My Wifey Is Running the BOSTON MARATHON!!

Hey Everyone!
This week has been very exciting.  As mentioned in my last post, one of my best friends got married last Saturday, and it was an AWESOME weekend filled with fun and lots of LOVE!  Between Vincent’s HUGE family, and Alison’s rambunctious/ridiculous group of friends, it was truly an unforgettable night!  I was so honored to be a part of the day that marked the start of a new life for Mr. and Mrs. Coglianese!! Congrats you two!

The Newly-weds!

 Traditional BHS Class of 2004 photo!

In addition to the wedding, I was “thrown back into the real world” when I started my student teaching placement this past Wednesday at Knowlton Elementary School.  I am so happy to report that after only 3 days of being there, I already know I am going to LOVE it!  All of the staff I’ve met thus far have been so friendly and accommodating and the kids are all super adorable as well!  Even though I was, (and still am), a little nervous about starting to do therapy again after a 4 month hiatus, I think I will eventually get back into gear and be able to learn a lot from my supervisor, the teachers and the kids at Knowlton!  Yay!

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Now after that quick update, I’ll get to the real point of today’s post!  About 3 months ago, (around Christmas-time), I was catching up on the phone with my close friend and former college roommate, Meghan.  **Sidenote: Meggo, (as I fondly call her), and I immediately connected when we met on move-in day during our freshmen year at the University of Delaware wayyyy back in 2004. Ha!  When I left home for college, I was extremely nervous about leaving behind my very close group of friends from Bangor, so I was SO THANKFUL when I met Meghan.  From the beginning, I felt like I had known her my entire life.  She and I shared so many likes, dislikes and opinions that it was almost unbelievable that we hadn't met before!  In addition, she ALWAYS listened when I talked about the friends that I missed so dearly from back home, she understood and matched my incessant use of sarcasm AND she laughed at my lame jokes ALL THE TIME!  That's a friend right there, folks!  And even though she moved back to Boston after that glorious year at UD together, we have continued to stay very close over the past few years -- We're even so close that we've been 'married' on Facebook since she created my acount for me in 2005! (Hence, the "wifey" reference in the title of this post.) 

Meggo & I at our favorite place in Newark during the Summer of''05!

Anyway, at one point during that phone conversation Meghan and I were having back in December, Meghan shared that she would be running in the 2011 BOSTON MARATHON in April!  In addition to being incredibly proud of Meghan for taking on such a huge challenge, I was also extremely touched when she shared that she’d be running the marathon in honor of her mom Mary, (who battled AND BEAT breast cancer), and ME!!  

Now, as I’ve mentioned plenty of times in the past, I continue to be in awe of how generous and supportive all of my friends and family have been since being diagnosed with CNS Lymphoma back in December -- I’ve received a countless amount of cards, gifts and prayers, which have all been appreciated more than words!  However, the news that Meggo was going to do this for me was  one of the best and most thoughtful “gifts” that I had received.  There is truly something about being honored by a friend who is willing to go through the blood, sweat and tears of training for a MAJOR athletic event, that really makes me stop and think, “Wow, people are great!”  

So with that being said, I wanted to do what I could to thank Meggo for her awesome gift to me by asking YOU, yes YOU!!! to help Meghan raise the $1000 she has set as her fundraising goal for the Boston Marathon.  More information is provided below about the Vernon Cancer Center that all of her fundraising efforts will go towards.  The following letter is what Meghan sent to her friends and family members, explaining her involvement in the Boston Marathon:

"Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I am currently in training to run my first Boston Marathon on April 18th. I'm so glad the weather is cooperating so well with the fact that I currently have to run outside five days a week! I am running this marathon for both myself and two of the most important women in my life - my superstar mom, Mary, and my college roommate and best friend, Casey.

Because cancer has affected all of us in one way or another, my team and I are running in support of the Vernon Cancer Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2005. She received her cancer treatment under the care of the the doctors, nurses and staff members at Newton Wellesley Hospital and has been cancer free since 2007! My mom is my role model, my daily inspiration, my support system, my friend and on most days, my sanity. I will forever be grateful to the Vernon staff for the phenomenal treatment, resources and care my mom received. She is even considering running the last few miles with me!

