Hanging with Hayley..

Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 by Laurie

I had gotten so used to visiting with her every couple of weeks for quite a while now that going for almost 2 months without seeing her was just too much. I missed her and she missed me. Thankfully a couple of weeks ago I was able to visit with Hayley down at her college for the first time since before my stem cell transplant.

It may have only been for 4 hours but the visit helped me heal immensely. Her laughter, energy and our conversations helped to bring me out of a depression that I was beginning to take hold. Mind you we do talk and or text every day, which is wonderful in it of itself considering she is a busy college student. But being in person, well there is nothing like it. I can actually feel the light radiating from her.. and it passes on to me. It gives me warmth and comfort. Whenever I am with her, where ever we are, I am home.

Of course I had to take the opportunity to do mini photo shoot :)

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A Jaunt to Reid State Park..

Posted on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 by Laurie

Last week I had a couple of good days.. yay for good days! So me and my friend Shelly went to Reid State Park which is along the coast here in Maine. It was a beautiful day there. The warm sun and refreshing breezes helped to clear out the winter chill that had taken up residence in my body. Here are a few scenes from that day..

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A Thought for Sunday..

Posted on Sunday, April 1, 2012 by Laurie

“Your thoughts and beliefs of the past have created this moment, and all the moments up to this moment. What you are now choosing to believe and think and say will create the next moment and the next day and the next month and the next year.”

Louise Hay

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Color for a Grey Day..

Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2012 by Laurie

Since it’s been grey and cold the last few days thought it would be nice to add some color to this week. I shot this while walking around Boothbay Harbor here in Maine a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure that these lovely Spring flowers aren’t too happy that it’s now back to cold and slightly snowy weather.. but wait.. it’s Maine. The weather will change quick yet again :)

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Ahh.. Spring..

Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Laurie

The weather this past week in Maine has been unseasonably warm. Earlier in the week we had 70′s F. Yesterday we hit 80 and today we will as well. Starting tomorrow we should be back down to normal temps (50′s). I have to say it sure is nice to open the windows and let all this fresh air in to clean out the stale winter air that settled in over the last few months.

The warm temps are also putting all the vegetation on a fast track to sprouting up budding out. Usually when this happens and if not before, I start to clean out my patio, rake out my yards and get everything ready for the coming summer months. This year however due to the stem cell transplant (concern is dust and mold spores breathed in)  I will not be able to do any of these things. It feels strange not to be outside digging in the ground. Getting on my hands and knees and using my fingers as mini rakes to clean out my gardens, removing last Autumn’s decayed foliage only to discover new growths emerging. It’s quite therapeutic and I miss it.. and look forward to this time next year when I will be back to getting dirty in the gardens.

Having said all that, the rebirth of these dorment flowers and trees remind me that I too am being reborn and giving a new life due to my transplant. Just as the sun helps to bring forth the tender green shoots , those same rays fill me with a warm gratitude about this new journey I am on.

So even if I can’t do what I usually do in the Spring, I realize I’m lucky to still be here and for now I will just have to admire the gardens from a photographer’s stance.

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My New Look…

Posted on Monday, March 19, 2012 by Laurie

Happy Monday everyone.. I have to say it’s been quite a couple of weeks since being home from the hospital. I have had good days mixed with some not so great ones. My last check up went well though which was a relief. Looks like my counts are leveling off and while they are low they stopped dropping and my docs are pretty happy about that which means I am as well.

I’ve been achy and tired more often then not but that seems to be getting better and just in time with the lovely warm weather we’ve been having. The warm weather allows me to be outside and visit with people without compromising my health.

Another symptom I started having last week due to the chemo I got in the hospital is loss of hair.. again. This time though it was at a rate that was impossible to keep up with so this past Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day to be exact I had my friend Mark come over first thing  in the morning and he shaved my hair off. It was difficult right at that moment but I realized there could be worse things then losing my hair, knowing it will start growing back in a few weeks and now I’m completely fine with it. I know I have many blessings in my life and am very grateful for all the love and support I’ve received from so many people since having the transplant that the losing of my hair is a minor blip on the radar to getting back to be healthy.

I also just realized when I looked at the date that today two years ago I was diagnosed with cancer.. fitting post I think..

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Catching up…

Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 by Laurie

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Yesterday ending up being a very busy day with my 7 am Dana Farber checkin appt and then packing up and heading home… got home around 4 and then just took my time settling back in..

As promised, even if a day late, here are my posts from Friday and Saturday of last week.. I was out of the hospital late Thursday night and checking in to the hotel.. posts from here on out should be back to a regular basis.. thanks for all the well wishes.. they are much appreciated!

I took this on my way back to Hallowell yesterday..

