Fundraising update WHO HOO!

Thanks to Tita Day and Mamma Ti, I have received donations from their co-workers today. The total they recruited was a WHOPPING $863! and still counting! Thank you Mamma Ti and Tita Day!

My total as of today is $2483!!

It takes some time to reflect the total on my website because the donations were collected in cash and checks and will take some time to process. I am only $717 short of my minimum and haven't even sent out my letters yet and am still a month away from the start of the season!

All of the Carantos, especially Rainel, Mamma Ti, and Tita Day have really been a HUGE part of my fundraising success and I am very thankful for that!

I'm working on getting Jackie to join the team and train for the Long Beach Marathon. I told her I would fundraise for her if she signed up. I have already been planning a huge fundraiser and I doubt I will need that for myself so I told her that I would throw a fundraiser for her to train. She's still entertaining the thought and it's looking good! In the meantime, pencil in July 11th for my fundraiser at Hollywood Billiards, the place I had my last big fundraiser!

Visiting Justine 4.21.09

I try to see Justine every week. Usually on Tuesday nights when my sister Josie is there. I couldn't go last week because I had show tickets so it had been two weeks since I've seen Justine. Since then, she's cut her hair, just like her "cool aunt".....but I have to admit her's looks cuter than mine....haha She is also done with her first round of Chemo. The lump in her jaw that was an infection is now gone. Last time I saw her (two weeks ago) she had a nose bleed which was pretty harsh. They gave her platelets to help the bleeding stop. Since then she had another nose bleed that lasted almost 24 hours. She was not given any platelets because there were no platelets to be given. An email was sent out the following day to encourage platelet donations from family and friends. The response has been fantastic and many people are eager to help out. The amazing support from my TNT people, even though they don't know her and even some Alumni that don't know me, just reaffirms the fantastic people that are involved in TNT. I thank you and all of my family and friends for the willingness to help. I hope most of the people that qualify know that it's not a one time donation that is needed. I hope they return to donate platelets and understand that Justine will continue to need them as long as she is receiving treatments. The platelets expire in a week. I will be donating every 2 weeks, usually on Friday mornings which are my days off.

Currently Justine is not receiving any Chemo. Her first round is done and is now just waiting for her immune system to build up so she can go home for a week. After being home for a week she will once again return for another round of the 10 day Chemo treatment and the cycle repeats.

During my visit last night, she was happy to see me because I came baring her dinner, double orange chicken and fried rice from Panda Express. We exchanged our sarcastic banter and I knew that she was in a good mood that night. My sister Josie left for about 10 minutes to grab some sundaes from McDonalds and Justine and I sat talking about boys. It felt nice that she's comfortable talking about such personal issues with me and that she actually wanted my advice even though she's never seen me with a guy....hahah She thinks I'm "livin' the life" when I'm actually just searching for what my life is really all about....don't tell her that though *wink* Anyways, Josie came back and we stopped our conversation. Josie helped Justine do a few exercise since Josie is a PTA, she the perfect person to help her with that. Justine definitely wants to exercise because she was so active before getting diagnosed that she feels like her muscles are all fading away. She's a great soccer player and her team even went to the Championships this year! She did very well with a good amount of different muscle strengthening moves. She did tire out a little but I really think it was because of the all the laughing she was doing while exercising.

When I left she was good. I will be taking the Saturday morning shift to watch her until her grandmother shows up around noon. We will have jamba juices and finish our chat about boys...maybe she'll teach me something =p

We took the picture above before I left for my fundraising website. There were a whole series of these pictures. The one I really like she is totally cracking up but she doesn't want me to post it so this is what you get. I desperately needed some lipstick but Justine stole the show with her cute smile anyways...

butterflies = nerves or fear? or both?

Ever since I signed the paperwork for TNT, I've been debating about the Olympic Distance or the Classic Distance for the Malibu Triathlon. It's like deciding to do the full or half marathon. You want to do the full because everyone is training for it and it's a bigger challenge. But the thing about the Classic distance for this particular Triathlon is that it's the "fun" one of the two. The Olympic is on Saturday and is for the more hardcore tri-athlets and the only thing going on for spectators is the sandcastle contest. But Classic is the one that they are known for and is publicized. It's the one with the celebrities and a bunch of activities for kids. It's basically the MAIN event. So I'm kinda leaning towards the Classic. I think it will have a different energy vibe and it will help my spectating friends have more fun while they wait for me....haha The Classic is longer than a Sprint so it's not the shortest distance triathlon =p

BUTTERFLIES: I checked out the Tri team's website and started to get really nervous. Just seeing photos of them biking and swimming, makes me wonder, "what the heck did I sign up to do? Am I really doing this?" Talking to Audrey today made me question if I really do know how to ride a bike. I have memories of trying to ride a bike but don't ever remember riding it around anywhere. So I'm leaning towards the fact that I don't know how to ride one. But I keep telling myself, how hard can it really be? Just some practice right? If I can learn how to swim, I can learn how to ride right? *butterflies*

Fundraising update

As of today at 4:30pm, I have $1320 in my account!!! This is amazing especially since the start of the season is still a month away and so far I'm the only person signed up for the Eastside Triathlon team! The support from all of the Caranto Friends have been amazing and I hope you all know the Carantos, the Mezas and Justine truly appreciate the love.

