Weekend Getaway!

A few weeks ago, I was having breakfast with one of my best friends, Rachel. We've known each other for over 10 years, and have watched each other go through some crazy stuff. We don't see each other very often due to our work schedules, so these breakfast meet ups once every few months is a tradition. We meet up at the one good breakfast spot Castro Valley has to offer - Doug's - and try to dish as much about the going ons in our lives before we get the angry stares from the servers for hogging the table too long (that place is always busy). Then we'll usually walk across the street to Starbucks, and rummage around in Ross for a bit.

For our last meet up, I asked her about her recent trip to Disney World and if she had fun, what it was like, etc. Rachel is a little bit of a Disney freak, and I say that with the utmost love for her. She loves Disneyland and Disney movies, but not to the point where she goes to the theme park monthly. We eventually got on the topic of roller coasters and which ones at Disneyland we liked or didn't like, and it turns out we have the same list of rides we won't go on. I've been to Disneyland a few times, twice as a kid, once as a teenager, and twice as an adult. It wasn't until the trip when I was 13 that I took with my mom that I actually went on the roller coasters, and that's only because my mom made me. My mom isn't a fan of roller coasters either, but she insisted we ride them since it was an expensive trip. It was the two trips as an adult where I actually started to enjoy the roller coasters, but still refused to go on any the went upside down (I don't trust them), or would get me wet. Somehow, the group I went with managed to convince me to get on Tower of Terror - and that one time was enough for a life time. The photo of that is pretty hilarious. As it turns out, Rachel also won't go on the same rides. So that sparked an idea - in our long history of being friends, we've never taken a trip together. Rachel suggested we go for a weekend, and I said "Why not?" I'm off of work, I have the money to do it, and I want to have a little bit of fun and stop feeling like a cancer patient. So we coordinated our schedules, picked a weekend, and put the plan into action!

We drove down in Rachel's car on Friday morning, which means I skipped radiation that day. I'll have a double day on one of my last days of treatment to make up for it. We got to the parks around 1:45pm, and decided to hit California Adventure first since we were only there for half the day, and there's less to see and do at that park. A lot has changed in the 4 years since the last time I was there, like the addition of Cars Land. I didn't get to ride the Cars ride because it was so packed, but that's okay, I'm sure it'll still be there the next time I go. It was incredibly hot that day, and my armpit was chafing against my arm since I was wearing a tank top, and that's where the radiation is burning my skin the most at the moment. I also couldn't wear a bra because it was too uncomfortable, and I wasn't brave enough to walk around without much in the way of eyebrows, so I sloppily drew them on in the car before we went in. So, I wasn't exactly comfortable in my skin while we were there. Rachel's sister, Amber, met up with us around 6pm, and we had dinner not too long after that. Amber graciously let us stay with her for our trip, which saved us a lot of money and hassle.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and went to Disneyland. It was incredibly crowded, due to the summer break and because it's the 60th anniversary. Midday, we took a break and went back to the apartment to get out of the heat and rest our feet. By late afternoon, we were back in the park trying to make plans for what rides we wanted to ride. We didn't do everything since we were only there for the day and it was so packed, but I still had a lot of fun. I wore a shirt instead of a tank top, and my armpit didn't hurt as much. Things that I didn't think about before leaving were whether or not it was okay to ride a roller coaster with my portacath. It started bothering me after the first roller coaster on Friday, so I tried to be more mindful of jerking my head and neck around while on rides. I also didn't think about the fact that it would've been better on my feet to have worn shoes instead of sandals. And while I knew that radiation was going to burn my skin and make me uncomfortable, I didn't realize it was going to get to the point of not being able to wear a bra, and that made the roller coasters uncomfortable.

So, while I was hoping to try to forget about cancer for a few days and try to live a normal life, that wasn't really possible since I'm still in treatment. But I still had fun, and was happy to have finally had the opportunity to take a trip with Rachel. It was also nice getting to spend time with her sister, and tell her more about my story. Amber told me I was incredibly brave, and that she saw me as an inspiration. Hearing that made me want to cry, because that what I want to be to people. In any way I can. It doesn't matter if I touch one life, or thousands, knowing that I've influenced someone makes me happy. I really want to give back to the community, and make a difference in other young women's lives that are facing cancer, and Amber encouraged me to do that, and also offered her help as far as implementing a business plan. I've had an idea in my head for about two weeks now, so I may just take her up on the offer.

It's Tuesday, which means I'm back on track with my radiation plan. I'm slightly more than halfway through, which I'm grateful for, since at the beginning it seemed like this would drag on. But the end is in sight, and one step at a time I'm taking my life back from cancer.