Plog = Picture Only Blog

So.. Elder Kaufusi can't receive attachments so this is a special picture recap of this weekend just for him! And of course for the rest of your entertainment :)

Last thing, here's an article from LDS news:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/62113/BYU-women-overcome-challenges.html

Mentioned something about me and cancer at the end. Love you guys!! Have a safe and fun Spring! Until next time,

Love,
Alexis

Update on life...

Hello friends and family! Sorry it has taken me so long to blog about life. Things have just been so crazy lately. Between finishing up basketball season and taking 16 credits my life has been insane. But the madness is finally slowing down so I thought I would blog. So since I last blogged a lot has happened. We'll start with basketball...

Basketball season has come to an end! So sad I know. We had truly an amazing season though and I'm so thankful I was healthy enough to play a small role in this season. We ended up winning our Conference Tournament down in Las Vegas. That was definitely a high point of this season for me. Beating Gonzaga (after losing conference to them) was so much fun. And being able to cut down the nets was so much fun! Winning this tournament also meant that we would get an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. This is a goal that every team works towards all season. The past 3 seasons we have made it to the WNIT just falling short of the NCAA so it was nice to have that automatic bid in. We ended up playing DePaul in Chicago. It was such a good game! It had its ups and its downs but we ended up falling 4 points short. Even though our tournament run wasn't nearly as long as we expected it was an experience I will never forget. The NCAA tournament is a first class tournament and I will never forget how much fun it was. Its nice to now know what it feels like so we can work just as hard this next year. All in all, it was an amazing season. We went 26-7 beating some really good teams. Next season will be just as good if not better. I'll really miss the seniors Dani, Haley, and Riley. They have been such great leaders on the court! Thanks you guys!! Now, let the off season training begin!!

Next item of business... update on the Kaufusi family!

Well... I feel like so much has happened in my family lately! As mentioned in my previous blog Corbin has been called to serve a LDS mission in Seoul, Korea. He leaves May 16 and his farewell date is May 13 (Mothers Day) at 1:00. If you're interested in coming let me know via facebook, twitter, text, email, just however and I'll give you the address to our church. This Saturday is also the spring scrimmage for the BYU football team. Corbin is #66 and he will be playing in the scrimmage so come out and support him! I'll be there cheering loud so join me 12:00 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Bronson comes home July 24!!! His homecoming talk will be July 29 at 1:00 so mark your calendars. Its bittersweet summer if you ask me. One brother leaving, one brother coming home. On the bright side, the girls will be the majority in the Kaufusi household for a whole 2 and a half months which is rare.

Michelle is busy doing school board stuff. If i had known that this whole school board thing would interfere so much with our bonding time I wouldn't have let her do it! Just kidding she loves being on the school board and I'm glad she has something to give her a break from me. I can be a little overwhelming I guess, or so she says.

The big news of the month... Steve has been called to be a Bishop of a singles ward! Never thought I'd be the daughter of a bishop but hey, never say never. He's going to be such a great bishop. He works really well with the kids and loves being around them. I think it keeps him young to be honest. Balancing coaching and bishop might be hard but he can do it! It helps that Michelle is his wife :)

The twins... Nothing to say about those two. SIKE! Love me those twins. Daryl starts soccer soon which I cannot wait for! Something about yelling and cheering and getting kicked out of her games just makes my life so complete. GO UTAH FC! Dev is really skinny and tall. Its weird that he's so much taller than me now but hey, I still have a solid 60 lbs on him. I've never met anyone who eats oreos like this boy does. I'm talking like, 2 rows+ in one sitting! He's a growing boy thats for sure. Love my family!! They're amazing :)

Next item... Spring time events!

Spring is here in Utah, well most days. I can't get my hopes up with this warm weather because it snowed so bad the other day. But still! Somethings that I do during the spring time...

