enjoy.
by far my favorite.
I think I look happy.
and calm.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Day 33: Letting Go.
enjoy.
by far my favorite.
I think I look happy.
and calm.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Day 32: Round 2....ding...ding....fight!
I started my official second round of chemo tonight. I don't remember a time but it was a little before the Thunder game started. I did a small dose of Methotrexate. I had it before as a spinal tap chemo just before I got discharged from Mercy. It was a small little bag that only took about 2 hours to go in. I just finished that bag and now they have a new bag up and ready to go. The next bag will go into my IV over a 24 hour period.
Emotionally, I'm fine. I don't feel any different and after talking to doctors ALLLL DDAAAYY they said that this round of chemo is LESS harsh than my first round. They said I had a pretty harsh first round. Which explains my mouth sores, body rash, weird fingernail and skin reactions.
go hard or go home right?
With that in mind, this round should be no problem-o. It is a 5 day chemo treatment and they project that I will be outta here in about 7 days. Now if I'm here in 30 days later, I may go crazy. I'm already bored and wanting to go run (lol). Alright well I'm tired because last night I got 3-4 hours of sleep. I didn't nap. and They already warned me they'll be in at 5am.
so here we go again.
Round 2.
don't worry.
I got this. I ran a 5k with cancer. :)
goodnight!
Emotionally, I'm fine. I don't feel any different and after talking to doctors ALLLL DDAAAYY they said that this round of chemo is LESS harsh than my first round. They said I had a pretty harsh first round. Which explains my mouth sores, body rash, weird fingernail and skin reactions.
go hard or go home right?
With that in mind, this round should be no problem-o. It is a 5 day chemo treatment and they project that I will be outta here in about 7 days. Now if I'm here in 30 days later, I may go crazy. I'm already bored and wanting to go run (lol). Alright well I'm tired because last night I got 3-4 hours of sleep. I didn't nap. and They already warned me they'll be in at 5am.
so here we go again.
Round 2.
don't worry.
I got this. I ran a 5k with cancer. :)
goodnight!
Day 32: Mercy Spoiled Me.
Alright, sorry for my last post. I just read it and I sounded crazy. LOL.
I was talking to a friend about what had happened and how frustrated I was last night...
Me: "Everything has been so unorganized and I can't stand it. I like orderly things and plans. And you would think people can communicate a little better. I mean come on, were not doing Morse code or sending snail mail anymore..."
friend: "I'm sorry Kim. I bet you are going crazy because nothing is written down huh?"
Me: "EXACTLY! It makes me want to pull out all of my hair and run out the door screaming...."
.:awkward pause:.
friend: "ummmm...."
Me: "OMG, my hair is already gone!"
LOL...sometimes I am just ridiculous and don't even realize it....Anyways, today hasn't been TOO bad. I'm adjusting well to my new place and of course, trying to be nice to everybody. I had a really good tech today. She was fun. She laughed at me, cracked jokes, and was just overall a happy person. My nurses have also been great but I think I got spoiled at Mercy that I'm comparing everything to it. Like an ex boyfriend/girlfriend. EVERYONE does it...compares people...i'm just comparing hospitals. LOL.
I had a lot of doctors come in today to talk to me and ask me question after question. Finally, this morning, i called my old doctor and asked him a lot of questions and asked permission to give out his personal cell number. He okay'd everything and I guess that helped speed up the whole "process." Around 11 about 8 people came into my room. The main "boss" lady doctor, I think two residency doctors, two interns and maybe two med students or three? I don't really remember but I had a full house in my small room full of people who were just staring at me. My assumption is that they were observing the doctor tell me what was going to happen next and answer some of my questions. I tried to ask a lot of questions to scare the students and interns about bizarre things. They just looked intimidated. And it didn't help that I was sitting in my bed with no scarf on my head. I know that sounds weird but seeing a real life cancer patient with no hair can be intimidating and just.....real. I look at myself in the mirror and am intimidated by me because I "fit" an image I had in my head that I was afraid to become. Now I enjoy it. I like being bald. it's convenient. LOL. Of course, I'll be so happy when I start my hair growth again but since I can't change it or do anything about it, why not embrace it and make the best out of the best situation. Life REALLY is too short.
