February 2025 Update

Hey Friends!

SIX months have passed since my last update, and it feels like great timing to share how life has been going since today is World Cancer Day and the one year anniversary of when we first shared about my cancer journey on our socials. This post won't be as long because thankfully life has settled down a bit on this side of cancer treatment! ;)

If you remember my last update back in August, I was still about a month out from wrapping up my six rounds of chemo, which finally happened on September 19th. Just in time for my 20 year high school reunion a couple days later. By some miracle I felt good enough to get out of the house and join my friends for a few hours to catch up with classmates we don't see often or haven't seen in close to 20 years - wild to think about! Then the following weekend our first baby girl, Charli, went to her freshman year homecoming - also wild. Nothing made me happier than being out of the hospital and able to be there to take a few pictures and see her making some priceless memories with her friends!

It's honestly kind of hard to put into words what life has felt like since finishing chemo and moving on from that phase of my cancer journey. Mostly because I know this journey is far from over, even if chemo and my initial surgeries are behind me now. My first CT scan post-chemo was at the end of September, and all looked good. Of course according to my doctors, this is not surprising as it's pretty unlikely for cancer to spread while undergoing chemo. However, a clean scan is always something to praise God for and I'll continue to work hard to not take that for granted. Then I was able to have my port removed in early October, which was a relief and slightly disturbing as they keep you awake for that procedure! It's been weird to readjust to not having this device in my chest after so many months of relying on it for blood draws and chemo infusions. The scar is a bittersweet reminder of both the blessing of modern medicine and one of the hardest years of my life.

Now let's talk recovery and regaining health following months of chemo and a couple major surgeries. Many people don't talk about this road or know where to find the best support and resources to navigate it. And while I greatly appreciate and respect my doctors at UIHC, this isn't their area of expertise! I've done everything I can to lean into the knowledge I've gained about health over the years along with some amazing integrative practitioners I know to help my body through this healing process. A combination of awesome supplements and things like hyperbaric oxygen chamber and red light therapy have helped my energy return and my leg continue to improve. This all takes time, but I'm probably most excited about my hair growing back thick (and SO wavy) along with my knee finally bending to 120 degrees!! That milestone with my knee just happened a couple weeks ago, and this is a big deal since 120 degrees is usually the target for mobility after a total knee replacement. My wonderful physical therapist and I are hopeful to push it a little past that, but there was a time we didn't know if 120 was possible for me, so we both cried happy tears the day it finally happened! Now I just need to focus on rebuilding my leg strength and conquer the stairs like a "normal" person. Then I'll officially graduate from PT.

So what's next on this journey? From what I understand, it's fairly similar to what most people have to do following cancer treatment - several years of scans to monitor your body for any reoccurrence of the cancer. I'll have CT scans every 3 months for two years, then every 4 months for the third year, every 6 months for years 4 and 5, and I think annually after that. This is to keep a close eye on my lungs, which is a common place for some/most types of sarcoma to spread to. I'll also have a full body bone scan and labs once per year. It's a lot! Especially for people like me who rarely went to the doctor for anything prior to this whole experience. As far as future surgeries are concerned, hopefully my new knee and the femur implant will be in good shape for 10+ years. 20-30 years would be ideal! Obviously we'll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, I'm still on antibiotics until May to complete one year from when my knee got infected and I needed the second surgery to clean it out. I'll be working hard to rebuild my gut health when that part is done!

To summarize some crazy stats from my 2024:

• Number of days in the hospital - 62
• Number of chemo infusions - 19
• Number of surgeries - 2 + 1 joint manipulation
• Number of scans - 9 + several x-rays of my leg
• Number of times my port was accessed - 100+

Sharing with you all, while not as frequent as I originally hoped, has been a meaningful piece of this journey for me and my family. One of the biggest challenges of walking through something like this is how it changes your ability to relate to the people in your life who haven't walked through it. And I feel that being open and honest about that fact will somehow help others who are either walking through it now or might at some point. So if you know someone fighting this battle - here is your nudge to please reach out and check in on them often. Even a quick text to say hi means you're thinking about them and they haven't been forgotten while the rest of the world goes on living. Sadly cancer is becoming more and more common - all the more reason to value, protect and prioritize your health as much as humanly possible! There is always hope and my family will continue to fight for and believe in that truth. Our hope remains in our Father in Heaven and all the ways he has used this story of mine.

Ok, Friends - last thing I want to mention is something I'm SUPER excited about. I've been asked to be the patient honoree for this year's Courage Ride Sarcoma Fundraiser, which takes place in August in Iowa City! I'll be getting involved in this awesome event in various ways, and it's something I can see our family being a part of for years to come. We had a blast going to it last August, and it's truly such a wonderful family of people who have been touched by sarcoma cancer in one way or another. I'm sure you'll see me share more about it over the next several months leading up to the event, and we'd love for anyone who might be interested to join! Whether you enjoy a fun bike ride for a great cause or just want to come hang at Big Grove in IC that day, we'd love to see you there!!

For more info - https://www.courageride.org/mission

As always, thanks SO much for caring, praying for and cheering on our family. We love you all!

Lindsey, Ben, Charli, Val & Lucy