Another good update

May 16th, 2008
I went to my appointments yesterday and everything looks good. I have alot of shadowing on the ultrasound due to two c-sections and my other surgery plus the prothesis causes alot of shadowing as well. My next appt they will do a MRI, ultrasound, and then a check-up. Sept will be the 2 year mark!
We did talk to her about possibly having another baby and she said if we decide to have another that she wants us to wait until after the MRI to make sure we have more official results. We have mixed feelings and she said that we should not have one due to my health issues because she thinks I am cured however we do need to be prepared for what the consequences would be if there is a return and my estrogen levels spark the growth of another tumor. We go back in 6 months.

Check-up

November 15th, 2007
My ultrasound came back negative and everything looks great! We will go back in 6 months.
I could add that the Dr said that 10 out of every 100 pl, or 10%, of the pl that have them removed come back. Thats a low percentage and she made the comment that she thinks they cured me. The reason why I go back is just in case if it does come back they can detect it early. The earlier the better because the bigger it gets the more they have to remove around it. If I wasnt pregnant when I had it removed then they prob wouldnt have had to take some muscle because my pregnancy is what it grow so fast the last time. We are super excited and I feel like I just want to hug everyone I see!

My Surprise Party

October 6th, 2007
Well Sept 18th marked the 1 year anniversary since I had my surgery and became cancer free! My husband gave me a lil candle and my mom gave a pedicure and stuff like that on the actual day. I knew that my sisters and another family member were coming into town today and I NEVER thought about them throwing a lil bash for me. I brought my puppy to my moms house and decided to take him home because hes not fully house broken. As I pulled back up to my moms house there were tons of cars there. Turns out they gave me a surprise party!!!

Cancer Free Year 1

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Today marks the day....
Current mood: thankful
I just want to express how grateful my family has been this past year. Today, September 18th, marks the one year anniversary for me to be cancer free. I will never forget all of the people that touched our lives that day and changed my life. We shed endless tears and had countless laughs through our journey and we could not be more blessed.
Everyday I look at my scar and at times it's hard to not criticize it and be hard on myself for having that on my body. I have learned that it's just a constant reminder of how blessed I really am. The Lord was my strength when I was weak and I know that he gave me my husband to walk on this path with me. He has also blessed me with two of the most beautiful girls that are loved very much.
My first visit back after my surgery to Md Anderson Cancer Center was amazing. My oncologist held Brylan and you could see the joy in everyone's eyes. We were looking, in life form, at a miracle. The best part is that she is all mine haha!!! I go back on November 15th and I have a good feeling that everything is going to be great!
Thanks for everyone's prayers through my journey and over the past year. We have truly felt them and it is amazing to have such great people in our lives to share this with.

Brylan met our oncologist

June 11th, 2007
Just wanted to let everyone know that my appt went well. They did find a spot in my ultrasound but they are thinking that it maybe a fluid pouch under my prosthesis. They got another Dr's opinion just in case and they are pretty sure thats what it is...thank goodness!!! I am going to return in 6 months and if the spot changes any then they will do a MRI to see if it has returned. Also I learned that the average return normally comes back around 18-24 months so more then likely if it was re occurrence then it wouldn't have been as big as the spot was so thats another reassurance.

It was great to see everyone again too. They got to see Brylan and all of the Dr's were just great and amazed how healthy and fat she was! It made us so proud and thankful for what they did for our family. My Dr just immediately picked up Brylan and it really showed us how much she cared : ) I wish that I took my camera so I could have taken a pic of them.

Our Mircale Baby made it!

So here's the story...For those of you that are weak or cant handle baby stories then don't read because I am detailed! Also on the music player change to song to How Great is our God...It really sets the tone for this post.

Bryan and I decided to get a hotel room the night before my scheduled c-section (I was told that I could not go into labor because of my tumor surgery) since we had to be there by 5:45 a.m. He took me to dinner then we went to the hotel room to get some rest.
Bryan was rubbing my legs since I was swollen and at about 10:30 I noticed that something felt kinda different down there. I went to the bathroom and I passed my plug. Well I didn't think too much of it since some pl lose them weeks before they deliver. We went to bed and at almost exactly midnight I felt alot of pressure, stood up, and my water broke! Keep in mind I dozed off just minutes before that. I ran to the toilet and woke Bryan up. He too had just fallen asleep and I kept on telling him my water broke. He thought I was teasing. I reassured him that it was my water and he soon realized that it was all happening. To be honest we were in laughter the whole way to the hospital because we could not believe she decided to come just hours before our scheduled c-section. I started getting good contractions just minutes after my water broke so we knew that it was time!
We were admitted in the hospital at about 12:45 or so and I dilated from a 0 to a 2 within 1 hour. My contractions were 1-3 minutes apart and they were peaking to about a 6 or 7 every time. Needless to say if we were in FF there's a chance little miss Brylan may have been born in the car! God works in mysterious ways and in our situation it was best that we stayed in a a hotel that night!
At 2:42 she was born via c-section weighing 7lb 8oz. She reminds me so much of when Emory was a baby yet shes so different. It's really like having Emory all over again. Words cannot express how happy we are. We started with many failed attempts to get pregnant, finally did, then went through all of the tumor mess, surgery, etc, was told that they may have to take her, then was told about complications with the meds I took during my cancer treatment, and after all of that....SHES A MIRACLE...and shes here...in my arms! God gave me his gift and guided us through everything. She is truly an angel in life form!
Amongst all of the joy please keep her in your prayers. We are unsure as to how the medicine I had to take for treatment effected her. It crossed the placenta and there could be short term or long term effects, however the chances are VERY slim.
Thankfully right now she is perfect, everything is normal, and we are all so blessed. How could someone not have faith in God after seeing her and knowing what all we have been through these last few months?
Also I wanted to add how we named our lil baby girl. We loved the name Easton for a lil boy and just could not get over it. Day one she had no name, then on day two we realized we really needed to get moving on it. We did name her Easton Rayne for about 2 hours. Bryan decided he really loved Brylan (a feminine version of his name) and I really loved Haven (Halo+heaven combined) therefore we went with that!
Again thanks for everyone prayers. Guess what...they worked!

Getting ready for baby

February 18th, 2007
I am having our baby girl on Thursday the 22nd at the Med. I have to be there at 5:45 and he will start the surgery at 7:00. On my last visit he said that he will have my general surgeon on call in case he sees something kinda funny that he hasn't seen before. I think he was going to get in touch with my oncologist to make sure its ok he cuts through my prosthetic, etc. If he sees another tumor, which we did find another lump a while back, then he should call my local general surgeon and get his opinion. My oncologist said for no one to take it out because most surgeons do not get enough margins therefore if they find another one then I will have to get it taken out at MD Anderson again.
We are considering Easton Rayne, Brylan Haven, or just mixing up any of those names as first and middle. Once shes here I am sure we will know what to name her.
I finally packed my bag fully today and Bryan tethered the base in today for the carrier. Also we got a start on getting all of the bottles and breast pump sterilized. We should be pretty set for the most part. I am suppose to stay atleast 3 nights. He is going to monitor my incision and make sure I dont get dehydrated again. I am curious as to how big my cut will be this time around. I think its going to turn out great!