Dear Friends and Family,

If any of you are still checking this site then my hat (wig) is off to you. You are obviously blessed with an abundance of forgiveness and perseverance. I have been very negligent regarding this blog, sorry. I will consider this my final entry and an opportunity to wrap up the year.

Our family is doing well after this challenging year. The loss of Dad Cutri was our biggest hurdle and one that many of you have already endured. Though we all miss Dad very much, we are at peace knowing that he no longer has to suffer. I learned so much from Dad's passing. It brought out the best in Dad as he graciously and lovingly said his goodbyes to us all. And it reaffirmed my belief that my husband is a wonderful man and son. I firmly believe that Dad is up in heaven watching over us all. Alex has recently gotten very encouraging news regarding his art work and future projects. Alanna's boyfriend, Mike, is on the last leg of interviews leading to a new job that will afford him the opportunity to go to college and secure a future career. I'm sure Dad has had a hand in both of those developments.

I have finished my radiation treatments. They were much more invasive than I anticipated but they are over and I am healing. I have a PET Scan Jan. 6th. It will prove that I am just fine then they will remove my port and I will truly be finished with the treatment phase. My hair has started to come back - it's about an inch long and growing in the most comical directions. But I can't get too upset about it - relatively speaking it just isn't that important.

I want to thank all of you for your support this year. I have been humbled by the love and best wishes that my family and I have received. As we all face the New Year together please know that I wish you all strength to survive the tough times and perspective to know that the rough moments are fleeting. Cultivate and nourish the relationships you choose to fill your lives because in the end, as we all know, that is what matters. I will strive to live my life productively with less judgment and more of an open heart. I wish each of you a Happy New Year.

Love,
Dianne

Hi Everyone,

It seems as though once again I am starting off with an apology for not being more diligent with my blog entries. It has been a very busy month.

My dear sweet father-in-law passed away on October 4th. He had a rough battle with prostate cancer and the last few weeks were brutal. Of course, we were all heart-broken to see him go but so ready to see his suffering end. We were all lucky to have enough time to tell him how we felt about him and he said all his good-byes to us, as well. His spent his last few days at Lifepath Hospice House in Ruskin- they are a wonderful organization. Frank was with him when he took his last breath and it was a very peaceful ending to a love-filled life. We had a Memorial for him yesterday. It was a large gathering of friends and family and a fitting tribute to Dad.

On a happier note, my mother is doing better. Alanna and I went to Indianapolis for 5 days to visit her, Dad and the rest of my family. She is doing better than I expected and I think our visit was helpful. We still have issues to deal with regarding her health but that is just how life is for everybody. We all face challenges and just do the best we can with each new situation.

I have finished my first week of radiation. It is a breeze when compared to chemo. As the weeks progress I will start to have more skin reactions but for now- all is good.

I hope you are all well and happy and productive. Spend as much time as you can with people you care about. Love, Dianne

Hello All,

My plan was to wait until I started radiation before my next blog entry but since I still haven't started I will bring you up to date. I have had my preliminary appointment with the radiation team to take measurements. I still have to get the tatoos ( not as glamorous as it sounds) which will be the targets for the radiation beams. I was hoping to have already started the radiation treatments by now but nothing runs as planned with this disease. Unfortunately, my mom's health has taken a turn for the worse and I am going to put off radiation to go home and visit my family. As soon as I return I will start the treatments.

I have been very busy trying to reclaim my former self. I exercise at least 2 hours a day - there is nothing more pathetic looking than a white, middle-aged, bald woman doing African and Latin dancing ( Zumba class). I am also taking Pilates, Yoga, Step and Weight Lifting classes. I have cut my calories to about 1200 a day with less than 30 grams of sugar. So you would think that I would have lost at least ONE pound... but NOOOOOO. Can you tell that I am a bit frustrated by it? A doctor friend told me that often the chemo treatments affect the thyroid in such a manner as to almost shut down your metabolic rate so that it is very hard to lose weight. He said eventually it will even out again. More evidence that god has a wicked sense of humor. No real progress on the growing hair front either. I think I am supposed to be learning patience but it certainly isn't my forte.

Frank's dad continues to deteriorate so please continue to pray for him and my mom. Please, take care of yourselves. Thank you all for caring about me and my family.

Love, Dianne

Okay, I think we can all agree that I am a terrible blogger. I guess I am not as selfish as I feared because I find it very boring to just write about myself. It seems like such a self-absorbed endeavor. But I appreciate that you care about me so let me update you on the latest.