My dear friend Casey is currently battling Primary CNS Lymphoma and is about to start her second (and hopefully final!) round of chemotherapy. Casey is one of the nicest, funniest, most caring people I have ever had the chance to meet - she must be if she put up with sharing a tiny room with me my first year away from home! She introduced me to a lot of the things I consider important in my life - a capella music, taking too many pictures, improv comedy and the fact that there is life outside the city of Boston. :) I am hoping that Casey will be officially cancer free when I cross the finish line!

I have a goal of raising $1,000 for this very important cause, but I can only do it with your help. While I know that times are tough, any donation is appreciated. Everytime I think that running is hard or I'm tired or in pain, I remind myself that cancer doesn't take a day off, and neither can I. "Impossible is Nothing." 

Thank you so much in advance for your support - it means so much to me!

Love,

Meghan"

More information on how to donate to the marathon team Meghan is a part of:

On Monday, April 18, 2011, a team from Newton-Wellesley Hospital will once again be running in the Boston Marathon. These athletes are going the distance to raise money for the Vernon Cancer Center and its Integrative Support Services.

Each runner is asked to raise $1,000 with the "Elite" runners raising $3,000 each to support these life-enhancing programs, which make such a difference to our cancer patients and their families. TEAM NWH raised over $25,000 in 2010 Many thanks to all who supported our Boston Marathon Team!!!!!

Supporting the Runners

Online

Use our secure on-line giving site to make a gift with your VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card. https://www.nwh.org/your-community-hospital/ways-to-give/charitable-giving/gift-information/

Be sure to select "2011 Team NWH Boston Marathon Team" in the Gift Designation section. Then, please type in the name of the runner you are supporting in the "In Honor of" box. This way, you can be assured that the runner will receive "credit" for the gift and that the runner will be notified of your gift. [**This is where you would type ‘Meghan McLean’].  If you wish to make an "In honor of/In memory of" gift as well, please include the details in the "Additional information about this tribute gift" box. [**This is where you would type my name if you want to, although it is not necessary. The more important part is above where you type Meghan’s name.]

By Telephone

To charge your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card over the phone, please call us at 617-243-6243.

By Mail

You may send a check, made payable to "NWH Charitable Foundation" directly to:

Newton-Wellesley Hospital Charitable Foundation

Attn: Boston Marathon Team

2014 Washington Street

Newton, MA 02462

If applicable, please indicate on the check which runner you are supporting. **Again, the runner you are supporting with your donation is Meghan McLean.

Matching Gifts

Your gift may be increased if you work for a company with a matching gift program. Spouse and retiree gifts may also be matched. Please contact your company's human resources or benefits department for details. Your matching gift form may be sent to the address shown above.

All gifts in support of Newton-Wellesley Hospital are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law, and you will receive a tax receipt by mail after your gift has been received.

Thank you for supporting the Vernon Cancer Center at Newton-Wellesley Hospital!

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If you have any further questions about donating, please let me know and I will get back to you as soon as possible!  Please help ME help MEGGO reach her fundraising goal!  And Meggo, thank you so much for this important gift you are giving me and your mom.  Your are truly an inspiration and I can’t wait to travel up to Boston in 2 weeks to witness you crossing that finish line!  I LOVE YOU!

Doctor Appointment 3/24/11 News

Hi All!


I just wanted to quickly write a post about my appointment yesterday since everyone has been asking.  I wish I could go into more detail at this time, but Alison, (one of my very best friends) is getting MARRIED tomorrow and so we are very busy today running around and getting ready for that!  Anyway, yesterday went well.  My doctor confirmed that I will not be having any more treatments at this time and I do not need to see him until mid-June.  At that time I will have another MRI done as well as bloodwork for them to monitor my status.  Regular appointments and MRIs will take place every 3 months from there unless something new/abnormal shows up on an MRI.  So for now I am free to go about my life!   I can resume all of my normal activities whenever I want!  Again, I'll share more later, but just wanted to quickly "stop by" and share the news!  Thank you to everyone for your continued support!  Now off to be a bridesmaid!! WOO HOO!! Congrats Al & Vincent!

