Erin's Daily Updates

Thanks for stopping by!

2019-05-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

I have been getting a few messages about my story and I wanted to make this blog public again.

My journey was in 2008 so I invite you to go read my journey. Please forgive the chemo brain miss types. The blog began in the archived posts, on the right of this page, 2008.

Improvement!

2012-12-20T08:56:00.001-08:00

Today

2012-12-14T23:28:00.001-08:00

Today, a 20 year old man took the lives of teachers, administrators and children in Newtown, CT. No one can make sense of it all...I was in tears just watching the news today.

“If there's one thing I learned, it's that nobody is here forever. You have to live for the moment, each and every day . . . the here, the now”

― Simone Elkeles

It's that time of year....

2012-12-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

It's a multi-step process, but I am hoping maybe this will be the last time for a LONG time!!

Went in for blood work today...
Next week I have my PET scan - CT chest, CT pelvis, CT abdomen, with contrast...
Early January I have a meeting with my Oncologist, Dr. Chen.

If all is clear, which I expect them to be :) I am hoping no more scans unless I am showing "symptoms". Considering each one of these scans exposes me to 3 weeks worth of a normal person’s radiation (cell phones, appliances etc) in a one hour period. I think I have had enough isolated radiation to last me a lifetime!! I am fine with blood work....especially considering I had a blood cancer; it would show up there first.

More to come....

A little look back

2012-12-02T23:36:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe its been four years since I completed treatment. Thanksgiving four years ago was my first real family gathering and had a lot of trouble eating. I lost 15 lbs sitting in a hospital bed and the only food I could really get down was ensure (yeah, the older people supplement) and cream of wheat. Radiation destroyed my throat, nothing was easy to get down. Fast forward to 2012, a new year and definitely no problem eating!

But in all seriousness I wasn't able to walk faster than 40 min miles and had a 200+ heart rate. I would even sit for breaks on the little walks around the block. I went through rounds and rounds of tests just to realize that the chemotherapy was distroying my heart and lungs. Always interesting how that works out; die from one, or lose major body organs as a result of the other.

It's been a long road back. I needed to surround myself with positive people and take my time. I began working out again and was finally able to start pushing myself to that next step. I changed my eating habits and enjoyed the chase of good health. I went from 40 minute miles to putting myself back on a swim block this weekend. A small victory for sure!

These last few months my swim team has been on me to race. It's not that I didn't want to, but I wasn't sure what my body was going to do. That saying of "your mind will break long before you body will" is the exact opposite saying to me and my life. My mind is strong, my body is telling me what it can/cannot do. I decided to take a chance and sign up for a 3 day championship swim meet - hey, if you're going to do it, go all the way! I swam for the three weeks prior (maybe a dozen or so workouts). Not a lot of training, but I have been walking the dogs a lot, so I knew how much I needed to swim to feel the water. By no means was my endurance in the right spot. I arrive at the meet and all the emotions hit me. More so in my gut. It felt great. I felt alive! I stood on the blocks for my first race...first one in 11 years...my favorite event..the 100 free! I was out like a rocket. Felt amazing for 80 meters and oh my goodness, did it hurt! No matter what my body was telling me, I wasn't going to lose...but it sure wasn't pretty! (well, more so that it wasn't pretty for anyone who has watched me swim in the past)
The entire experience really tested my body. A few times I wondered if I was pushing it too hard. I'm tired, I'm happy, I am proud that I was able to race again, so I will take it at that.

I have my next CT/PET scan this month. This is another huge milestone in my recovery, the 4 year cancer screen. Knowing how strong I am feeling makes these scans less and less stressful. BUT 5 will be the huge celebration, where should we go???

Today I remember...

2012-11-08T08:59:00.001-08:00

our sweet Golden Boston. To this day, I think about if we missed something..if we could have kept you in our lives much longer than 6 months. Deep down, I know it was your time to go, but I'm selfish and wanted you longer. You were my sun bathing, cuddling boy who wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch and be loved. I hope you're running around in doggy heaven waiting to greet me when my time comes. Miss you Bud! <3

Beachbody Coaching

2012-11-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

I love being fit and helping others to be fit as well. I would love for you to join in with me in making those things happen for you! Please let me know if you want some information on how to make that happen!! http://www.beachbodycoach.com/egarriepy

New deck!