I'm beginning to turn the fundraising wheels and will soon start planning my event. I hope to have amazing Silent Auction items and host an event that many of you will attend, enjoy and bring your own friends to too! I will begin scoping out locations and have found a small venue that looks interesting. If you or your company are interested in donating any Silent Auction items, please contact me and I will gladly accept them =)

swimming......

I went swimming this morning. I'm definitely out of shape. I weighed myself in the morning and OMG, I'm gaining weight! That was the real wake up call for me to start getting back into the workout routine! I've been lazy about it but then I realized that working out actually gives you more energy! So even though you think you're lazy, you are actually feeling lazier by NOT working out. It's really great when you can feel energized from a workout. That's why I enjoy swimming, there's no sweat but all of the huffing and puffing from a great workout! I'm out of shape but I know that it just takes some time for me to get back into my routine. I need to do a couple of laps without stopping before I start my triathlon training (end of May). At the moment, I'm still stopping at 25m. *sigh*

Donating blood and platelets

Friday, April 10th, was my day off and I had plans all day. First I was going to go to Children's Hospital to donate platelets for Justine, then visit Justine, then get my nails done, then clean up the apartment, then go out with the girls and then come home and hang out with my sister and the kids. Well, that did not pan out the way I had expected it to.

Donating the platelets: They tell us to drink a lot of water and have a good meal before coming in. So the night before I drank a bottle and had some soup for dinner. The next morning I drink another bottle of water and some oatmeal hoping that was enough.....so we shall see.....

Jackie and I get to the donor center and sign in. I asked if I could donate both blood and platelets today, thinking the receptionist is going to say "no" but he said "yes". So thinking I could be efficient, I said, sure, take both from me today! So they call us in within 5 minutes and we find out we first have to have our blood tested to see if we CAN donate platelets. The tech checks my veins, I know that I have one good arm and one bad arm. After getting a second opinion, my good arm was approved and now all they had to do is draw a sample from the bad arm to test the blood. They couldn't use the good arm to test because that needed to be saved for the actual platelet and blood draw. So the first tech tries to find the vein, punctures the skin and then is in and moving it around trying to poke something that will give him a steady stream of blood. I'm looking the other way because I can tell he's up in there with the needle and no luck. You would think these people would be highly trained and used to finding the veins if they work in that department! So a second nurse tries and the same thing! She's up in my arm searching for the vein and then finally gets it! Whew! I really didn't want to have to go through that for nothing! I now have the healing bruises to show for it! This photo was taken 3 days later.....imagine what it looked like before!



So after that test, they sent us back out while we're waiting for the results. As we're sitting there, I start to freak out that I didn't eat enough. So I asked if I can grab something to eat because by this time, it's almost lunchtime and since I'm on a regular eating routine my stomach starts to growl. I grab a quick fish fillet at the McDonalds in the Hospital and hurry back. A couple of minutes later I'm called in, blood pressure is checked, quick run to the restroom (the 5th time that morning) and then they set me up on a bed. I look through a list of movies I get to watch while they are drawing the platelets and I choose the Devil Wears Prada. I've never seen it and everyone says it's good but at the same time I realize I'm going to be here for a while since they set up movies for everyone donating. I already knew that going in but it was still a little shocking. Anyways, so the new nurse goes into my good arm and finds the vein with no problems. I'm hooked up to the machine and the tube of blood that is coming from my arm is pretty thick. I checkout the machine and you can see the blood being filtered, kinda, pretty weird. Anyways, the nurse explains the procedure:

You are probably going to get cold since we are drawing blood from you so you can ask for as many blankets as you need. There will be a heating pad that will lay over your arm since that is the location where the blood is being drawn. You may feel a slight tingle in your lips, (something to do with calcium, too little I guess). They said if you feel the tingling to let them know and they will give you some tums to chew on and if that doesn't help then they can make adjustments to the machine. And lastly, don't bend my arm.

