Home!!

I LOVE BEING HOME!!! Today i got lots of rest, and got adjusted.  Then Greg got a call from Michele and we went over to help with MLA style for some of Matts hw.  But I really cannot wait for tomorrow to see one of my oldest friends Chelsea Ritschel go off to her senior prom!!

Taking it Easy

Last night it felt so good to watch the Devils on my own TV and to end the series and go to play for the Stanley Cup!!! I spent the day relaxing, laughing at Greg because Mom finally went in to clean his room, and listened to music.  Beth and Jaime also stopped by, Thank You for the gift!!!  Now I am watching the Yankee Game, waiting for dinner.  After dinner just more relaxing and saving all my energy for that one week at the lake!! oh and
CONGRATULATIONS JESSIE ON GRADUATING MIDDLEBURY!!! I am so proud of you!
Love
Sarah

20 and HOMEEE

Yesterday I turned 20!!! But I spent it in the hospital, but everyone was amazing.  They gave me cake, balloons, even a penguin!! And of course, the family was there.  So if i had to be in a hospital for my birthday, this was a pretty good one.
Today I got to go HOME  and I couldn't be happier.  Then I got a surprise. Mrs Ryan and Julie stopped by with a birthday gift from themselves and the Gallopo family.  I got a new coach bag, THANK YOU~ then I took a nap until dinner, ate and am now watching some tv but slowly falling asleep.
Love
Sarah

Gift from Cioci Helen

Mom and I 

Birthday surprise from the nurses

SURPRISE

Me hugging Mom

Me and some of my new penguins

My amazing team of nurses

Me crying from my Letter from Sofi

Bring on the Presents

nurses watching me open my gifts

Bad Luck

Boy did it feel great to sleep in my own bed!! Watched some television, went to sleep, and then disaster struck.  Dad insisted on taking my temp while giving me my oxycodone and I had a 105.3 fever!! Off to the hospital we went with barely anything and just my luck,  I have to stay the night.  Dad and I ordered Pizza for dinner.  Now time to settle down then go to bed and hopefully tomorrow we can go home for good!!!!!

HOME!!

Dr's came in around 6:30-7 and said well let you know the results soon.  Woke up around 9 and Mom goes " the counts weren't high enough so were staying."I then started to cry and she goes I'm just kidding were going home!!! I love being home in my own bed watching the Devils.  This also means no more shots in the stomach, 6am blood draws and all other horrible stuff.  The one thing that I wish didn't change are my tastebuds.  Diagnosed at January age 19, Done May, age 19!!!! oh and Wednesdays my birthday so right now... life is Good!!
Love,
Sarah

Ringing the cancer free bell 3 times!

Reading the cancer free saying

close up

extra line taking out of my line

Me asking what's taking so long

Day 14

Hi everyone, this is Sarah's mom, Maria. Sarah is very sick today with high fevers and an infection. The docs are giving her lots of medicine and she is very sleepy. She is not up to blogging. Here is the link to my blog if you want to stay up to date. http://mariadonedayatatime.blogspot.com/

'Mothers Day

Today is Mother's Day and all I really did was sleep.  It also started the day I receive the nupogen shots to get better, and these needles are a lot bigger and more powerful than the other ones! So i slept, Dad arrives with Mother;s day gifts for mom, and I'm just completely out of it!  Now off to watching a movies with Mom and then bed!!
Love,
Sarah

Transfusion Day!!

Today I got more of my own cells back.  It started out okay then I got nauseous but I managed and finished the transfusion.  Which also meant I got to sleep a lot and ate very little.  I woke up to find Greg here with artworks from the little cousins!  Tonight I get to watch Glee and the Devils (Glee on the TV, and Devils via Skype from home since the hospital doesnt get sports channels.  I am so close to going home and I can't wait!  About 10 days left! Also, my hair is growing back!! Well thats it really.
Love,

biohazard from the chemo/transfusion

Sarah

Lets See What Else can go WRONG!!

