Part 1: The Strength Beneath the Pink

Part 2: Releasing Vanity

Part 3: Beneath the Beautiful

Part 4: The Red Savior

Part 5: Story of her life

For updates, follow her story on Facebook

To help, visit: Care for Lyndsie

To become her friend, she created a page just for all of you. Just ask here

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Well here we are again. The last time we all got together to check in on Lynds, we were shaving her head!  At that point, Lyndsie had cut her hair and it started to fall out. She decided that she did not want to go through that, so she decided to shave it.  During that point in her treatment, she had been going to Chemotherapy every Wednesday. She was doing the more “gentle” Chemo at that point, getting ready for what is nicknamed the “Red Devil”.  Her husband decided in fact it should be named the “Red SAVIOR”, for it would be the last type of Chemo given to Lyndsie to shrink her tumor before her double mastectomy. It could in fact save her life.

Well I am here to report there is good news.  1. Lyndsie prayed to God to not take her hair.  She had some serious hair. She knew that of course she’d rather be bald than sick, but she prayed it would hang on. When it started to thin, she accepted it and shaved it. It was sort of a “re-beginning” she would go on to say in her “loopy Lyndsie” posts we have all grown to laugh at.  Well, now she’s the one laughing. When the doctors told her she would be totally bald then loose her eyelashes, etc.,  by the end of the 12 weeks of her first type of chemo, her hair started to GROW BACK! No joke.  So she’s laughing, saying that God said “see Lyndise, I told you to trust me.” Shows us humans :). 2.  Her tumor is shrinking. At her doctors appointment, which you will see in the video, he said it’s smaller. Not only did he say so, the mammogram she would later have, said so as well. Praise God.  3. Lyndsie is happier than ever.

Here is a video of my day with Lyndsie.  This day shows her first day getting the Red Devil (Savior) type of Chemo.  This type of Chemo is MUCH stronger.  She was pretty nervous.  With her first round, she had an allergic reaction and her airway closed up, making it an eventful…to say the least…first round.  She’d gone through 12 weeks tough as nails, so why would she be any different. And she wasn’t.  With the first 12 weeks, because of her reaction, she was given tons of IV benadryl along with other allergy, pain, etc meds. This is where the Loopy Lyndise posts were born. She would sit there in hours of Chemo, and write all of us crazy Facebook followers and sound, well, on drugs lol. As she was. Small disclaimer here. I came up with the loopy Lyndsie term, I will have you know :).

Well, with this type of Chemo, she was not given all the pre-drugs. I had this WHOLE shoot planned. She was gonna be ALL sorts of goofy and I was going to video the WHOLE loopy Lyndsie post. It was going to be HILARIOUS. The thing is, she never got loopy. Actually, it was FAST! I was SHOCKED! Well the day was not fast but the Chemo was. Just a few hours.

When I arrived, I met her, her hubby and sis in the waiting room. I’d been hanging onto a love gift I’d gotten for her for making my sons birthday cake. She’s a for real pastry chef. Amazing.  It was a glass locket containing each birth stone of everyone in her family, as well as a charm that said hope.  So she opened it and put it on. As I looked at her beautiful self, she looked as if she didn’t belong there. She’s young. She’s strong. She had an entourage of people with her (her sis, hubby and myself). Her mom was at home being an EXTREMELY important grandmother to her little kiddos. She told me how hard it was to not be there with HER baby. But Lyndsie needed her more to be there for hers.  So as I looked around, the room was full of some VERY sick people. Let’s  be honest, it was pretty horrifically sad. Like a horrible movie. Depressing.  There were many people there waiting to get Chemo who really could have used a big giant hug.    I tried to not stare, knowing many in that room had loved ones at home that would probably not have them around for much longer. Again, praise God for putting a healing hand so far on Lyndsie.

We walked back and they took her blood out of her port to make sure her white blood cell count was up. It was. So on she went. After her blood draw, we went to a different part of the hospital  to see her doctor for a checkup before she started her new treatment. Like I said, it was fast, the tumor was shrinking, and she’s amazing. Next,  back to get her Chemo treatment.  We walked down the halls, past person after person getting their Chemo treatment, fighting to save their lives.  Here’s the thing with Lyndsie.  She had not thought about death until a few days before I saw her at the hospital this time.  One day she was driving and it finally crossed her mind.  Then she cried. Then the thought left. It’s not an option. That’s the thing with her. She’s a fighter. Cup half full. It’s worked. She’s kicking cancers ass.

Before I forget. You know what she does when she gets home after EACH chemo session????  SHE RUNS! Like as in RUNNING. Yeah. Crazy. She’s amazing.  Another random fact…that big sign you see on her RED chemo…means don’t get it on your skin or it will eat it away like the plant on Little Shop Of Horrors. But yet it’s being injected directly into her blood stream. Insane.

During her Chemo I asked one of her amazing nurses about her treatment and what to expect. I cut out the part about peeing red lol.  Figured we didn’t need ALL that info ;).

Here are some highlights of my visit with Lyndsie. Until next time.  Which will be in a few weeks, then, at her double mastectomy operation.  Make sure to turn it up there are parts that may be kinda quiet.  Thank you God for this gift of photography. It’s brought me to meet a new best friend.

 

Feel free to leave her some love on here. She’s reads each and every note.

Lyndsie Part 4 from Emily Lucarz Photography on Vimeo.

 

 

 

I love you and your entire family, my new dear friend. xoxoxoxo to the moon and back, Emily