Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for your prayers for my mom over the last couple days. It's hard to believe it's only been a couple of days. It kind of feels longer than that.
I could hardly believe it, but the docs gave my mom permission to come home last night! She has bounced back remarkably fast!
Yesterday I got to the hospital around 11:00a and was able to take her for a little walk in a wheelchair to the beautiful courtyard area of the hospital. We had an 80 degree day here yesterday, and the sun was shining like crazy! We sat outside for a half hour or so. She said it felt good to get outside, and feel the sun on her skin. She started feeling a bit dizzy, so I took her back to her room to rest again.
After she had had some lunch she started to feel better and later that afternoon she was walking laps around the hospital floor. When the docs and nurses saw how well she was doing, they started talking about sending her home. Once that idea was presented, it sounded very good to my mom to be in the quietness of her own home rather than being interrupted for check ups, and listening to her roommate's snores and TV shows.
I got back to the hospital about 7:00p and she was all packed and ready to go home. We got the final "discharge order" at about 8:15p and were on the road home by 8:30p.
She said she slept well last night, only waking up a couple of times. That is a huge answer to prayer - she needs to rest well in order to get better quick!
She will be meeting with both surgeons next week to get her drainage tubes removed, and talk about next steps, but for now she's recovering well at home.
Continue to pray for healing - both physical and emotional - this has been a long week. Pray against infection and discouragement. Also, please continue to pray that the pathology reports on her tumor and lymph nodes are good ones (initial reports look good, but they are doing more detailed pathology to make sure)! Her future treatment is obviously contingent on what those reports say. She's planning on having to go through radiation at this point (all though that's not a for sure thing), and there is also a slight chance she'll need to have chemo too. She'll obviously do whatever the docs and oncologists say, but we sure are praying hard that she won't need to have chemo!
Her spirits are high, her attitude is amazing, and her love for and dependence upon the Lord are growing daily.
Thanks to all of you again for your prayers, love and support!
We love you!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
She Made it Through!
Wow, yesterday was a really long day.
There were tremendously amazing moments, and moments that I wouldn't want to do over again.
The day started early with my mom riding along with me as I drove carpool for school. From there I brought her to Blodgett for her nuclear injection. That went surprisingly fast which left us some time to ourselves to take a walk and breath in the fresh wonderful morning. We drove to East GR (where she works), parked the car and walked around Reed's lake for a bit, then we dropped in to see the ladies that she works with. From there we walked for another 45 minutes or so. It was a bit chilly, but the morning was beautiful, and we were able to enjoy a little exercise and some good time to chat about anything and everything.
We arrived back at the hospital around 10:30a and the nurses got her all prepped to go to the holding area. She was in her initial room from about 10:40 to noon. During that time, Mike, all of my mom's siblings, Grandma and Grandpa Veenstra and Pastor Scott showed up to support her and keep her busy with conversation. We had two wonderful times of prayer together as a group, which was so meaningful. Pastor Scott read Q & A #1 of the Catechism:
Lord's Day 1
Q & A 1
Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
My mom was very peaceful and didn't seem at all nervous. I think she was really ready to get on with this part of the journey.
At noon, she was moved to a holding area where they continued to prep her for surgery. Both her surgeons, her anesthesiologist and a nurse came to chat with her ahead of time. Her surgery was scheduled at 1:00, but Dr. Zadvinskis' first surgery of the day went a little longer than expected, so she didn't actually get taken back to surgery until 2:00. By then she had her "happy medicine" and was quite peaceful as she got carted back.
Dr. Zad came out halfway through the surgery to give us an update. He told us that they almost didn't go ahead with the reconstruction because the tumor was more "invasive" than they originally thought via the MRI pics. It, in fact, had grown a bit into her chest cavity and had begun to invade the muscle tissue. They ended up having to remove a good piece of her pectoral muscle to get all the cancer out. Because the muscle was infected, there's a high probability that she will need radiation. Depending on what the pathology reports show, there is even a slight possibility that she'll need chemo. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now we'll pray that the pathology results don't warrant that.