2012-11-04T16:10:00.001-08:00

Finally finished the deck. I don't have a final, just deck picture, but this gives you the right idea!

Starting painting the house...ourselves!

2012-11-04T16:09:00.001-08:00

Not sure if I would do this again! New entrance overhang and now some new paint. We are no longer the pink house with the white picket fence.

Bruce is 3!

2012-09-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't been good about posting...life has been really busy and to be honest, our life isn't that interesting :) The dogs have come a LONG way and we are looking forward to what they will become with some more time. Bruce is learning impluse control and won't bite my hand if there is food in it anymore. He learned how to give me paw in about an hour and he is a happy boy who just wants to play fetch all the time. Brody is always a work in progress. He has learned how to control his anxiety and has learned the pecking order of the house. All he wants to do is play and no longer uses people as his playmates. He and Bruce are two peas in a pod and are really enjoying having each other. I really can't complain, what most people have as "issues" with their dogs are far worse then what we have; our boys don't eat human food, won't go for your plate if you put it down, they aren't allowed on funriture and don't try, they don't chew shoes or the edge of the coffee tables. Every now and then, they will find something they shouldn't have, but it's usually because we left it within their reach when we weren't home. They are great dogs and we are lucky to have them! Here is a picture from Bruce's birthday....such good boys waiting for the "ok" to start eating :)

On a side note, another round of blood work is clear...definitely on track to being 100% back and stress free!

Dogs...

2012-06-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

It's too bad they don't like eachother!

New family member....Bruce!

2012-05-13T14:52:00.001-07:00

Family photo

2011-12-29T20:41:00.001-08:00

Here is our first family photo with Brody!

December 2011

2011-12-21T19:44:00.001-08:00

I just went through another round of scans and I am officially 3 years Cancer free! I have definitely put this part of my life in the past...and moving to yearly PET scans is the first step!!

We have been having a hard time saying good bye to Boston. He was such a sweet dog. We came to the realization that we gave him the best home & life we could and it was time to give another dog a great life! We brought home a 11 mo old, 76 lbs, Male Golden last weekend and we named him Brody. He responded very well to Buddy, so Brody was a nice choice. I would be lying if I said he is adjusting well. He comes to us with some anxiety and wasn't taught boundaries. We have already met with a trainer and have our hands full. He is so sweet when he's calm and we hope we can help him find a balanced life sooner than later!!

RIP Boston

2011-11-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

We brought Boston into our vet on Friday. At that point he was no longer eating, very stiff, and appeared to be in a lot of pain. We brought him in earlier in the week feeling he had hurt his back, but it was now becoming clear that wasn't what was going on. Our Vet admitted him. Over the next few hours - through Saturday, she did a chest x-ray and several tests - including the liver test, urine and any other rare disease. The x-rays showed fluid on his right shoulder and center chest, but his heart, lungs, spine, hips etc were all clear. So we were going with the idea that he was stung or bitten by a spider. She started anti-biotics.

On Sunday he was more swollen. She decided to start him on prednisone as well. He still wouldn't eat so he was also on a IV bag.

Yesterday morning he started coughing. We decided to do an ultra sound. It didn't show any masses anywhere, but did show some small areas of fluid in his lungs. He was laying down for a few days, unable to get up.

We started leaning towards the Lymhederma diagnosis. We decided to try to bathe him and he started bleeding from his nose. We were then rushed to a 24 hr Emergency hospital in Torrance.

Upon arrival, he was tested for clotting - which came back positive and took another chest x-ray. This chest x-ray showed massive fluid in his chest and he was obliviously struggling. At this point his nose is bleeding and he is coughing blood. They put him on oxygen and did their best to stabilize him over night with pain meds and fluids. Leaving him last night was not easy. We knew he would be touch and go all night. Around 1 am his heart rate went from being very high to very low where it finally stopped at 1:30am. They did attempt CPR, but it was unsuccessful.

Brent and I are obliviously trying to make sense of all this. He went from being a completely normal, healthy dog to one struggling to walk and then losing him in a few days. Nothing makes sense. I am doing my best to focus on the good times we had, the new life we tried to create for him and the fact that he is no longer in pain. Whenever someone (human or animal) leaves this world, we struggle for the whys and that is where we are right now. We are trying to make his life worth something but not allowing this to happen to another dog - and that means finding out how he died.