Speaking of which.....isn't it the strangest thing when you have a realization that people were placed in your life at just the right time. Not necessarily for negative reasons but also for positive reasons as well. Has anyone stopped and said to themselves..."Kim was placed in my life to show/teach me something about mine?" I think of that all the time with people I meet and what they say. Even if I met them for a whole two seconds and they said something nice to me on a day I was feeling down.....it was worth it and for the rest of my life I will remember that. I think that I'm being shown true colors of people through this. I have friends who are just coming out of nowhere who want to help. I have seen people who really do have good hearts and I have seen people who don't. At times like this, I'm thankful because I know who really cares about me and who I have found worth keeping around. NO i'm not saying, if you don't visit me i'm not gonna be your friend but it's the simple things that no one notices that just make me happy.
sorry, i got off on another weird tangent and started typing whatever and it probably didn't make sense. LOL.....
So as of now, I don't know what is going to happen. The doctor who I talked to mentioned starting chemo either tonight or tomorrow morning. Right now they have me on ongoing fluids that make me use the restroom every 30 minutes....and on top of that, i'm THIRSTY again...noooo!
alright well, I'm going to try to take a nap because we all know how little of sleep I got last night and probably how little sleep I'll get tonight. It feels weird sitting in a bed all day. especially after my run. Maybe I'll invent some sort of hospital bed workout. hmmmm.......
I love you all, thanks for putting up with my crazy posts & randomness...
xoxo
kim
I was talking to a friend about what had happened and how frustrated I was last night...
Me: "Everything has been so unorganized and I can't stand it. I like orderly things and plans. And you would think people can communicate a little better. I mean come on, were not doing Morse code or sending snail mail anymore..."
friend: "I'm sorry Kim. I bet you are going crazy because nothing is written down huh?"
Me: "EXACTLY! It makes me want to pull out all of my hair and run out the door screaming...."
.:awkward pause:.
friend: "ummmm...."
Me: "OMG, my hair is already gone!"
LOL...sometimes I am just ridiculous and don't even realize it....Anyways, today hasn't been TOO bad. I'm adjusting well to my new place and of course, trying to be nice to everybody. I had a really good tech today. She was fun. She laughed at me, cracked jokes, and was just overall a happy person. My nurses have also been great but I think I got spoiled at Mercy that I'm comparing everything to it. Like an ex boyfriend/girlfriend. EVERYONE does it...compares people...i'm just comparing hospitals. LOL.
I had a lot of doctors come in today to talk to me and ask me question after question. Finally, this morning, i called my old doctor and asked him a lot of questions and asked permission to give out his personal cell number. He okay'd everything and I guess that helped speed up the whole "process." Around 11 about 8 people came into my room. The main "boss" lady doctor, I think two residency doctors, two interns and maybe two med students or three? I don't really remember but I had a full house in my small room full of people who were just staring at me. My assumption is that they were observing the doctor tell me what was going to happen next and answer some of my questions. I tried to ask a lot of questions to scare the students and interns about bizarre things. They just looked intimidated. And it didn't help that I was sitting in my bed with no scarf on my head. I know that sounds weird but seeing a real life cancer patient with no hair can be intimidating and just.....real. I look at myself in the mirror and am intimidated by me because I "fit" an image I had in my head that I was afraid to become. Now I enjoy it. I like being bald. it's convenient. LOL. Of course, I'll be so happy when I start my hair growth again but since I can't change it or do anything about it, why not embrace it and make the best out of the best situation. Life REALLY is too short.
Speaking of which.....isn't it the strangest thing when you have a realization that people were placed in your life at just the right time. Not necessarily for negative reasons but also for positive reasons as well. Has anyone stopped and said to themselves..."Kim was placed in my life to show/teach me something about mine?" I think of that all the time with people I meet and what they say. Even if I met them for a whole two seconds and they said something nice to me on a day I was feeling down.....it was worth it and for the rest of my life I will remember that. I think that I'm being shown true colors of people through this. I have friends who are just coming out of nowhere who want to help. I have seen people who really do have good hearts and I have seen people who don't. At times like this, I'm thankful because I know who really cares about me and who I have found worth keeping around. NO i'm not saying, if you don't visit me i'm not gonna be your friend but it's the simple things that no one notices that just make me happy.
sorry, i got off on another weird tangent and started typing whatever and it probably didn't make sense. LOL.....
