Blog # 19

I am totally blown away at how God takes care of details! I shouldn't be!! He truly is a Master of details it is just hard to imagine that He does all this for me. And I guess if there is anything that I could share that truly should be shared is that He will do the same for you as well!!

When I arrived at the hospital they couldn't tell exactly what the tumor was doing. If it was in the bone, beside it, eating through it, or what. So for the first two days we heard so much good news and bad news it was hard to hold on emotionally. We did cry a lot because it would go from "we'll be able to take care of this" to "you may not make it through this". When they finally got through a 3hr long MRI and could tell exactly what was going on in there we found out that I wasn't going to need re-constructive surgery and that radiation would be all that was required. But, it just happened to require very precise radiation and they just happened to have the machine that I needed there at ST. Thomas. (There were only two in Nashville...the other was at Vandy) Then they shared that the tumor wasn't growing into the spinal column but around it (which is unheard of because tumors want to grow into the blood flow not away or around it) and it wasn't restricting any blood vessels. Also incredible!!! Because it was growing around the vertebrae there was no structural damage to the bone and that was there biggest concern because reconstruction of the C1-C2 vertebrae is so risky they want to do anything else they can before they try that.

Well when they were ordering my MRI, my oncologist on call came running back into the room to share that the neurosurgeon specialist for the area was on my floor and she had just ran into him and he said he would look at my films when they came out. She was so excited that he was there because he was the best in the area!! How awesome of God to have him waiting outside my door!!

So, I now know that I can radiate this horrible thing and I don't have to have reconstruction. They took me down to radiation and explained that it would require only one very concentrated dose of radiation and it would slowly break down the tumor over a period of two months. How incredible is that? They also learned through all the other scans that none of the other spots have grown and if we took care of this one tumor it would eliminate the immediate threat to my life. Again, wow!! God is Sooooooooooo AWESOME!!

The only downside to my visit was that several doctors asked me why I hadn't done anything yet with my ovaries. Apparently I really need them removed and all the estrogen they are producing even with the hormone inhibitors I am taking. That alarmed me a little. I asked as soon as a started again about that and I didn't get any concern showed at all. But as soon as I get into the hospital every doctor I saw said it would stop the growth immediately if I had them removed!! Needless to say I am scheduled to have them removed on the 3rd of September.

I am being very calm relating these events to you all now, but it was not the case as it happened. It is so good to be home and doing what I can to fight this cancer the way that I know will work! Every one of the doctors recommended Chemo and every one of them said there was no guarantee it would help, but it would eventually kill me. Then what is the point? They all said that taking my ovaries out would stop the growth immediately, yay! So let's just start with that and let me get back to my oxygen treatments and all natural remedies. I know they work! I have seen it work!! And you know what? I totally believe that it is what has kept all the rest of my spots at bay. And I truly believe that the tumor at the base of my skull grew because of the estrogen in my body. How like the Father to take care of that for me and let me know what I needed to do to stop the growth so I can kill the rest of this horrible stuff in my body!!

Yeah, it is really good to be home! :)

Blog # 18

It has been hard to sit at the computer and type so it has taken me a while to be able to blog. But, I am feeling so good today, and I'm sure I will be feeling this good and better from now on, that blogging can be back in my routine once again. It's nice to be able to let everyone know what's been going on and how to pray.

I gave a brief description of what happened and how I ended up in the hospital. So I just wanted to let you know what's happened since then. The hospital stay was long and very difficult. I hurt beyond description when I would sit up or stand so they kept me on strong pain meds during the first half of the week. Every test and scan I would have to slide from bed to bed and using the bathroom was extremely painful. But after the radiation it slowly started to reduce the pain. After two days I could walk to the bathroom and sit in the shower! I can't tell you how wonderful that was!! By the time I hit one week of being in the hospital (2 1/2 days after radiation) I could roll over on my side without crying! I was crying from sheer joy at that point and thanking God for His incredible provision!! By Monday I knew I was going home and I couldn't stop smiling or thanking God. It felt like I was released from prison!

Being at home was a little harder than expected. I had a hard time getting in and out of bed and the pain meds kept me pretty loopy and nauseous. So a week of readjusting and I was starting to get back into a routine of healthy food and vitamins and herbs. Literally my body started to detox again. It wasn't pleasant. But after two hyperbaric dives I feel soooo much better, I can't wait to see what I am going to feel like on Friday!!

I am going to sign off and fill you in more later. I just wanted to fill in some gaps. On my next blog we will discuss what's going on inside of me. :)

Blog : # 17

My trip to the emergency room. I just wanted to give an account of what happened to me this past week. My brother and family came to visit this past week and we were having so much fun!! With games, late nights and then a trip to the creek. We had a blast as you can see from the pics my brother and niece put on facebook. But, by the time I got home I was in some serious pain. I was assuming that I just dislocated a vertebrae or pulled a muscle. So I was icing and heating and taking pain pills, but to now avail. By the time my brother left Friday morning I was bed ridden. I was hoping there would be some improvement by Saturday, but there wasn't so I called the hospital and told them I was headed in. I got up to take a shower and the pain was more than I could handle. I felt the fading coming over and screamed for Patsy. She came running in and was able to catch me as my knees buckled under me. She called my husband and he was there within six minutes.

Weird things happen when you have something like that happen. I had Patsy cover me with towels and had her call the boys in so I could tell them that I loved them. It was right scary to not know exactly what was going on and it dealing with my neck scared the phooey out of me.

Needless to say, Ben got home and helped me get dressed and to the van and off to the hospital we went. It was very painful but the drugged me up when I got there and soon transferred me to Saint Thomas. From there it was test after test after test. One MRI was three hours long!! Talk about pain! But the end results were worth it.

My tumor isn't restricting the blood vessels, it hasn't degraded the vertebrae and they will be able to radiate it and give me relief so I can go home. As soon as I get out of the hospital I will be doing a full detox and going in overdrive with oxygen therapy. I can't wait to get back on shcedule!!

I will try to update again as soon as possible!!