I have recently finished my LAST Chemo treatment. HOORAY! Soon I will start what I believe will be 7 weeks of radiation 5 days a week. But I have a firm belief that radiation will be a piece of cake compared to chemo. And speaking of cake - I am excited to be able to get back to working out 6 days a week and hopefully losing a few pounds and getting back into shape. I have missed my daily workouts. My chemo doctor said that my hair should start growing in about 3 weeks after my last chemo so I am really anticipating hair and eyelashes and eyebrows and all those things I always took for granted.

Frank and the kids are doing great. Alanna and I are wrapping up our swim season. With Alanna's help I managed to survive the summer and service my clients. Alex is still working at Outback and is starting to work on some new art projects as well. He is a very gifted artist- check out his website http://digitalcutti.deviantart.com/. Frank and I are beginning to book more performance gigs for the fall/winter season. That is a very good thing. The economy has hit our business very badly in the last few years and we are hoping for a busy season.

Frank's mom is doing very well and has decided not to have surgery for her breast cancer. She has been taking medication which has shrunk the tumor to the point where it is barely discernible. Considering her age and poor heart and diabetes I think she has made the right decision. Frank's dad, on the other hand, is doing very poorly and wasting away from us on a daily bases. Hospice comes in to help 3 times a week and they are a god-send. Please remember Dad in your prayers.

I would love to hear from those of you who still check in to my blog. I want to know how you are doing and what is new in your life. Thanks again for all of your good wishes and prayers. I truly believe the worst is behind me and I am anxious to reclaim my "normal" life. Love and happiness to you all. Dianne

Hospital updates and video post

Hi Everyone,
I apologize for not keeping up with my blog. Life has been a bit hectic lately. My mom ended up in the hospital when her heart rate dropped to as low as 25 beats per minute. I was surprised that you could still be conscious with that low of a heart rate. But they installed a pacemaker and she is doing great now. The next day we took Frank's dad to the hospital where they are treating him for a UTI and lower intestine infection.

Relatively speaking I am doing just great. I only have 2 more chemos to go and then it is on to radiation treatments.

Alanna and I put together a video of some of our students. I think you should get more out of seeing their smiling, swimming faces than reading my drivel so enjoy. Love, Dianne

Hi Everyone,
Happy Independence Day! All is well here. Frank is on a much-needed vacation in Syracuse for about 12 days. It is very quiet around here without him. I went to an aerobics class last Thursday and today (Saturday) and I went grocery shopping - so, as you can see, I really am doing well. The new chemo treatments (Taxol) are much easier on me except for the leg pains. Now that I don't have to waste time shaving my legs or washing my hair I am doing more reading and I am going to try and get to the gym as often as possible. It is hot and humid here and pretty rainy too. The Tribune ran a story about our survival swim lessons and I hope that will motivate more people to sign up. The economy still sucks here so business has been off. I go in for another chemo this Thursday - 3 more to go. Hope you all have a nice long weekend. Love, Di

Hi Everybody,
I just had my 5th chemo session today. I'm hoping it will be easier now that I am just taking Taxol...

I am sick to death of talking about myself, so I thought I would share some photos instead. This is just a collection of random events.

Last week, Alanna and I did an interview and photo shoot with the Tampa Tribune about Infant Swimming Resource. It will run on the front page of the Brandon section on June 23rd, 2010. See below for photos taken by Alanna with our new underwater digital camera. A few of them will probably be featured in the newspaper article. Next week we will post the video of some of our current students that we are editting now .

I hope you are all doing well and I love hearing from you. Stay safe and happy.

Love,
Dianne

Cocktail Party at our house with some of our favorite people. February 2010
Di, Jeanne and J'Lene at weekend get-away on Marco Island. September 2009
Mike and Alanna at Grandma and Grandpa's party. April 2010
Fran and Frank at their party. April 2010
Fran, Frank and Frank Sr.

Alex, Alanna and Mike at Frank's Birthday Dinner. March 2009
Alanna and Penny (impersonating a 'purse dog') goofing around. June 2010
Miss Dianne's student, Macee, swimming to the steps during our Tampa Tribune interview/photo shoot. June 2010




Miss Dianne donned her new wig for the photo shoot.
Miss Alanna with her student, Evan. June 2010

Dianne (ISR Instructor) and Alanna (ISR Student) on Bonita Beach. 1987