It has begun...

I'm laying in the hospital hooked up to my chemo drugs. I'll be here for 3 days. Simon & my mom & dad came by to see me. Simon brought me a balloon and dad brought me flowers. I'm already kind of tired already. I didn't sleep all that well last night. So far I've gotten the F & C portions of my FAC protocol. The A drug is the one that has to go in for 3 days. When my pump comes in, I won't have to stay in the hospital for treatment. I get this treatment every 3 weeks. Andrew is staying overnight with me at least for tonight. I love my husband. I'm feeling a bit emotional. Don't know if its the chemo, pregnancy, or stress. Oh well.

Simon in his car!

Simon just got a Little Tykes car at my mom's house.

Please support, sign & pass this onward!

Dear Friends,

You can view our EARLY Act support letter which was submitted to Congress and posted to our Thoughts from FORCE blog at: http://facingourrisk.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/force-and-health-care-community-letter-in-support-of-the-early-act/

Please feel free to send this letter to your friends, family members, and especially your health care providers if you think they would sign on in support! We plan to add names to the letter as we receive them. It is our goal to demonstrate that this bill does have widespread support. To add your name, email us at: info@facingourrisk.org

What else can go wrong????

I definitely hate being a whiner, but something else has gone wrong for us. We were on our way to Galveston for a fun day (no medical appointments today) when suddenly we heard a thump under the car & felt the engine shift. Andrew noticed that we'd lost Overdrive in our PT Cruiser. He pulled into a parking lot none too soon because shortly thereafter, we lost Drive as well as Reverse. Andrew is a mechanic over 850 miles from home, but that didn't really do us any good at this point. We have AAA so we called to get the car towed to a Chrysler dealership. Once there we gave it to the service department & prayed it would be a quick fix. We got a phone call later that said the entire transmission needs to be replaced. That's about $2500. However, Andrew can do it for $1000 less at home. So we want/need a way to get the car & ourselves home. If you have any ideas (besides Google for auto shippers), PLEASE let us know... Leave a comment or something! Thanks.

I HATE tunnels (including MRI tunnels)

OK - I was too freaked out last night to write, but I had my MRIs of my spine done last night. I'm just a bit claustrophobic & even get freaked out driving through tunnels. Spending almost an hour in a very small, LOUD, and uncomfortable MRI tunnel was NOT a good thing. Rachel didn't much appreciate my tenseness & kept booting me the whole time. Afterwards, I think b/c I was so tense, I was having painful Braxton Hicks contractions all night. Poor little Rachel wasn't very happy with me. Finally I took a Xanax & settled down to sleep.

I know that considering everything that's going on the MRI tunnel should have been the least of my worries, but my rational mind & my REAL mind weren't exactly seeing eye to eye. There's only so much I can control in my own mind even. This is one of those irrational fears that I have a really hard time dealing with - kind of like heights. However, its over now, so hopefully I'm on to better things.

Today's menu includes shopping & seeing some sights of Houston. We're going to Gymboree for Rachel and then to Motherhood Maternity for me. I'm needing some new clothes for this pregnancy - Simon's was during the winter, so I have the wrong seasons. Then who knows what we're going to do! There's a dog show at Reliant Park, actually visible from our hotel. I think the dog show is going to be aired on Animal Planet eventually. They've got agility trials, frisbee dogs, and the more typical (boring) dog show stuff. Anyway, we have all weekend to ourselves! Hope you guys have a good time!

On the road

Breaking news...

I just got the call from MD Anderson. I am definitely going down Wednesday (ugh a 14+ hour drive). My first appointment is on Thursday with Dr. Litton. I also have some appointments scheduled for Friday. Right now, I don't know when we'll be back b/c it all depends on what Dr. Litton finds on the tests. The woman from MD Anderson told me to plan for 5-7 business days down there though.

Simon's going to have a...

SISTER!!!!

Right now her name is Rachel w/ possibly Elizabeth as her middle name, but that's still up for debate! She's measuring right on schedule, due 11/26/09. She was really shy & modest, so we didn't get any good pictures of her face or even get more than a quick glimpse to see that she was a girl. Hopefully, when we're in Houston they'll do another ultrasound (hopefully 4-D w/ photo print-out) that she cooperates a bit better for!

I appreciate the thoughts & prayers!

I REALLY appreciate all the thoughts & prayers everyone is sending my way. I also appreciate the words of encouragement people want to give me via phone calls. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but you may have a hard time getting through to me on the phone. I'm trying to keep the lines open so I can talk to my various doctors. I also don't do phone conversations so well. I'd rather receive prayers & thoughts and words of encouragement via email or comments here on this blog. I hope that doesn't offend anyone, but sometimes the phone is such a poor means of communication and it can also make dealing with a situation harder for me. I've got to preserve whatever control I have over myself & preserve my own peace of mind. If you have any kind of medical and/or doctor advice, feel free to contact my mom either by phone, email, Facebook, or even this blog. Otherwise, please send me emails, Facebook posts, and/or comments on this blog & accept my position! Thank you for being understanding & supportive!

Two New Journeys...

First I (we) have GREAT news! I am currently 20 weeks pregnant w/ our second baby. We find out whether its a girl or boy 7/11/09! We're kind of hoping for a girl. I'll definitely update when I have time.

Now for the bad news... I found out 7/7/09 through a biopsy that I have a form of breast cancer. As of right now I'm not entirely sure what type, how bad, prognosis, etc. However, the wheels are turning so that I can go down to MD Anderson for assessment and treatment. The way is being paved by prayers from my family & friends. Thanks guys! When I have time, I'll update all this information as well!

Here's an article about pregnancy & breast cancer - just to give some extra information!