Hi There

Hey There,
I was just reminiscing about what happened to me with my cancer experience two years ago. Can you believe I was first sick two years ago? My, how time flies. My Mom and sisters were in Washington D.C. for the weekend.

That was the weekend that my hair started falling out. The Thursday before, I got a cute short hair-cut, because I was waking up every morning with long strands of brown hair all over my pillows. It was so terrible.

That Saturday and Sunday, I remember that even though I was only a few weeks into chemotherapy, I was getting my energy up and my Dad and I walked about 3 miles each day.

One of those weekend mornings, Dad and I went to Walker Brothers for breakfast. The weather was not unlike this weekend, 80 degrees and sunny. We had the windows open in the car, and as we were driving along, my hair was flying out in huge whisps. I purposely didn't wash my hair that weekend because I knew I would have clumps falling in the shower.

That Sunday night, my Dad took the #5 clippers to my head. That first time, I never got completely bald, but it was still pretty bad.

This morning at church, my female Pastor, Jane told me she is going to be shaving her head in January for Pediatric Cancer Research. After going bald 3 times in one year, it is safe to say that I told her I didn't think I could share in that fun experience with her!

Other than that, things are well. I am having a lot of shortness of breath lately. I had symptoms of this last fall as well, and after so many tests, nothing was decided. I think it could be some allergies, but it is the same feeling I got as the tumor in my chest started growing. I have a CT scan on September 13, so we will see.

Talk to you soon!
Sherrie

Crazy Day

I have the most wonderful class in the entire world! There are 21 kids, and they are all very sweet, and extremely well behaved. We had some issues today though....After a great day, 10 minutes before the bell rang, the tornado sirens went off in school. In all of my years teaching, I never had that happen. It was such a strange way to start the year. After over 1.5 hours in the hallway with the kids hands over their heads sitting Indian style, we finally got the all clear. I texted my Mom to tell her about the days events, and she informed me that all of the schools in Barrington where I live were on lock down because there were two armed gunman roaming in Barrington Hills. Sounds like Judgement Day. I have been working very hard (getting up at 4:30-5:00am each day) but I feel as though I am back to my old tricks from before I was sick. I have been pulling over 12 hour days to get things ready, but then I have been driving up to Door County on the weekends to work. I know I should take it easy, but this is who I was before I was sick, and I guess that I haven't lost my assertive force. Anyway...
Have a good weekend!
Love,
Sherrie

Welcome to Third Grade!

Hey There!
I just wanted to let you know tomorrow is my first day of school. I will post some pictures of the room tomorrow! It should be a fun and exciting day. I have 21 students in my class. Wish me luck!
Love,
Sherrie

Congratulations!

Hi There!
I just wanted to let you know that my cousin Michelle Keany, (Uncle Mike's daughter) had her beautiful baby boy yesterday. After she was induced, and her contractions began, she delivered the babe in under 5 minutes! Michael John Keany was 8 pounds and 1 ounce. He is beautiful, and will probably be called "Mickey!"

Hi!

Hey There!
I have been in Austin, Texas this weekend with my best friend Laura. My cousin Chris lives here as well, so we have had a very fun time with him showing us around. Chris is a trooper...he took us to very nice lunches and dinners and upscale shopping centers. He is awesome!

I got a call from the doctor's office at NMH after my labs were done last week. I was feeling like I had swollen lymphnodes in my neck, however, I was doing a lot of physical labor working at Al Johnson's and at Ecology Sports. My tumor markers (LDH, SED) were below normal again which is wonderful! That means that there is no evidence of Hodgkin's activity based on blood work. What is not so great is my ANC and my white blood count. These two levels are your infection fighting ability. When I was going through chemo, and if my ANC were .500, they told me not to leave the house. Now, my ANC is .800. A normal person probably has an ANC of 4.5 or even higher. This is a scary thought considering I am going back to teaching this week!

I met a very nice woman from San Antonio, Texas at the pool here. She was bald, and I figured she was going through breast cancer. Absolutely not. This woman, 6.5 years ago, was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She had an Auto transplant and then relapsed two and a half years later. She was treated again. She relapsed again 8 months ago with Pre-Leukemic cells. When you are given so much chemotherapy and radiation, there is a great chance that you could develop Leukemia. Well, she did. She was given an Allogenic transplant four months ago, and she looks fabulous, and she is clean! When I see someone like that, I feel guilty because I don't feel like I have been through anything compared to her! I guess it is all relative.

Here are some pics from the trip.
Have fun!
Sherrie

Pics

http://web.mac.com/fundraiser2/iWeb/Site%208/Photos.html

End of Summer

Hi There,
I am so sad! It is nearing the end of my summer in Door County. I have been working so much, and although I have fun at work, I don't feel like I have gotten time to do everything that I love.

I am going home on Tuesday, re-leveling books for my classroom on Wednesday, taking a little trip over the weekend, and then back to work!

I can't believe that it has been two years since I was so sick, and not able to work. I am excited about setting my classroom up though, and I love the first few weeks of school!

Here is a pic of Lizzie and I on her birthday, and also a shot from my friend Maureen's bachelorette party in Sister Bay last night.

Have fun!
Sherrie