Upped Meds

So I went in for my first round of shots last week and my second round today. I think those are some of the easiest shots! Dr upped my meds. My hives are somewhat better but my whelps come & go. I am going to start my new meds after Thanksgiving since they will make me drowsy. He said these are pretty strong and will make me sleepy and not want to get out of bed. I am concerned about that part because I seem to stay tired most of the time anyways. I will get my last round next Friday then begin weekly shots. This 3 week period will boost me to the level that an average person gets in 6 months. Needless to say I am ready for some relief.

Something New

Allergic to heat

Allergy test (everything whelphed because of the dermographism)

Dr played tic tac toe on my back

On Wednesday I went to the Allergist for an ongoing recurrence of hives and whelps on my skin. When I do simple things in life I notice that my skin whelps very easily. An example is when I play with my dog. He will jump from time to time and when his paws touch my skin I get a huge whelp on my arm. A normal person would receive a light scratch and mine looked like he viciously clawed me. I was beginning to wonder if I was developing a severe allergic reaction to dogs. Also one night Bryan rubbed my shoulders and arms and almost instantly I broke out in hives & whelps in the areas he massaged.
The dermatologist told me that I needed to get allergy tested so off to the doctor I went! The doctor had a med student and nurse in the room with me. He decided to play tic tac toe on my back...yes tic tac toe! So he reached in his jar and pulled out on of those dreaded sticks they gag you with to look at your throat. He drew the board, x's & o's, and began to talk to me. He immediately said its obvious that I have a skin condition. He put my shirt down and began to talk to me. About a minute passed he said I was prob a 2+ for the condition I have. About another minute after that I was a 4+ plus. I figured it was no big deal because in my head the scale was from 1-10 but....it was from 1-4! I felt pretty awful thinking ok so now something new is wrong with me but he kinda perked me up a bit! He asked me if he could take a picture of this because it was a perfect example of this condition. So he pulls out his iphone and began taking pictures. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point haha! He texted me the photo above.
I was diagnosed with dermographic urticaria. I will be treated with shots (rush immunotherapy)and two one a day daily medications. Basically he says he can control this condition so hopefully it will be no concern to me in the near future. I will be taking Allegra in the morning and Zyrtec at night for the allergies. Basically I will go to him in 3 visits to receive 7 shots, 7-10 days between each visit, then begin weekly shots. The first three visits will be within the next 21-30 days and it will produce an outcome of what an average person gets in 6 months.
I have to say I wanted to tear up because I was so happy that I was finally getting treated for the hives. This has been a very uncomfortable experience for me. One night I even laid in bed with ice packs on me to numb the itching. I also found out that I am allergic to heat so that explains all of the hives I got at the pool this summer, in the bath, and hot tub. He tested me for 70+ other things and I do have other allergies but I think most of them are pretty common. He did blood work for the shellfish allergy since I have received hives with shrimp and if that comes back positive I will have to get some epinephrine pens.
Anyways I will post an update to see if this clears. He did say if this doesn't work then he will add another medication in the mix. I am thinking he will get this under control FAST! Hes a good Dr and has treated alot of my family for allergies so I know I am in good hands. Most importantly, Gods hands!

Band-aids!

Well I finally made a trip on Monday to get some moles looked at on various sun exposed parts of my body. Needless to say I came out with 2 circular band-aids on my face, 3 on my neck, and one on my right calf. So far everything seems to be healing well. He sent a few off but he assured me that he really thinks they were fine and removing them were precautionary. I have to treat the burns once a day until healed and am expecting to wear the band-aids for a month or two. If you see me and I am polka dotted with band-aids....its because of that!

3 years in the making!!!!!!

Note: To set the tone of this letter I wrote this as if I were verbally speaking. I feel like this post is more intimate and for the first time I am open about a few things.
Warning: This is really long!