Beware: This Post is ALL OVER THE PLACE!!

Greetings to my faithful readers who continue to check this blog on a daily basis, even when I don’t post anything on it for 3 weeks!  Yikes!  There are several reasons I haven’t been updating; mainly because there hasn’t been much to report, BUT I know you’d rather read an actual post about nothing than check back here to find no new posts at all!

Despite my previous statement, there have been several note-worthy things that have happened in the past few weeks:

#1: I had another MRI done on March 4^th showing the same results as the previous one (No cancer cells detected)

#2: I visited doctors at Temple’s Jeanes Hospital in Philadelphia for a second opinion on my treatments as well as to get information about another possible treatment they give to CNS Lymphoma patients there.  Note: I am not a candidate for their bone marrow transplant treatment as this time because there are no cells for them to kill!  Ask me more about this visit the next time you see me in person because it is a long and complicated story to tell.  I didn’t want to post about it on here since I will NOT need this treatment and didn’t want to confuse anyone by writing about it.

#3: I had my 6^th and (hopefully) final chemotherapy treatment at St. Luke’s. Here's a pic of me saying hello from my hospital bed:

After reading the third bullet point above, you may be thinking something along the lines of, “WOW!  She’s done!  Why wouldn’t she post all about her last round of chemo and be excited to be done?!” While I would have liked to have posted about that after coming home from my hospital stay this past Friday, I have never officially gotten the word from my oncologist that I am done with treatment.  He has definitely mentioned it in the past when we planned to do 6 rounds of chemo, but since I like to take things one step at a time, we haven’t actually sat down to discuss what would happen after these 6 rounds were complete.  This has been VERY frustrating for me because I just want to be able to make plans!  But alas, since I haven’t seen or talked to my doctor since March 4^th, we have not come up with a plan of action that I can report to you all.

*And for anyone wondering why I haven’t seen my doctor in so long, it’s because I met with the Temple doctors instead of him the week of the 6^th AND he’s been on vacation – must be nice, huh?

So with that being said, I FINALLY find out what the next step in this journey will be TODAY Thursday, March 24^th.  Hopefully after today I will know if I am actually done with my treatments, what the plan is for monitoring my status and if/when I can return to my “normal” life.  Stay tuned…

In the meantime, I wanted to end this post with a blog entry that I’ve been “sitting on” since the first week of March.  I never posted it because at the time it was written, I was pretty frustrated with the world in general and didn't know if I should post it.  I was depressed about my situation and was mad at everybody even though I had no real reason to be.  Please keep that all in mind while reading the following “angry” post:

Written on 3/5/11, entitled "Complainers": 

“I have to admit, ever since hearing that my chemotherapy treatments have been working, I have had the opposite mentality about my cancer than you would expect.  Rather than being happy about the recent positive outcomes, I think I have reverted back to my more realistic attitude towards life (which can sometimes have a more negative impact on my state of mind and attitude).  While I think I have a legitimate reason to not get myself too excited about a positive thing, (why should I when so many things have gone incredibly “wrong” for me in the past few months), I can’t help but think that I should probably be a little bit more grateful for things.  But alas, as mentioned previously, I have felt more unsettled and “stuck” over the past few weeks than I have throughout this entire experience thus far.  This mostly boils down to the fact that I want to be able to think ahead to the potential life-changing events that are to be taking place in the next few months for me, but I can’t let myself look forward and starting planning for these things because I keep thinking about the “what-ifs”. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain further… Basically what I am able to accomplish over the next few months with school, will determine if I will be able to have the life I’ve worked very hard for over the past 5 years. That life goal includes graduating with my Master’s degree in speech-language pathology and moving away from home to start my own independent life.  For this to happen according to plan, I would need to start my 2 internship placements in the next month and finish them by graduation in August, get all my schoolwork done and handed in to ensure that I actually graduate, and to find an enjoyable fellowship placement for post-graduation.

