Post Surgery

Amos, Colleen's father blogging for Colleen today.

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I did not post yesterday. We had a good day but tiring on us old folks. Colleen was allowed to go home yesterday and spent the night at home. She is very sore but is a trooper in dealing with it. The doctor said she could take a shower today for the first time. She can move about on her own. The arms continue to be the problem. She can't put much pressure on or lift much at all. It is still very amazing what she can do with having such major surgery. God is good and your prayers have been so vital to this process.

Pray that we can finally shake this flu bug which must still be in this house. Leigh Ann had the throw up version last night which Shelby had last. Hopefully it will be short as Shelby's was. We are keeping her away from Colleen today. Thank you all very much for standing by us through this ordeal. It feels good to be on the other side of the surgery and now we can build back.

In case I haven't told you, Colleen will have about 4 weeks until the second round of chemo begins. It will consist of 4 treatments, 2 weeks apart. This treatment is called "the red devil". The people who administer it have to wear clothing similar to the hazard materials people wear when they do their job. We will need to pray that God will tame the red devil for her treatments. God can do anything we ask. Praise His Name!

Some More Information...

I sound terrible today because of my cold and when the surgery nurse called with some information, she was very concerned about whether I would be able to have surgery tomorrow at all. She had me call my doctor who wanted to see me. I saw the doctor this afternoon and she gave me the thumbs up after listening to my lungs. I guess my cold is more in my throat area which is making my voice really screwy today.

Anyway, I forgot to post that I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. and my surgery is at 7:30 a.m. I've been told that the surgery will take around two hours and then recovery. I believe I will be released sometime on Friday.

Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts!

Surgery on Wednesday (3/23)

My surgery is coming up in a few days (Wednesday the 23rd) and, frankly, I'm a little nervous. My head knows that God has everything under control, that He's with me always, that He can be trusted with my life. Still, I'm not into pain and I will wake up with part of my body gone, cut off, thrown away. I'm not sure why but this just seems like a painful, emotional step for me.


My devotion for today in Jesus Calling by Sara Young says this, Trust Me and don't be afraid, for I am your strength and song. Think what it means to have Me as your Strength. I spoke the universe into existence; My Power is absolutely unlimited! Human weakness, consecrated to Me, is like a magnet, drawing My Power into your neediness. However, fear can block the flow of My Strength into you. Instead of trying to fight your fears, concentrate on trusting Me. When you relate to ME in confident trust, there is no limit to how much I can strengthen you.

Father, help me to completely trust you.

I love these words from the song called Never Let Go by the David Crowder Band.

When clouds veil sun
And disaster comes
Oh, my soul Oh, my soul
When waters rise
And hope takes flight
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Ever faithful
Ever true
You I know
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go

When clouds brought rain
And disaster came
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rose
And hope had flown
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Oh, my soul
Overflows
Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, my soul
Fills hope
Perfect love that never lets go

Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, what love, oh, what love
In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You're the same
Oh, You never let go

________________________________________________

You can pray for me in these ways:

Pray for the surgeon and all his staff that God would help them to remove anything that might contain cancer.
Pray for my recovery that it would go well.
Pray that I wouldn't get a staph infection - a real concern these days when you are in the hospital.
Pray for me in my continuing treatments. I should start chemo 4 weeks after surgery. That will continue for 8 weeks. Then, I will start radiation.
Pray that God would help me to accept this change to my body and that He would replace it with something better in some way.
Thank God that my fever has gone but I have a chest cold. Pray that it would be gone by Wednesday. We serve a BIG God!

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. Joel 2:25-27

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Great verse...

On the little flippy calendar by Max Lucado located by my sink...

The Lord is fair in everything he does, and full of kindness. He is close to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who reverence and trust him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. He protects all those who love him. Psalm 145:17-20 TBL

There's a Shrew in the House and It's Not Me

Ha ha ha! I crack myself up.

I went to the hospital today to get my Herceptin and it turned out taking a lot longer than I planned. I had to have an ultrasound because I had some weird swelling in my face and neck area last week. They want to make sure that there isn't a blood clot near my port. I will maybe find out tomorrow if there was anything there. I was there from 11 -3. So much for getting a break from the place. :)

I came home and started painting these beautiful beds my husband made for Kylie and Macy. They have been sleeping on their mattresses on the floor since we moved into this house. I guess this is a pic of the headboards but aren't they cute?

Anyway, slowly getting to the point here. I hear this, "MOM, MOM, MOM," and up the stairs come two screeching seven year olds. "MOM, THERE'S A MOUSE IN THE BASEMENT! HE'S RUNNING BETWEEN THE BOOKS!" After the panic die down, I find out from Macy that he came down the stairs and then ran across the floor through the school room and the books stacked there. I'm thinking this is great. I HATE mice. Dan is due home in a few minutes and after I call him to tell him how much I HATE mice I tell the kids to go back downstairs. I assure them that a mouse isn't going to do bodily harm to them or kill them.

