No cancer.
Praise God.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Benign
The biopsy is done. Just spoke with the surgeon. They were able to test in the operating room and it's sarcoidosis. Any and all inflammation of lymphnodes is benign.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Hope
First let me thank you all for your prayers, emails and kind words. I am so grateful to have such wonderful women in my life.
Mark went and met with the surgeon this past Friday. This appointment was a meet and greet, let the surgeon have a first hand look at all the scans and set up the biopsy. Well, I wasn't able to attend because I was in FLORIDA (more on that later) and I was super nervous b/c I felt like I should be there but Mark was having none of the idea of me cancelling my trip. He was like "you need this trip more than you need to be at this appointment." And he's right on both accounts. The appointment went extremely well. The nurses treated him like their own son and the surgeon had some positive news also. I mentioned that there are 3 possible outcomes and the surgeon is fairly certain that it's the best one of the 3 - sarcoidosis. The only way to prove this is with a biopsy. Plus, he's said he's been wrong before and with Mark only being 31 and having his whole life ahead of him, he is not taking any chances.
The biopsy is taking place tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Not sure of the time just yet but I'm sure it will be at o'dark-thirty! It's a fairly routine outpatient procedure and should only take about an hour. And he should be up and around by Friday. Then we wait for the results. They could be anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks. ::Sigh::
Let me tell you though, after Mark heard how positive the surgeon was and confident in what he saw, Mark's whole demeanor changed. I could hear it instantly in his voice in the message he left as he was leaving the office. It as if all this weight of worry has been lifted off of him. He's had more energy in the past few days then he's had in a month. Now, I am still worried and am cautious of him over working himself but it's so refreshing to have him almost back to his normal self.
Please pray and I'll do my best to keep this updated.
Mark went and met with the surgeon this past Friday. This appointment was a meet and greet, let the surgeon have a first hand look at all the scans and set up the biopsy. Well, I wasn't able to attend because I was in FLORIDA (more on that later) and I was super nervous b/c I felt like I should be there but Mark was having none of the idea of me cancelling my trip. He was like "you need this trip more than you need to be at this appointment." And he's right on both accounts. The appointment went extremely well. The nurses treated him like their own son and the surgeon had some positive news also. I mentioned that there are 3 possible outcomes and the surgeon is fairly certain that it's the best one of the 3 - sarcoidosis. The only way to prove this is with a biopsy. Plus, he's said he's been wrong before and with Mark only being 31 and having his whole life ahead of him, he is not taking any chances.
The biopsy is taking place tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Not sure of the time just yet but I'm sure it will be at o'dark-thirty! It's a fairly routine outpatient procedure and should only take about an hour. And he should be up and around by Friday. Then we wait for the results. They could be anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks. ::Sigh::
Let me tell you though, after Mark heard how positive the surgeon was and confident in what he saw, Mark's whole demeanor changed. I could hear it instantly in his voice in the message he left as he was leaving the office. It as if all this weight of worry has been lifted off of him. He's had more energy in the past few days then he's had in a month. Now, I am still worried and am cautious of him over working himself but it's so refreshing to have him almost back to his normal self.
Please pray and I'll do my best to keep this updated.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Keepin it real - Hardships
A friend of mine mentioned that she missed keeping up with my life on the blog. That surprised me because I feel like my life couldn't get anymore normal and the exciting times consist of little one's learning new words, saying off the wall things or family holidays. But, life has been a little different this past month and I feel like I need to put some of it on paper just so I remember how exciting "normal life" is.
Way back on Dec 22 my hubby woke up with a cough. No big thing. The littles were sick and I assumed he was the next unfortunate one to get the cold/cough they both had. Well, by the end of the day he was complaining of achy joints, chest pain, had started running a fever and was looking pretty terrible! A visit to the MedExpress on the 23 diagnosed him with Pneumonia. The radiologist called about a half hour after we left and said they saw something that seemed worse than just pneumonia and we should go to the ER for a CT scan. Praise the Lord for big families bc 2 of Mark's brothers were able to come stay with the girls while we went to the ER. They didn't have anything new to say and the ER doctor wrote him off as "your 31 with an otherwise clean bill of health" so why should you get a CT scan. We trusted him. Learned my lesson there.
