Fall Adventures!

rested, refreshed and eager for what's to come

2478 total miles in 14 days!

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen that Chris, Molly and I were on a Camper Van road trip soaking in the amazing fall weather and all the nature we could get. I can't remember when Chris and I first started planning this trip, but I’m pretty sure it was BC (before cancer) because we talked about taking a month-long trip. Even AD (after diagnosis), when booking the van back in April, I stubbornly booked our reservation for a month from 9/15-10/15, thinking we could still do it. But after more consideration, we realized that a month away from treatment, while medically okay, felt like too long for me personally. Things have been going well with treatment and I didn’t want to risk regretting this trip if anything negative came up afterwards.

When we initially booked, I still had my colostomy and thought I’d be dealing with that during this trip…and I was ok with that at that time. BUT, now that I’m on the other side, I am so grateful for the reversal surgery and not needing to worry about bag leaks or where/how to best change my bag in a campsite vault toilet. I cringe at the thought of staring into one while emptying my bag…Gross! This experience and blog post could have been much different had that been the case because I can only imagine the mental and literal sh*t I would have struggled to clean up. So very appreciative of my surgeon, modern medicine, my medical team (including my husband!) and myself for keeping me healthy and strong enough, not only to be eligible for the surgery in the first place, but to withstand it and have a healthy full recovery.

I feel so grateful and privileged for having the time and resources to take a full 2 weeks for this adventure. We visited beautiful places, caught up with good friends, stayed lakeside along 4 of the 5 Great Lakes (next time Ontario!), got on and in the water, rode our bikes, went on hikes, learned how to build a good campfire, roasted (vegan) marshmallows for smores, saw some spectacular views, had serious and light-hearted conversations and just enjoyed each other's company. We peeped some major fall leaves changing colors, saw the biggest and brightest full moon, had unobstructed, peaceful views of the sunrise over Lake Huron and sunset over Lake Superior. We also really lucked out with the weather as it only rained 2 nights during our entire trip, which happened to be the time we visited friends so we went bowling and even got in a sauna!

I can't say enough about how amazing our trip was. It felt a bit celebratory not only because my last CT scans showed continued progress but also because my 45th birthday is just one week away…something that I wasn’t sure I was going to see back in December. Being surrounded by nature and my 2 favorite beings was so refreshing and healing. It’s exactly the medicine I needed to prepare me for the months of treatment and appointments ahead. 

We just got home on Monday and boy am I hitting the ground running. Today, Wednesday, I had bloodwork done, had an appointment with one of my Nurse Practitioners, and got hooked up for my chemo infusion.  I’m feeling good, strong and healthy, so much so that I even rode my bike to the treatment center today! (Please don’t worry. Mr. Fox met me so I didn’t bike home.) I’ll be back on Friday to get disconnected and will also have a gym training session after that! Next week is even busier:

• Saturday 10/6—MRI of my liver (first MRI ever!) 🩻

• Monday 10/9—Consult with oncologist at University of Cincinnati to see about potential next steps for liver directed therapies. 🩺

• Monday 10/9—Evaluation at Neuro-Rehab center for the neuropathy I’ve been dealing with. 🕵🏻‍♀️

• Monday 10/9—Therapy…because mental health is important ya’ll! 🛋

• Tuesday 10/10—Volunteer at the farm, one of my favorite mental health therapies. 🧑🏽‍🌾

• Wednesday 10/11—Happy 45th Bday to me! 🎂

• Thursday 10/12—Follow up with my Surgical oncologist also to see about potential next steps for liver directed therapies. 🔪

• Thursday 10/12—Volunteer with my local Cancer group.  👯‍♀️

• Friday 10/13—Mammogram to get the girls checked out. 🌰🌰

• Friday 10/13—Acupuncture/Holistic treatment. 💆🏽‍♀️

• Saturday 10/14—Bikes & Beers 45 mile bike ride in Cincinnati to commemorate my 45th bday!* 🚴🏽‍♀️

Phew, I’m exhausted already. Actually, no I’m not. This nature-filled vacation really served to rejuvenate me and get me fired up for all of this. I’m so grateful and excited that I get to have all of those things on my schedule. Sure, my calendar would have looked a bit different if I was never diagnosed with cancer, but I can’t change that. I can only do my best to take care of the things that are in my control. I know that all of those calendar items are working to keep me as healthy as I can be and each one gives me either joy, hope, community, optimism or a combination of all four.

Thanks as always for your continued support, well wishes, texts, memes, animal videos, gifts and more importantly your love. I’m sending it right back. ♥️

With love and gratitude,

Jess

*I’ve never ridden more than 20 or so miles so this should be a challenge! Happy that they’ll have NA beers to cheers with afterwards. Wanna join me to either ride or just hang out post ride? They have 15 and 30 mile rides (for all the sensible folks) or just tickets for the after party. I created a team so if you wanna join, let me know and sign up here!