Due to the fact that Dr. Zad had to remove muscle, Dr. Ford, the plastic surgeon, had to adjust his tactics a bit. There wasn't enough muscle left to create a pocket for her temporary implant, so he had to pull muscle up from her left side/back in order to have a pocket of muscle big enough for the implant.
Both the initial mastectomy and the reconstruction surgeries were a bit more involved than they anticipated, so she's pretty sore. That said, we prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of the surgeons to see everything they needed to see, and that they would get all the cancer out. It appears that they've been able to do just that, and that is reason to give thanks and praise! Also, we prayed that her lymph nodes would be free and clear of cancer. They ended up removing 7 lymph nodes and they all came back negative for cancer - which is a HUGE praise! Thank you, Lord!
Obviously we've entered yet another time of waiting . . . waiting for pathology reports, waiting to figure out "next steps", waiting for God to begin healing her body . . . but we have the promise that: " . . . those who wait upon the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
As we wait, we TRUST. We know Whose hands my mom is in. We know that God is her Creator, Healer, Redeemer, Friend, Rock, Fortress and her Abba. He loves and cares for her more than I do (which is A LOT!!!), and He will be faithful to carry her through this by his grace and peace.
Please continue to pray for her. Pray for good pain management. Pray for peace - she still doesn't know (as of last night anyway) how extensive her surgeries were, and she doesn't know about the possibility of radiation etc. That's going to be discouraging to her. Pray against discouragement. Praise God for the good news we DID get regarding getting all the cancer out and now cancer in the lymph nodes. Praise God that my mom, and her whole crew of supporters were truly able to be light and salt. There's no way that people sitting and standing around us couldn't have heard the "good news" and peace that comes from complete trust in God. Pray for healing. Pray that wise decisions can be made on the parts of the docs and nurses (and us) regarding what the next steps are. Pray that my mom will be encouraged, edified and lifted up.
Thanks for your love, thoughts and prayers . . . they are carrying us through!
Much love to all of you!
There were tremendously amazing moments, and moments that I wouldn't want to do over again.
The day started early with my mom riding along with me as I drove carpool for school. From there I brought her to Blodgett for her nuclear injection. That went surprisingly fast which left us some time to ourselves to take a walk and breath in the fresh wonderful morning. We drove to East GR (where she works), parked the car and walked around Reed's lake for a bit, then we dropped in to see the ladies that she works with. From there we walked for another 45 minutes or so. It was a bit chilly, but the morning was beautiful, and we were able to enjoy a little exercise and some good time to chat about anything and everything.
We arrived back at the hospital around 10:30a and the nurses got her all prepped to go to the holding area. She was in her initial room from about 10:40 to noon. During that time, Mike, all of my mom's siblings, Grandma and Grandpa Veenstra and Pastor Scott showed up to support her and keep her busy with conversation. We had two wonderful times of prayer together as a group, which was so meaningful. Pastor Scott read Q & A #1 of the Catechism:
Lord's Day 1
Q & A 1
Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
My mom was very peaceful and didn't seem at all nervous. I think she was really ready to get on with this part of the journey.
At noon, she was moved to a holding area where they continued to prep her for surgery. Both her surgeons, her anesthesiologist and a nurse came to chat with her ahead of time. Her surgery was scheduled at 1:00, but Dr. Zadvinskis' first surgery of the day went a little longer than expected, so she didn't actually get taken back to surgery until 2:00. By then she had her "happy medicine" and was quite peaceful as she got carted back.
Dr. Zad came out halfway through the surgery to give us an update. He told us that they almost didn't go ahead with the reconstruction because the tumor was more "invasive" than they originally thought via the MRI pics. It, in fact, had grown a bit into her chest cavity and had begun to invade the muscle tissue. They ended up having to remove a good piece of her pectoral muscle to get all the cancer out. Because the muscle was infected, there's a high probability that she will need radiation. Depending on what the pathology reports show, there is even a slight possibility that she'll need chemo. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now we'll pray that the pathology results don't warrant that.