So as of now, I don't know what is going to happen. The doctor who I talked to mentioned starting chemo either tonight or tomorrow morning. Right now they have me on ongoing fluids that make me use the restroom every 30 minutes....and on top of that, i'm THIRSTY again...noooo!
alright well, I'm going to try to take a nap because we all know how little of sleep I got last night and probably how little sleep I'll get tonight. It feels weird sitting in a bed all day. especially after my run. Maybe I'll invent some sort of hospital bed workout. hmmmm.......
I love you all, thanks for putting up with my crazy posts & randomness...
xoxo
kim
Day 32: Laaaaammmeeee.....
Okay so one day I hope to look back at this day and say...oh what was I thinking.
Alright, well...I just settle into my new pad for the next hopefully ONLY 2 weeks. :)
ummm yeah....i'm thinking the same too.
this place stinks. LOL.
Well...when I first checked in it was just a weird vibe. The night "receptionist/nurse" was super busy for a bit so i patiently waited and after maybe a 5 minute standing wait, she finally came and i said, "Hi..I'm suppose to be admitted tonight as an inpatient to room 723" she quickly said okay, go knock on that window and tell her. So I got into the hospital with some delay and i asked for directions of how to find my room and the lady couldn't even tell me. She eventually said "well you'll run into security so just ask him the best way to go" and shoved me on my way. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of direction and I found my way to the oncology department and stood there to be helped. THREE...yes THREE nurses saw me and said NOTHING to me. I mean if you see a girl and her mom packed and ready to go somewhere looking LOST standing by the ONCOLOGY PATIENT CHECK IN counter you'd think that they would ask "Can I help you??"
and they didn't.
So i stood there thinking....okay the lady downstairs just called someone on the phone and CONFIRMED with that person that I will be up shortly. and when I mentioned that, no one...and i mean no one knew what I was talking about. I stood standing by the desk confused what was going on for a good 2 minutes or so and saw the night nurses SITTING in the back on a computer with their backs towards me. Angry at this point, i walked into their little office and said "ummm excuse me, i'm suppose to be checking in to room 723 tonight"....and they looked at me, then each other, then back at me and said....what?? SO i explained to them what was going on, mentioned someone from downstairs called them, and SHOWED them my paperwork...and still they all (three) had a BLANK stare on their face.
SO they showed me to my room anyway, took my paper and said "i will call the doctor and figure out what is going on"
My nurse for tonight showed me around my new place and seemed either nervous or just talked really fast. she said the word "anyway" about 50 times in a like 2 minute introduction she gave to me. it annoyed me. My room is small, very BLAND, and my shower is awkward. The light switch to my ENTIRE room is OUTSIDE of my door so no privacy will be had. I have one over head lamp and it's a fluorescent light so I'm just wondering how these early morning blood draws will work out....My mom has to sleep on a recliner and I don't like the "feel" of the place. The RN asked me if I wanted anything to drink. She offered sprite, water, and a few other options. My mom and I requested water and I said I wanted a 'sprite.' and what does she come back with??
THAT's right....CAFFEINE FREE SHASTA TWIST...which is NOTHING like sprite...which I was promised. :( and a mini pitcher of water and Styrofoam cups. grrreeaaatttt. I can't even get a cool water bottle thingy like they gave to me at Mercy. and what are these people thinking with these cups?? Lisa is going to go crazy because this is in NO WAY GREEN AT ALL. They really need to invest in some nice OU cups and wash them like they do at other hospitals. This must be a fake hospital. :( But anyways, as soon as I got a drink, I sprayed everything down with disinfectant and clorox'd wiped everything too....not that they wouldn't have done that anyway but i have become deadly with my antibacterial hand sanitizer, my disinfectant i carry in my purse, and my handy dandy "to go" clorox wipes. LOL. which is good right?
......floor nurse comes in.....shes talking to me......
here it comes....wait for it....now.
aaaaaaaaarrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.......................
a new RN came in and basically NO ONE knows what is going on here. they have no idea who i am. they don't know ANYTHING about me.....i'm so frustrated right now. my mom took a picture of me and here is my facial expression. and yes, i'm bald now. LOL. :)
okay i'm frustrated, angry, sad, and TIIIIRREEEDDDD. so I'm gonna get off of here before my battery dies and i can't save this (because that WOULD happen to me right now). A doctor is suppose to be coming in any minute to figure this ish out. UGH.
i still love you all. :)
good night.
kim
Alright, well...I just settle into my new pad for the next hopefully ONLY 2 weeks. :)
ummm yeah....i'm thinking the same too.
this place stinks. LOL.
