recently. She is now 31 weeks and doing everything she can to keep the boys in for a little bit longer. After the shower my sister, mom and Sarah got to go wedding shopping. I was reminded the other day that I have under 4 months left before our wedding day so its time to start putting things together and marking stuff off the to-do list. I am so lucky to have a great group of ladies helping out with the planning and decorating.

I got to wheel the wagon at the door car only race in Benton IL

Racing the S-11 in Benton

My sister, Haley (Lauren's sister) and I rubbing the baby bump!

My new Hope tattoo.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Love,
Jeryka

2nd annual 4th of July party

Kyle and I hosted the 4th at our house again and it was so nice to be around family and friends. We grilled out, blew stuff up with the kids and then went to Wamego to watch the fireworks. It was so nice getting to relax and enjoy the day with everyone. 

The guys grilling

Sarah made the trip up

This was the first picture we tried to take with Blake after getting fireworks

Much better

Kyle getting fireworks off the neighbor's house

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Love,

Jeryka

Worth the wait

After a two hour wait we finally got to see the doctor. I was pretty nervous for this one and the wait didn't help.

The CT scan I did yesterday showed no new spots and the spots that were there last time hadn't gotten any bigger. The one in the liver is the same size and she wasn't real certain what the two small lesions in the lungs were. She wasn't concerned about those. Right now the plan is to stop chemo and let my body get back to some sort of a normal stage. She felt we had maximized the use of chemo since the spots hadn't gotten any smaller. We will just watch them real closely for any change.

I will be seeing a radiation oncologist about dong full brain radiation. This was the original plan after Gamma Knife but we had to put that on hold since the new spots showed up and I needed to do chemo.

I am real happy with the results today. I know I still have the spot in my liver but it hasn't grown any and there are no new spots any where else, so that's all good news. And I am pretty excited about not having to do chemo for a while ( I hope a long while).

Right now Kyle and I are waiting to board our plane and head back to Kansas. We will be having family and friends over on the fourth so I am looking forward to that.

Thank you for all of the prayers, they worked!

Love,
Jeryka

Rough Road

The last month has been a tough one to say the least. After the 5th round of chemo I was unable to get out of bed the whole weekend . I had no energy and felt worse than I have ever felt before. I was over it, I was over everything. I wanted to give up. I know that isn't the right attitude to have but it is the honest truth. I couldn't see myself going through anymore chemo, I just wanted it to be all over with. I am so thankful Kyle was there beside me the whole time, without him I wouldn't have been able to make it through.

It was really hard to look forward to the 6th and final (hopefully) round of chemo when I had a pretty good idea of how I was going to feel. And sure enough I was right. It hit me Thursday night after I got home and I am still feeling like crap. I had planned on going to work Monday morning until I spent the morning on the bathroom floor. I hadn't ever gotten sick before, so I am not sure what that was all about. So lets just say I spent another day in bed.

I am starting to worry about my upcoming appointments in Houston. I am worried they are going to want to do more rounds of chemo and I honestly don't think I can do anymore. I know I can't give up now but I am to my breaking point and having to do anymore chemo will just push me right over the edge.

Kyle and I will fly out to Houston on Saturday. I have scans on Sunday and will see the doctor on Monday. I will update after we get the results.

Love,
Jeryka

The little things

So today I received a very touching letter in the mail from a very caring doctor that has helped me throughout this battle. Even though I haven't seen him in a couple of months, he took the time out of his busy schedule to write me this wonderful letter. It really means a lot to me and made me realize how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.

I am not sure if he reads my blog or not but I just hope he realizes how thankful I am to have received this letter.

It's the little things like this that really help me get through the rough days.

Love,
Jeryka

Mentally warn out

Round 4 came and went. It still made me feel crappy but it could have been worse. At least I was able to race this weekend. I got down to 8 cars on Saturday and them lost a close race 2nd round on Sunday.

Friday they removed my port because there was a clot on the bottom part that showed up on the CT scan from Houston. So the next two rounds of chemo will be administered through a vein. I was really nervous to have my port removed because the procedure was done in his office. He numbed me and then cut open the incision from before. I didn't feel a thing other then some tugging and pulling. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of sad to see it go. I got attached to it in the last year.

Speaking of last year. I can't believe it has almost been a year since I was diagnosed. It's crazy to think how fast time goes. It has been a really rough year but I have so much to be thankful for.

Right now I am feeling alright. I have my ups and downs but I am hanging in there and trying to stay busy. I am just mentally warn out at this point. I am ready to get these last two rounds over with and not have to worry about how I can going to feel afterward. I am ready to not have my life revolve around this. I want to worry about racing and coaching my girls at the gym. Not which appointment I need to go to, which arm I want my blood drawn from or what scan I need to get done. I got shit (excuse my language, but its true) I need and want to do, so I wish this crap would just hurry and go away and go away forever.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Love,
Jeryka

Time to relax

I can finally relax. I hate waiting and that is what we had to do this morning before my appointment. But the wait was worth it this time.

