Hey everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted anything. I really did intend to give a little “I’m doing great!” shout-out once a month, since that’s about when I start receiving worried emails and texts from folks, but life has been crazy busy (in a fun way), and there really hasn’t been anything to report. And that’s really the rule of thumb here: no news is good news. If you don’t hear from me, that’s a very good thing. It means I’m busy living and enjoying life!

Up until a few days ago, there was really nothing to update you on, aside from some more FAQ’s and random observations on living with cancer. The new plot twist actuall

My first half marathon post hip surgery

y has to do with my hip (and if you’re Facebook friends with me, you’ve heard this, so you can skip to the next paragraph if you want. Totally legal). As most of you know, I had my hip replaced just a little over two years ago, a hip resurfacing surgery, to be exact. The bionic life has been glorious – no pain, great range of motion, and after a year I was allowed to start running again. Most of you also know how important running is to me – I’ve run 29 marathons, that’s how much I love to run. It’s more than exercise, it’s therapy, creative thought time, alone time or social time, time to challenge myself or time to relax and enjoy the scenery. I love meeting people at races, reading the funny signs that spectators hold up, high-fiving little kids on the route, and I love, love, LOVE finish lines. I have been so very grateful to have all that back in my life, courtesy of my oh-so-awesome bionic hip. So it was a bit of a shock last week when, in the middle of a college visit with Riley, I got a call from my orthopedist’s assistant. Apparently routine blood work revealed that my metal levels are “off the charts.” This is something that can occur in people with metal on metal implants, but it is rare (ah, but getting rare things is my specialty! Rich says I should play the lottery.). My X-rays at my two-year checkup were great, and my hip feels awesome, so the doctors are scratching their heads on this, because it doesn’t add up. So, I’m having an MRI on Monday (it’s been over 2 months since I was last stuffed in a tube. I was starting to miss it…). If they see any evidence that the metal is wearing or that my body isn’t tolerating it, I have to swap out my awesome, running-friendly hip for a traditional, no-running-allowed hip. Oh yeah, and have major surgery and all the recovery and PT that comes with that. Not cool. But the flip side of it is the possibility that my hip will look fine, and then we have to figure out why I am so overly metallic. I mean, I’m totally cool with just avoiding magnets for the rest of my life, but when you add in the cancer thing, that could be a game changer. Of course, who knows, maybe my radiation treatment is what is causing my excessive metal-ness in the first place. Anyway, I’ve been told to stop running for now, get the MRI and we’ll go from there. I will, of course, update you all if there’s anything happening. If, however, it’s determined that I’m a medical mystery I might be too busy banging my head against a wall to post anything.

So, enough of that. On to cancer updates – I mean, that’s what we’re all here for, right? The short answer is I’m doing very well. Thank you, good night.

Ok, if you want more, I will give you a few FAQ’s, for your enjoyment:

1. “How are you feeling?”
I’m feeling fine. Really. It’s a weird thing to have cancer and yet feel completely healthy, but I haven’t had chemo and all that goes with that, and my radiation was so specifically targeted at my eye that the only side effects from that are limited to my eye (unless, of course, we find out it’s responsible for my metal levels).

2.”How is your eye?”
Not too bad. My vision is definitely getting progressively worse, but it’s happening so slowly that I barely notice the changes. I’m still getting used to limited peripheral vision on my left, and I have multiple bruises on the left side of my body to prove it. I’ll figure it out eventually. My eye does get dry, itchy and/or irritated sometimes, but I think the doctor said he can get me eye drops for that.

3.”When are your next scans?”
September 29th. Same exact stuff I had in April, and hopefully with the same results – no, better results. We want to hear that the tumor is shrinking in ALL directions. Personally, I’d like to hear that it shriveled up and died, but they said it’s too early for that. But a girl can hope, right?

So that’s the scoop for now. Summer has been grand, and as long as I can avoid more surgery it will continue to be grand. Full of soccer games (Riley’s team made it to state!), college visits (seriously. Don’t ask where the time went) and tons of dance (Tessa, not me. She made the high school dance team and it will apparently be our life for the next 8 months or so. She is, of course, loving every second). And I am loving every second too. It’s a grand thing to be alive, especially at this crazy busy time in the kids’ lives. I love that I have a front row seat for all of it, and amazing family and friends by my side. Thank you all for always lifting my spirits, encouraging me and making me laugh.