Well...when I first checked in it was just a weird vibe. The night "receptionist/nurse" was super busy for a bit so i patiently waited and after maybe a 5 minute standing wait, she finally came and i said, "Hi..I'm suppose to be admitted tonight as an inpatient to room 723" she quickly said okay, go knock on that window and tell her. So I got into the hospital with some delay and i asked for directions of how to find my room and the lady couldn't even tell me. She eventually said "well you'll run into security so just ask him the best way to go" and shoved me on my way. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of direction and I found my way to the oncology department and stood there to be helped. THREE...yes THREE nurses saw me and said NOTHING to me. I mean if you see a girl and her mom packed and ready to go somewhere looking LOST standing by the ONCOLOGY PATIENT CHECK IN counter you'd think that they would ask "Can I help you??"
and they didn't.
So i stood there thinking....okay the lady downstairs just called someone on the phone and CONFIRMED with that person that I will be up shortly. and when I mentioned that, no one...and i mean no one knew what I was talking about. I stood standing by the desk confused what was going on for a good 2 minutes or so and saw the night nurses SITTING in the back on a computer with their backs towards me. Angry at this point, i walked into their little office and said "ummm excuse me, i'm suppose to be checking in to room 723 tonight"....and they looked at me, then each other, then back at me and said....what?? SO i explained to them what was going on, mentioned someone from downstairs called them, and SHOWED them my paperwork...and still they all (three) had a BLANK stare on their face.
SO they showed me to my room anyway, took my paper and said "i will call the doctor and figure out what is going on"
My nurse for tonight showed me around my new place and seemed either nervous or just talked really fast. she said the word "anyway" about 50 times in a like 2 minute introduction she gave to me. it annoyed me. My room is small, very BLAND, and my shower is awkward. The light switch to my ENTIRE room is OUTSIDE of my door so no privacy will be had. I have one over head lamp and it's a fluorescent light so I'm just wondering how these early morning blood draws will work out....My mom has to sleep on a recliner and I don't like the "feel" of the place. The RN asked me if I wanted anything to drink. She offered sprite, water, and a few other options. My mom and I requested water and I said I wanted a 'sprite.' and what does she come back with??
THAT's right....CAFFEINE FREE SHASTA TWIST...which is NOTHING like sprite...which I was promised. :( and a mini pitcher of water and Styrofoam cups. grrreeaaatttt. I can't even get a cool water bottle thingy like they gave to me at Mercy. and what are these people thinking with these cups?? Lisa is going to go crazy because this is in NO WAY GREEN AT ALL. They really need to invest in some nice OU cups and wash them like they do at other hospitals. This must be a fake hospital. :( But anyways, as soon as I got a drink, I sprayed everything down with disinfectant and clorox'd wiped everything too....not that they wouldn't have done that anyway but i have become deadly with my antibacterial hand sanitizer, my disinfectant i carry in my purse, and my handy dandy "to go" clorox wipes. LOL. which is good right?
......floor nurse comes in.....shes talking to me......
here it comes....wait for it....now.
aaaaaaaaarrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.......................
a new RN came in and basically NO ONE knows what is going on here. they have no idea who i am. they don't know ANYTHING about me.....i'm so frustrated right now. my mom took a picture of me and here is my facial expression. and yes, i'm bald now. LOL. :)
okay i'm frustrated, angry, sad, and TIIIIRREEEDDDD. so I'm gonna get off of here before my battery dies and i can't save this (because that WOULD happen to me right now). A doctor is suppose to be coming in any minute to figure this ish out. UGH.
i still love you all. :)
good night.
kim
Monday, May 2, 2011
Day 31: New month....New hospital.
a few quick things for today's morning blog....
