New Year, New Beginnings

As I look back at the past year, I know that I will never have another year like it. Never have I had so many ups and downs and personal changes both physically and mentally. As if there were some added salt to the wound, another upset happened at the end of the year. It first started off well, Doug and I adopted our first kitty! I got him from the local shelter and we named him Lyndon. He was beautiful and very loving. Unfortunately he fell ill from his vaccinations and passed away less than a week later. Again I was turned into a very helpless state, doing all that I could do, but seemingly unable to get the kitten any healthier. I barely slept for days, as I tried to feed the weakening animal every half hour or hour. I visited the vet about 6 or 7 times in a matter of three days. Eventually they took him in to try nursing him themselves, and later that day they called to say he passed. It was really hard to have something I've wanted for so long go so quickly.

Sometimes the only way to fill the empty void of a lost pet is to get another one. And that I did. My parents bought me another kitty, this time from a breeder to ensure upmost health. I have had him for 3.5 weeks now, and he is a good eater and very healthy! His name is Raydon, Doug came up with the name from a character in Mortal Combat! It means thunder and lightning in Japanese, and represents their mythological God of thunder. He is very sweet and cuddly. He is also sweater and harness trained. Currently I am leash training him. He is such a wonderful pet, loves to be pet and cuddled and is hilarious to play with. And did I mention he's also spoiled rotten? Well, he is :)

So I start off this new year with a new healthy kitten, hormone therapy and ready for reconstructive surgery---and I have so much to look forward to---getting married and medical school!

On the health front, my current hormone therapy regimen wasn't strong enough to control my hormones, so now I will be on Zoladex shots and Tamoxifen. The good news from this is I found out I am fertile, so yes I should be able to have kids in five years!!! The bad news is my body is still making estrogen, which will feed any remaining cancer cells, if there are any. So hopefully this new treatment will be successful in protecting me.

Currently I have surgery scheduled for March 13th, in New Orleans! I will have to fly down on the 11th and leave the 20th. This is all a go for sure, as soon as the insurance goes through. I can't believe all of it is finally happening! The surgery will be pretty intense as I will have to spend a night in the ICU, and a few days after that as an in patient too. But it will all be worth it, as my body will be going back to looking how it used to be--or at least sort of.