It took over a week for Mark to get back to somewhat normal but even then, he still was complaining of chest pain, had a consistent cough and was over all weak. Many people said that pneumonia really takes it out of you and he'd be better in a week or two more. Well, the chest pain became so bad one night that he was seriously worried that he might be having a heart attack.
It was also during this time that we discovered I was pregnant. We were excited but nervous and surprised because we weren't trying (or avoiding for that matter). Once the idea settled in that we'd have another one and we were just thrilled, I miscarried.
I urged him to call his pcp, who had cleared him of infection around new years day, and go get checked out again. Well, to the naked eye, he was fine. No physical problems to speak of. But, having just recovered from an infection in his lungs they ordered another xray. That xray confirmed that something was indeed off and he needed to go for a CT scan so that they could get a better look at his chest/lungs and all mid-chest internal organs. They called that day and said he needed to go that night for a follow up.
-remember that ME radiologist who said there was something off in the Xray and the ER doc who said he didn't need it? Yeah well, he should have had it!
Urgency from doctors is never good.
Mark refused to let me go and was trying to tell me that everything was going to be fine. I acted like I believed him but my gut, oh my gut was telling me different!
He called on his way home and told me something, honestly I can't remember what was said but I could tell he was glazing over the meat of the diagnosis. He did mention that the pcp was not a specialist and he needed to see one...It was not until after the girls were in bed that night that he finally told me the "specialist" he was going to see was an Oncology doctor. I WAS going to that appointment. Which was today.
There's an excessive amount of lymphnodes in his chest and a small mass of tissue that shouldn't be there between his bronchial tubes. There are 3 outcomes at this point: Sarcoidosis (not so bad), Lymphoma (bad), or another cancer metastasized in the lymph nodes (worse).
Sarcoidosi is an inflammatory disease that is found mostly in the lungs and is a small tissue mass that forms after an infection. It could be an acute problem is this turns out to be the case and he might have to deal with it for the rest of his life. Given Mark's history with lung problems, this is absolutely a possibility but given the excessive lymphnodes found, this is not the only possibility.
He will need to have a biopsy done asap to figure out if this is malignant or benign.
I haven't wanted to talk about this much because the outcome is unknown. I can't plan anything for more than tomorrow when so much is on the line. His life, my 31 year old husband's life, could be on the line. Nothing will make you stop and really reflect on what's REALLY important except the possibility of losing one of THE most important people in your life.
When I miscarried, I prayed to God to tell me why this baby was placed inside of me for such a short period of time and almost instantly I heard "servant" in my heart. I felt that this baby while it would have been a blessing, and in it's short life inside of me was a HUGE blessing, it was not the right time to welcome a new life. God knew what I am able to handle. I felt Him calling me to be His servant for someone in my life. Little did I know how quickly I would be called forward into that role.
We are trying to keep a positive outlook. Pray for us. Mark is a very positive, silly person but I know he's nervous. Pray for us to accept God's will and to have all the grace we need to get through this hard time.
Way back on Dec 22 my hubby woke up with a cough. No big thing. The littles were sick and I assumed he was the next unfortunate one to get the cold/cough they both had. Well, by the end of the day he was complaining of achy joints, chest pain, had started running a fever and was looking pretty terrible! A visit to the MedExpress on the 23 diagnosed him with Pneumonia. The radiologist called about a half hour after we left and said they saw something that seemed worse than just pneumonia and we should go to the ER for a CT scan. Praise the Lord for big families bc 2 of Mark's brothers were able to come stay with the girls while we went to the ER. They didn't have anything new to say and the ER doctor wrote him off as "your 31 with an otherwise clean bill of health" so why should you get a CT scan. We trusted him. Learned my lesson there.