March 2, 2012

Happy Friday everyone! Woo Hoo I’m out of the hospital and now into a hotel. The Hampton Inn to be precise. I have to stay in Boston until Tuesday because I have an appt on Saturday and then again on Tuesday for blood work and meds. They also want me to stay close incase I have any reactions to the stem cell transplant. Which went great btw :) I did have some nervousness about the whole thing but was able to remain calm and not freak out. The only symtom I had was some nausea but that went away with some meds. I didn’t get discharged until 12:30 last night but I was not in any way shape or form wanting another minute in the hospital and Shelly was game so we ended up checking into the Hotel soon after that :) Today has been a nice day.. got some food to live off of for the new few days.. I did have a few instances where I thought I could just go into a store or on a train but then remembered I can’t do those things now.. kind of weird I have to day.. but I just let it roll off and tried not to ruminate on it too much. I’m just going to concentrate on getting these lovely new stem cells to work their magic and work their way into my body nice and easy. I know I sound like a broke record but THANK YOU!!!!! To all you lovely people for the cards, gifts, love, thoughts, prayers, vibes, juju and anything else good sent my way.. I wouldn’t have made it this far without the help.. ♥ ♥ ♥

March 3, 2012

Afternoon everyone… it’s been a nice day today here in Boston. I can’t tell you how much I love my hometown city of Boston.. one of the reasons I love it so much is its so easy to walk in and this morning boy did I walk! Because they were behind schedule at my appt at Dana Farber this morning I missed the last shuttle to my hotel so it was either take a cab, the T or walk. I remembered quickly I couldn’t take the T and I didn’t want to waste money on a cab so seeing as how it was only 2.5 miles to the hotel I decided to walk it. Well it would have been 2.5 miles (ended up being about 3.5 miles) had I taken a left rather then a right. However the best journey is always the one not meant to take. I realized about 1 mile after my wrong turn that I was going in the wrong direction so after turning myself around and walking back, in the rain mind you, I thought ” well if I hadn’t taken the wrong turn I would have missed seeing the hospital I was born at, missed smiling at some local people and missed taking some cool photos. I also realized how happy I was at being able to just be outside and to walk around, with out a mask on! There were also a few times that I realized how my life is going to be for a time. I saw some great places to get coffee, a snack and or lunch but couldn’t go in. I walked by the New England Conservatory of Music and heard the most beautiful voice coming out of the hall. I thought I have to go see who that is and listen to some great music.. as I put my foot on the bottom step it hit me that I cannot go inside. Even with that though.. I was happy.. happy to be free of the hospital, happy to have new stem cells donated by a very selfless man in Europe and very happy to know that all this is just what it will take to be on the road to being healthy and living a very long time. 

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In a Bubble at Dana Farber…

Posted on Monday, March 5, 2012 by Laurie

Hello everyone and so sorry I’ve not posted anything in a while. I went into the hospital on February 23 for my weeklong stay to have a stem cell transplant. I had done video blogs which I posted to my personal Facebook page and I had every intention of posting them here as well however I hadn’t figured out how to post videos here.. needed a plug in and all that jazz.. so today, Monday, I finally figured it out. I will post all videos here, days 1-6.. tomorrow I will post my daily posts I did after the hospital and hopefully I will be all caught up.. once again thanks for all the love and support both near and far from everyone.. love truly makes the world go round..

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About to start a new chapter..

Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2012 by Laurie
Written yesterday.. today (Thursday) I go down to Dana Farber.. 
Happy Wednesday all!! Well I can’t believe tomorrow is the day I go down to Boston for the Stem Cell transplant! I need to say again I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to write back to texts, emails, calls etc… I’ve been crazy busy with trying to get things done before I leave. I have wanted to connect with many people in person as well but I’m seeing that is just not going to happen so please please do not take it personally if I have not seen you or gotten back in touch in a timely manner. I’ll have plenty of time in the hospital so I will catch up then :) Speaking of the hospital I’ve had a lot of questions as to what will happen so I will state it here.

Tomorrow I get admitted, nothing much but intake information will be done. Starting Friday I will have 4 days of chemo (till Monday), it will take about 4 hours for that to happen then I’ll just be chillin in my room.. my transplant doc said the chemo meds are normally well tolerated and that the only real toxin while I’m in there will be boredom! I think I can handle that.. :)

Tuesday will be a day of rest from all the chemo and then Wednesday, Feb 29th, which just happens to be Leap Year ( a very very good sign, IMHO) I will get the greatest gift ever given to me, the stem cells! They will be given IV and should take about 30 min’s. Thursday March 1st I will be discharged. I will need to go back on the 3rd and then on the 6th for a med. I may or may not stay in Boston for this. I will decide as the time draws closer as it will depend on how I will feel and the weather..

So.. that’s about what will go on during the next week. I will have my camera, laptop, kindle, books and games with me.. I may even try to do a video blog post or two.. we’ll see. I can’t bring any toiletries and not allowed to wear makeup (not even mascara! ) but as I write this I realize that I need to heed my own words about being in front of a camera..

Once again.. and I can’t express this enough I have to thank you everyone for all the good wishes, thoughts, words, gifts, sending of vibes and energy and everything in between. You cannot imagine how much it has helped me get to where I am now and how it will continue to be a huge benefit to me. I really am a very lucky gal. I have some truly amazing people in my life and wouldn’t be as happy as I am without them ♥ ♥ ♥

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One Week To Go…

Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2012 by Laurie

Holy cow I’m behind in posting. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks with trying to get things ready for my stem cell transplant. I’ve been doing major spring cleaning in my house, going to lots of prescreening appointments and catching up with people.

I had a full day in Boston yesterday with various people about the transplant and the best part of the day was when my PET scan came back clean which means the procedure should be good to go next Thursday!

I have to say I’m not as nervous as I was after chatting with my transplant team yesterday. They are awesome down there at Dana Farber and they really have put me more at ease.

With everything that has been going on I really haven’t taken any photos with my camera. I’m still doing my 366 project but have been using my Droid lately to capture images.

The photos below are from when I went to the Arboretum in Augusta after we had some Frozen Fog.. it was truly beautiful to see everything covered in a fine frost.. hope you like them :)

~ Peace ~

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