DAILY NANCY UPDATE #49

Greetings. 

This is the forty-ninth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Did you happen to notice you didn't hear from us all weekend? Well, here's why. 

Yes-- Nancy had chemo on both Saturday and Sunday. Her friends Lucinda and Ceci were sweet enough to take her to each appointment, respectively-- and by all accounts, the visits were quick and relatively painless.

But you know what else happened?

On Saturday night, we went to see a movie and had dinner. 

That's right. ALL FIVE OF US. 

And on Sunday night? After we got our daughter Clem back on a plane to Bates College (Love you, Lemondrop!)-- our friends Bob and Karen were kind enough to have me, Nancy, and the boys over to enjoy a cozy meal and watch the Oscars.

In other words... it somehow felt like a wonderfully normal weekend.

But the truth is, there's no real mystery to it. It was all about the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess. 

Look, I completely understand how important it is for Nance to try and maintain some sense of normalcy in her life right now. It's important for all of us. But with everything her body, mind, and soul are being subjected to-- no one could really blame her if she just curled up in bed and stayed there until all the ugliness of cancer is hopefully behind us. Hell, that's probably what I would do, if I had to face even half of what she's facing.

Except that's not who Nancy is. She not only drives herself-- but ALL OF US-- to stop feeling tired, and afraid, and sorry for ourselves and keep on keeping on. 

So keep on, we did. And keep on, we will. Because her strength, patience, and determination to get well are completely undeniable. She is an absolute inspiration. 

And super fun to hang out with on the weekend, lemme tell you. 

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #48

Greetings. 

This is the forty-eighth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

After enduring a pretty painful spinal tap and intrathecal chemo session yesterday-- the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess went right back to UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center early this morning (thanks Noa!) for more standard chemo. But fortunately, she was in and out in about an hour.

Unfortunately-- there's more chemo in store for her every day this weekend. But she's staying unbelievably strong-- and with the continuing help and thoughts and prayers from all of you, we'll definitely get her through. 

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #47

Greetings. 

This is the forty-seventh in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

There are two things you need to know about the Radiology Lab at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Hospital. 

1. It's cold enough to serve ice cream without melting. 

2. It's where the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess is about to bravely endure her third spinal tap and intrathecal chemotherapy in two months.

As soon as the Attending Surgeon Dr. Solomon arrives, Nancy will be giving up some more of her precious spinal fluid for a barrage of new tests-- and getting some more powerful cancer-fighting meds while she's at it.  So please think the best thoughts possible and if you're so inclined, say a prayer or two for a swift and hopefully painless procedure that produces nothing but the best results. Because WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #46

Greetings. 

This is the forty-sixth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Guess what? Nancy had the day off. No chemo, no blood tests, no drives to UCLA. Just a little acupuncture to hopefully help with her neuropathy (painful tingling and numbness of the fingers and toes)... and that's it. What's more... it was an absolutely beautiful day.

Tomorrow she's right back at it-- showing up again at Jonsson Cancer Center to kick cancer's ass. Stay tuned for further details. 

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #45

Greetings. 

This is the forty-fifth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Nothing. We've got absolutely nothing. Kids were out of school. I took the day off work. And best of all, Nancy had no treatments. So I made breakfast for everyone. Clem and Crockett ran errands. Cosmo and I got haircuts. And the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess enjoyed a peaceful visualization session. Then the sun set and it looked like this...

Now we're gonna have dinner and watch the third exciting episode of APB on FOX!  So there's basically only a couple more things I can think of to tell you...

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

THE SUNSHINY SUPERWARRIOR GODDESS SPEAKS AGAIN!

BONUS! It's time for a final weekend word from the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess herself!

It's Sunday night. Let me start with - I feel pretty good! And this may be one of those knock-on-wood-she-spoke-to-soon-moments, but considering I’ve been back at UCLA every day this week getting chemo, I really can’t complain. I’m able to exercise a little each day, and I tire easily — but the main thing I’m struggling with is the new “central line” the surgeon put in,which is still pretty uncomfortable and awkwardly placed, just an inch above my breast. But in the big picture, I’m doing great.

The best news is that Clemmy is home from college for a week. Nothing better for a mama bear than her baby bear coming back. We went out for dinner last night which felt amazing. Doing anything “normal” really grounds me, although I still feel a bit like an imposter when I wear my wig. Something about it feels goofy, like I’m playing dress-up. Maybe I’m just more of a beanie gal? And it’s embarrassing to admit, but every now and then, I still get a little shocked when I see my reflection in the window. For a split second I think — who is that bald chick? Is this a joke? There's no way I have Leukemia. I recently spoke to another A.L.L. Philly patient (in remission!) who advised me not to say “I’ve got Leukemia” because it sounds permanent. Instead, she would always say, “the doctors have diagnosed me with Leukemia.” I like that. Makes good sense. I’m adopting it.

When we saw the doctor at one point last week, he took an unusually heartfelt moment to look Trey in the eyes and say, “This is harder on you than it is on Nancy.”  And I think just shining a light on that, set something off in both of us. Trey was suddenly in touch with how sad and exhausted he is. And how powerless. Which made this week an especially hard one. But we are moving through it. I also found out that my best chance at remission is to have a bone marrow transplant. Both my brothers were tested, and unfortunately, neither is a match. That was a blow-- although there was only a 25% that they would match in the first place, so it’s not a complete shocker. Now we are looking into the world donor bank, so hold good thoughts that we can find a perfect match. 

On a random side note, I’ve gone from taking 100 mg of Prednisone to zero. And for those of you who have never taken Prednisone before, know that it makes you feel like a superhero, jump starts your metabolism, raises your appetite, and lifts your mood to extraordinary heights. I didn’t realize that half the reason I’d felt invincible over the last month was because of the big P. So if you happen to notice a huge shift in my general disposition — not only do I apologize, but I blame the Prednisone. (That said, if you guys happen to have any sitting around your house — feel free to drop it in my mailbox!) 

Until next time —

xo

Nancy

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #44

Greetings. 

This is the forty-fourth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Another chill weekend visit to the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess. Plenty of parking, no crowds, no waiting, and a quick round of chemo.

  

Nancy's sweet friend Kristin drove all the way down from Santa Barbara to take her to lunch and then accompany her for treatment. Then we all got to hang out with our darling Clementine, who just got home from college last night for a week-long February break. In other words, it was a lovely Sunday.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!