It took over a week for Mark to get back to somewhat normal but even then, he still was complaining of chest pain, had a consistent cough and was over all weak. Many people said that pneumonia really takes it out of you and he'd be better in a week or two more. Well, the chest pain became so bad one night that he was seriously worried that he might be having a heart attack.
It was also during this time that we discovered I was pregnant. We were excited but nervous and surprised because we weren't trying (or avoiding for that matter). Once the idea settled in that we'd have another one and we were just thrilled, I miscarried.
I urged him to call his pcp, who had cleared him of infection around new years day, and go get checked out again. Well, to the naked eye, he was fine. No physical problems to speak of. But, having just recovered from an infection in his lungs they ordered another xray. That xray confirmed that something was indeed off and he needed to go for a CT scan so that they could get a better look at his chest/lungs and all mid-chest internal organs. They called that day and said he needed to go that night for a follow up.
-remember that ME radiologist who said there was something off in the Xray and the ER doc who said he didn't need it? Yeah well, he should have had it!
Urgency from doctors is never good.
Mark refused to let me go and was trying to tell me that everything was going to be fine. I acted like I believed him but my gut, oh my gut was telling me different!
He called on his way home and told me something, honestly I can't remember what was said but I could tell he was glazing over the meat of the diagnosis. He did mention that the pcp was not a specialist and he needed to see one...It was not until after the girls were in bed that night that he finally told me the "specialist" he was going to see was an Oncology doctor. I WAS going to that appointment. Which was today.
There's an excessive amount of lymphnodes in his chest and a small mass of tissue that shouldn't be there between his bronchial tubes. There are 3 outcomes at this point: Sarcoidosis (not so bad), Lymphoma (bad), or another cancer metastasized in the lymph nodes (worse).
Sarcoidosi is an inflammatory disease that is found mostly in the lungs and is a small tissue mass that forms after an infection. It could be an acute problem is this turns out to be the case and he might have to deal with it for the rest of his life. Given Mark's history with lung problems, this is absolutely a possibility but given the excessive lymphnodes found, this is not the only possibility.
He will need to have a biopsy done asap to figure out if this is malignant or benign.
I haven't wanted to talk about this much because the outcome is unknown. I can't plan anything for more than tomorrow when so much is on the line. His life, my 31 year old husband's life, could be on the line. Nothing will make you stop and really reflect on what's REALLY important except the possibility of losing one of THE most important people in your life.
When I miscarried, I prayed to God to tell me why this baby was placed inside of me for such a short period of time and almost instantly I heard "servant" in my heart. I felt that this baby while it would have been a blessing, and in it's short life inside of me was a HUGE blessing, it was not the right time to welcome a new life. God knew what I am able to handle. I felt Him calling me to be His servant for someone in my life. Little did I know how quickly I would be called forward into that role.
We are trying to keep a positive outlook. Pray for us. Mark is a very positive, silly person but I know he's nervous. Pray for us to accept God's will and to have all the grace we need to get through this hard time.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Beneift of a blended family
So as Juls and I sat at the table having a quite lunch, she started asking about a picture of the Pope we have on the fridge. That lead to talking about priests, talking about Heaven, Angels, Mary and baby Jesus.
She asked, after hearing that Jesus came out of Mary's belly, who was Jesus' Daddy.
"Well, Jesus' father is God the Father in Heaven. He put Jesus into Mary's belly with the help of the Holy Spirit!"
"Cool!"
"But, you know how I am Samantha's step-mom?"
"yes..."
"Well, Jesus had a Step-Dad named Joseph who was married to Mary and helped raise Jesus."
Thinking it over..."Cool! What raise mean?"(we discussed)
Then, she asked, "Was Jesus baptized?"
"Yes, actually he was..." And then we talked about how he was not baptized til he was older but he was presented at the Temple.
Having a blended family has it's struggles, but Juliana understood immediately the fact that Joseph could be Jesus' "dad" without actually being his Father. She knows that Samantha is not my daughter because we see her mom weekly but she knows that I love Samantha and that I help Mark raise Samantha when she's here.
