What I Learned... in Kauai

In keeping with an earlier theme of this blog, I thought I would reflect on what I learned from my experiences in Kauai. The first thing I noticed was that a spouse's morning crabbiness can exist even in the Hawaiian Pacific time zone. That's four hours of difference, folks. Theoretically, 7:30 am in Kauai is almost noon in the Midwest! I had hypothesized that no crabbiness would exist, but the test proved my hypothesis to be false! Morning crabbiness can travel across land and sea!

I also discovered that my wife is has world class ability in the area of packing and organization. We haven't had the opportunity to travel since the diagnosis and I had heard her allude to her packing prowess, but I admit that I was skeptical. But I am now a true believer. I was amazed at how much she was able to fit in her travel bags!

And one last thing, there are a lot of chickens on Kauai. I'm not sure how they got there. I don't believe they are native to the island. But there are no predators to the chicken on the entire island so you can find chickens everywhere-- in forests, on mountain tops, and in parking lots.

Good news

We had some great news last week. Tracy's mammogram didn't show any cancer. This was a tremendous relief for us. We weren't expecting any bad news but, you know how it goes-- hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Tomorrow will be Tracy's final herceptin treatment. I'm sure Tracy will miss the friendly faces at the clinic, but this is a milestone for us. We're going to go out and celebrate tomorrow night!

Back From Hawaii

We were finally able to go on our honeymoon. And we both agreed that it was worth the wait. Since I'm a teacher, we decided to take the trip over holiday break and then, of course, Tracy's cancer diagnosis interrupted all of that. So we spent the holidays this year on the island of Kauai. It's known as the Garden Island. It's the northern most island and has the least commercial development. Neither of us had been there before and it was an experience we thought we could share together. We didn't do much research in advance about the island. Instead, we planned on discovering the island together and plan our days one day at a time. We didn't plan on going to any other islands, and I have to say I am glad that we planned it that way as Kauai has more than enough things to do and places to see. Plus, it's kinda nice to just relax on the beach.

The weather was great-- high of 80 or so every day. No bugs. Some rain, but that's no surprise since much of Kauai is a rain forest. Kauai is known as being the friendliest island and also the one with the most "Old Hawaiian feel". And I have to say that I agree. The drivers were incredibly polite. There is only one main highway on the island and natives are always ready to yield to other drivers.

The landscape is breath taking with a majestic view seemingly around every corner. I'm going to try to post a slide show to give you guys a look at some of the sights we saw on Kauai. I'm just amazed at how much the island had to offer. Tracy and I will have memories that we will keep with us for the rest of our lives.

Ten Things I've Learned: #1 The Long Road Back

I've learned a lot about cancer in the past year. One thing that it takes a long time to recover. Many times the "public" face that one puts out there has a very positive outlook. But in truth, there are setbacks. It just takes some time. I suppose it varies from person to person, but from our experiences I would say that the time it takes to rebound from cancer and the subsequent chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation mirrors what it takes for the hair to come back. One thing that Tracy has benefited from was the "Time to Heal" class/help group that she was able to take part in. They say that the trauma of a cancer diagnosis can cause post traumatic stress issues and when you combine that with "chemo brain" and other known issues, it's truly a blessing to be able to be a part of such an effective program. Others don't have an opportunity to take part in such a program and I wonder how they do it. It must be tough.

I've also seen Tracy's spirits rise as she's been able to get back in the flow of her normal daily routine as a trainer at work as well as working out at the gym. And, I can't forget, shopping! Plus another factor is the hair coming back. As you can see from the picture, it's come back quite well. She even had her first hair cut the other day!

The Week Ahead | Cancer patient organizes run to fight her disease - KansasCity.com

The Week Ahead | Cancer patient organizes run to fight her disease - KansasCity.com