Eye Hugs

By Charaleen Wright

This is the story of Charaleen Wright who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Follow her as she faces her battle head-on and comes out on top. Her incredible journey is poignantly chronicled with humor and warmth. For those who dont fully comprehend what a breast cancer patient must endure, this book will most certainly open your eyes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496931603

Charaleen Wright

I wouldn’t trade growing up in South Charleston, West Virginia, for anything in the world. During the fifties and sixties, we had the privilege of living in idyllic times in such a beautiful state. Those formative years made me the person I am today. I married my high school sweetheart, and then after he graduated from college, we moved to Texas with two babies in tow. Both were still in diapers and not yet weaned from their bottles. I had to grow up quickly because our family support system was back home in West Virginia. All eight of our grandparents were still living when we left for Texas in June 1969. You can never comprehend the meaning of homesick until you move away. Being a direct descendent of Daniel Boone, I have wanderlust in my blood. That’s a good attribute, because after living in Dallas, San Antonio, Boerne, Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth, we’re now back in the Texas Hill Country in a little city called Fair Oaks Ranch. While my husband was working his way up the corporate ladder, I was always trying to find my passion and simultaneously raising two very active and wonderful children. In all my endeavors, I was always supported and encouraged by these three amazing human beings. • My first job was working in a gage lab for FMC Corporation in South Charleston, West Virginia. This was the plant that made armored tanks and M113 flamethrowers during the Viet Nam War. • I was a bookkeeper/office manager for a Montessori school after we made the move to Dallas. I worked a half day while my children attended the Montessori preschool. • I was an editorial assistant for an applied mechanics and engineering science journal called Applied Mechanics Reviews. The most fun I had in this job was transliterating Russian from a cardboard chart?this was way before computers. • I was a test car driver, which lasted for one day. It’s a long story. Let’s just say I drove from San Antonio to Laredo twice in the same day and then relinquished my position immediately. • I was the owner of an interior designer firm called Yesterday’s Interiors. • I was a mystery shopper. I can’t remember rating too many five-star dining establishments?actually, there were none. Why, in the name of God’s green earth, did I ever agree to this? I was still trying to “find” myself. I lived in Houston at the time and had to physically check out gross service stations in the worst parts of town. I don’t even wash a car?it’s written in my wedding vows along with not mowing lawns. I still can’t get the smell of rubber and icky restrooms out of my olfactory organ. • I was the owner, chef, and chief bottle washer of my own fudge company called Sweet Bye and Bye. People still call and request my recipe for Texas Praline Fudge. Whenever I filled an order for a one-pound package of fudge, I had to make a whole batch, which makes five or six pounds. The leftover fudge would be packed up and sent to a group of special soldiers in Iraq. I called it Operation Fudge. Those boys were so grateful. Looking back, that was one of my proudest moments. • My last position was vice president of Swisher Pens, a fountain pen company. This position led to other jobs in website design and maintenance. Much to my chagrin, after all the long hours and hard work, Swisher Pens was forced to close its doors in 2011 because of the dreadful economy. • And now, dare I say, I’m an author. Through my hectic life, I persevered and was lucky to have never been seriously ill?at least not until I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wrote this book to make friends, family, physicians, and caretakers of cancer patients aware of what they must go through in their struggle to survive.

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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© 2014 Charaleen Wright. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/02/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3161-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3162-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3160-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One

August 18, 2008—New Patient Office Visit

August 28, 2008—Mammogram

September 16, 2008—Mammogram and Ultrasound

October 7, 2008—We’re Off to See the General Surgeon

December 23, 2008—Can You Tell Me How to Get, How to Get to Dr. Grover’s Office

December 24, 2008—Pre-Op Lab Work

December 29, 2008—Echocardiogram

December 30, 2008—Excisional Biopsy with Wire Locator

December 31, 2008—You Should See the Other Guy

January 14, 2009—Magnetic Resonance Imaging

January 18, 2009—Give Me a C! What Are You Gonna Fight? Cancer!

January 20, 2009—Follow-Up Visit with the General Surgeon

January 22, 2009—Deep Thoughts

Chapter Two

January 26, 2009—Dr. Alexander Miller, Oncology Surgeon

January 27, 2009—Find Oncologist

January 28, 2009—Dr. Marisa Sandera, Oncologist

January 29, 2009—The Diagnosis

Bob Sibley

February 3, 2009—Dreaded Cancer

February 4, 2009—Moving Right Along

February 12, 2009—Radiation Marking Dye Injections

February 13, 2009—Friday the Thirteenth: Lucky Lumpectomy and Lymph Node Dissection