Also, having this conversation with Juliana really shows me how fast she is growing. She can be a handful sometimes but that energy, that curiosity, that love that pours out from her is going to make her something extra special as she grows. I just hope her love and curiosity of God and the Church grows with her!
She asked, after hearing that Jesus came out of Mary's belly, who was Jesus' Daddy.
"Well, Jesus' father is God the Father in Heaven. He put Jesus into Mary's belly with the help of the Holy Spirit!"
"Cool!"
"But, you know how I am Samantha's step-mom?"
"yes..."
"Well, Jesus had a Step-Dad named Joseph who was married to Mary and helped raise Jesus."
Thinking it over..."Cool! What raise mean?"(we discussed)
Then, she asked, "Was Jesus baptized?"
"Yes, actually he was..." And then we talked about how he was not baptized til he was older but he was presented at the Temple.
Having a blended family has it's struggles, but Juliana understood immediately the fact that Joseph could be Jesus' "dad" without actually being his Father. She knows that Samantha is not my daughter because we see her mom weekly but she knows that I love Samantha and that I help Mark raise Samantha when she's here.
Also, having this conversation with Juliana really shows me how fast she is growing. She can be a handful sometimes but that energy, that curiosity, that love that pours out from her is going to make her something extra special as she grows. I just hope her love and curiosity of God and the Church grows with her!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Five Faves - a song, an app, a recipe and pics
Linking up with Miss Hallie again this week!
It is uplifting, inspiring and the video seriously brought tears to my eyes. Plus, every time I hear it on the radio, we turn it up and have a dance party! Even at 7:50 this morning when I was getting the girls dressed and I hadn't had coffee yet!
It's that good!
Juls also love's her Good Morning song, which she adorably refers to as the "get up, get up" song!
1
Overcomer - the song and video by Mandisa!It is uplifting, inspiring and the video seriously brought tears to my eyes. Plus, every time I hear it on the radio, we turn it up and have a dance party! Even at 7:50 this morning when I was getting the girls dressed and I hadn't had coffee yet!
It's that good!
Juls also love's her Good Morning song, which she adorably refers to as the "get up, get up" song!
2
The Fertility Friend App
For all us NFP users, knowing your cycle and body is ever so important whether you are abstaining or trying to conceive. I used FertilityFriend.com when Mark and I first got married b/c I found it to be easier than a piece of paper that I was BOUND to loose! It was nice to know my chart and all my info was in one place that my (then 6 year old) step daughter couldn't just happen upon! ;)
I have since found the app and love it! You can keep track of all your signs, symptoms, temps, additional notes and more!
Best of all, it's free!!
There is a VIP membership that you can pay for, but I haven't ever needed any of their services!
3
Me: What'd you do at school today?
Juls: We painted a turkey
Me: Cool! A Turkey! Why did you paint a turkey?
Juls: ::shrugs:: Cause my teacher said so...
Well, she is only 3 but on the upside, she followed directions! Hooray!
I am super excited about Thanksgiving next week!!! :) Especially to make this Sweet Potato Casserole recipe! YUM!!
4
Cousins, matching!
Miriam is 4 months older to the day than sweet Savannah in the back! They live in RI but we got to spend the weekend with them when we visited Maryland this past weekend!
These two plus their 3 month old cousin Oliver are going to be TROUBLE in a few years!
I can't wait! :)
5
Sisterly love
I am really not sure which one loves the other more.
Happy Thanksgiving from the 'burgh!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Five Faves...family, friends and saving money!
Haven't linked up to Five Faves in a long time but, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am trying to think good thoughts!
1
Heart to hearts with my Husband.
It had been way to long since we sat down and really shared our souls with each other. The nitty gritty. The not so pretty. The demons that plague us.
But, as we sat in the late hours of the evening, openly sharing our hearts, weight lifted off our shoulders and tears of JOY filled my eyes.
The lies that we believe. The doubt that creeps in. The separation that could occur between my husband and I with out the Holy Spirit and our Guardian angels fighting our spiritual battles with us. The peace when it's all out on the table.
