Post OP Update

Met with surgeon today to check progress of surgery, possibly pull drains and get pathology report from surgery. Pathology report showed that after chemo my tumors had been significantly reduced in my lymph nodes and breasts. The left side has been diagnosed as Stage 1 with 1 lymph node out of 13 removed showing signs of having had cancer. (I can't remember how that's worded because at the moment I can't find my paperwork, but that's the jist of what he said.) The right side has been diagnosed as Stage 2B with 1 lymph node out of 11 removed showing signs of having had cancer. So good news!

Drains were not able to be pulled today because there's still too much fluid being drained. It looks like I have a small hematoma on the left side that's taking longer to drain. I will go back to the doctor Friday morning to see if by chance the right side can get pulled. The doctor will be out of town next week, so I won't be able to pull the other side until after he gets back. So another possible week-and-a-half with drains. Sad :( but I had a good attitude about it. He thought everything looks really good though.

He said I could try to do some stretching exercises. Not anything to extensive but it will help with physical therapy in a couple weeks. He explained that as things heal, the skin will get pretty tight and my back will start to bow forward and look rounded; hence the need for physical therapy.

I am going to try and do more things this week. I still can't lift more then 5 pounds but I'm sure I can find some things to do to be helpful. I take long walks each night that feel so good. I love the smell of the orchard and freshly cut hay fields. My hair is starting to grow again and so are my eyelashes. Yay! Extrememly grateful for the many prayers in my behalf and how good I'm feeling thus far.

Rebecca returns Home

  Rebecca is now home and is adjusting very well since the surgery on Monday.  She spends most of her day resting to allow her body to heal itself.  She suprisingly has been able to take Ibuprophen alone to control her pain.  Her spirits are really good and her smile is back.

Shad

Post Surgery Update

Yesterday Rebecca had her double mastectomy surgery.  She started surgery prep at 12:45 and was delivered into her recovery room at 6:00pm.  She was able to rest most of the night but did struggle with nausea.  She did discover that she loves Dilaudid (pain med), it worked very well for her.  :)  She met with Dr. Droesch this morning and he only had good things to say about the surgery and her recent 12 hours of recovery.  Several Lymph nodes were removed during surgery to be reviewed by a couple of pathologists and those results will be available early next week.  She is in good spirits and is doing very well.  The plan is for her to go home tomorrow morning.  I'm impressed at how strong and of course beautiful she is as she goes through these challenges.  It is incredible to see all the little miracles occuring all the time.  She has the most amazing doctor and the nurse she had last night was heaven sent, because of the wonderful care she gave my wife (she too had the same surgery 18 months ago and so could relate to my wifes discomforts).  We have felt your prayers and I know our Father in Heaven has heard them as well because of all the wonderful things that have happened in the past 24 hours. Thank you and I will be sure to send one more update in the next day or two.

Shad

Surgery Schedule Today

Todays surgery check-in time is 12:15. I was told to plan on 8 hours from the time they wheel me away to when I wake up. I'm guessing it'll be shorter then that.

People ask how I'm doing and I say good, because I really am. I don't sit and dwell on what's happening because if I do I can get sad really fast. I figure there's no point in sadness before surgery; let's save that for after because I'm sure I'm going to have a hard time tonight. Because of that, I'm asking for NO Visitors tonight. I'd like it to just be Shad and I.

I'm asking with humble heart for your prayers in my behalf this week. Strength to endure and healing will be in my prayers as well as all who will care for me and my family. I think I'm most worried about the mobility of my arms. How quickly that will come back. I already have problems with the numbness and tingling now, what will the surgery add to that?

In my mind I was thinking I'd be down for a week and come back strong but after some studying and reading, I realize it may be much longer then that. I will be a fighter in this, so we'll see how long it takes.

It's going to take many people to help my family get through this. To all of you reading this, praying for us and helping us in so many ways, please know how much I Love You! I could not do this today without all of you. My heart is very full going into surgery.

I will not be able to type on this for a while. I will try to teach Shad today how to put updates on here so it won't be weeks without you knowing what's going on. See Ya On the Other Side of Surgery!! :)

Shout Out to Uncle Mark

I need to put a Shout to my Uncle Mark. Apparently, he drove all the way to Washington just to see me before my surgery. Not really, but I know he would have because I'm his Favorite Niece!!

Why Didn't the Angel Just Take Him Out?

DISCLAIMER: I Did Not Write This but I love what she said and how she said it. Attached below is the link to this ladies blog. (I deleted the picture of her daughter, Jane.)

http://lessonsofamother.blogspot.com/2015/07/why-didnt-angel-just-take-him-out.html

Why Didn't the Angel Just Take Him Out?

I read Jane the story of Daniel in the lions' den tonight. When we got to the part where the angel appears and shuts the lions' mouths she asked, "Why didn't the angel just take him out?"