February 14, 2009—St. Valentine’s Day

Chapter Three

February 18, 2009—Post-Op Visit

March 3, 2009—Radiation Therapy Decision

March 4, 2009—Lighten Up

March 5, 2009—The MixMaster

March 9, 2009–March 13, 2009—Radiation, Radiation, Radiation

March 14, 2009—Final ClearPath Radiation Treatment

March 16, 2009—Three-Week Follow-Up Visit

April 2, 2009—Rim Shot

April 7, 2009—If You Knew Suzie

Chapter Four

April 8, 2009—The First Big Drip

April 9, 2009—Follow-Up Office Visit

April 10, 2009—First Neulasta Injection

April 11, 2009—Choo, Choo, Choo, Choo

April 12, 2009—Easter Sunday

April 13, 2009—Taking Care of Business

April 14, 2009—Feelin’ It

April 15, 2009—Git-R-Done

April 16, 2009—Better Days

April 17, 2009—TGIF

April 18, 2009—Eat, Drink, and Be Merry …

April 19, 2009—Trick or Treat. Smell My Feet. Give Me Something Good to Eat.

Chapter Five

April 20, 2009—Hairy Thoughts

April 21, 2009—Hair to Die For

April 22, 2009—Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

April 23, 2009—Brain Freeze

April 24, 2009—Eye Hugs

Chapter Six

April 25, 2009—Control Freak

April 26, 2009—Fellow Virgo and Survivor

April 27, 2009—You Can Never Be Too Careful

April 28, 2009—Texas Titty Sisters

April 29, 2009—Second Chemo

April 30, 2009—Waiting for the Train

May 1, 2009—Neulasta Number Two

May 2, 2009 —Train Just Keeps Rollin’ On

May 3, 2009—It’s All about C

May 4, 2009—Hot, Sweaty, and Sore

May 5, 2009—Chemo Maladies

May 6, 2009—The Bald Flasher

May 7, 2009—Rat Poison

May 8, 2009—M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

May 9, 2009—Mother, May I

May 10, 2009—Happy Mother’s Day

Chapter Seven

May 17, 2009—Family and Friends

May 20, 2009—Chemo Number Three

May 21, 2009—Rosy Cheeks

May 22, 2009—Neulasta Number Three

May 23, 2009—The Train Is Rollin’ ’Round the Bend

May 24, 2009—The Train Keeps a Rollin’ On

May 25, 2009—Lest We Forget

May 26, 2009—Potty Talk

May 27, 2009—The Train Keeps on Torturing Me

Chapter Eight

June 7, 2009—Sunday

June 8, 2009—Fun and Games

June 10, 2009—Mickey Mouse Juice Number Four

June 12, 2009—I hear the Whistle Blowin’

June 15, 2009—The Train Has Hit

June 16, 2009—Exhausted

June 17, 2009—Still Pooped

June 18, 2009—Home Sweet Home

June 21, 2009—Surprise!

Chapter Nine

July 5, 2009—It Just Keeps On Gettin’ Better

July 15, 2009—Good News

July 19, 2009—Breast Cancer Survivor

September 1, 2009—Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I’m Sixty-Four!

September 4, 2009— Another Mashogram

September 9, 2009—My Sister from Another Mother

December 3, 2009 – Getting Stronger Every Day

Chapter Ten

July 26, 2012—His Plan

In Conclusion

Biography

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

—Og Mandino, American essayist

Introduction

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, I decided to chronicle my journey, hoping that it might help others who experience this disease. I heard somewhere that when someone is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family is diagnosed with it. I hope my family came through this ordeal without too many scars. This book is dedicated to them. They were such an inspiration and were always there for me. I know this struggle has been so much easier because of them. Their love, laughter, prayers, and support have meant everything to me and have helped me remain positive. I have learned just how much I’m cared for and loved and needed—and that is what sustained me.

Chapter One

August 18, 2008—New Patient Office Visit

Today my doctor saved my life. Perhaps I can save someone’s life by simply writing this book.

Thanks to my husband’s employment, we lived in different Texas cities but kept our home in the Texas hill country to return one day to the place we loved. For me, finding a new family doctor, dentist, and hair stylist are some of life’s stressful triggers for heart disease. With my hubby’s insurance plan, I decided it was time to cowboy up and make an appointment for an annual lady’s examination. It was past time.

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Cowboy Up

I did my research and found Dr. Terry Grover, my new internist. His office was close to our home, and he was taking new patients. Besides that, I dearly loved his name. I think of Sesame Street, Elmo, Big Bird, and cookies whenever I need to make an appointment.

Knowing that I hadn’t had a mammogram in over ten years, Dr. Grover scheduled one for me during that very visit. He was adamant that I get this procedure even though he knew how much I loathed and dreaded the whole experience. I absolutely hated mammograms, so each year I conveniently and cleverly put off having them. This time my doctor put the guilt trip on me and emphasized how important a mammogram is; how much time had gone by since my last one; blah, blah, blah. During a momentary lapse of my mulishness, I agreed to this god-awful procedure.

August 28, 2008—Mammogram

You know the drill. It’s: "Okay, take off your top, put on this gown that opens in the front. Now we’re going to let this fully loaded semi-tractor trailer run over your breast—and then back it up. All righty, now! Let’s do the other one!"

So I reluctantly kept my appointment and had