20 Minutes and Counting

Leave it to me to wait until the last minute! As many of you know, I am off to Ecuador today. For those of you who don't know, sorry about the last minute surprise. Just keeping things interesting here.

After my last scan that showed the cancer had spread to my lungs, I had heard about a holistic doctor in Ecuador from one of my friends that I met at Hippocrates. She had gone down to see him for six weeks and had really good results. Having an adventurous side, I thought why not. No one will ever accuse me of not tyring everything. I booked my ticket and have been anticipating this day for a while now.

I would have talked about it earlier but to be honest I think I have been a little bit in denial. Throwing the benefit for Erica really kept my mind off of this trip. The details are a little bit of a mystery right now. I know the doctor works out of his house so it is not a fancy facility or program. My friend Julie will be overlapping her trip with mine by one day so she will show me the ropes before she returns to the states. I am set to return on Nov 6th if all goes well. At this point I am just trusting life and my gut instincts and going for it. If I don't like it I can always come home early.

I am not going to lie. I am scared. Not of the doctor or the treatment but more of the time lost with my family, friends and Ryan. I do have a really positive attitude, but I am also realistic. If this doesn't work then I miss out on 6 weeks when I could have been here with all of you. Life is fleeting, especially for a cancer patient. (Please don't make any comments like, "don't think that way and you can do it..." BLAH BLAH BLAH!) I still make my own diagnoses everyday and believe in my heart that I can beat this but no one really knows what will actually happen. It is all a mystery -- similar to this trip I am about to take. Caring friends have been asking lots of questions for the last three weeks and to be honest I made up half of them to make them feel better about me going. I am definitely rolling with the punches. You have to admit, it is pretty exciting? When is the last time you just got on a plane and had no ides where you were headed. It should be interesting so stay tuned. I plan on writing as often as possible and I will be checking my e-mails as often as I can, so don't be shy. I also have unlimited texting on my phone so I can text for free. Can't wait to tell you all of the stories. Sending Big Love to all,

Kristine