Below is one of my favorite moments with him, his first trip to dog beach. He wasn't sure how to get catch the tennis balls without fully submerging his face in the sand. Boston is one of those dogs we will compare all dogs too - forever in our hearts.

Boston was admitted

2011-11-06T20:30:00.001-08:00

This is a quick update, since we don't have too many answers yet. Boston started having trouble on Tuesday - started walking funny and couldn't get up or down very easily. We took him in that night and upon originally assessment, thought he hurt is back. We started him on anti-inflammatory and was sent home. Wednesday showed no progress up or down. On Thursday he took a turn for the worse. He no longer would eat and could not get himself in an out of the house. On Friday he was admitted. He's had some xrays which showed inflammation of this right chest and shoulder. His lungs, abdomen and bones/spine/hips all looked good BUT his blood panel was way off and is a cause of concern.

He is still there, still won't walk, took in a little water but still unable to eat much. He's on an IV drip just trying to keep him comfortable. Our vet has sent a list and array of samples off for testing, we are hoping to get some answers and we can start treating the right thing.

Keep Boston in your thoughts. More updates to come.

Neurologist

2011-09-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Boston has a successful appointment; in terms of success, we think it was! On a basic assessment, he passed basic neurological function tests, so there was no cause of alarm. We were very happy to hear that. We did get rejected from pet insurance, so if they said he needed an MRI, would of cost us close to $1500! Of course we would have done it, but very happy we don't.

The plan is to up his medications. The Doctor advised us of adding in Potassium Bromide (http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Bromide.html). It is a much safer epilepsy drug treatment. He will be front loaded with the drug for the next few days to allow his blood levels to stabilize faster. We will then bring him to a normal dosage. He will continue to take the Phenobarbital. If he is able to go 6 weeks without a seizure, we are going to explore moving him 100% to the Potassium Bromide. That is what i would like, but it's truly up to Boston and how his body handles everything.

This past weekend we watched the Horns defeat UCLA at the Rose Bowl. It was Greg, Lara, Tim, Brent and I - such a great group!!
Here are a few pictures:

Texas Game

Next stop, Neurologist...

2011-09-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Boston has had a seizure (or what we think are seizures) on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of this past week. Each of them about the same. He always knows they are coming and we too know the signs. We are taking him to see a Neurologist, Dr. Hanson, on Monday of next week - it was the earliest we could both get there (Brent and I). We will keep you posted after the visit.

I went in for blood work about a week ago and it all came back within normal range! Next step for me will be full body scan in Decemeber.

Think about it....

2011-08-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
- Charles R. Swindoll

Quick Boston update

2011-08-19T10:10:00.001-07:00

He does not have Addison's - so we are going to continue on treating him for Epilepsy. He has been having seizures, even being on Phenobarbital, so if that continues, we have to bring him to a neurologist. That decision we will not know for a while...want to try to stabilize him on his meds and see how his body adjusts.

Time to Catch Up

2011-08-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

I will do my best to cover a lot with not too many words! I enjoy pictures more, so I am sure you do too!

First, July 16, 2011 - my cousin Sean marries Liz in New York. It was such a wonderful wedding for such a wonderful couple!

Next up, my cousin Meaghan comes to Cali to visit. Talk about an action packed trip. We took her into LA - did the Rodeo Drive, Hollywood mini tour....

San Diego Beaches (of course dog beach too!) and met up with some of our great friends Tim & Lara...

A little Long Beach....

Had such a good time! Wish they all lived closer so we could have more days like that!!

I just flew back from Salt Lake City, UT. I was out there for work. Was a great educational trip - love being surrounded by experience and really get out there to tell the world what our company is all about.

New with Boston -
I went to the vet today and we are starting to explore something other than seizures. Somethings was a bit off on his blood panel - no the basic, but the more detailed white counts. Not going to lie, I heard white blood cells and my heart stopped, not sure if the vet was wondering why I was smiling. All I could think of was don't say the "C" word and when I didn't, I just kept smiling. He is going in for a ACTH test on Friday to test his cortisol levels. We are testing for atypical Addison's disease which occurs when the adrenal glands fail to produce enough hormones to keep the body functioning normally. If the test is positive, we will be taking him off Pheno and moving him to low doses of Prednisone. The test should help point us in the right direction. Bottom line, I want to treat the right disease and help get Boston to a happy & normal life.