Right after the chemo finished, Mother nature had to bring me my least favorite present of the month!! Which then made the doctors worried so they hard to give me a shot in my ass, IT STILL HURTS.  Then this morning woke up, went to the bathroom then puked, and have been doing that pretty much all day.  Now this is Day 5 here at RWJ and well I think its time I get my own blood back so I can start to feel like myself again! I mean its bad enough they don't get sports channels here besides Golf so what else am I to do?? This morning when the Doctor came in I asked if I could go home....his answer was NO.  So then I said, "Well as long as I'm home by the Happy Face drawn on the calendar (May 23) I'll be all set."  Of course no ones making any promises to that.  But I told Dad and my "Uncle" Rick that I REALLYY think I deserve a car for my 20th Birthday! As for Greg, I told him he should come up with something good since now he's the one working and making all the money!!

Well I'm off to try and eat something than back to bed
Love,
Sarah

My winter guard metal

room 

r 

pictures 

more pictures

Calendar

LAST DAY OF CHEMO!!!!!!!

At night Im a monster and my morning I'm an Angel again.  But today my appetite has not been so good. But these doctors are really nice, they unhooked me so I could take a nice hot shower, changed the sheets on my bed so ALL CLEAN! Mom and I did a few laps around the floor, we colored for a little while then Dad arrived with bagel's from Eli's.  He also brought me my mail and more Penguin pictures to hang up on my wall.  In the mail I got my Medal from when the SHU winter guard won championships, so I have been wearing my medal around my neck ever since.  The chemo was hung and then I finally also got to Skype with my cousin Sofi!! Then before we knew it we heard the ding...THE CHEMO IS DONE!! NO MORE CHEMO! We both did a little happy dance, talked a little more than she had to go walk their dog Cairo.  Next step for me: Tuesday starts the blood transfusion with my own blood cells.  Hopefully everything goes well and gets to a good level quickly because once thats done, I'm home free.  But lets not get ahead of ourselves.  Im just happy to be done with Chemo.  Now my hair should really start growing back into the long locks i used to have!!
Love,
Sarah

not going my way already

All the Chemo's made me nauseous, loss of appetite, and I am beyond cranky.  Dad came and brought me penguin pictures to help, but it didn't.  I slept most of the day and am now so worked up I want to throw something.  People pay millions of dollars to stay in a hospital and they don't even have sports channels on TV, yet there are about six or seven news channels.  No sports channels means no Devils or Yankees for me until i go home!!! I AM NOT HAPPY!!
ITS TIME TO GO HOME
Sarah

Day 1

Today after sitting through lots of traffic, we arrived at RWJ Hospital in New Brunswick NJ.  I get my own room, theres a crummy tv,  but from what  I can tell the food is a whole lot better!!!  But what some people don't understand is if I want them to leave, they shouldn't argue, and so on.  Also as I was waking up from my nap I heard the doctors talking to Mom and Dad, and there is a whole lot more to this process than just chemo and a blood transfusion.  To calm me down after a minor meltdown, the nurses brought me a toy, to help with my breathing, and now I don't want to put it down.  And this time they're going to let me shower!!!!  For dinner I had a baked potato and chicken fingers.  But I have my Mom here with me, and I have picture frames with my cousins, and my Theta Phi Alpha family line too so no one's left out.  Lets hope its just 17 days so I can go home and celebrate my birthday cancer free and have a party just like my parents promised.
Thats all for now
Love
Sarah

Breathing Toy

Breathing toy in action

Me and My Chemo

Moms Couch

TOMORROW TOMORROW TOMORROW

Well, after a wonderful weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, and Surf and Turf Dinner tonight, I am all set to go to the hospital!  I packed my huge suitcase and it looks like I'm going to be there for a while. This time I'm bringing my laptop so I can Skype, and of course Facebook with everyone!! To top off the night I am going to watch the Devils and Glee, but mostly get a good nights sleep in my own bed because who knows when the next time that will be again! But after all this is over, I will be Cancer FREE and ready to go on Vacation and PARTYYY
LOVE
SARAH