Thursday, April 12, 2012

Seizure

On Tuesday the 10th I admitted to Stanton that I was experiencing slight weakness in the right side. I wasn't worried about it since it was even low grade enough that he didn't notice. I just figured it was residual from Fridays trip to the ER (they called me and told me that my platelets were low and said I would need a transfusion if it were true. This caused a stress induced reaction where I experienced more right side weakness than I have had in a long time. The weakness quickly went away on Friday. And my platelets turned out to be fine.) . Stanton was visibly worried about the revelation of my rigth sidie weakness, no matter how much i tried to minimize it. So on wednesday I was already trying to get in contact with my doctors, to talk with them about what was going on. I finally got a call back at 6:17. They said that it didn't seem like I had already had a seizure, but I should watch out. I got off the phone with the doctor, called Stanton and told him what they had said. My phone says that call lasted until 6:30. I was still not worried, I was sure that it was nothing. I started feeling a little weak, so I sat down on the couch not to much later, my leg started shaking, then cramping, then my arm,within seconds I was having a full blown (focal) seizure. My whole right side was flailing out of control. The scariest part - I was at home alone with the kids. I called for Chaselyn to come into the living room, the kids were both back in Jacobs room. Both of them came in while I was seizing. They thought I was playing the horsey game and promptly started climbing on me. I tried to get Chaselyn to get my phone for me. I told her it was on the counter in the kitchen. Remember I was still seizing so it took all I had to get the words out and they weren't coming out very good. She went and looked, but said she couldn't find it. Then she said "I got it momma." And showed me a play phone. I told her that I wasn't playing and that I really needed my phone. After she looked again, she said she still couldn't find it. So , I told her that it was ok. But i needed her to go over to the neighbors house and get help. I told her to go outside and see if the boys next door were playing. If they were tell them that mommy needs help. If not, knock on the door. I knew it was a lot to ask, but while seizing I couldn't think of anything else. The sweet little girl said ok I'll go get my shoes, she already had shoes. I pleaded with her that she needed to go now. Then she told me that she couldn't go outside without a grown up. By this time I was starting to regain composure. I told her that just this one time she could go. She went over to the door but then came running back to the couch. I told her that it was ok to be scared, but I really needed her to go over to the neighbors house. She was slowly walking toward the door again. By this time I had stopped seizing. And had regained composure. I was sure that I could now hobble over to the counter and get my phone. I told Chaselyn she didn't have to go. She immediately seemed relieved. I got to my phone, called Stanton back at 6:51. I estimate that the actual seizure lasted less than 5 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. Stanton was only a couple minutes away. He called Michael and told him to get someone over to our house to watch the kids ASAP. Within minutes Stanton was home and we had 4 people at our house to watch the kids and pitch in to help. It took a while to figure out what we were supposed to do. The on call oncologist said that we needed to drive to the ER in Dallas. Then we were waiting to hear back from my neurologist to see if it was necessary to drive to Dallas. So when everything was all said and done, we were headed to the ER about an hour after my seizure. Stanton was very anxious and we actually got pulled over for speeding. (Stanton's first time getting pulled over ever.) the nice police lady let us go with a warning. Stanton was more bothered by the amount of time it was taking. When we finally got to the emergency room, we started the waiting game. Fortunately, they put me in a special waiting area away from the sick people. (apparently there is a vicious stomach bug going around Waco.) We sat in there for about 2.5 hours. We had good company though. When they moved me into a room, it was about 10:00 I think. I finally got the CT scan at 11:45. Doctor said there wasn't any bleeding or clotting. And the consensus was that it was probably scar tissue from the shrinking tumor that caused this episode. We were home around 2am. They prescribed some anti-seizure medication called Kappera and I should be talking more with my doctors in Dallas today. So that's my story. Like I said the scariest part was having the kids there while I was seizing. But based on their reactions, I don't think they knew anything was wrong, they thought I was just being silly. Which I am so thankful for. I am praising Jesus today for his healing touch, for his unwavering steadfast love, for constantly holding me in his hand, and for giving me the support network that I have.


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Switch it, change it, rearrange it...













Model behavior...

The task take these shirts and make them suitable for a little girl.

The solution make pillow case dresses out of them. Done.



 Now, if I could just find a cute little girl to model them for me...
Oh I'm good.




Oh, she's good.



And that is all I have to say about that.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Happy report, happy me

Well, after getting a wonderful report from the doctor yesterday I woke up this morning like I was on a mission. I got lots of odds and ends taken care of, went to my appointment with the radiation oncologist (she hasn't seen me since august, she was quite pleased), and made a t- shirt pillow case dress for Chaselyn. It's a busy time for me. I'm going to Disney World in 9 days, I'm helping organize two baby showers, starting to think about my sweet boy's 2nd birthday, we need to start organizing for the upcoming move, those baby showers will inevitably lead to two adorable babies that I am desperate to meet, and not to mention hippity hoppity Easter's on it's way. But thanks to the report yesterday I feel renewed by the Grace of God. I am so overwhelmed by the prayers that have been prayed on my behalf. And rest assured, if I could I would reach through the computer screen right now and hug your neck. I'm really ready to see some family and friends. I haven't seen my family since the first of the year. Friends here in Waco have been great, but some of my closest friends (including the 2 that I'm helping organize showers for) aren't so close. But between the Disney trip and the showers, I hope to get recharged. I learned something in my appointment yesterday that I hadn't understood before. I thought the plan was to do 12 rounds of chemo (i start my 7th round on Sunday) then reevaluate. The way I understood it, if the chemo was working we would stick with it until it stopped working. But I found out yesterday, that after 12 rounds, the side effects tend to get worse compared to the benefit. So I won't stick with the same treatment past August. Dr. Maher actually said that if it continues to be as effective as it has appeared to be, I should only be left with a little scar tissue by that time and then I would continue to get MRI's done every 2 months. Dr. Tiwani (radiation) said she could try re-radiation if there was anything left. But that's a decision that doesn't have to be made yet. That's all I got for tonight.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

15 years - That's half of my life!

