Countdown to Cancer Free

Two weeks from today I will be having surgery for colorectal cancer. I have been a roller coaster of emotions lately and not sleeping well (maybe that's partly due to the radiation induced menopause?! Lucky me!). If I let these emotions get the best of me, I feel nervous, a little angry, scared, and dreading what's to come. But then I'm reminded not to let those worries creep inside of my head. I try not to count down the remainder of my "rest days" because it just makes me more anxious. So I keep telling myself that with that countdown I'm just one day closer to being cancer-free!!

I continue to witness God shining brightly through this storm by the kindness, prayers and strengthened faith in myself, my family and in others. I wanted to share this from a devotional that a sweet someone sent to me:

God is in every tomorrow,
Therefore I live for today,
Certain of finding a sunrise,
Guidance and strength for my way;
Power for each moment of weakness,
Hope for each moment of pain,
Comfort for every sorrow,
Sunshine and joy after rain.

Ahhhh, don't you love it? Oh how those words resonated with me today. I hope they touch someone else as well.

Have a happy day!!

CT's and MRI's Oh My!

Yesterday I had a CT scan and two MRI's. That's a whole lot of imaging for one day. I was afraid I might be glowing in the dark afterwards!! Here we are on our way:

I was so happy to get the results the very next day. Sometimes they take sooooo long to get results to you. I couldn't wait to share the results so I ended up doing a Facebook Live video. I thought I'd share it here even though I'm an emotional mess!

So very happy! And so blessed!! Thank you all for your prayers through this all! It's going to be a great weekend!!

xoxo

Ring the Bell - Radiation DONE!

Ahhhhhhh! I did it! I'm all finished with radiation!! Tears! Last chemo pills will be with dinner! In a couple of weeks the side effects should subside and I'll feel more like myself again. My Radiation Oncologist and his staff were amazing!

I had to give the techs a little gift - silly socks to remember me by and hand sanitizer because they had to touch my butt. They had a good laugh over that! My crafty friends will appreciate my handmade tags:

When I finished my last treatment, the staff all lined up in the hallway and I got to ring the bell! I had no idea there was a bell to ring! I walked past that thing 25 times - how did I never notice it before?! Oh and I had my handsome chauffeur again today which was awesome. 

I'll have another scan in January to hopefully show this ugly thing has shrunk down to nothing. Now I have 8-12 weeks of rest and recovery before surgery. I'm going to enjoy this next phase and try not to worry about what's to come. God's got this.

Thank you again to all of my prayer warriors. Your prayers and sweet messages help get me through!

Oh happy day!!

xoxo

The Radiation Table

I had a handsome chauffeur to radiation today. I had to start taking some pain meds so figured maybe I shouldn't be operating a motorize vehicle - safety first, lol. They let my son come back and see the radiation machine. So of course I had to take a picture. Only two more times on that thing! Woot!!

When I first found out I needed radiation I wanted to know what this thing looked like beforehand. So maybe someone will stumble upon this little blog and find some comfort in it. The actual treatment is quick and painless. I lay on there and the amazing radiation techs get me all lined up (by my bum tattoos - yep, haven't mentioned that to y'all!) Once that's done I lie there for maybe 4-5 minutes. On my stomach, with my naked bum in the air, with a full bladder (to push my healthy colon out of the way to prevent a future bowel obstruction) trying not to move at all. That's it! The machine rotates, makes some noise and does it's thing. I just lay there repeating, "By His stripes I am healed", over and over in my head. I know God's got this!

Ok one more picture:

My other son was out and about and texted me this photo! How funny is that? Someone had a fists up for Cori decal on their car!! Crazy! People are awesome!

Have a great day!

xoxo

My Happy Face

Several people have texted me that they get nervous when I'm quiet. (How cute is that?!) So here's my happy face post! Just finished radiation treatment #20. Some days are better than others but I'm surviving the side effects. The doctor seemed happy yesterday that I'm getting through without lowering the chemo dose. Wait... was that an option?! Maybe I should've complained more. hahahaha. Oh, and I'm getting our money's worth out of Xfinity. I'm pretty sure the definition of couch potato has my name somewhere on it. I now know what it means to binge watch a tv series. I cannot wait to get my energy back! Only 5 more to go y'all! Whoop!! #countingdown #fistsup 

Ok, going to go nap now! 

xoxo

Best Golf Tourney Ever!