So I'm sitting there watching a movie and just relaxing as the machine sucks the blood out, separates it and then returns it to my body. The machine starts beeping, the tech comes over looks at it and pushes a few buttons and walks away. No big deal, but then this starts to happen every 15 minutes or so, I'm thinking, what's wrong? So then after the 6th-7th time, she comes over and says I'm going to tighten the turnaket a little and tells me to squeeze the foam toy in my hand ever so often. So I do so. That works and the machine stops beeping. I begin feel a little something in my teeth. I don't know if I should say something? How intense is the tingling supposed to be? I just let it pass. Finally, I start to feel it move up a little to my lips and decide to ask for some tums. So the tech gives me a cup with 5 tums and says if that doesn't help, to tell him and he will adjust the machine. So I take a tums and it seems to lessen the tingling. I do take one right after the other because as soon I as I finish one, the tingling returns. When I'm done with the cup, I just say, oh well, suck it up Jane! I asked the tech how much longer I have because I noticed that the woman sitting next to me is done and she started after I did. It must be because I'm donating both blood and platelets I thought. Well the tech told me I had less than 10 minutes so I was glad I was almost done. The movie was now over and I just stared off into nowhere.

But here's where everything took a wrong turn for the worse. I laid there, deep in thought and I noticed that the tech was staring at me, I didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later, my stomach begins to feel weird. The tingling begins to creep up my face and is up around my nose. I ask for water and the tech says sure and asks me, "are you ok?" I replied, "I'm feeling kinda nauseous." He then calls a nurse and says "we're having a reaction." I being to panic a little but I was already nauseous so it was all mental. The nurse comes over and says, "she only has a few more minutes left", then she asks me if I can keep going because they need a minimum of 256cc for the blood donation to make it count and I was at 236cc. I told them I was feeling really sick and they cut the cord. They immediately tilt the bed so my head is down and my feet are raised, put a cold towel over my head and neck, and take my blood pressure. The tech told me, "I noticed you looking sick but you didn't say anything, and then when I asked you if you were alright, you immediately turn pale!" So I sat there, sipping water, having my blood pressure taken every 5 minutes and then was finally told that my color is back and to slowly rise. I left a little weak and completely exhausted. Luckily we had planned to visit Justine afterwards so I was able to sit and relax for a while.

We visited Justine and she wasn't feeling too well. She was nauseous, hadn't really eaten because she can't open her mouth too wide. She has an infection in her jaw from the chemo and they are giving her antibiotics to help. The good thing was we were able to talk to her and she still has her sense of humor and was laughing at our stupid jokes. Jackie brought her a cute Easter box filled with candy and some hair supplies I told her to get. I got her a bag of flaming hot cheetos and a pair of chopsticks to eat them with. I also made a CD with some songs I thought she would like. She's really into music so I downloaded the new BEP and Justin/Ciara songs for her. I didn't have time to go through all of my songs so I ended up just giving her what I've recently downloaded, which were mostly the AI songs which I'm not sure she's going to like....haha We had to leave early because our mom called saying she was sick so we had to go and check on her. After leaving and helping out my mom, I was completely wiped out. I canceled plans with the girls and needed to rest up for the weekend with the kids.

In the end, it was worth it. It turned out that they were able to use the bag of blood I donated because it was "close enough"! If Justine is still in the hospital next week, I plan on coming back and donating again, this time, only platelets.....the combination of the two is what got me in trouble. Plus, I'm A+ and Justine is O+. I was there last Wednesday and witnessed why she needs the platelets so the little tingling and exhaustion I got was nothing compared to that. It's my fault anyways, I just needed to drink MORE water, so the tech says.....

stroke, stroke, stroke.......BREATHE!

A blog has been set up for Justine....check it out: http://justinekickscancer.org/

A new method I'm trying out is to comfortably breathe on both sides while swimming. I comfortably breathe on my right side after two strokes. It's not easy gasping for air when you have to concentrate on which side's turn you're supposed to breathe. So I started out with the drills I learned in my intermediate swim class at the RBAC. Hold the paddle board upright pushing against the water and practice breathing and kicking. So I first practiced breathing entirely on my left side. Kicking, head down: exhale, exhale, head up, BREATHE....repeat. The BREATHE is not an exaggeration. It is exactly how I talk to myself in my head......BREATHE NOW *GASP*! When you're learning to swim, you're thinking of so many things "okay turn your body, stretch out, don't splash the water when going into a new stroke, turn your head, kick from the hips"......the list goes on and on. Breathing is the toughest part. You take in water, you pull your head out too much, you lift your head instead of turning it to lay on your extended arm. It's a lot of nervous concentration going on there!

After a few laps with the paddle board, we parted ways and I went out on my own. I successfully was able to take a few breathers from my left and right side but about half way through the lane, I needed to stick to my right side. This happened on a few laps and then I finally said "enough for today" and just swam breathing only on my right side.

I think it's my endurance that's holding me back. To breathe on both sides you have to stroke, stroke, STROKE, BREATHE. When you breathe on one side, you don't have to hold your breath as long and only have to stroke, stroke, breathe. I've been very comfortable with the one sided breathing that holding out for that extra stroke, is throwing me off. I guess with more practice and getting myself back into shape, I can eventually get there. For the first time in a long time I actually got water up my nose.....not so fun! I really need to get that waterproofed ipod I've been eyeing for months. I think it will help me stay in the pool longer and concentrate less on me swalling clorine water.....yuck!