Wow! What a great 3 years it has been. Just seems like yesterday I was able to say I have been cancer free for two years. Suddenly another year to celebrate is upon us.
I prefer not to make things into a big deal but when I am grinning ear to ear it’s hard not to feel like this is a special day. This year went exceptionally well. All of my Dr.’s appointments were great and even better they reduced the rate in which the tumor may return. As time passes the numbers are slimming. Praise God!
I have always been told to never change for any”one” but why do you not ever hear you should never change for any”thing.” That is something I wish I heard a long time ago. Isn’t it true that people tend to change more by things and not by people as much? I guess an example is the “curse of the lottery.” I think they should make an expression that says the “curse of the cancer!” It does change you but I have learned that it is our responsibility how we change ourselves.
Occasionally I doubt myself and wonder why I let it transform me in both good ways and bad, yet I question myself and reflect maybe that was God’s plan. Things happen to us to mold us right? So in my best efforts I am slowly but surely getting over the anxiety, looking past the scars, and am replacing it with praise and thanks! As only a few of you know I was treated for anxiety attacks and I am now off of all medications. You see occasionally I go through phases: in my eyes a common cold could be cancer, a cough could be cancer, a small insect bite could be cancer, when I have a pain it could be cancer, when my husband tells me he doesn’t feel well it could be cancer. I am gradually healing and putting forth the best effort to not let this get to me. Instead of allowing it to have a negative effect I am learning how to turn it into a positive outcome. A common cold simply is a common cold, an ordinary cough can be just an ordinary cough, kids are going to get insect bites, when my husband or I have pain well that’s just part of life. We are getting older so more pain is to be expected. I feel like I am dealing with these issues slowly and things are beginning to gradually progress. It steadily leaked into other parts of my life and that too I am working on.
When each yearly anniversary arrives, you can somewhat compare my feelings to a little girl that is about blow out her candles on her 12th birthday: she is excited, full of emotions both intense and powerful, soaks in the wonderful experiences she shared the previous year of her life, the curiosity sinks in as to what to expect the upcoming year, and it all stops at this moment…it’s time to blow out her candles and make a wish. What is she going to wish for when she blows her candles out…probably something materialistic? You see I am full of all the powerful emotions, I soak in all of the moments, I too wonder what the future holds, however every wish, prayer, hope, expectation, anticipation, immense moment thrives on our health; not just my health but the health of all of my friends and family as well everyone that has been a part of my life. Even though I am an adult I still feel like that little 12 year old girl about to blow her candles out. As I reach every anniversary of my surgery I am gradually growing and learning. Each year my wish is a silent prayer for everyone’s health and I pray that even during our hardships that we seek guidance from above to get us through life’s struggles. We may not understand why some may not survive these things in life and why some have it less complicated as I did, but it is all part of Gods great plan.
Instead of something worldly when I blow my candles out on my 3 year celebration cake today remember that I am wishing for you and everyone that is in your life to have a safe and healthy life.
We are very thankful to have a happy & healthy family. Bryan works hard to support us and truly is the rock in our relationship, Emory was our unexpected child but shines every day and reminds us that she was given to us for many reasons, and Brylan will always be our miracle child and every year I am reminded that she survived this too. Once again my family is very thankful for everyone’s prayers and support. Here’s to many more years!
I dedicate this year’s letter to my Papa & Grandma Jarvis. Your influential strength continues to lift us up!

Didnt even cross my mind!!!

Well August 3rd marked 3 years since I found out I had my tumor. Yes, 3 years ago on our 4th wedding anniversary we received the phone call that we honestly did not want to hear. Amazingly enough I have to admit that I did not relate my wedding anniversary to my tumor this year. It never crossed my mind!!! We took a mini vacation to Galveston Saturday-Wednesday so I am sure that drew my attention away from it. I also think that God laid his hands upon me and comforted me that day. On our 4th wedding anniversary I knew that our special day would never be the same when I received the news of my tumor. Now 3 years later as we celebrated our 7th year I focused all of my attention on my husband and my girls that I did not intercept any form of distraction regarding my previous health history. We have been together now for 10 years! How amazing is that?
On August 3rd we made a trip to Schlitterbahn and it was one of the best days we have ever spent with our lil family. My sister Jessica came along that day to share this experience with us. My scar is on my stomach and hip area and many times I looked down at it in my swim suit thinking "I wonder if these pl look at it thinking I had a terrible c-section or had a tummy tuck procedure that went wrong" haha!

I have to admit that this wedding anniversary was amazing and I thought that I would never have a "normal" anniversary again. I knew that every year I would relate it to the bad news I received a few years ago. Everytime I think about it I continue to tell myself "God is GOOD"...even though he is many more powerful words then that my vocabulary of simplicity sinks in and I continue to run those particular thoughts through my mind.
So as I am ending this blog I would like to say that I am so thankful for our healthy lil family and one more time that truely God is Good!

Quick Update

Well I went in for the cyst that they found on my left ovary in April. Turns out that ones gone but now there's one on my right ovary that was detected via ultrasound. Cysts are EXTREMELY common but I will go back for another check up in 4 months. My doctor told me that I looked somewhat normal compared to what I normally go through and we both joked that for the first time I actually had an appointment that actually made me feel normal. I have come to the realization that being abnormal is normal for me. Now that everything tends to be looking up I just pray that my health continues to progress.

Relay For Life

Well I finally walked in my first Relay for Life! I wanted to get involved last year but my appointments were the day before the big event so I opted to not participate just in case we didn't receive the news we were hoping for. RLF was great! Bryan is working his 40 day outage and I was so thankful he was able to get off of work at a decent time to be there. We were honestly thinking he was going to miss it. My mom and friend Chila came out to support me as well! My girls had the opportunity to sit in a helicopter, jump in a bounce house, and of course loved the free food the Lions Club provided us in the survivors tent! Just thought I would share a few pics! also one of my friends Sara sent me a "Cancer picked the wrong Diva" shirt. When I finally fix my hair & wear makeup again....haha....I will take a pic of it and post it! I thought that was really sweet and again Sara if you read this...Thanks!
Oh and we did get Brylans shirt made for her by Spirit Tees!