#1- no, I am NOT sore from yesterday's run. :) I guess that means......well, idk what that means. I just know there are some fellow tafties out there who I'm sure are suffering. Just make sure to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and ice and stretch if you're stiff. This also sounds crazy but you also need to do some sort of physical activity today to work out the kinks.Mao....go for a run or walk. Those stiff muscles need love too. I promise it will make u feel a a lot better tomorrow. Rather than letting it stiffen out more. Any who, us taffies have decided to run the marathon relay?? Right?! It makes me excited for next time. :)
#2- I'm getting platelets as I type from mercy hospital. It's neat b/c just sit in a chair and wait as they pump into me. There is a nurse in here and one other guy. He was talking to me for a looking time but he was really nice. He asked how long I had my picc line in and i told him just over a month. Then he went on to explain to me at that he had his in for FOUR years now. And before that he had one in his other arm until he got a blood clot. And I thought to myself......holy moly!! Lol. He told me his entire story and it was ridiculous what he was going thru. It just made me thankful for what I'm going thru and it put me in "check mode" of what I'm going thru. I felt like a little mouse by a huge elephant. It was kind of inspiring. He gave me some advice and was just nice.
#3- I told my doctor this morning about running my 5k and if course, he wasn't as excited as I was about it but he was just thankful that I didn't get sick. I reassured him I was extra cautious but he said....well can't do anything about it now so good job! You're a first...again. Lol. And now, sitting here in mercy outpatient oncology, one of my old nurses saw me and said,...I read about you in the paper!! Lol. She told people at work and I was suppose to be readmitted today to mercy and they said they all wanted to give me a hard time about it but they were all so proud us of me.:)
#4- I will no longer be at Mercy hospital....or have my awesome doctor. They are passing me over to a Presbyterian hospital that has a special Leukemia doctor just for me. I got emotional when my doctor was telling me about it. But basically, I still have more leukemia than expected in my blood so rather than a general cancer doctor, they're giving me to a leukemia doctor. And I'll most likely be getting a bone marrow transplant if my bro or sis is an exact match and I'll be getting it there anyway, so why not?
#5- my head is cold. Lol
#6- go buy a daily Oklahoman and read about my mini story in today's paper!! yay!
Okay platelets are in me and I'll write more later.
Enjoy ur day!
Kim
#1- no, I am NOT sore from yesterday's run. :) I guess that means......well, idk what that means. I just know there are some fellow tafties out there who I'm sure are suffering. Just make sure to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and ice and stretch if you're stiff. This also sounds crazy but you also need to do some sort of physical activity today to work out the kinks.Mao....go for a run or walk. Those stiff muscles need love too. I promise it will make u feel a a lot better tomorrow. Rather than letting it stiffen out more. Any who, us taffies have decided to run the marathon relay?? Right?! It makes me excited for next time. :)
#2- I'm getting platelets as I type from mercy hospital. It's neat b/c just sit in a chair and wait as they pump into me. There is a nurse in here and one other guy. He was talking to me for a looking time but he was really nice. He asked how long I had my picc line in and i told him just over a month. Then he went on to explain to me at that he had his in for FOUR years now. And before that he had one in his other arm until he got a blood clot. And I thought to myself......holy moly!! Lol. He told me his entire story and it was ridiculous what he was going thru. It just made me thankful for what I'm going thru and it put me in "check mode" of what I'm going thru. I felt like a little mouse by a huge elephant. It was kind of inspiring. He gave me some advice and was just nice.
#3- I told my doctor this morning about running my 5k and if course, he wasn't as excited as I was about it but he was just thankful that I didn't get sick. I reassured him I was extra cautious but he said....well can't do anything about it now so good job! You're a first...again. Lol. And now, sitting here in mercy outpatient oncology, one of my old nurses saw me and said,...I read about you in the paper!! Lol. She told people at work and I was suppose to be readmitted today to mercy and they said they all wanted to give me a hard time about it but they were all so proud us of me.:)
#4- I will no longer be at Mercy hospital....or have my awesome doctor. They are passing me over to a Presbyterian hospital that has a special Leukemia doctor just for me. I got emotional when my doctor was telling me about it. But basically, I still have more leukemia than expected in my blood so rather than a general cancer doctor, they're giving me to a leukemia doctor. And I'll most likely be getting a bone marrow transplant if my bro or sis is an exact match and I'll be getting it there anyway, so why not?
#5- my head is cold. Lol
#6- go buy a daily Oklahoman and read about my mini story in today's paper!! yay!
Okay platelets are in me and I'll write more later.
Enjoy ur day!
Kim
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Day 30: Shampoo or Body Wash??