• BYU softball games! So my family is known for adopting people into our family. Our newest addition is my friend Jess. I've talked about her before. She's on the softball team here and BYU and well, she's kind of a big deal in the softball world. I never knew much about softball considering my softball career lasted a year in high school and well, it lasted a year for a reason. But Jess plays and I've learned so much! So go to a BYU softball game. I'll be there. There's three games this weekend. One Friday at 6:00 and two on Saturday at 1:30 and 3:30. They're way fun. Jess has been a good friend. We're in the same major and have a ton of the same classes. I would be doing so bad in school if it wasn't for her! Not only does she let me copy her notes from when I'm gone but she makes me study... something I've never been good at haha. So, Softball Games = Spring Activity

• BYU rugby games! Since Brons has been in NZ we have become more familiar with the game of rugby. Considering we are a big football family rugby is new and exciting. And BYU rugby is going on and they're one of the top teams in the nation. If you've never been to a rugby game go. They're fun! The weather is nice, there's a lot of action, a lot of the boys have NZ and South African accents (so attractive), and there's a lot of attractive polys there. Its a win win situation. So, check out some rugby games. 

• Some other spring activities I plan on doing...
• Hogle Zoo
• The new City Creek Center mall in SLC
• Hiking! (maybe more of a summer activity)
• Camping (in my back yard)
• Intramural soccer
• HUNGER GAMES! Team Gale, so over Peeta 
• Pick up basketball games, call me if you wanna play!
• Finding a job... tough one
• Spending time with Corbin
• Remodeling Bronson's room
• Playing lots of Rockband
• Oh... and School

Well... Thats about it. Quick update on my health. I finally am feeling strong guys! I kind of plateaued out for a few months but I'm finally back to getting more normal. This is probably the best I've felt in a long time. Stomach problems are now minimal. It helps knowing what foods now make me sick so I stay away from those. I've been really tired lately but I think its just because I am pushing myself because I'm feeling so much better. I love it! The tooth problems are still prevalent but hopefully those will be over next week when I go see my oral surgeon. Who knew chemo weakens the enamel of your teeth? I do now. I won't lie, I try not to think about my appointment. I know I should but hey, innocence is bliss and its time to have fun and not worry about the potential problems ahead until May 22. Love you all! Thanks for the prayer. One last thing, my cousin Hillary who has been one of my biggest supporters is pregnant with triplets! As exciting as this is its also very high risk so pray for her so we can get these babies here safe. Love you all. 

Love

Alexis 

Quick Life Update!

Well hello everyone! So much has happened in the past little while I thought it would be appropriate to give you all just a quick update on my life. As of right now I'm laying in my hotel room bed at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, WA. I can't seem to fall asleep so I thought I would use my time to blog to you all! So, here's a quick update on whats going on in my life...

Corbin got his mission call to Seoul Korea! Happy, yet sad to see this kid leave. We've really grown close over the past 2 years and its going to kill me to let him leave me. Especially to somewhere like Seoul Korea where dogs and cats are a part of the restaurant's menu. Beside the poor choice of food, I'm very excited for him! He goes into the MTC (missionary training center) on May 16. He's going to be a great missionary and will stand out immensely considering he is 6'9"

Bronson comes home July 24th! Sad to see one brother leave and the other return but I guess its all part of this thing called life and mormon culture. I know missions are good for them but I just hate sending my little boys away for 2 years!

Lady Antebellum Concert!! For all you that hate country music, shame on you! This Valentines day I went to the Lady Antebellum concert accompanied by Jess, Corbin, and our friend Mariah. It was such an AMAZING concert. I would advise all of you to listen to their music. They are great on my ipod and even better live.

Basketball... well everyone basketball season was great! We completed our last conference game tonight. We didn't get the win but it was a well fought battle. We lost to Gonzaga today and well to be honest they're a great team with some really great players. We fought hard and ended up taking second in our conference. This upcoming week starts the WCC Conference Tournament in Las Vegas! Wish us luck as we go to win the tournament with hopes of getting a bid into the NCAA tournament!