All of the lesions they saw in March have either disappeared or decreased in size! Dr. Siefker showed us the scans of the lungs and she could only point out one lesion, which has gone from 5mm to 3mm and two other lesions that were on previous scans were not present on these scans. The lesion on the liver is now measuring 9mm, which before it was 1.2cm. The spot on the brain they did gamma knife to has decreased 9.7mm to 3.6mm.

We will continue with the same chemo for 3 more rounds and then I will come back down here to repeat the scans.

Thank you for all of the prayers, they have really done wonders. Kyle and I are flying home tonight and I will be able to attend the Topeka nationals this weekend.

Love,
Jeryka

Babies, baseball game and good news

I wanted to give a huge congratulations to my brother and his wife Lauren! We found out this last weekend that they will be having IDENTICAL BOYS! Their household is going to be crazy if these two boys are anything like Jackson. I couldn't be anymore excited to add two more boys to the family.

 

I had a great Saturday spending time with the family before Kyle and I had to leave.

Love these guys!

On Sunday I had an MRI in the morning and then we went to the Astros vs Rangers baseball game. I haven't been to a baseball game in forever and I really had a great time. It was nice to get to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather.

 

 

 

 

 

Today I was really nervous about getting the results from the MRI. I just wanted some good news, and that is exactly what we have gotten so far. Dr. Viswanathan (the neurosurgeon) was the one to deliver the good news. The spot that was removed looks great and the spot they gamma knifed was smaller in size. I was finally able to relax a little! We met with the Dr. Settle's physicians assistant (radiologist) this afternoon and she was real happy with the MRI results as well. We are free until Wednesday when I get a bone scan and CT scan. I will then have to wait until Thursday to get the results  when I meet with Dr. Siefker. I am hoping this appointment will go as good as the ones did today.

Love,
Jeryka

Round 3

Round 3 is done and over with. I was really thinking about hiding under the bed and skipping this round but I wasn't allowed to. I am just so ready to feel better all the time not just for a couple of days.

This week I was in the angry stage. Very angry I had to go put my body through this crap. I am sick of this running my life, it's always there haunting me.

This time around I am not feeling as bad as last time and I am hoping that is a good sign. I am praying I can enjoy the weekend and not worry about how I feel.

Love,
Jeryka

Weekend of racing

This past weekend we went to Great Bend for the National Open. I was pretty excited to get to race the dragster again. The first pass out just reminded me that someone is telling me I should stick to racing the S-11 instead of a digger. After the run I noticed it was making a funny noise. So at the end of the track I started her back up and the noise was still there. So I waited down there for about 15 minutes until JR and Dad realized I wasn't back at the trailer yet. Once we got back we took the valve covers off to find that the tip of a valve had broken off. So operation motor change was in place. I think we got the motor switched out in record time for being at the track (and we weren't really in a hurry). It was in just in time for the second round of time trials. So I really didn't miss a pass other than one super quick qualifying. Thanks to JR for letting me borrow his motor for the weekend!

Ready to come out

 

 

Dad enjoyed getting to use the motor changer for the first time in the new trailer!

Ready to go again.

Throughtout the whole weekend I ended up making about 21 passes in the digger and the S-11. I raced super comp, where I lost 2nd round due to the throttle stop not coming on because the little green switch wasn't turned back on. Dad, JR and I were the 3 of the 4 dragsters left in the super quick series. I ended up having to race JR and I think he sabotaged my car because she didn't run good when the spray came on. I raced the S-11 in super pro where I lost at 3 cars. JR ended up winning the super street shoot out on Saturday after a lengthy staging duel (which was really entertaining to watch!) and he also won both days of the super quick.

Our workspace for the weekend. I think we need just one more log book.

 It was a good weekend to get away. Even though I didn't feel 100% I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family doing what we love to do. I am hoping I will feel well enough to go back out next weekend for the division race. As far as racing, I don't know if I will be able to or not. It just depends on how this round of chemo effects me.

Love,
Jeryka

Hair

I don't want to jinx myself but I haven't last any hair with this round of chemo! It has started to come in strong so I would be pretty upset if I has to start over again. Everyday I wash my hair and none comes out in my hand I get really excited. I just hope this continues so I can maybe have a decent amount of hair by the wedding.

I am finally feeling better, not 100% but I can't complain. A couple of good nights sleep really does a person good.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Love,
Jeryka

Hangover round 2

Round 2 of chemo is over and it has been the worst hangover I have ever had. It started last Thursday while I was still receiving chemo and lasted until at least Monday. I did not leave the house until Sunday when I forced myself to get out and go wash my car and do some yard work. I was so sick of laying around the house feeling like crap.

I met with Dr. Koeneke before the last round to go over my blood work and to get the results from my bone scan. The good news is nothing showed up on the bone scan, so that was a huge relief. My blood counts were low so he wants to do weekly blood work to see how low they actually get and to see if I need to get a booster shot to raise my white blood cell count.