Due to the fact that Dr. Zad had to remove muscle, Dr. Ford, the plastic surgeon, had to adjust his tactics a bit. There wasn't enough muscle left to create a pocket for her temporary implant, so he had to pull muscle up from her left side/back in order to have a pocket of muscle big enough for the implant.
Both the initial mastectomy and the reconstruction surgeries were a bit more involved than they anticipated, so she's pretty sore. That said, we prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of the surgeons to see everything they needed to see, and that they would get all the cancer out. It appears that they've been able to do just that, and that is reason to give thanks and praise! Also, we prayed that her lymph nodes would be free and clear of cancer. They ended up removing 7 lymph nodes and they all came back negative for cancer - which is a HUGE praise! Thank you, Lord!
Obviously we've entered yet another time of waiting . . . waiting for pathology reports, waiting to figure out "next steps", waiting for God to begin healing her body . . . but we have the promise that: " . . . those who wait upon the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
As we wait, we TRUST. We know Whose hands my mom is in. We know that God is her Creator, Healer, Redeemer, Friend, Rock, Fortress and her Abba. He loves and cares for her more than I do (which is A LOT!!!), and He will be faithful to carry her through this by his grace and peace.
Please continue to pray for her. Pray for good pain management. Pray for peace - she still doesn't know (as of last night anyway) how extensive her surgeries were, and she doesn't know about the possibility of radiation etc. That's going to be discouraging to her. Pray against discouragement. Praise God for the good news we DID get regarding getting all the cancer out and now cancer in the lymph nodes. Praise God that my mom, and her whole crew of supporters were truly able to be light and salt. There's no way that people sitting and standing around us couldn't have heard the "good news" and peace that comes from complete trust in God. Pray for healing. Pray that wise decisions can be made on the parts of the docs and nurses (and us) regarding what the next steps are. Pray that my mom will be encouraged, edified and lifted up.
Thanks for your love, thoughts and prayers . . . they are carrying us through!
Much love to all of you!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Pray With Me
I've alluded to the fact that there's been a lot going on over the last few weeks. It's been a little overwhelming at times, but God's presence has been very real and his grace sufficient.
About a month ago, my precious mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The initial shock of hearing that wasn't fun. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that feeling you get when you hear the "C" word. Your initial thoughts take you down a dark and winding path . . . ick.
Thankfully all of the testing she's had thus far seem to point to the fact that the cancer is contained to the one lump in her left breast. According to MRI, her right side is free and clear of any sign of cancer, and her lymph system doesn't appear to be affected. The docs will check out her lymph system while she's in surgery to confirm that all is well.
She's going in for a single mastectomy and reconstruction tomorrow afternoon at 1p. Our family covets your prayers.
Please pray that the surgery goes smoothly with no surprises. Pray that the Lord guides the hands of the two surgeons that will be working on my mom. Pray that they won't miss anything. Pray that the cancer is indeed contained, and that her lymph system is free and clear. Pray that she (and we) will be light and salt to those around us. Pray that God will receive all honor, glory and praise through this experience.
We feel tremendous peace and an incredible outpouring of God's love through the love of our family and friends. Many thanks to those of you who have continued to lift us up in prayer over the past weeks.
Here's a recent pic of my mom with my sister. It shows how beautiful she is on the outside . . . but know that she is even MORE beautiful on the inside. Her testimony is tremendous, her faith is amazing, her love for the Lord grows stronger everyday. I thank the Lord for my precious mom, and look forward to celebrating God's goodness and healing power!
About a month ago, my precious mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The initial shock of hearing that wasn't fun. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that feeling you get when you hear the "C" word. Your initial thoughts take you down a dark and winding path . . . ick.
Thankfully all of the testing she's had thus far seem to point to the fact that the cancer is contained to the one lump in her left breast. According to MRI, her right side is free and clear of any sign of cancer, and her lymph system doesn't appear to be affected. The docs will check out her lymph system while she's in surgery to confirm that all is well.