Steph got engaged! If you've been following my blog from day 1 you would recognize the name Steph. Steph is not only my teammate but one of my best friends who's been by my side through cancer and well, everything else the past 3 years. She recently got engaged to her lover boy Travis! They'll be getting married this June up in her motherland aka Canada. So guess who's going to canada once again??? ME! This time I hope my energy levels are a little better so I don't just sleep my days away. Congrats Steph and Trav!!

Random side notes in my life...

1. I hate the snow! So naturally it snows the second we get to Spokane. All I know is it better be nice weather in Provo.
2. New iPhone 4s next month! 
3. Summer job... Maybe something that allows me to work early mornings or nights? I need my days available for basketball. If you have any ideas let me know. 
4. I hate School! Good thing I graduate soon. 
5. Nordstroms closed in Orem today :( Now I have to drive clear up to either Draper or Salt Lake to get my clothes. Sad day for me.
6. I have this new odd obsession with this musical artist by the name of Ed Sheeran. I can't get enough of him. Seriously I know its bad when its pre game and instead of my usual pre game music I'm having a jam sesh to some Ed Sheeran over my normal 311.
7. Pinterest... New distraction in life! Love it to death, but it really does take up quite a bit of my time lately... oh well.
8. My Uncle Jason is now working at BYU! Bout time we get more Kaufusi boys down here.
9. I miss being bald so much lately!! Ugh... 

Well enough of my random blabbing about my life. I almost forgot, quick health update... No cancer appointments for like, 2 months??? What am I gonna do with myself?? Oh and the new "acid reflux stomach diet thing" is hard, but its helping as long as I follow it, along with lots of pepto and stomach medicine. Only thing that is going to take medical care is the same tooth that hopefully is getting removed on Monday. Hope you all are having a lovely February. I will keep you all up to date on how next weekend goes at the Conference Tournament. GO COUGARS!

Love, Alexis

Let the break continue!

Me, Tenley, and Shawna

Well...  I have some great news! Yesterday I spent the afternoon and into the night at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and well, I'm still healthy! Besides the usual stomach and tooth issues as of late, my cancer is still holding still. Theres still the one little flare up but it looks the same so let the fun begin! After meeting with Dr. Glen I feel so much better about everything. She said majority of people have it come back within the first 2 years, most of those people coming back in the first year. Praise the lord, I beat the first year! If I can stay healthy now throughout this next year my life expectancy goes up way high which is always a plus. As for the stomach issues. The biopsies came back clean. No cancer was found which is nice. They said I have some acid reflux issues and for whatever reason the sphincter that holds my food in. So while some people get a stomach ache and just are in pain or get heart burn, instead I just throw up everywhere. So to help I'm on a higher does of my medicine. I was also given a list of foods I should stay away from. Some of those things are chocolate, caffeine, carbonated drinks, any kind of mint, tomatoes, citruses, and dairy. Dr. Glenn said not to necessarily avoid all of these foods but to eat them minimally. So time to change up the diet even more. For the past few months I've been off red meat. It's been really easy except when I drive by In-N-Out. Then I realize how much I miss red meat after all. Oh well those things happen. Turkey burgers taste way better anyways! I talked with Dr. Glenn and we thought it would be ok for me to take a break from ALL cancer doctor appointments until after school and basketball wrap up. That means nothing until end of May/June. All I know is I'm going to sleep much better at nights not stressing about my check ups!

Amy, Tenley, Shawna, Mary, Gypsy Lady, Me

Along with my visit to the Huntsman I also stopped and visited my new hero Miss Tenley Wilson. I talked about Tenley in an earlier blog post but here's some more detail about her situation and my connection to her. Before my family relocated to Provo we lived up in Holladay, Utah (small area in SLC). One of Corbin's best friends was a boy named Taylor Cox. They played basketball, soccer, and baseball together so we became very close to Taylor's family over the years of sporting events. I would consider their family one of our closest family friends. Taylor's parents Neil and Mary were some of my parents close friends. After we moved we did our best to keep in touch but distance always creates some barriers as everyone knows. The Cox family has had some trials throughout their lives. Taylor's father Neil passed about a few years ago and as of recent Taylor's older sister Shawna has had two little girls of her own. Shawna's 2-year-old Tenley was recently diagnosed with AML (acute myloid leukemia). So once again we find ourselves close to the Cox family. Yesterday we stopped by their house and visited little Tenley. I've never seen such a cute little girl and with so much energy! She was all over the place. Running around with the dog, showing us books, going through pictures, and just from one place to the next never holding still. I think back to when I was sick and I would have done anything to have that energy! I could tell from when I saw her she was a fighter. She has a feisty little spirit about her that made me want to be just like her. Keep Tenley in your prayers though. I know she's going to beat this, I just wish she didn't have to go through it at such a young age.