Don't we all ask God that question sometimes?
"Why aren't you taking me out of this situation?"
"Why aren't you taking away this illness?"
"Why aren't you fixing this problem or this relationship?"
"Why aren't you answering my questions or taking away my doubts?"
... I KNOW YOU CAN! Isn't that faith? And isn't faith supposed to produce results?

So Jane presents a valid question. If Daniel was a man of great faith, and faith produces miracles, why didn't the angel just take him out of the lions' den? He could have.

Because if he did, Daniel would have missed the whole experience of being IN the lions' den but not being eaten alive.

He would have known God's power to deliver him FROM difficulty, but he wouldn't have experienced God's power to deliver him IN difficulty. That's a whole different level of power and requires a whole different level of faith.

There was not just a single lion in that den. There was a whole group of lions ready to rip Daniel apart, but his faith was sufficient and God's power was sufficient that none of them got a single bite. 

At times in our lives we feel like we've been thrown to lions, lots of them, all ready to eat us. But instead of spending our energy wondering why God isn't taking us out, we can step back and realize, "I'm not being eaten alive in here... even though I should be. Somehow I'm going to come out of this alive." Then look around and see God's angels who are holding back your lions...

...At times I've begged to just be taken out of this. But look at what I would have missed! I would have missed the angels, on this side of the veil and the other, who have literally held back the lions' jaws. I would missed a deeper relationship with God and I would have missed the person I've become. 

So take another look at your lions, and be grateful for them. When you experience deliverance IN the lions' den, suddenly your faith and trust rise to a whole new level, one that never would have been possible had you just been delivered FROM it. 

Quick Update of Events

I realize I haven't posted in a long time and many things have happened, but typing right now is hard for me to do.  One of the symptoms of my last chemo is tingling and numbing of my hands and feet which makes it difficult to do things that require little movements with my fingers and toes. I mess up typing a lot because I can't feel the keys and where I'm at on the keyboard. Hopefully that will come back with time but the doctor said he can't promise that it'll all come back. For this reason I will just list things that have happened or will happen in the next couple months.

June 22 - Last chemo treatment. Exciting but nervous at the same time because I could still feel the tumors and didn't know what that meant for later. I took Rachael, my oldest child with me, and she ran errands for me as I went through the first part of my treatment. My sister surprised us with Costa Vida for lunch and the nurses sang to me and gave me a bottle of Sparkling Cider to celebrate; and No, it wasn't "Sheffield Cider." We need to get them a bottle so they can taste the difference. :)

June 24 - Received Genetic Testing Results. I forgot to mention anything about that. At the beginning of all this, I had some Genetic Testing done to see if this ran in my genes and could possibly pass it on to my kids and/or siblings. They ran a huge panel and it came back negative. Great News!! My body just likes to grow Cancer.

July 9- Pet scan. I was told I couldn't do any activities for 48 hours before the scan. Just sit. If you know me, that's hard to do but I did find a project to keep me sitting. I typed up recipes for Rachael's cookbook for college.

July 13 - Met with Dr. Gamboa for Pet scan results. Tumors have shrunk significantly in size and cancer hasn't spread. Continue plan to have surgery and radiation. More Great News!! Start Leuprolide injection, which blocks the release of estrogen in my body. I receive this every 3 months until my ovaries are removed. Start taking Anastrozole every day for the next five years. Both of these are hormone therapies. Anastrozolel fights cancer. These both have many side effects that I will have to watch for. Some hard to tell since they mimic the chemo side effects I already have, like hair loss, bone pain and weight gain. Lovely :(

July 17 - Met with Dr. Droesch to schedule Double Mastectomy. Monday, July 27th is the big day. I wanted to do it next week but he has to leave town for an adoption and he doesn't want to leave me under another doctors care right after surgery. I was told from start to finish it would take about 8 hours. I should expect to stay in the hospital for 1-2 nights, he's guessing two because it's a double mastectomy and wants me to be able to manage my drains well before I leave. Drains usually stay in 5-10 days. After healing, I will need physical therapy for my arms.Radiation can start 4 weeks after surgery.

I got ambitious and tried to get some projects done before surgery and school starting. I fell painting the kids rooms and hurt my arm pinning it between the slats on the kids bunk beds. People ask, why didn't you call? Because it started out as one of those little projects just switching the boys and girls room. We emptied the rooms and I realized it would be much nicer if I just hurried and painted the walls and ceilings, not taking into account I'm not really stable on my feet right now. Long story short, the rooms are done and my arm is not broken, just really sore wrist.

My endurance is coming back slowly but I've been told that radiation will wipe me out. We'll see. :) I would rather be tired from pushing myself then sitting all day. I know next week will be hard emotionally and physically but grateful to be this far. One week to get ready for Stage 2. Bring it on. The closer it gets to New Years the better.