She's going in for a single mastectomy and reconstruction tomorrow afternoon at 1p. Our family covets your prayers.
Please pray that the surgery goes smoothly with no surprises. Pray that the Lord guides the hands of the two surgeons that will be working on my mom. Pray that they won't miss anything. Pray that the cancer is indeed contained, and that her lymph system is free and clear. Pray that she (and we) will be light and salt to those around us. Pray that God will receive all honor, glory and praise through this experience.
We feel tremendous peace and an incredible outpouring of God's love through the love of our family and friends. Many thanks to those of you who have continued to lift us up in prayer over the past weeks.
Here's a recent pic of my mom with my sister. It shows how beautiful she is on the outside . . . but know that she is even MORE beautiful on the inside. Her testimony is tremendous, her faith is amazing, her love for the Lord grows stronger everyday. I thank the Lord for my precious mom, and look forward to celebrating God's goodness and healing power!
Growing Up is Hard to Do.
If any of you follow me on facebook you would have read my progressive updates on how night #1 of no thumbsucking was going. Let's just say it was rough.
She did fine the first hour, just a little whimpering here and there . . . but hour two, progressed into screaming, kicking, getting out of bed, begging for me to wash off the jalepeno etc.
At one point I went into her room, and I asked her where Rar was. (Rar is her beloved bear that she's had since she was born - it's like the velvetine rabbit - well loved - missing fur and half of an eye). She yelled out, "He's laying over there on the floor!!! I threw him over there cuz he kept making me want to suck my thumb!!!"
There was poor Rar, crumpled in a pile on the floor. Tossed aside. Forsaken.
Two minutes later she asked for him back. She finally succumbed to sleep at 9:58p.
I had to laugh at the interchange, but was just a little sad for Faith too. This whole growing up thing is tough stuff. Rar and her thumb have been her "go to guys" for her whole life. They've been her comfort when she's sad or hurt. They've been with her wherever she goes.
Last night, Rar and her Pooh blanket were intentionally left in the kitchen. She said she didn't want them. She fell asleep without them - and without her thumb.
She's growing up, folks. She's determined to be done with the thumbsucking and being "babyish". She's well on her way to that pair of earrings! Hopefully next week you'll see a picture of my grown up girl with earrings in her ears!
Funny little side note about last night:
After Faith was all tucked in and settled down for the night, I ran over to my mom's for a bit. When I got back and checked on her she was almost asleep, but stirred when I kissed her head.
She looked up at me and said, "Mom, did you hear about the incident?"
"What incident?" I asked.
"I don't think I can even explain what happened, Mom. It was bad."
"What happened? I was only gone for 20 minutes." said I.
"Well (pause) I got up to go to the bathroom, and I wiped my butt with my jalepeno hand . . . let's just say there was a little screaming that happened." said Faith.
"Oh NOO! That sounds miserable! What did you do?" I asked.
"I was too embarrassed to tell dad at first, but it was burning so bad that I ran and got him. He washed it off and put some burn cream on it. It feels much better now."
So for any of you considering the jalepeno method - NOTE TO SELF: Don't wipe butt with the jalepeno hand.
She did fine the first hour, just a little whimpering here and there . . . but hour two, progressed into screaming, kicking, getting out of bed, begging for me to wash off the jalepeno etc.
At one point I went into her room, and I asked her where Rar was. (Rar is her beloved bear that she's had since she was born - it's like the velvetine rabbit - well loved - missing fur and half of an eye). She yelled out, "He's laying over there on the floor!!! I threw him over there cuz he kept making me want to suck my thumb!!!"
There was poor Rar, crumpled in a pile on the floor. Tossed aside. Forsaken.
Two minutes later she asked for him back. She finally succumbed to sleep at 9:58p.
I had to laugh at the interchange, but was just a little sad for Faith too. This whole growing up thing is tough stuff. Rar and her thumb have been her "go to guys" for her whole life. They've been her comfort when she's sad or hurt. They've been with her wherever she goes.
