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