It is interesting that when I look back on my first diagnosis, I was blogging daily – sometimes multiple times per day. I haven’t been doing that this time. Part of it is because I’ve fallen out of the habit of writing, something that I want to get back into.

I do have some crazy updates on my life. I will have surgery on Wednesday to have my port inserted. I hope they use twilight sedation like the last time but I won’t know until I get there. I’ll find out on Monday what time the surgery will be. I am hoping it is first thing so I don’t have to spend too much of the day fasting.

We found out that the house we are staying at did not sell (the sale fell through), so the house is now listed again. This means that if anyone wants to view it, it needs to look like no one lives here – that doesn’t really work for Scott and I. Since our unit at Treehouse is almost ready, we decided to move in on Tuesday. That means we are now doing the scrabble to get things ready for us to live there. Fortunately, we can live with a minimal setup, and we don’t have that much stuff we need right away. Most of our stuff will stay at our house (another Treehouse family is living at our place until the end of November).

My biggest challenge is not overdoing it – but also making sure I make the time to do the right things. My morning this morning started off with a short virtual boxing workout. I’m limited to the easy level and less than 15 minutes until I get the strength back in my right arm. I am so glad to get back to boxing – and I really love the VR version – as I cannot handle the impact of real boxing – which is sad. I miss the people at the gym. We had so much fun.

Anyways, for exercise right now, I’m boxing and swimming first thing. Swimming isn’t my usually lap swimming, rather it involves laps where I do some deep dives, and some laps where I let me arms flow while on my back. The goal is to help reduce the lymphatic swelling in my right arm – and the pool helps.

In addition to moving this week, I have a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned pre-chemo. They don’t recommend it during chemo as you have an increased risk of infection. On Tuesday I have a fitting appointment for new compression sleeves. I’m using my old ones, and they aren’t the best – they are better than nothing, but I’d like to get something better which are likely to be more effective and possibly more comfortable. On Wednesday I have surgery.

I’m waiting on an appointment for the heart test and then a schedule for chemo. I will call the cancer navigator on Monday to see if I can get any more information on when these things are expected to start. Once I have dates, I can plan a little better.

It occurred to me today that I will be living the next year in 3-week intervals. Although herceptin is well tolerated, it is still an infusion every three weeks. That will put a bit of a damper on summer holidays – as we will need to plan around the infusions. I don’t know if they will let me extend one out for a few weeks, or do one at a different hospital in Nova Scotia – so that we can go on a 6-week vacation. After so many years building Treehouse, I am looking forward to spending a little time travelling around the area in our van. I miss camping.

Another thing I learned the first time was to plan to celebrate various milestones. The first big milestone will be the completion of TC chemo. By then my arm should be fully better (might still have lymphedema but I should have my strength back post surgery). Before I go into radiation, I’d like to do a ski trip. We are looking at Club Med in Charleveau Quebec. I like the idea of an all inclusive so that I don’t have to think about meals. Otherwise, I’d spend have the vacation planning meals and cooking – sure, it would be cheaper, but it would be much less of a vacation for me. Of course I cannot book anything until I have a sense of schedule – and they have a sale until Tuesday so hopefully that will all come together.

And now, it is time to take my dear Cali for a walk before I go to site and do some more finishing work on my unit in preparation for our Tuesday move. I’m definitely not getting bored!