Last night, Rar and her Pooh blanket were intentionally left in the kitchen. She said she didn't want them. She fell asleep without them - and without her thumb.
She's growing up, folks. She's determined to be done with the thumbsucking and being "babyish". She's well on her way to that pair of earrings! Hopefully next week you'll see a picture of my grown up girl with earrings in her ears!
Funny little side note about last night:
After Faith was all tucked in and settled down for the night, I ran over to my mom's for a bit. When I got back and checked on her she was almost asleep, but stirred when I kissed her head.
She looked up at me and said, "Mom, did you hear about the incident?"
"What incident?" I asked.
"I don't think I can even explain what happened, Mom. It was bad."
"What happened? I was only gone for 20 minutes." said I.
"Well (pause) I got up to go to the bathroom, and I wiped my butt with my jalepeno hand . . . let's just say there was a little screaming that happened." said Faith.
"Oh NOO! That sounds miserable! What did you do?" I asked.
"I was too embarrassed to tell dad at first, but it was burning so bad that I ran and got him. He washed it off and put some burn cream on it. It feels much better now."
So for any of you considering the jalepeno method - NOTE TO SELF: Don't wipe butt with the jalepeno hand.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Giving Up An Old Friend
Hello fellow bloggers . . . sorry it's been so long since I've posted. An awful lot has happened since my last entry . . . and I'll get to that in the next post . . . but for now . . .
I'm listening to my 6 (almost 7) year-old crying in her bed, trying to fall asleep for the first time without the aid of her trusty left thumb. I realize that I probably should have addressed this issue a long time ago, but it was never a huge deal until now.
You see, she only ever sucked her thumb when she was falling asleep, or was badly hurt and needed a little comfort. Now, however, her big front teeth are coming in - and they aren't coming in nice and straight like her baby teeth. They are turning into quite the pair of "bucky beavers" (I don't use this terminology with her, of course).
Anyway, Mike heard a broadcast by Dr. Dobson the other day addressing the issue of thumbsucking. He had some good ideas for how to deal with the issue. First he said that you need to talk with your child about why thumbsucking isn't such a good idea:
1. it can make your teeth stick out.
2. if your teeth stick out, you might get teased.
3. no-one wants to be teased.
4. it's "babyish", and 6 year-olds definitely don't want to be babyish
Check!
He also suggested wiping the child's finger with the inside of a jalepeno pepper.
Check!
We added the extra incentive of pierced ears if she can make it to sleep 10 days in a row without her old friend.
We'll see how it goes . . . we're praying that her "strong will" and "stubborn streak" will be put to good use. We hope she can remain perseverant over the next 10 days.
As of now, the crying has stopped . . . here's hoping the hardest day is a successful one!
I'm listening to my 6 (almost 7) year-old crying in her bed, trying to fall asleep for the first time without the aid of her trusty left thumb. I realize that I probably should have addressed this issue a long time ago, but it was never a huge deal until now.
You see, she only ever sucked her thumb when she was falling asleep, or was badly hurt and needed a little comfort. Now, however, her big front teeth are coming in - and they aren't coming in nice and straight like her baby teeth. They are turning into quite the pair of "bucky beavers" (I don't use this terminology with her, of course).
Anyway, Mike heard a broadcast by Dr. Dobson the other day addressing the issue of thumbsucking. He had some good ideas for how to deal with the issue. First he said that you need to talk with your child about why thumbsucking isn't such a good idea:
1. it can make your teeth stick out.
2. if your teeth stick out, you might get teased.
3. no-one wants to be teased.
4. it's "babyish", and 6 year-olds definitely don't want to be babyish
Check!
He also suggested wiping the child's finger with the inside of a jalepeno pepper.
Check!
We added the extra incentive of pierced ears if she can make it to sleep 10 days in a row without her old friend.
We'll see how it goes . . . we're praying that her "strong will" and "stubborn streak" will be put to good use. We hope she can remain perseverant over the next 10 days.
As of now, the crying has stopped . . . here's hoping the hardest day is a successful one!
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