aLive @ Stage 4!

Edited to clarify -- My 19 year old son Jimmy was allowed to come, even though he is over the age of 18.  He could not come due to work scheduling conflicts.  My husband's name is also Jimmy.  My other son, David, age 15 at the time, did come, too.  Sorry for the confusion. I've posted a photo album on my personal facebook page with all of the photos from the trip.  Here's the link if you'd like to see them:  photos Little Pink Houses of Hope is a wonderful organization.  They provide week long retreats to breast cancer patients and their families.  From their website:  "Every beach retreat is designed to help families relax, reconnect and rejuvenate during the cancer journey."  We finally had a week when we could "get away from it all", and at the same time connect with other patients and families.  I was so excited when I got the word that our application had been approved!  Our retreat was held at Ocean Lakes Campground in Myrtle

Reason 1 to get on the treadmill:  Every time I see my cardiologist, she tells me she wants me to do some cardio, not just walking slowly and steadily, but interval -- alternating walking and running.  I can do that.  I've done that before.  I'm familiar with the Couch25K app.  Many times have I started ... and many times have I stopped, and gone back to old habits.  Now, my motivation here is to keep my heart healthy.  Believe it or not, my heart is healthy.  I have echocardiograms every three months that say so.  I have echocardiograms every three months because one of the maintenance medications I'm on is known to cause heart problems.  I'll be on this medication for the rest of my life, or until it stops working.  So, keeping my heart healthy is a priority. Reason 2 to get on the treadmill:  Those 20 odd pounds I lost during my summer of chemo have been sneaking back up on me.  I had gone down a size (had to buy all new clothes; yet another unexpected expense of c