I did find this website, so if you are interested in learning more: http://www.addisonsindogs.com/

This is an adorable picture Brent sent to me, post a bike ride with Boston, while I was out in Utah. Happy Monday!

Updates

2011-07-09T17:18:00.001-07:00

A lot has been going on in our busy lives. Boston is the new center of attention for sure! We went down to San Diego for July 4th weekend. We really wanted to spend some time with the family. We are fortunate that Boston is a great traveler and very adaptable. We spent a lot of time in the park and at dog beach - this boy LOVES the water. We just starting throwing the ball into the water and he would go face first into waves just to get his face wet. He was good about not drinking the water, so didn't have too many issues there.

Mom and dad had a lot of time to just relax....

Boston got a fun bone to chew on while we all ate....

Here is a picture of Brent and Boston during dog class this week(not too sure who is having more fun!)

This one has to be one of my favorite shots so far. We have central air and it's not that hot (in the 80s) but I work from home, so I need to stay comfortable during the day. The entire house is cool, yet he puts himself directly in front of the fan! Also note how close he is to his water bowl, he will drink laying down, doesn't even bother getting up. He is one spoiled dog!

We did have a few scares and we are in the process of determining exactly what those were. It appeared to be seizures, with Boston, but we aren't vets so we are working closely with our vet to help determine what might be going on. As we learn more, I will keep you updated. It's a good thing I work from home, so I am able to keep an eye on him!

We've been busy!

2011-06-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot going on these last few weeks. Brent is busy building back his herb garden, hopefully they will all survive this time! He started back with summer school, so we are all settling back into a routine.

We have signed Boston up for some basic obedience classes through parks and rec. We had our first class last week and we are teaching him boundaries. So far so good! We have introduced him to the dog park - he loved it! He did come completely dirty, but also completely exhausted. We are looking forward to dog beach, but we still need a little more time with him before we bring him there.

We took Boston on his first field trip to San Diego, he got to visit his second home :) He adjusted really fast and of course mom loved having a dog around. There is big park down the street there so we introduced him to the chuck-it. Took playing ball to a whole different level for him, he got tired really fast! We will be back down in San Diego this weekend. Last weekend was a test run to help him get more adjusted on this trip. The family will be in town and he will get lots of attention.

When we've been taking him in the car, we bring his create - we want to keep him safe and don't want him running around the car. The last piece of his VIP area arrived today.... (we now have the rubber mat and the cage so he gets the entire 3rd row to himself)

Tomorrow he is meeting his new Vet - Bellflower Veterinary Hospital\ http://www.bellflowervet.com/ . They were just recommended by our new groomer/pet store Your Elegant Pet http://www.yourelegantpet.com/. We are slowly transitioning Boston to a more natural food - to help with his coat and overall well being. He is getting his first real groom with us Thursday and then we are off to San Diego to celebrate the 4th!

Fun with Boston

2011-06-20T09:16:00.001-07:00

Boston is adapting very well to his new home. He is playing catch well, met some new friends (Menlo - puggle and Bella - min pin), and riding a bike!

We think he has some training before he came to us - he knows a lot more than we initially gave him credit for! We have found a few dog classes we want to take him to. One starts this week, but until we get all his paperwork (shots etc) we can't take him. So, hopefully they come soon!

Here are some of our upcoming goals:
- Moving his sleeping location out of our room and into the hallway. He will still be in his crate....
- Responding more to his name, he does come to "come"
- staying on his bed while we eat. It's hit or miss and the fact that he is a hit makes us realize that was his old pattern. Just us being too weak (he does have a cute face!)
- laying down on command

This week, Brent is back to school. It's just Boston and I all day. So far, so good!

Meet the newest member of the Garriepy Family!

2011-06-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

We found this cutie through a Rescue here in LA http://grcglarescue.org/ His rescue name was Chad, he is now Boston! He is 2 years old, pure golden.

After playing ball, to run some energy out of him, he found a spot on the lawn to enjoy his new toys.

We wanted to help him calm down with lots of ball, a long walk and some training. we slowly introduced him inside the house. This is the result of the first few hours of play.

He was great sleeping in the crate all night, just needed to go out once. I will update more as we go!