Tonight I said bye-bye to my hair. I'm glad I took my time with the decision rather than rushing it. I never knew I would ever be as emotional about something like hair. Maybe it's the idea of losing something because of something else? IDK. I haven't figured out why. Well I do know why but I don't know how to articulate it. I guess I just never saw myself going through this and I never felt like I had leukemia, I always felt great. But now, losing something like hair, a physical feature, makes it more real. It shows a physical change that people have learned to put two and two together and figure it out. bald head on a girl = cancer patient.
But I'm trying to look at the positives...for instance today while I was taking a shower I had a whole debate with myself. Shampoo or body wash?? It took me a whole 3 minutes to shower (which included this debate) and it was awesome! I was just confused what to put on my head. lol. It still has a little prickly hair on it but for the most part I'm as bald as a baby. I settled on just body wash and it was soooooo weird. I felt like I was cheating on my shampoo and conditioner. And it just felt awkward seeing body wash being squeezed into my hands...then putting it on top of my head. LOL. I know that sounds absolutely NUTS but that's only acceptable when your like drop dead tired and not wanting to shower in the first place. LOL. Everyone has done it...got confused in the shower and you know it. LOL. :) Anyways, my showers are way short now and it's great!! guys seriously have it way easy girls...
I had a great dinner with great friends as we had a last-night-before-the-hospital-stay party. It was everything I hoped for in a party (arts and crafts too!!) and I can't thank our wonderful hostess, lisa, for EVERYTHING and all the work she put into making me happy. She's an absolute saint and I honestly don't know how I would get through this chemo/leukemia stuff without her. and all my tafties of course. :)
Okay before I start crying....I need to get off of here. I'll start blogging more about my crazy hospital stays and the excitement and chatter I always seem to hear about. Tomorrow I get checked into the hospital again and it's going to be tough. I've throughly enjoyed my last 5 days out in the real world and I'm so proud that I didn't get sick! :)
I plan on breaking the news somehow to my doctor that I ran the 5k. I'm sure he'll be totally fine with it but you just never know. :)
I love you all....good night.
kim
Look at the pure joy expression on my face....priceless.
Being interviewed by a newspaper guy! I look goofy.
But I'm trying to look at the positives...for instance today while I was taking a shower I had a whole debate with myself. Shampoo or body wash?? It took me a whole 3 minutes to shower (which included this debate) and it was awesome! I was just confused what to put on my head. lol. It still has a little prickly hair on it but for the most part I'm as bald as a baby. I settled on just body wash and it was soooooo weird. I felt like I was cheating on my shampoo and conditioner. And it just felt awkward seeing body wash being squeezed into my hands...then putting it on top of my head. LOL. I know that sounds absolutely NUTS but that's only acceptable when your like drop dead tired and not wanting to shower in the first place. LOL. Everyone has done it...got confused in the shower and you know it. LOL. :) Anyways, my showers are way short now and it's great!! guys seriously have it way easy girls...
I had a great dinner with great friends as we had a last-night-before-the-hospital-stay party. It was everything I hoped for in a party (arts and crafts too!!) and I can't thank our wonderful hostess, lisa, for EVERYTHING and all the work she put into making me happy. She's an absolute saint and I honestly don't know how I would get through this chemo/leukemia stuff without her. and all my tafties of course. :)
Okay before I start crying....I need to get off of here. I'll start blogging more about my crazy hospital stays and the excitement and chatter I always seem to hear about. Tomorrow I get checked into the hospital again and it's going to be tough. I've throughly enjoyed my last 5 days out in the real world and I'm so proud that I didn't get sick! :)
I plan on breaking the news somehow to my doctor that I ran the 5k. I'm sure he'll be totally fine with it but you just never know. :)
I love you all....good night.
kim
Look at the pure joy expression on my face....priceless.
Being interviewed by a newspaper guy! I look goofy.
