Cora just said Abby! She's sitting on my lap looking at pictures from earlier today, so I pointed at Abby and said her name. Cora immediately repeated it! It comes out as Adda/Addy/Abba and occasionally, Abby, but it's clear what she's saying.
**I just found this in my drafts. Oops! I never posted it a month ago. Better late than never!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I'm Healthy
So my surgeon called yesterday. I will need no additional treatment! NO chemo or radiation! I have to have biannual mammograms and an annual chest x-ray for a couple years, but that's IT! I'm so incredibly lucky!
Apparently there's dermatofibrosarcoma and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. It's the second type, DFSP, that is the more rare of the two. That's the one I have. Thanks to that extra little word, the fear that it can possibly develop in my lungs is eliminated. That was the one thing we were originally going to have to watch for, hence the chest x-rays. Since there is no risk of this happening, instead of a lifetime of annual chest x-rays, I'll only have to deal with the 5-minute inconvenience for two years.
I don't feel like I had "real" cancer. I only had to deal with a couple incredibly stressful months, but now it's all over. I didn't lose a boob. I didn't have to suffer through radiation, or worse, chemo. I didn't lose my hair. I didn't have to have poison injected to my body on a regular basis. How can I possibly call myself a cancer survivor? Sure I have a 2-3 inch scar, but that's the only lasting reminder I'll have. My scar is in such a prominent place I'll forever be having to explain it to people. I feel guilty telling them the truth since everyone fears cancer. Cancer is such a scary thing to deal with, but it's not always a death sentence.
Apparently there's dermatofibrosarcoma and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. It's the second type, DFSP, that is the more rare of the two. That's the one I have. Thanks to that extra little word, the fear that it can possibly develop in my lungs is eliminated. That was the one thing we were originally going to have to watch for, hence the chest x-rays. Since there is no risk of this happening, instead of a lifetime of annual chest x-rays, I'll only have to deal with the 5-minute inconvenience for two years.
I don't feel like I had "real" cancer. I only had to deal with a couple incredibly stressful months, but now it's all over. I didn't lose a boob. I didn't have to suffer through radiation, or worse, chemo. I didn't lose my hair. I didn't have to have poison injected to my body on a regular basis. How can I possibly call myself a cancer survivor? Sure I have a 2-3 inch scar, but that's the only lasting reminder I'll have. My scar is in such a prominent place I'll forever be having to explain it to people. I feel guilty telling them the truth since everyone fears cancer. Cancer is such a scary thing to deal with, but it's not always a death sentence.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Peekaboo
Want to see the cutest thing? Cora has become the "easy to please" baby. She loves to play games and is quick to laugh hysterically. She has 3 favorite games: the "near and far" game where we move her toward us and away, the "up high" game where we lift her up high, and peekaboo. Here's peekaboo. You can also hear her say "pepepepe" after I say peekaboo! Emma also makes a bonus appearance at the end!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Success!
I feel awful. I've been sitting on this news for days, but haven't gotten around to posting it here. I did update on Twitter and Facebook, so if you follow me there, you'll already know. I'm sorry!
Anyway, my surgery was a success! My surgeon called when she received the pathology report to let me know she removed all of the cancer! There's still a possibility I'll need radiation as a preventive measure, but I'll know more Tuesday. Apparently, there's some review board consisting of oncologists, breast specialists, and surgeons that meets every Tuesday. They'll look over my file and decide whether or not I need radiation. They didn't meet yesterday because of the holiday, so I have to wait until next Tuesday. Oh well. The worst is definitely over! I'll be monitored closely for at least a couple years to make sure it doesn't come back, but that's a small price to pay for a clean bill of health.
P.S. If you're in the Colorado Springs area, and are ever in need of a breast care surgeon (I hope not!), I highly recommend Dr. Ingrid Sharon. She was fantastic! On our first consult with her, we brought all the kids because Damon had questions too. Well, they didn't make it through the appointment, so he took them to the lobby while I went over everything with her. When we were done, she went to the lobby and spoke with Damon herself, despite it already being after-hours by then, and took her time answering his questions and re-hashing everything she'd already told me. After my surgery, she called to tell me everything we'd already gone over in the recovery room (a conversation I have absolutely no recollection of!), and put a nice hand-written card in with my release paperwork. Finally, she called me herself on Saturday (a holiday weekend no less!) with my results because she didn't want me to have to wait until Tuesday! I don't think I've ever been better taken care of by a doctor before!
Anyway, my surgery was a success! My surgeon called when she received the pathology report to let me know she removed all of the cancer! There's still a possibility I'll need radiation as a preventive measure, but I'll know more Tuesday. Apparently, there's some review board consisting of oncologists, breast specialists, and surgeons that meets every Tuesday. They'll look over my file and decide whether or not I need radiation. They didn't meet yesterday because of the holiday, so I have to wait until next Tuesday. Oh well. The worst is definitely over! I'll be monitored closely for at least a couple years to make sure it doesn't come back, but that's a small price to pay for a clean bill of health.