After my blood work on Monday I had to go back to get the booster shot because my counts were 300. They usually want them to be around 1000, so they were extremely low this time around. I will be getting the shot three days in a row to hopefully raise my numbers. I am hoping this is why I have had no energy and why I haven't felt the best this time around. I am actually not suppose to be around too many people with my counts being that low because my body can't fight off infection as good as it could with higher counts. So that makes it real hard to be at work since I am around germ infested children most of the time!! I might as well just start drinking the Germ-X!

We will be heading back to Houston on May 12th. I will get an MRI that day and then see the neurosurgeon and radiologist for my check up after surgery and the Gamma Knife the following day. I will also do another bone scan and CT scan while I am down there and then meet with the oncologist. If everything is clear we will continue with the same chemo I am receiving now.

Hope all my KS friends have enjoyed the weather!

Love,
Jeryka

Wheelies

I went to Tulsa with the family for the XDRL race. I was juhad aa crew this and it drove me crazy. I felt like I spent most of my time in the truck taking naps and eating since those were the two things that made me feel better.

This race was different than our normal races. Dad and JR raced in the top dragster class where you have to dial faster than 4.40 (in the 1/8 mile) and they qualify either 16 or 32 cars depending on car count. Kyle ended up getting in my car and racing because they needed one more entry to make it a 32 car ladder, which made it an all run field instead of cutting it down to 16 and having people (including JR) not qualify. I know it sounds confusing and believe it was even if you were there. Kyle's first run out was interesting. We took the weight out of the nose and turned the nitrous up to try and get it to run at least a 4.40. Needless to say it was moving!

Kyle's wheelie!

Overall the weekend went pretty well. I just wish I would have felt better so I could have enjoyed the weather and the company of good friends. I can't explain how I felt, it was just crappy and all I wanted to do was sleep. There wasn't one thing that fixed it and I think that is what drove me nuts. I would eat and feel better for maybe ten minutes then it was back to crap. I am hoping by tomorrow this hangover will be all over and I can stop eating everything in sight.

 JR has learned to control his wheelies with a wheelie bar.

Side view of Kyle's wheelie. Not too bad!

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Love,

Jeryka

First one done

Yesterday went pretty good. Mom and I got to the office around 9 and the nurses got me started right after that. I actually didn't get the first chemo until noon just because they had to give me so many fluids, steroids and anti nausea medicine. The cisplatin took around 2 hours to finish and the the irinotecan took about an hour and 45 minutes. We finally got out of there around 5 and I went into work after. I hadn't plan on staying the whole practice but I felt alright so I decided I had nothing better to do.

I actually got sleep last night. That was one thing I was worried about since I had a hard time during the last round of treatments. Today has been so-so. I will feel alright for a while and then feel a little suspect. I just feel like laying in bed and getting sleep but I know I would feel better if I did something productive instead of laying around.

Just wanted to let you all know I survived the first round. Just 5 more to go!

Love,
Jeryka

Easter

This last weekend Kyle and I went up to KC on Saturday morning to spend Easter with my family. We went to Garnder and watched all the kids do the Easter egg hunt. We even got our picture taken with the Easter bunny! After that all of us just went back to JR and Lauren's house for some lunch and more egg hunts. It was nice being about to spend time with everyone together. I can't imagine adding two more kids to that group!

Jen, Lauren and I with the bunny!

The kids with the bunny!

Sunday morning I actually got a little time to clean the house. It was such a disaster considering we hadn't been there in the last two weeks. Now getting caught up on laundry is a different story (at least my suitcase is unpacked now!) Sunday afternooon Kyle and I headed over to his parents house for an Easter brunch shrimp broil!

I want to say thanks to Kylie and Wylee for going out to dinner with us Sunday night and for the delicious goodies! It was nice to finally be able to get together since all of us are usually so busy.

On Monday Kyle and I met with Dr. Koeneke to go over the plan. I really like him as a doctor. He takes the time to listen and answer all of our questions (which I had a lot this time). I asked about removing the spots they saw, but he said that since they have already metastasised from another location they usually won't remove them. Removing them could cause more problems, which we don't need right now. I also asked about radiation to the spot in the liver. He said that could be an option but chemo would be the first choice. He made us feel good and confident about the decisions that have been made for this treatment.

I had a repeat bone scan done today just to make sure nothing has started to show up there. We should have those results sometime next week. Just praying they are clear!

It has been nice to be back to some sort of a normal life this week. I haven't had to run around to multiple appointments seeing multiple different doctors. I have been able to sleep in my own bed and spend time in my own home with my pups! I have been back at work all week and that helps keep my mind from wondering too much.

Tomorrow starts another round of treatments and I am honestly not looking forward to it. It will be a 6 hour day but at least I only have to do it one day instead of three days in a row. I don't like not knowing how I am going to feel or how this treatment will go but I am going to suck it up and just get through it.

I will try and update as soon as I get done with this first round. 

Love,
Jeryka