Day 30: YAY....BEGAY RAN A 5K! :)
I finished my 5k!! I actually did a pretty good time considering the fact that I have done nothing for a month (keep that in mind)....my time was 40:52. So that was about a 12:30 mile...for me that's SLLLOOOWWWW but I'm happy and proud of myself. The first mile was good. I focused only on keeping a slow steady pace as I passed by the Ford Center (where OKC thunder play), the Cox center, Harkins movie theatres, and up and around through Bricktown. It was great being surround by such a great support system also throughout the entire race. I had the best co-workers/boss anyone could ask for who stayed with me the ENTIRE time to make sure I was okay...and I had some of the best students ever push me through by giving me a friendly smile or a "there's Miss Begay!" or a "GO MISS BEGAY!" shout when I passed them or when they passed me. It just felt great. I took another long "snapshot" in my brain and filed it away....actually, i took a lot. :)
The second mile was probably the hardest. It started with the huge bricktown hill that I walked. At this point the adrenaline had worn off and I was "kicking" myself for running the 5k (i knew it would happen). I mean, why couldn't I have just been a fan and showed up at the finish line? geez. anyways, i looked at my watch 11 minutes in and we were all still doing pretty good. I had to stop and tie my shoes but it was so hard because my poor little hands were little ice cubes. And on top of all that, my hands LOOKED rough. My fingernails are naturally half purple now so with them red and cold it just looked pathetic. But i tucked them away in my sleeves and kept on going.
I almost fell once, it was kinda a slip but no one from Taft saw me. I didn't make a big deal out of it but just know it would've been BAD if i did fall and start to bleed. At the halfway point they had the first and only waterstop for the 5k and i thought to myself....OMG WERE ONLY HALFWAY. lol. Now i gotta turn around and run back. I didn't stop for water because i knew my stomach would hurt and there is no telling how clean those people's hands were who were holding the cups.....yuck. I had my mask on 90% of the time and MAN OH MAN was i hot. But I'm so glad I had it because otherwise my throat would've been hurting afterwards like it usually does. But it's NOT. :)
the last mile consisted of small up and down hills and as much as I hated walking, I had to walk up the majority of the hills. But i tried to "speed" walk when i did walk to make up for my time lost. I ran the down hill slopes and then.....the finish line was in sight. I then thought...wow, that's it?? lol. as with all 5k's it seemed a lot longer at the time than when I finished.
The feeling that I got when I saw the finish line cannot be described. I felt like a million dollars. Everything was perfect and what I had wanted it to be....except I wish my entire family was there to watch me finish or finish with me or beat me to the finish line....but it was still a great sensation and feeling of I can overcome. It was wonderful and worth every second of everyday I have been in the hospital fighting for life. it's great and I'm so glad I did it. :)
Anyways, after I finished I stood around as long as I could and tried to stay as warm as I could (having no hair makes a BIG difference) but I remembered that I was "sick" and couldn't get any sicker so my mom and I packed up and walked FOREVER to get to the car. I thought I wouldn't make it to the car (it was REALLY FAR AWAY and REALLY REALLY COLD and WINDY) but again, i did.
We then stopped at my place and my mom ran up the stairs to get me dry sweats and a jacket and we were off to the hospital. I got a regular cbc blood draw and my vitals were taken. my temp was a wee bit low but I then confessed to the nurses what i had just did and they were like...oooohhhh, that makes sense. They took my temp again after thawing a little more out, and it was normal. My doctor hasn't called me yet so I'm assuming that everything was good or at least the same from yesterday. which is GOOD NEWS. :)
So as we were driving to and from Mercy Hospital we saw the marathon runners and my heart went out to them because they were about halfway finished and I was FREEZING in my CAR....lol. But one day next year I'll try again to run a full marathon....I better start training. LOL. :)
As soon as I got home I requested my mom to make greasy potatoes for breakfast (and she did because she's awesome) and I laid on a heating pad until I warmed up. I eventually fell asleep and now I'm here. I have a dinner tonight at my boss's house that she is hosting to celebrate all of us completing the race and me going back to the hospital tomorrow....boo!
it should be nice to be around good company again...but this time in the warmth of a house and not outside in the miserable rain and cold.
thanks to those who sent me a "good luck" today and those who have supported my crazy (i know it was) decision to even run in the race. I couldn't have done it without everyone behind me shoving, dragging, and pulling me along. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT. I LOVE YOU ALL....
more to come later....
xoxo
kim
part of my support group of teachers....at 5am, we look pretty good.
officially pinning on my race bib!
Annnnnd we're off!
A sign at the finish line with your name on it is the best feeling ever!! :)
Part of our "TEAM TAFT" group.....we were waiting on others to finish or find us. :)
another picture of the group....
The view of the finish line
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