The girls are back down in Shelby's room when I hear this, "MOM, COME DOWN HERE QUICK!" I'm painting and really reluctant to put my brush down and hop up to run down there. I tried sending Levi down who is now not wanting to go where the mouse abides even though he had been trash talking the girls a few minutes earlier because they were afraid of the basement because of said mouse.

I head down the stairs and find one child in the middle of the bed sobbing and carrying on. Dear lord, is there an ax murderer down here along with the tiny mouse? The other is standing in the middle of the floor and ready to give an account as an eye witness might at a crime scene. "The mouse came into my room and around my guitar and then he turned around and ran back out!"

I guess it's mouse hunting time. I have to tell you I had tore apart a closet in the basement looking for my dear children's AWANA badges that I haven't sewn on yet. No big deal right except that they got them last year. Bad mother award for me. :) Anyway, there was stuff everywhere that this little fella could have been hiding behind. I kicked a few boxes...nothing. The dog comes in and lays down in the middle of the uproar. Maybe he will be some help if we find the mouse. I walk across the room and Shelby says that he just poked his head out from under the door that goes into the storage room. So much for the dog's help. He just laid there and eyed the rodent as it made it's appearance. We have him cornered! We stuff a blanket under the door so he can't escape and wait for Dan's arrival.

Dan arrives and amid the hysteria he ascertains that the mouse is in the storage room and we need him to kill it! He opens the door to set a mouse trap and the little thing runs right up to him trying to escape his prison. That's when Dan discovers that it's a shrew and not a mouse. He must have come in through the garage door and gone down the stairs to the basement. Well, finding out that the rodent is a shrew changed all the kids opinions. "Don't kill it Daddy, just put it in something and take it outside," they say. Dan is rolling his eyes and wondering how he came to be in the middle of all of this. When did his children become card carryin' PETA children?

He sends someone to get a bucket and they come back downstairs with some of my Tupperware.??. The shrew has disappeared by this time and Dan is losing patience. He sets a trap and sits by the door hoping to nab the little guy as he runs up to the trap. Well, I have to say that the poor little shrew met his Maker today. He ran right up to the peanut butter and into the trap before Dan could put the Tupperware over him. Anyway, that's Dan's story and he's sticking to it. A few tears are shed and I hear Shelby telling her daddy, "It's OK daddy, I know you tried your best". The truth may never be known.

Aaah, I love my ordinary life and moments like these!

Missing Eyebrows and Such

I'm missing a few hairs in my eyebrows and some of my eyelashes have fallen out. What in the world??? :) I guess since the hair on the top of my head is starting to grow back, my eyebrows and eyelashes decide to have a go at it! Go figure! None of it really matters because it will all fall out again with the next round of chemo. Bald is beautiful...right?

Alright, now that I have that off my chest we can move on to more important things.

We had a super time at the water park this past weekend. It was so nice to get out of the house and let the kids run wild. We had a excellent meal at Famous Dave's and then spend Friday evening and Saturday til about one in the water park. We came home with four very tired but happy kids.

No pics of me because I really do look like a cue ball! :)

My surgery has been changed to Wednesday, March 23rd. I went in last week for my pre-op physical. I will go over tomorrow for my iv bag of Herceptin. I thought I was done for now but I was wrong. I will be on Herceptin for a few years after I am finished with the rest of my treatment. I am completely finished with Taxol which has been causing the neuropathy (numb hands and feet). Please pray for healing of my feet and hands.

I did meet with my oncologist and was able to finally chat with him about my PET scan. As stated before, my scan was good news. I don't think the PET scan can proclaim one's cancer is gone or not. It showed no cancer but cancer has to be at least 1 centimeter before the scan can pick it up. That means over a billion cancer cells have to be lumped together to be seen.

So, my cancer could be gone (I believe it is). Or, there could be some still left that doesn't show up on the scan because it's smaller now.

Jesus sometimes healed people instantaneously of their diseases and then other times he had them go through all the motions to be healed. I will continue through the prescribed treatment because that is what I feel I should do.

I am feeling very well this week. I can tell it's been 10 days since my last chemo. I have more energy and I feel more like my old self! It's so nice. I have a few weeks before my surgery. I plan on using each day wisely!

I leave you with the words to a song that my friend ,Sara, and I are practicing to sing at church soon. I love what it says.

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Morning by morning I wake up to find

The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine

Season by season I watch Him, amazed

In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways

All I have need of, His hand will provide

He’s always been faithful to me.

I can’t remember a trial or a pain

He did not recycle to bring me gain

I can’t remember one single regret

In serving God only, and trusting His hand

All I have need of, His hand will provide

He’s always been faithful to me.

This is my anthem, this is my song

The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long

God has been faithful, He will be again

His loving compassion, it knows no end

All I have need of, His hand will provide

He’s always been faithful,

He’s always been faithful

He’s always been faithful to me.

He's Always Been Faithful - Sara Groves