Wow! Eddie and I were blown away yesterday! Our dear friends hosted a golf tournament fundraiser in our honor. To walk outside and see all of those golf carts lined up was unreal. 94 golfers y'all! Tears. Thank you Fred & Monica! Thank you to all of our hole sponsors, the businesses that donated raffle items and to the golfers. Thankful for the gorgeous Saturday afternoon. And thankful for my friends that came out just to hang out with me!

I'm not going to lie, the first time I was told the cost of just one my tests needed, I had a little breakdown. What if I fight and fight and leave behind a huge mound of medical bills for my family? My hubby looked at me and told me not to worry a second about that. To only focus on beating this. And that God will provide. And boy was he right. God has prepared us for this journey and filled our lives with wonderful people. I cannot put into words how blessed, humbled and grateful we are. What an emotional day filled with love!

Here are some more photos from this special day.

Oh and I should mention that my hubby's team came in 2nd place. He was smiling pretty big about that!!

xoxo

Puzzles and Penguin Slippers

2.5 weeks of chemoradiation DONE! Three more weeks to go! So far it's not too bad. I've had fatigue and some other side effects I won't mention. I do not like feeling tired. But I'm really trying to listen to my body and rest more. I have a big Friday night planned:

Puzzles and penguin slippers. I think this will make it all better. My hubby is a lucky guy. haha! The place where I go for radiation has puzzles in the waiting area. I was so incredibly scared that first day as I sat there waiting to get called back for my first treatment. I found the puzzle to be therapeutic - so relaxing. We used to do puzzles a lot when we were first married. I forgot how much I enjoyed them. So, I stopped on the way home and picked up a couple of puzzles. And when I passed by those penguin slippers, I couldn't resist!!

Here's one of my sweet boys sporting his #fistsupforcori t-shirt! I just love him.

Have a great weekend! I hope it's filled with warms slippers and lots of happy!

Where's the Waterproof Mascara?

So my hubby and I were supposed to fly to Dallas today for a trip I earned through Plexus. I was so excited because this is the first trip I've earned with this company. We had to cancel our plans but I'm super excited for my friends and team that are there. And wait until you see what they've done. I wish I were there with them but I have a beast to slay back home!

Ok, how cute is that? They made a #fistsup Bitmoji just for me?! lol.

I need to start wearing waterproof mascara... So when I earned the Plexus trip to Dallas, I also qualified for the private reception at the Glass Cactus. I have a sweet friend Ashely that I know through Plexus. We met at Convention last July and instantly connected. We've cheered each other on in life and our businesses. She knew earning the Glass Cactus Reception was a goal of mine and she was my biggest cheerleader along the way. I wasn't able to attend because of this little detour I'm on, but look what she sent me! This is even better as I'll have them forever! So thoughtful! Thank you sweet friend - this brought tears to my eyes and a big smile to my face!!

Look at my awesome Plexus friends! They sent a #fistsup from Texas:

Aren't they gorgeous? I am so blessed by the friendships I've made through Plexus!

Ok and then there's this... When your friends dress as "Cori's Army" for a Halloween party... gulp. I have the BEST friends, prayer warriors and support. I just love them! More tears when they texted me this photo!! 

All I know is this:

And when you find those people, love them hard.

xoxo

Faith > Fear

Ahh I survived my first three days of cheomoradiation!! I'm not going to lie, I was scared to take that first dose of the chemo pills. I stared at them for awhile. But you know what, I'm not going to let fear get the better of me! My faith is way bigger than my fear!

So three treatments, down, 22 more to go. The countdown is on!! Luckily, cute shirts and socks make it easier...

Thank you for the sweet messages and prayers! Have a great weekend! 💙👊🏼