Rain

Is it raining or am I just crying too much? It feels like it's raining and I haven't begun to save for a rainy day. Right now I am all over the board. We had a fantastic weekend at the beach over Labor Day weekend. I came back rested and relaxed. Wednesday morning I went to my 6 week follow up appointment with my gynecologist. I spent 40 minutes in the waiting room, 30 more in the exam room and 20 minutes visiting with the doctor. He found that the cysts on  my left ovary were the combined size of an orange. The right was so far away that he could not see much but indicated that if the cysts were large, we would be able to see them. OK, so a black and white sonogram is not enough information to determine if they have cancerous cells, but if they did have prominent cancer cells, the cysts would have white spots on them and we did not see any of those. Bottom line option - remove the entire system and jump start me into early menopause. Ug! It's like I was walking and slammed up against the sliding glass door. OK, so maybe not as painful, but close. I had almost an out of body experience when I left the office. I knew what he told me and I understood what needs to happen, but not ready to say 'let's do this.' My doctor said I can come back in 4 weeks to get him to take a look again to see if they are going to reduce in size but if they are not smaller, then we will schedule surgery. I know it is inevitable that this surgery was going to happen, but I did not expect it so soon.

On a positive note, Madison's soccer season starts this weekend. She is playing with the same group from last season. If you are in the Round Rock area and have an hour to spend out at the soccer fields, come see her play. Here is a link to her schedule. You can find directions to the fields at Voigt elementary school. She is a little more focused this season and has learned that picking the flowers or grass on the field is not allowed. However, when the game is over, she is welcome to pick the flowers and take them home. I told her this on the way home today from practice and she was proud of herself for not picking the flowers during practice. Perhaps lunch at Niki's pizza is in store as a treat for her after the game this weekend. And a trip to Goodwill to pick out a fancy vase for her flowers. 

I love your guts!

Movin' on up

I am on my way to the top. Surgery was successful last Monday to remove the mass and no indications of cancer in the lymph nodes. I will see my surgeon for post-op on Tuesday, March 13, to get all the pathology details. The results will be reviewed in depth with my oncologist on March 19 to discuss next steps.


I am not alone on this journey and could not have made it this far without tremendous support from family and friends. It is times like this that the words 'thank you' do not seem like enough. Without each prayer, positive thought and helping hand, this journey would be very difficult for me to stay positive. I appreciate my family and friends that reached out with a nice note, open arms or a funny joke to make me smile. Each of you in your own way has made these last couple of months bearable. 


Today I am up and moving around almost at 100%. The stitches are healing and soon I will have scars that remind me how tough I am and the power of prayer. I know many I will never meet that prayed for me to fight a good fight and it humbles me to know many more that will need this same strength. 

Even though I am getting closer to see the summit of this mountain set before me, I am strong in faith to know that He does not give me more than I can manage. When I am weak, He will carry me. When I am strong, I will climb to the top to feel the sun on my face and the wind at my back. Let's go to Brazil in February 2013!


I love your guts!