I feel like my hands are tied because I don’t really know what will happen in the next few weeks, and therefore I have been experiencing very little motivation to do anything because I keep asking myself, “Does it all even matter or are my plans going to be dashed in a instant when I find out that my chemo treatments aren’t working afterall?” Another uncertainty is whether or not I may potentially be recommended to start additional different treatments, (radiation or something else) after my 6th week of chemo treatment is complete.  And above all that, my greatest fear is will I start to go forward only to receive the dreaded news in a month or two that my cancer has returned and I need to start a whole new treatment cycle?  Do you see now where my frustrations are coming from?

The original intention of this post, believe it or not, was to talk about and point out all of the “complainers” I’ve been noticing as of late.  I know it’s silly, but what has been bothering me the most are the people who constantly leave negative comments about their lives or “how hard their day has been” in their status updates on Facebook.  And again, I realize that it is silly to take the comments posted on this social media outlet that my generation uses to express themselves too seriously, but it still really makes me mad! (By the way, isn’t it ironic that this post ended up being one big complaint from ME even though I intended to condemn my peers?) Anyway, I can’t finish this post without making the following argument:

If you have your health, don’t complain about your life.  If you are unsatisfied with your job or a relationship, DO SOMETHING about it because frankly, YOU CAN!  You have nothing truly concrete stopping you from making a change and moving forward to something better.  Take it from me: you don’t know how lucky you are to be able to freely move forward.  So, just don’t complain! Or at least don’t complain to me or to any other person diagnosed with an unpredictable disease about the trite matters in life… Ok, I’m finished ranting!  The End.”

Again, as you can tell, I was angry at the world a few weeks ago, which I guess was to be expected at some point.  Luckily, my attitude has been more positive recently.  Check back here soon for news from my doctors appointment today!

“You’re Hilarious Because You’re Not Funny”: Happy Birthday Zach!

I’ve kept this blog now for 4 months and it’s original purpose was to communicate information about my health developments to a large quantity of people in a short amount of time so that I wouldn’t have to repeat myself a million times.  I’d like to think it has upheld those intentions thus far, but as expected, this blog has turned into a place for other things as well.  It has become a place for me to vent my feelings and share my experiences publicly, while still “saving face” by hiding behind a computer screen.  It also has given me a place to share random and fun things that happen in my life.  Over these past 4 months, I  have gotten very little negative feedback from my “readers”, (other than me slacking on the updates).  Frankly, I think that’s the way it should be – It is MY blog afterall, right?!

Although most people don’t give negative comments about my blog, I have heard one repeated complaint from one person over the past four months:

“Why the [expletive] am I never mentioned in your blog!?”

I bet a handful of you could guess who this quote belongs to even before I write it…

If you guessed that the above critic is none other than Zachary E. Nelson, you are exactly correct!  Even though Zach has been in numerous pictures posted on my blog, he has given me grief about his name not being mentioned over multiple occasions.  SO HERE YA GO YOU BIG JERK!  A blog dedicated solely to YOU!

For those of you that don’t know the relationship Zach and I have, he is basically like the brother I never had.  We bicker a lot: I make fun of him with rude comments and he gives it right back; He hip-checks me into random people while “dancing” in large crowds and I punch/knee him in the stomach.  Some people may scowl or disapprove of these behaviors, but hang around the two of us for 5 minutes and you’ll quickly realize that it really is quite normal for us to act this way.  And honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Zach, you are my best friend.  Even though you poke your nose into other people's business, you never listen to me when I talk, you make inappropriate jokes, and you quite honestly annoy the hell out of me on a regular basis, I truly admire who you are as a person.  You’re, (surprisingly) adventurous, selfless, and one of the most loyal people I know -- I can always count on you when others let me down.  I envy how naturally social and friendly you are towards just about everyone you meet, and I CERTAINLY laugh a lot while in your presence, (even though most of the time I’m laughing at you rather than with you!) You are simply awesome and I am a better person because I have you as a friend!