Stanton and I started dating on this date when we were both just 15. You can read about how it all went down here. And read me gushing about our relationship here. But this year in early August, I can officially celebrate being with my husband for half of my life. I still can't believe it. Most people won't be able to say that until their late 40's or early 50's. And when we get that old, we'll be able to claim spending over 2/3 of our lives together. But for now, I am getting close to passing the mark where I can say I've spent a majority of my life with Stanton.That warms my heart to think about.

It's not just about us being together for that long though, we've experienced a lot of things together, grown up together, and we have made a lot of memories together. We don't just finish each others sentences, we have the same crazy thoughts at the same time. And as much as I dislike it sometimes I can get in his head (it's a scary place) and know exactly what he is thinking. And he can do the same with me.

Over the past few months he has shown just how much he loves me. It turns out that when you are diagnosed with brain cancer, suddenly everyone just wants to tell you and show you how much they love you. But I had no idea how much Stanton truly loved me until I saw his reaction to me being severely sick. I used to ask him all the time (literally I would ask him at least once a day) "Do you love me?" or "How much do you love me?" I don't let those words come out of my mouth any more. Because I am secure in the love that my husband has for me. I don't even say "I love you more", because I don't think that it is true. From dealing with just the sheer amount of emotional drain that my diagnosis put on him, to helping me bathe, to making sure all the bills were paid, to researching my specific type of cancer and studying hard to know what is best, Stanton has exhibited his love in so many wonderful and deep ways, I feel blessed to have him by my side.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Long time, no type...

So it's Fat Tuesday and after promising to blog more, I got hung up on one post and just couldn't get past it. I will go back and complete that post later, because it was the post for Chaselyn's third birthday. I have done so much since my last post, went to Disney World, learned that 2 of my very best friends are pregnant, celebrated Christmas in my own home for the first time ever, saw a marked decrease in the size of my tumor, and had great times just hanging out with the kids. Speaking of kids, have you seen my kids lately? They are huge! And doing more and more amazing things everyday!

And that is my handsome husband with my little sweeties. We got them "Lady and the Tramp" for Valentines day and this is how they watched it...snuggled up on the couch, under the hog blanket. Jacob didn't last too long he doesn't have the patience for a movie, but Chaselyn snuggled her Daddy to sleep.

I love being home and having the opportunity to see little moments like these throughout the day. Most of the time the good stuff far outweighs the bad. There are those days full of poopy  diapers, screaming matches, and toy stealing where I get flustered, but overall I think I'm doing OK.

As far as the cancer goes, we've settled into a routine and will stick with this routine for the foreseeable future. I have a 28 day cycle where I take chemo pills for the first 5 days and then I'm off for the other 23. I've been trying to implement a low glycemic diet too as suggested by a nutritional oncologist. But I found that there weren't a lot of good snack options for me. So I would have a hard time eating a full meal, especially the week after chemo, and I would hardly eat anything at all. So we figured out for the 5 days I take the chemo, I can only have meat and vegetables throughout the day and then at night when I take my pills I can eat anything, especially sugar. The idea in doing this, according to the nutritional oncologist, is to starve the cancer cells so that they get really hungry and then when I take the chemo and eat the sugar, the cancer cells try to eat the sugar and end up munching on the chemo too. For the week immediately following my chemo I allow myself to have anything I want as long as I keep eating. Then I transition back to the low glycemic index diet for the last 2 weeks. Then start all over again. I get my brain scanned every 2 months. When I went in January, the scan showed a decrease in the size of the tumor and a thinning of the tumor walls. Praise the Lord!

So I'm back. Again. And this time it won't be so easy to get rid of me! I've given up FaceBook for lent. And have committed to reading the Bible more and blogging more. So now that I've made it public, I have to do it.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thankful days 16 - 21

Day 16 - Chaselyn Today is Chaselyn's third birthday. That's why I was kind of nostalgic in the post yesterday. My little girl is 3. Can you believe it? Three years ago we were a couple, but Chaselyn made us a family. So special! I am so proud of her. She's simply incredible. She speaks in full complete sentences and with purpose. She's a loving sister (sometimes a little too much). She has an awesome memory (this scares me sometimes). She sings the best songs (both real and made up). She is very inquisitive (this too scares me a bit). She is creative. She's amazingly well dressed. She is absolutely the most beautiful, most intelligent, most entertaining little 3 year old.

I love my sweet little girl and I thank God for blessing me with her 3 years ago.
 
Day 17 - ability to drive
Day 18 - The holidays
Day 19 - food, family, and football
Day 20 - my childhood
Day 21 - rain and cooler weather