Our trip to the Dry Tortugas

Wow this post was worth waiting for, you all! Michael and I spent three nights and four days camping on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas this last weekend. These islands are 65 miles from Key West at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. On Garden Key is Fort Jefferson, an enormous brick fort that covers ten acres. The parade ground is seven acres alone and the moat wall around the fort is over a mile. There is a little camping area and a few docks. At one time there were two huge coaling docks on the north and south ends of the Key. The docks are gone but pilings are great for snorkeling as they are covered with coral, sponges and sea fans and are inhabited by fish of all colors, shapes and sizes. Adjacent to Garden Key are Long and Bush Keys which have actually joined together as the north channel closed in over the last few years. Those areas are protected seabird rookeries and are filled with nesting brown noddy terns and magnificent frigate birds. The frigates fly over the fort just riding on the wind and the thermal drafts, you never see them flap their wings. The water was so blue and blue in many different shades from aquamarine to a deep clear blue. Michael and I got there via ferry from Key West so we were able to bring our gear and kayaks. Unfortunately the winds were very strong and it limited our paddling until the last day. But we made up for that with snorkeling, fishing and exploring the fort. Here are some photos from the trip. Hey Alison this looks like your Blog! Love to you all, Wendy

I have some great news!

I have been feeling bad that I hadn't posted anything since March 10 but this news was good enough to wait for. I had a PET scan today and within 40 minutes of leaving the hospital my doctor's office was cslling with GOOD NEWS!! The scan showed that two of the mets have been "resolved" hospital speak for they are gone!!!One of them was the only one I had in soft tissue! The other mets are shrinking also or inert and stable except for a small one on my hip. This is an indicator that the Kadcyla treatments are doing exactly what we hoped that they would do. And also answers to prayers that so many of you have said on my behalf. I am extremely humbled and touched by all of you. And let's give thanks to the Lord for His mercy and healing. Love you all, Wendy

Yikes!

Why is it that I am always apologizing for not keeping this blog current? I guess it is a good sign that life is just going on in a normal way and there isn't really any news. That continues to be the case this morning too. I had my third Kadcyla treatment last Friday and there is nothing exciting to report. I have relatively little side effects and e ones we need to watch are being closely monitored by my doctors (namely the effect on my heart). I appreciate the ease which I tolerate this treatment and how well everything is going. Unfortunately that isn't the case wight everyone dealing with cancer. I have two friends who are struggling. Please pray for Luz and Karyn and their families. At the risk of being cocky, I am feeling good enough to set a goal to complete a sprint triathlon this year. You all can help keep me on task to get that accomplished. I will have to walk the run portion but the goal is just to. Omelette the event not to set any records. In the next month I am heading to boston to visit my sister Cindy over our birthday weekend (I am the 28th and she is the 29th), planning on vacationing with Michael in the Dry Tortugas, and tomorrow Michael and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage! Imagine him putting up with me that long! So that is the news for now. Take care of yourselves as you are each precious. Wendy

Good News

Hi everyone, I had a MRI set yesterday of my thoracic and lumbar spine. Following that today I had a spinal tap to check the fluid in the cord. But Dr. Nic reviewed the MRI results and they show that there were no new areas of activity and even better the lesions that are on my spinal column have improved significantly! Nice to get good news and nothing but good news after a test!!! Just wanted to share with you all. Love, Wendy

A cool Saturday morning

Hi everyone! It is a cool but pretty Saturday morning here. I am planning on spending some time working in the garden, harvesting carrots and collard greens. But this post is really to update you on my walk with cancer. No big changes but I want to keep you current. I had a recent PET scan that showed one very small additional met. We already knew that my chemo treatment would change since I got the go-ahead from the cardiologist. So this new information didn't change much of anything. I also had another echocardiogram last week to check on my heart and it showed improvement over the previous echo, good news. Yesterday I started the new chemotherapy, Kadcyla. It is a newly approved drug combination that includes the Herceptin that I have been on for a while. Because it is new to me the treatment yesterday took 5 hours but future ones will be much shorter now that we know I tolerate it just fine. I was a little tired yesterday but honestly that probably wasn't the effect of the treatment but the fact that Michael and I attended a concert on Thursday night and got very little sleep. BTW it was a great concert with a Celtic band by the name of Gaelic Storm. We had a blast!!! So that is the news from here. All is well and I am excited to be on the new treatment. And I won't miss those painful shots in the rump from the last treatment! Glad to be off the Faslodex! Hoping all is well in your world and sending you all my love, Wendy

I've been captured!

Yesterday at the invitation of my neighbor Beverly I portrayed a woman captured by Seminole Indians during the start of the Second Seminole Indian War. the first battle of that war was at the site of the Dade Battlefield State Park. Yesterday there was a re-enactment of the battle and displays of what the life of both the Seminoles and the sutlers would have been like. So here are a selection of photos from the event.

A photo to go with yesterday's post

Here we are at Christmas Dinner!