Laramie: Week 6

Oh yes, it's really been six weeks. 
[What? 
Time is flying? 
I hear that time flies when you're having fun. 
You must be having fun without me.]


Work continues to be great. This week we actually had some really great news. One of my Lymphoma patients has been declared cancer-free! I gave her the very last dose of chemotherapy she'll [hopefully ever] need, which was really exciting. Once she found out that she was in remission, she came into the infusion room with a huge smile on her face and gave us a huge hug. When faced with life or death, she chose life. And she's living it to the fullest.


And later in the week, we found out that another patient had amazing results from her chemotherapy--I gave her last dose of her chemo too! She had stage-four cancer, and after undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy, all of her mets (the cancer that spread to other places in her body) had gone away, and she'll likely be cured with one surgery. How amazing is that! 


It just makes each day of work worth it. It is tough to watch people be so miserable-- with their nausea, diarrhea (yuck, i know... welcome to my world), mouth sores, and sleepless nights, but the end results like these are the ones we work day in and day out to achieve.


But enough of that. 
What did you do this weekend, Ames?


Ahh, I thought you'd never care ask. This weekend was the annual Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament in St. Louis. It's the conference tournament that Creighton plays in each year, and the one they dominate on the good years. Well, turns out, this was one of those years! 


I flew into St. Louis Friday night at midnight, met the early birds, and slept on the floor -- while using towels (yes, towels) as blankets. Brrr Saturday morning, the rest of the crew arrived--including Mike! I hadn't seen him for six weeks, so it was SO wonderful to get to see him again. And the rest of the crew, too! Kate and I had a fabulous time gossiping, as I have much missed. 

Here's the crew, post-engagement!

Saturday was extra-fun... two of my great friends got engaged! They actually met at the MVC tournament a few years ago, and they've been together ever since. What a perfect way to begin the next step in their lives!


After the champagne and excitement, we all headed to the game. Afterwards we had some greasy New York style pizza and went out on the town. We went to *the usual spot* and saw Creighton's entire class of 2008.. people I hadn't seen in years and people that live states away. It was such a fun reunion; one that I hope I can enjoy for years to come.

The CU student section rushing the court just after the final seconds.

On Sunday was the championship game! It was a very close game that went to overtime, but in the end the Jays pulled through. I had to catch a flight so we didn't get to watch the awards ceremony and the cutting down of the net, but it was great fun nonetheless. It was a great ending to such a great weekend. 


It's been a little rough getting back into the swing of things and the weekend made me even more homesick, but as of this week (Wednesday, to be exact) I am officially halfway done with my time here. I am incredibly excited to get back home. I'm looking forward to date nights with Mike, wine nights with the girls, and trips home to see my family. But in the mean time, I'm going to continue to make the most of my time here.


SO... let's go save some more lives for seven more weeks. 
Let's have some fun and make some memories.