Out of Touch

Wow...it feels like ages since I've actually posted. I know that must be frustrating for those of you who are relying on the blog as our primary means of communication.

Basically, the last two weeks have been a whirlwind. I'm sure there are people who are thinking "Teaching half days in the morning. That should be cake. I wonder if she's laying on the couch watching Tyra Banks and sipping a strawberry banana smoothie right now?" Let me assure you, that has not been the case. I've never worked so hard in my life. Jacquie (Rost) is probably the only person who has witnessed first-hand what a typical day for me has been like. On Wednesday, for example, I went to the chiropractor straight from work and met up with Jacquie there. Our cell phone minutes had just swtiched over, and as of 7:00 am that morning we had only used 57 minutes. Jacquie and I spent most of the day together. By the end of the day, I had used 350 minutes of the plan (this is not even counting the fact that I used the landline in Jacquie's office at Memorial for at least 2 straight hours). Virtually all of those phone calls were related to cancer in some capacity. I'm pretty sure this tumor is doing more damage to my cellular plan than my sinuses.


But, wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, I am in California. Getting here has been a long, hard road paved with.... well...I am not sure this road was ever paved. Let's just name the road "Pothole Avenue." I don't know that I would want to go back and take this route again, but driving it has taught me that I'm stronger than I ever imagined.

Now for the medical details. I was scheduled to start radiation today. This morning I received a phone call from Maryellen. The gantry (the machine that runs the radiation) went down sometime last night. This happens maybe as frequently as the electricity goes out in our area. In the same way, they are never sure how long it will take to get it back up and running. It could be an hour (in that case they just bump everyone's appointments up an hour) or the entire day. Today's shut-down cost them the day and they had to call and cancel every appointment for every patient (I feel bad for Maryellen. I did the math and I'm pretty sure she had to call 132 patients today). So, tomorrow will be my very first day of radation. I have to be at LLUMC at 1:00 PM (4:00 IN time) so that they can give me the shot that will help preserve my saliva glands (I have no intentions of losing my teeth). Around 4:45, they will be getting me into the mask and double-checking my measurements. Around 5:00 your time I should receive my first dose of radiation. I know the times are important to those of you who are praying. I really appreciate your support! One specific thing you could pray about is my mask. My mask was made and fitted before I went to Hawaii. It is designed to be quite fitted so that it toally restricts my movement. Well, my face has swollen considerably due to all the flights I've been taking and the changes in the climate. I am a little concerned that the mask may not even fit at this point. It does not take long to make a new mask; however, I'm not certain they could make one and still radiate me tomorrow. I really don't want to delay this another day because each delay tacks on another day I'm away from home. As it is, there is only one week between the time I return home and the start of the new school year. Pray that the mask fits and we can actually get this thing going tomorrow!

Now for the bad news. I am going to be pretty out-of-touch this week. My cell phone signal goes in and out. Right now every single call I get is forwarded to voicemail as if I'm unavailable. I could be sitting here with my phone in my hand and, the next thing I know, my phone alerts me I have a voicemail. No ring. No nothing. If you call and get my voicemail, give me a few seconds and see if I call you right back. I may actually be available. The other issue is the internet. Jeremy & Kristin just moved into the new place this weekend. They are in the process of getting everything set up. Right now they don't have their own DSL connection. They are planning to get one; however, it probably won't be active until closer to the end of the week. Unfortunately, everyone else in the apartment complex is security-enabled, so we cannot tap into any avaialble connection. In order to get online, we are going to have to go to Azusa (where Jeremy goes to school) or to a coffee shop down the road. So, I may not be blogging or emaling as actively as normal.

I think things are on track for me to move into my apartment next Tuesday. My mail from my home address in Elkhart is set up to be temporarily forwarded to my new address in California. I also have my new address in California, so there are plenty of ways you can reach me via the USPS. Here is my address in California (keep in mind I wont be there to receive the mail for another week):

Ashli Hepler
7950 Etiwanda Ave.
Bldg. 4, Apt. 105
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

That's it for now. I know that you will all be wondering how radiation goes tomorrow. I will try my best to find a way to get online tomorrow night to post an update. I definitely would not be able to do this until later in the evening here, so the soonest you all would get an update is late tomorrow night. I'll do my best!