Future Elder Kaufusi

Current Elder Kaufusi

Well there you have it! Break continues until after the semester and basketball. Some other exciting things are coming up though I think you'd all like to be aware of...

1. Corbin's mission call comes TODAY! (we think)
2. BYU spring football is around the corner... Corbin is playing in the spring ball game!
3. Tomorrow my team and I will take on Gonzaga! This is probably the biggest game of the season. Its Thursday the 9th, 7:00 at the Marriott Center. Come watch if you have nothing to do we need all the fans we can get for this one!
4. Tooth extraction maybe a bone graft? We will find out later this week. 
5. Valentines day... I don't have one... But I'll be enjoying the Lady Antebellum concert with Corbin, Steph, and Jess. 
6. Bronson comes home this July! Watch out ladies Provo's most eligible bachelor is coming home

Well those are top events I can think of. I'll keep you all updated on everything going on in my life as well as the Kaufusi family. Thank you for all your prayers. They are working!! Love you all and have an amazing February and Valentines day!

Love, 

Alexis 

PS... If you haven't ever been to ME Crepes in Provo, go now! Strawberries and Creme with ice cream is the BEST crepe ever! https://www.facebook.com/mecrepes

1 Year Anniversary! More like to the week of...

Well my dear friends and family, can you believe its been a year since I was first diagnosed?? Its hard for me to pin an exact day as to when I was diagnosed. It was kind of the entire month of February till March 1 that took the entire time to diagnose. Here's kind of a break down as to exactly how it all went down.

Feb 3: Initial CT Scan of neck
Feb 4: First surgery - biopsy and removal of a lymph nodeFeb 7: UVRMC diagnosis of Hodgkins Lymphoma
Feb 10: First visit to Huntsman Cancer Institute with Dr. Martha Glenn
Feb 11: Porsche joins the family!
Feb 17: PET scans and other CAT scans at Huntsman
Feb 22: Second Biopsy at University of Utah hospital.
Feb 25: Diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, large B-cell. Stage 3 (Huntsman)
Mar 1: Non Hodgkins T Cell Rich Cell, Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma, Stage 4 (Huntsman)


Its crazy that it took an entire month to get a proper diagnosis but patience is a virtue. As we've learned throughout this entire cancer adventure. So to celebrate the year mark of being diagnosed I started my day off by waking up at 6am. I then had breakfast with my team then we made our way home to Salt Lake City from where we were in LA. We had lunch as a team, practiced as a team, then I came home to where the real fun started. My entire house was plastered with pictures my mom had blown up of pictures of the whole cancer experience. There was also a three layer chocolate cake from Magleby's (my favorite) as well as my favorite dinner spaghetti and caesar salad. To top the night off my friends Steph, Jess (new to the crew) , Ashley, and Boo (Ashley's boyfriend) came over to help celebrate. As well as Eva and Todd Fisher (Ashley's parents). It was such a fun and special night. 


I can't believe it was exactly a year ago I got diagnosed and my entire life took a turn for the better. Better meaning even though it wasn't an ideal situation it was also good for me because I learned so much and grew up over the past year. This upcoming Tuesday is a big day. I go in for my check up. It will be a long day at the Huntsman Center filled with lots of PET scans, CT scans, blood work, and whatever other kind of torture they want to put me through. I will keep you all posted on the findings of the scans, blood work,  my stupid tooth, as well as the results of my stomach biopsy. You can be expecting a new post hopefully by Thursday or Friday. Love you all!