So there it is my friend.  This post is my birthday gift to you!  Not only did you get mentioned on the blog, but you can now use this as blackmail for the rest of our lives whenever I make fun of you or claim to hate you. (Again, to those who don’t know the kind of relationship Zach and I have, this happens A LOT!) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!! 

CHEERS to 25 years!!

P.S.  And Zach, just to make things clear so that you don’t go too egotistical on me after reading this, I still don’t think you’re “cool” despite the nice things I said about you above. K, byeeee!

Anonymous Philanthropist

Hello!

If you've been paying attention to the blog posts, you know that there's a second entry I plan on posting in reference to the Coaches vs. Cancer game back in February.  I'm working on that now.  In the meantime, here's something else I wanted to mention quickly...

About 3 weeks ago, I received a card in the mail, which contained a monetary gift from an unnamed person(s).  (The salmon-colored card was complete with seashell and inspiring quote).  I continue to be taken aback and humbled by how generous people can be and sometimes I can’t help but think to myself, “What have I done to deserve such generosity from people?”  Nonetheless, I wanted to somehow express my appreciation to whomever sent this card to me.  By the lack of return address on the envelope or signature on the card, you obviously didn’t want me to know who you are, but I thank you sincerely.  And if you happened to have lost your mind that day and really did NOT intend to leave out your name from the card, please come forward so that I can more properly and personally thank you :)

And while we’re at it, an extra “thanks” to all the people who continue to send cards, e-mails and gifts my way, reminding me of how lucky I am to have the particular friends and family in my life that I do! Cheers!

This picture is of me last Friday at my favorite place in Newark, DE.  I needed a little time away from Bangor and to see some old friends from home and UD so I decided to "escape" for some "me time" in the First State for about 48 hours!  A little Brew HaHa in my life makes me very happy! :)

Coaches vs. Cancer Game: Part 1

Hi All!

The Coaches vs. Cancer game at Bangor High School that was held on February 8th was a total success! Between raffles, a 3-point shooting contest and $1 for every ticket sold, $900 was raised in total for the “Footprints in the Sand” Relay for Life team!  The fundraising event was held in my honor of me and I was so grateful for all of the people that made it to the game to support the cause!  

Here's a good chunk of my "fan section" that was in attendance:

My dad, uncle, grandfather, Andrew, James and Shaun participated in the 3-point shooting contest, which my dad ended up winning. Don’t be too impressed though – he only needed to make 2 baskets to win J

This is the team at halftime. They ended up winning their game that night and are actually playing in their second round of Districts tonight (Friday the 25^th). Good luck girls!

These are some of my ex-fellow teammates who were at the game (minus Elaine! She was there too and should clearly be photo-shopped into this photo except I don’t know how to do that…)

 Other delicious pics from the night:

THANK YOU again to everyone who was able to attend this awesome event!

Bad Blogger

Ugh, I'm horrible at this thing.  Actually, I'm just horrible at balancing life.  I feel like I have so many things that I've wanted to write about on here, (you guys never even got a follow-up about the Coaches vs. Cancer game!), but I've been totally consumed with trying to get schoolwork done.  I feel guilty doing anything but that in the days I'm not in the hospital.  Therefore, the blog has fell by wayside...


Anyway, I just quickly wanted to stop by and let you know that I haven't forgotten about updating.  Health-wise I'm feeling okay this week.  I do notice that I've been a little bit more tired than other weeks after coming home from the hospital.  This may be because I got a lot more sick after chemo this time around.  Other than that though, no other news to report.  


I'm going to try and get back on here later tonight to fill everyone in on that basketball game!  In the meantime, here is a picture of my pretty friend Jennifer who attended the fundraising event with her trusty pillow :) Love you, Jen!