July 2, 2021. 

(It feels so good to have my hair shaved before the Pacific Northwest heatwave last week)

It has been awhile since I have written in the blog here. The combination of the prescribed pain medication and working through the side effects from chemo and radiation have taken a small toll on my energy level which explains my absence here on my blog.

I decided to shave all my hair off to honor all cancer survivors, those who are still fighting cancer (like me at this stage) and for those who lost their lives to cancer.  

Last Wednesday, I experienced 102.5F fever, nonstop coughing and asthma all at once. It turned out that I had pneumonia therefore the ER doctor on call suggested I stay at least three days to be monitored. It was SO hard to get any sleep in the hospital, especially with the heatwave we just experienced. Happily, I was discharged a week ago today, Saturday...two days before the actual heatwave to hit the Pacific NW. The air conditioning at the hospital was not cool enough. The hot air from outside was stronger than anticipated. I started to get hot...very hot and then got the chills. This gal here does not do well in hot weather!

There are hardly any veins in my arms for the next visit as they have all been tapped out from all the blood tests taken. Hopefully, when the scheduled August 9th surgery to get the rest of the cancer out that the veins can replenish the blood(?)...crossing fingers and prayers, too...please! Thank you, in advance.

Thank you to some great nurses and nurse assistants who took very good care of me and were able to get me through my stay at the hospital. There was a lot of bantering and laughter, albeit professionalism was still in tact. 

I did not want to stay a minute more as I felt so claustrophobic in the hospital room with hot and cold moments that were occurring which frustrated me to no end! When I was discharged on Sunday, the nurses were sad to see me go. I look forward to sending a surprise thank you card with some humor as we really got each other on that level. It was wonderful to interact with these nurses as we uplifted each other's spirits as the days wore on there. And the heat wasn't helping. 

Speaking of heat. One of Damon's friends gifted us a window air conditioner, recently. And the timing couldn't have been more perfect. So grateful to Damon's friend for the air conditioner. It has made my life more comfortable. It really doesn't take much to make me happy. Honest. Life is still beautiful. 

I am on antibiotics for the pneumonia. And we are down to oxycodone for pain relief. I have Damon or Amanda administer the medicine for me to hold me accountable. There have been concerns on the number of pain pills given to me. It feels good that oxycodone is THE only pain relief given to me as I did not want to end up being addicted to it. There is absolutely no need to take any other pain medication at this conjuncture. Addiction runs through me and I, also, cannot afford to get addicted to it. Life has given me a second chance. There is NO WAY that I am going to screw that up. I have worked too hard on my relationships with family and friends. I will fight to keep it that way.

A CT scan and PET scan are scheduled in the second week of this month. They will determine how much of the cancer they were able to kill. Then the surgery in August is set to go into the stomach area to remove the rest of the cancer (Esophageal) out of my body. They will go in there to patch up the stomach and Esophogus to keep the cancer out. That is what I got out of the conversation with my Oncologist. I will talk to the surgeon with more questions my daughter and I will have going into the appointment before the scheduled surgery.

I won't deny that I am scared. However, the support team I have through friends and family will help me to get through this next couple of months.

With much love and gratitude, 

Lien 🙏 

The sound of water flowing through this river gives me great peace.