I started back at work last week Wednesday,  it was so great to be back.  With everything going on I wanted some normalcy back in my life and the thing that was missing was working.  It was so great to stay home as much as I could with Kiaan but it was nice to return to my normal routine.  The week before I went back was Kiaan’s first Halloween, we all decided to dress up as superman/women/baby/dog.  It was really fun to dress up and take Kiaan out to his first trick-or-treating event.  These firsts and milestones will not come back and I am happy that I am healthy enough to enjoy these with him.

Another unfortunate side effect of chemotherapy besides hair loss is the loss of eyelashes. Not necessarily the loss of eyelashes but lack of regrowth.  Eyelashes normally fall out everyday and re-grow within 2 weeks.  When you are on Chemotherapy lashes fall out but don’t end up re-growing until you are off the drugs.  I generally have amazing long thick eyelashes so I knew as soon as they started to fall/thin out.  Luckily I have an amazing fashionable, make-up savvy sister Gargi that came to my rescue right away. She has a friend that does permanent mink eyelashes that lives in her building.  She connected us right away and viola I now have semi-permanent lashes that look as natural as possible and need to be re-done every 2-4 weeks!  Its crazy to think that not even over 2 months ago I had NO idea what wearing a wig entailed, how to plush-up my eyebrows and now wearing mink eyelashes.  I am very blessed that these are options for myself and make me feel normal in a time where normal has a completely different definition.

Going back to my office was such a easy transition and felt like home.  My staff was so welcoming along with my patients, it was as if I had never left.  I went to the office early on Wednesday to set-up our month of gratitude for November.  After the patients started coming for their appointments I noticed a change in their demeanor as soon as they saw the décor their attitudes changed and they became more open.  I love when the vibe in the office changes.  My staff and I also decided to support the Cubs victory and wear our cubs gear- it was such a nice transition back into my work life.

I also had my last session of my drug cocktail Adriamycin and Cytoxan on Friday-HALFWAY DONE with chemo!! This was such a relief considering this cocktail is a lot more toxic and has a lot more side effects than my next one- Taxol.  This appointment was also great because the Oncologist said my tumor was UN-palpable meaning the tumor is essentially gone.  Lots of good news all around 🙂  This was also the day of the Cubs parade and it was nice to be in the heart of the city with a birds-eye view of our Cubbies.

This weekend was also fun because we had a couple of visitors to meet Kiaan for the first time.  Jane has been a really good friend of mine since Chiropractic school, she is also one of the few friends I have that I can talk to about anything.  I love her calmness when it comes to questions that she asks and solutions that she offers. I just love our friendship and we are very blessed to have her and Mike in our lives.  Next time we are going to hang out in the suburbs so we can see Kiaan and Bri interact!

I have said it before, but there is nothing like family and friends to get you through your hardest obstacles in life.  Hanging out with friends and family makes you realize what truly matters and that whatever hurdles life throws at you, you will find a way to overcome them with love and distractions.