Love,
Alexis and Porsche

Update!

Well its been a while since I've blogged and a lot has happened in the past month... So here's a quick little update on my recent doings this January.

#1... ROCK BAND ... So for Christmas my mother purchased me the most amazing Xbox game ever. Rock Band. I've wanted Rock Band for a while but just never got around to purchasing it. So as a surprise Michelle got it for me. It might've been the best Christmas present ever that a 22 year old could have asked for. I've been trying real hard to focus on school and basketball but sometimes its just so hard especially when I have the greatest game ever waiting for me.

#2... BASKETBALL ... Basketball season is well on its way. We are almost half way through conference play right now. Our overall record is 18-3 and as of today we are ranked 23rd in the nation! This is a huge accomplishment for our team. Its been a fun season thus far and I can't wait for whats left. Last week we were in the lovely L.A. where Grandma Barb (Steph's Grandma) and my dear favorite Melia. It was so much fun to hang out with them after our game against Loyola Marymount. Our basketball trips have been such a joy. They have included lots of Fruit Ninja, Planking, and taking pictures of people sleeping! Such a fun season. Go Cougars!

Fruit Ninja Champion

#3... EL AZTECA ... So if any of you out there are fans of Mexican food I suggest you go to El Azteca. Its the best Mexican food in the state of Utah. Its located in Provo off of Bulldog and University Ave. Michelle's friend Carlos is the owner and he always has a way of making my day with his food. I'd recommend the fish tacos. Tropical is my favorite! And the California burrito. You can't go wrong with either. So after our win again Portland, Steve took us out to dinner at El Azteca. To make the win even better, Carlos made the most heavenly dessert just for my family. It was like a big cinnamon and sugar scone covered with homemade horchata ice cream, whip cream, and drizzled with some caramel. Seriously one of the most divine things that have ever entered my mouth. You need to go check it out!

#4... EMERGENCY ROOT CANAL ... So this weekend hasn't been the greatest weekend as far as my health goes. It was on Friday afternoon my tooth started hurting. The weird thing is it was a tooth that I had gotten a root canal on about a year ago. So I called the dentist but it was a little too late by the time I was done with basketball practice so I just went about my weekend not thinking much about my hurting tooth. Friday came and went, same with Saturday. It wasn't until Sunday that something happened. I had just walked home from speaking to the Primary and thought I'd eat some toast (I had been throwing up all morning) and some sprite. I bit down on the toast to experience probably the worst pain ever. I immediately started crying and screaming. Steve was home and hurried and called my dentist and well, Dr. Leishman is the greatest dentist ever! He took me in on a Sunday night and did an emergency root canal. Turns out my tooth had cracked and the infection had worked its way into my tooth where my root canal a year ago had taken place. So Doc drilled in, re did a root canal, put a temporary crown on, and sent me on my way. Next week I'll be seeing an endontist to finish it off and hopefully the tooth aches and pain will go away! So this all happened Sunday night...

(Original Root Canal Last Year)

Post Root Canal. Yay for Lortab!

#5... STOMACH BIOPSY ... Lastly was today's event. I had a stomach biopsy. It has by far been the easiest procedure yet! It was really simple. They knocked me out, looked around, took some of the inside out, and then I woke up and headed home. The Doc said the upper part of my stomach looked fine, but it was the bottom part that wasn't quite right. It is inflamed and very red so thats the part thats being double checked right now. I go back in on February 7th to meet with my cancer doctors and do the regular CT scans, PET scans, blood work, and on and on. Hopefully I get good results just like last time. Its amazing how fast the days go by and its time to go back into the world of cancer. But its just part of life and hopefully I can get a good report all over again.

Post-Op Activities...

Anyways, thats about it. Its been a crazy weekend! I'm now getting ready to leave for Seattle in the morning for basketball then again to Santa Clara over the weekend. The semester is going so fast right now its crazy. Anyways I love you all! I'll keep you all informed when I find out more and more. Thanks for all your love and prayers.

Love,

Alexis