All about Mommy!

Second week into the new year, and a second update! I'm on a roll!

First, a report on our little girl:

I type this very, very hesitantly... and am knocking on all wood products I can find ... but I'm pleased to say that Jenelle has not had a seizure since Christmas morning LAST YEAR! Hopefully this is the year we can officially say Jenelle's new year's resolution is to quit having seizures. We can only hope!

Now, it's all about Mommy! I have a few things to report and had a follow up yesterday at UCLA. The good news, as always, I'm still cancer free! Now, the not so fun news... at least not so fun for me.

At the end of December, I saw my general doctor. Because I've been off chemo since August, it was a good time to re-do some routine labs to check my thyroid function, cholesterol levels, etc. We had done this back in June, but because of the chemo drugs, the numbers were quite skewed. So, during the week after Christmas, I had some fasting blood work done and the results were not so fun; apparently my triglycerides are very, very high. My general doctor told me to lay off the carbs and exercise and we'd re-test in 3 months. I took the labs to UCLA yesterday, and they suggested I start medication right away.

If you've known me since at least high school, you will also know that I've never, ever had to diet in my life. I've always had a very high metabolism, and I've always been very thin. Oh yeah, and the exercise part... well I don't get much exercise aside from taking the stairs in the parking garage at work.

My Father has Type Two Diabetes, so I've been worried for a while that I might follow that path. It doesn't help that I love carbs and sugary sweets. However, since my cancer, I have steadily gained weight. Some survivors tell me this is the little know secret they don't tell you about chemo and cancer - that ultimately you gain weight. However, everything I've done hasn't been helping, but I'm tired of see the number on the scale that I saw when I was pregnant with Jack! The signs are all there.

Getting old totally sucks! So does going through cancer.

However, in the last 10 years, I've gained a lot of perspective about taking medications. If your child has seizures - take medication. If your child has ADHD - take medication when necessary (i.e. during school.) If you have cancer - definitely take the medication. If you think you are getting sick - hold off on medication until it's an infection - then take the medication. With all my body has been through and all that I've survived, why just agree to simply "take a pill" when I could try to make a decent effort to change my habits? I really sort of owe it to myself, and my body since I do have this second chance at life thing going for me.

I did a lot of reading and Internet research, and learned that my diet will drastically change. Leaner meats, more fish, no sugars, limited alcohol, lots of greens, whole grains and no carbs. Thank God we have a Trader Joe's just around the corner! I started this new diet on Wednesday, and I still get temped to cheat - especially the sugar (like Sweet Tarts and such.) But I think at the very least before surrendering to medication, I owe this to myself. It's worth a try, so wish me luck!

Thank you all for the continued thoughts, support and prayers. We'll keep you posted!

(Knock Knock Knock on wood!) ;)