P.S. If you're in the Colorado Springs area, and are ever in need of a breast care surgeon (I hope not!), I highly recommend Dr. Ingrid Sharon. She was fantastic! On our first consult with her, we brought all the kids because Damon had questions too. Well, they didn't make it through the appointment, so he took them to the lobby while I went over everything with her. When we were done, she went to the lobby and spoke with Damon herself, despite it already being after-hours by then, and took her time answering his questions and re-hashing everything she'd already told me. After my surgery, she called to tell me everything we'd already gone over in the recovery room (a conversation I have absolutely no recollection of!), and put a nice hand-written card in with my release paperwork. Finally, she called me herself on Saturday (a holiday weekend no less!) with my results because she didn't want me to have to wait until Tuesday! I don't think I've ever been better taken care of by a doctor before!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Surgery's Over!
My lumpectomy was yesterday. I'm so glad it's finally over! I'm feeling better than I thought I would, but I'm still pretty sore. Especially my throat. The surgeon apparently spoke with me afterward, but I have no recollection of it at all. She called shortly after I got home, and repeated what she'd initially told me. She took a good-sized chunk out, did a chest x-ray, then took some more just to be on safe side. My whole boobage area is wrapped in an Ace bandage. I'm not allowed to remove it until Saturday. This means no showers until then! If you come near me, be sure not to get downwind of me! I have a follow-up appointment next Thursday, the 28th, so hopefully she'll have the pathology results then. She said she'd call if the results came in sooner, but not to hold our breath because they'll likely need a second opinion since my cancer's so rare.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Emma sat up!
Emma just sat up from a crawl position all by herself for the first time! Both girls have been able to get up to where they're resting on one arm, but this was the first time either of them has been able to get to a full sit position. Cora's also pulling herself up to standing on any raised surface every chance she gets.
Both girls have the sniffles this weekend. Their little noses are so congested and runny they're having trouble sleeping. Poor things!
Both girls have the sniffles this weekend. Their little noses are so congested and runny they're having trouble sleeping. Poor things!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mother's Day, Twin-style
Mother's Day started off wonderfully. When the babies woke at 6-ish, I woke up Damon and told him I was going back to sleep since it was my day. He was great about it and took care of all the kids while I slept in. Bliss! Then he made breakfast (eggs) after naptime!
Later, things got interesting.
We decided to go to Red Robin for a late lunch since it's become somewhat of a Mother's Day tradition for us. Cora was absolutely perfect while we were there. She never made so much as a peep, and was perfectly content eating Veggie Puffs and french fries. Emma was a whole different child altogether! She wasn't grouchy, just really, really loud. No matter what we did, she'd let out a "pay attention" squak every few minutes. She constantly dropped her puffs on the floor, and tried to grab at anything and everything. She definitely kept Damon on his toes! When our food arrived, we tried to bribe her with french fries.
They worked great until the inevitable happened.
She put too much in her mouth, gagged, and threw up all over! It happens often enough we have to watch her closely every time she eats. It's never just a little spit-up either. We're talking projectile vomit all over if we're not quick enough. Thankfully, we saw it happening an instant before it did, so Damon managed to get his napkin under her mouth and caught the worst of it. Her top still managed to get covered in puke, though. I'm glad the family next to us was already done eating! Of course the ONE thing I keep forgetting to put back in my diaper bag is a couple changes of clothes for them! Once she was cleaned up as best as could be, she got really upset because she wanted another fry. No way that was going to happen, so we got our check and left before she went into a full-blown meltdown. At least we managed to eat half our meal before it was time to go!
Once we'd gone a couple blocks from Red Robin, I happened to remember our leftovers. I remember Damon bringing them to the car, but I didn't see them anywhere and couldn't smell them.
He'd left them on top of the van!
We happened to remember about a minute before we saw the box go flying out the back! So much for finishing our lunch when we got home. I felt so bad for the car behind us swerving to miss the take-out box. Then I spilled some of my free Cold Stone ice cream all over my jeans and the seat on the way home. On the bright side, what I did get to eat was really, really good!
Later, things got interesting.
We decided to go to Red Robin for a late lunch since it's become somewhat of a Mother's Day tradition for us. Cora was absolutely perfect while we were there. She never made so much as a peep, and was perfectly content eating Veggie Puffs and french fries. Emma was a whole different child altogether! She wasn't grouchy, just really, really loud. No matter what we did, she'd let out a "pay attention" squak every few minutes. She constantly dropped her puffs on the floor, and tried to grab at anything and everything. She definitely kept Damon on his toes! When our food arrived, we tried to bribe her with french fries.
They worked great until the inevitable happened.
She put too much in her mouth, gagged, and threw up all over! It happens often enough we have to watch her closely every time she eats. It's never just a little spit-up either. We're talking projectile vomit all over if we're not quick enough. Thankfully, we saw it happening an instant before it did, so Damon managed to get his napkin under her mouth and caught the worst of it. Her top still managed to get covered in puke, though. I'm glad the family next to us was already done eating! Of course the ONE thing I keep forgetting to put back in my diaper bag is a couple changes of clothes for them! Once she was cleaned up as best as could be, she got really upset because she wanted another fry. No way that was going to happen, so we got our check and left before she went into a full-blown meltdown. At least we managed to eat half our meal before it was time to go!
Once we'd gone a couple blocks from Red Robin, I happened to remember our leftovers. I remember Damon bringing them to the car, but I didn't see them anywhere and couldn't smell them.
He'd left them on top of the van!
We happened to remember about a minute before we saw the box go flying out the back! So much for finishing our lunch when we got home. I felt so bad for the car behind us swerving to miss the take-out box. Then I spilled some of my free Cold Stone ice cream all over my jeans and the seat on the way home. On the bright side, what I did get to eat was really, really good!
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