Surgery #2

River, Julee, Mom, Logan (in front), Sam & Me

First off, thank you all for your very supportive comments to my last post. It is so great to hear stories of survivors! The past month has been incredibly busy. Mom lives with my sister is two hours away but I have been trying to make it to some of the doctor appointments and we were also there a few weekends ago so I haven't had much time to write any updates. I've been trying to post via my iPod & via my Droid but neither one lets me do anything except create a title. If anyone knows if there is a way to make it work on the iPod or Droid let me know.

The mastectomy went pretty well. The pathology confirmed the cancer had spread to 5 of the 17 lymph nodes they removed. I was really upset for a while. I called my hubby and he got in the car and drove over then we both took the next day off and spent some time at my sisters. Mom did great. She was pretty sore for a few days but her demeanor has been great. She is my hero! Oh, and my sister's day care didn't charge me for the 2 days Sam spent there. That was awesome. Just when you start to think there aren't any caring people out there something like that happens and it just makes you feel so good.

Mom's sisters flew in two weeks ago and are going home tomorrow. They have kept her really busy so I hope she does well when they leave. I know she could stand to catch up on some sleep. It was great seeing them and I hope they can come out again soon.

Aunt Bobbi, Aunt Jeannie, Mom, Sam, Me, Logan, Julee & River

Mom had surgery this past Tuesday afternoon to clean up some dying skin where her incisions are. I had never heard of such a thing but apparently it happens from time to time. If she wasn't going to start chemo soon they probably would have just let it heal on its own but they want to expedite the healing process and apparently removing the dying tissue does just that. Surgery went well (although it was scheduled for 3pm and didn't start until 5:30pm). She was in recovery by 7pm and then in the car headed for home by 8:30pm. I drove home and was in bed shortly after 11pm. It was a long but good day. I took mom scotcharoos (one of her favorite treats) which she appreciated! She meets with the oncologist on Tuesday afternoon when they will review the CT scan she had so please keep us in your prayers!

My little sister has been amazing throughout this whole thing. I love you Julee & you are doing a great job!

One of the good things I see happening is the time we are spending with mom, Julee, Marty & my niece and nephew. On Tuesday at the hospital my niece actually came to me for a hug and a kiss. She is two and has never done that before. I'm really thankful for this, I just wish we would have done it under better circumstances.

Now, on to working out and tri training. I've been plugging away. Normally I follow a training plan to a "T". That hasn't been happening lately. I've given myself some leeway to get the workouts in whenever and in whatever order I can. We also joined the YMCA this week. I really want to work as a fitness/nutrition advisor to senior citizens when I retire (and maybe before that if the finances would work out) and I want to take as many classes and get as much training as I can. My short term goal is to teach a spinning class.

Speaking of spinning class..........oh my goodness!!!!! I've heard people call these classes "sufferfests" and now I understand why. I took two classes last week and boy were they tough. I think I threw up a little in my mouth during the last class. Sorry if that grossed anyone out! My sister tells me I need to try a kickboxing class. Travis is going with me to spinning tomorrow morning. I told him how tough it is. I'm sure he'll breeze through it and I will look like a wimp. Oh well.

Sam update: She is doing well. At her 1 year check up she had dropped to the 8th percentile for weight. The doctor still isn't too concerned but said to keep giving her formula and add an extra scoop. She eats well, sometimes I swear she eats more than I do, but it doesn't seem to stick. Oh and she absolutely loves watermelon. We made the mistake of feeding her a bit too much with dinner two nights this week and paid for it the next morning. She was soaked, her pj's were soaked, and her sheets were wet. Two emergency morning baths followed. She didn't seem to mind though.

Today was her last day in the baby room at daycare. She had been spending a lot of time in the toddler room lately anyway and she loves it so I am sure she will do great.

Sam giving Uncle Marty some love!