2
Laughter amongst the littles
Juls (3) and Miriam (1) are really beginning to "play" together! It's such a joy to watch them mimic each other, giggle together, chase each other around and inevitably, hurt one another.
The bumps and bruises are a small price to pay for the memories they are creating.
Miriam can now say "Duwi" (Juli) and if you ask where Juli is, she squeals "Duwi! Duwi! Duwi!
I am so, so pleased that they have each other!
3
Saving Money!
I mean, who doesn't love saving some dough!
It's cold in Pittsburgh. It snowed yesterday and this morning. Yes, it's only November 13th and the white stuff is already falling...which means, a heavy coat and boots are necessary items!
I have had the same Winter dress coat for 5+ years and it just wasn't doing it for me anymore (vain I know bc technically it's in perfect condition which is why I will donate it!) so I was on the look out for a new dress coat.
I found a lovely camel color coat, very flattering to my figure and on sale at Target! As I had it on, I thought, let me check the Cartwheel App on my phone and see if I can get extra % off...
And I could!
20% more off the already reduced price!
I save $22 on my new coat, which I will have for 5+ years!
Check out the App! You can save on all kinds of items from Milk to toothpaste, throw pillows to Christmas décor! Every-thang! Even Diapers!
(apparently, you do have to have Facebook to sign up, FYI)
4
Best Friends
Last weekend I was able to run out to Marshalls by myself (thank you gift cards for my bday!) and try on some dresses. With Mark's Holiday parties right around the corner, I really wanted to have my outfits lined up. Last year I had a newborn and my body was well, not my own and I was panicked the day of the party trying to figure out what to wear! I fall to pieces in stressful situations and not having an outfit that I feel comfortable and confident in, is stressful to me!
He is pretty high up in his company and I want to look my best when we attend parties with VPs, CEOs and his managing peers. B/c lets face it, I'm typing this post in oversized sweatpants with dirty, greasy hair. Not my best look!
Since I was shopping alone, I had my phone ready to take a pic of my outfits in question and send a text to my friends and sisters.
Don't act like you've never done it.
Well, I texted a pic to my BFF Jen and she texted back that she had bought the same dress a month ago!
I knew it looked familiar! She had sent me a pic from the dressing room asking for my opinion! :)
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| Jen in her dress! |
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| Me in mine! |
5
Family, specifically siblings
This weekend, I' taking the littles down to MD! My sweet nephew (bro's first babe) is getting baptized and we wouldn't miss such a blessed occasion! My sister from RI and her daughter (8 months old) will be in town too! My sister from MS won't be able to make it but I am sure there will be lots of FaceTiming! It's rare for all of us to get together but MAN, do I cherish the moments we have when we can gather. It's super exciting that Juls, Miriam and their 2 cousins are all so close in age! And it's so amazing to see my siblings (older) grow into their roles as Mom and Dad. It's not often that I, the youngest sibling, gets to experience something before they do but I was a Mom before either of them were a parent. It's kinda cool to watch your older brother and sister grow up! :)
Thanks Hallie! :)
Monday, November 4, 2013
First Birthday Shinanigans
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| New born shot...one week old - Vandyke Photography |
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| One Year Old!! - Vandyke Photography I can not believe that my sweet Miriam is One year old! The saying that the days are long but the years are short is very true. Some days I just didn't think I'd make it through and swore up and down, left and right that she is my last baby forever! Then, the first smile, the first giggle, the first word. The soft, quite snuggles in the early mornings while trying to not wake the others. The first time on all fours, first time crawling, pulling up and then, first steps! Those are the moments that keep me going. They recharge my battery, that and wine or ice cream after they're in bed! :) Okay, so let's get down to the Par-tahy! I wanted to do something fun to celebrate this beautiful little girl God gifted to us a year ago. The first thing that came to my head was Rainbows! They are fun, colorful and easily executed! To Pinterest I went! I created a First Birthday board and Rainbow decorations can be a tad creepy (unicorns, creepy clowns, etc) or can support issues that I as a Catholic woman, am well, not a supporter of...if you catch my drift! So, after searching many stores and websites, Walmart, of all places, came up with some great options! I wanted to make some of the decorations but I wasn't set on a color scheme until I found  I loved how they gave the rainbow effect without actually being a rainbow. Also, they are chevron, seriously, who doesn't love chevron! I also found the streamers, pennant banner, cupcake liners and candle at Walmart! All of those items cost me $15! Oh there are also yellow napkins not pictured! I don't like to spend a fortune on dinnerware items because they just get tossed at the end of the party! I used the streamer to make a rainbow back drop for behind the high chair    I needed cardstock for a #1 banner and Happy Birthday banner I had in mind but nothing spoke to me at Walmart. Thankfully, Joann's came through with having the EXACT same color scheme in a cardstock package (pictured above)! Cardstock was 30% off and I think came in less than $10. I wasn't worried about that price because I know I will use it another time. I found a #1 outline online and printed it on cardstock. I cut it out and Mark hung it for me.  I also printed out Happy Birthday on the cardstock, cut it out and put it against white circle cardstock    Got the ribbon from the $1 bin at Micheal's! It's all glittery and such! So pleased with how this turned out! I also really wanted to try making colorful tissue paper tassels because I have seen them on Pinterest but hadn't found a good tutorial until I stumbled upon this one. I also found this other one helpful too. Both lay out the process with written instructions and pictures for each step. SUPER EASY PEOPLE! And cheap! Found my tissue paper at Dollar Tree, 25 sheets for $1! I tried making one myself earlier in the week and after a failed first attempt, I made one that looked just like the picture! Cutting the strips thin is very important. If the strips are too thick, it looks all jacked up! I enlisted the help of my sister who flew in from MD for the party and my step-daughter who loves to do crafts and this is how it turned out!  I love it! I would probably add more of each color if I do it again but...It really did add some extra pizazz to the living room! Now onto the edible portion of the party! I saw this pin way back in the day that raved about how easy it was to make swirled icing for a cupcake. Essentially you paint a piping bag with food gel and the butter cream comes out swirled with the painted colors. Of course it looks easy and truth be told, it wasn't hard but it wasn't a walk in the park either! I made the chocolate cake and cupcakes the day before with THE MOST AMAZING chocolate cake recipe in existence! I found it about 2 years ago and have not baked another chocolate cake recipe! Try it. You will agree. I bet ya! (this recipe is for a 3 layer cake so it make ALOT of cupcakes! Darn, just might have leftovers! :) And then I made a vanilla cake and cupcakes with a recipe from the The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook recommended by a trusted friend. I have had a hard time getting fluffy, moist vanilla cake from scratch. So, this recipe used a white cake mix (Duncan Hines Classic White) and "doctored" it to make it taste more, "from scratch". Well, the result was delectable and there was not a vanilla cupcake left by the end of the party! I used Wilton Food Gel Colors to paint my bag and placed my 2D tip on my bag and realized I didn't have the coupler part to secure the tip, so most of the gel seeped down next to the tip instead of going into the tip. The effect is cool and I will try it again but you can only use the bag once so, disposable is the way to go! This was the outcome of the cupcakes     For the cake I stacked a vanilla on top of chocolate, buttercreamed it and decorated it with M&M minis in a classic Rainbow. Miriam LOVED the M&Ms, her first experience with those delicious candies!      And last but not least, my #1 made up of pictures of the Birthday Princess. I could have made 2 more. I am picture obsessed! Laid it out on the floor first to make sure it was going to work!  Final product on the wall! 
The party was a blast! We were all wiped by the end of the day and with Daylights saving time ending that night, we were all thrown off on Sunday! But, nothing a little cake and coffee for breakfast can't fix...
 Even let Juls join in on the deliciousness...  Happy Birthday Miriam Ruth! Can't wait to see what 1 year old fun you bring to this family! :)  |
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