Huang Family

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T01:17:00.001-05:00

Isaac's bringing these to school for his friends. On them they say,"Valentine you make my heart BOUNCE." I hope it doesn't turn out to be his teacher's worst nightmare as far as valentines go.

10 month pictures

2012-02-13T23:35:00.006-05:00

Prozac has done wonders for his temperment

2012-02-13T23:30:00.001-05:00

but he still barks.

A pattern

2012-02-13T23:22:00.002-05:00

It seems that every time I've been stuck at home by doctor's orders I tend to redecorate, which usually puts David in a tizzy since I like to move furniture around. Well so far he has been completely supportive of buying new/antique furniture to liven up our house. This was one of our first purchases. We found it at a resale shop for $100 by Ethan Allen and it also had the rest of the bed room suit with it. We decided at the time not to get the dresser, desk, and bed, but after I thought about it I really liked the desk and dresser, so we'll be picking those up soon along with a green and yellowish striped couch. That day we also picked up a rocker/glider like the love seat one we have it's just a love seat and the color is a burnt orange.

Just trying to keep up journaling

2012-02-12T23:47:00.002-05:00

I think I have figured out that I am good for about 2 to 3 hours of awakeness before I pass out and then nothing can wake me for hours. I'm talking about sleeping 5-8 hours. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to the leave the house today, but all the upgrades around the house made my day.
Also my boob things get really cold even when I drink something really cold. Kind of weird, but I think it's because they don't have any fat or tissue to keep them warm.
Other than that I'm feeling pretty good bu my conversations through facebook, email, and such. God is really with us on this one.

Never again

2012-02-11T23:29:00.002-05:00

So at my usually 4am bedtime I decided I'd like to finally take off "the bra" for some relief. It's been rubbing my skin off and my ribs now hurt from having an enormous rubber band around them for close to 3 weeks. It felt glorious at first, my ribs were loving it. I was also thinking that since I was laying down flat that it wouldn't do any damage or anything. Which will led to another story. Well, waking up at 8 am I was in tremendous pain to where I could not move, I had to have David go find the bra and put it on my. I've been recovering from this all day. Might I remind you this was only 4 hours too.
On to the other story. I decided to take a nap sometime ago, I have no concept of time or day now, and ended up on my side. I'm a side sleeper so this sleeping on the back thing sucks and and I probably wouldn't get any sleep if it weren't from the drugs. Well, waking up from a side sleeper nap leaves me in terrible pain, even with the bra on. That crazy bra! I was hoping that at my canceled follow-up that he'd say we can burn that thing now, but of course that didn't happen,

Not So Tickled Pink

2012-02-11T03:28:00.000-05:00

Article worth reading.
Not So Tickled Pink
Komen’s greatest problem is that it has forgotten there is a woman attached to the breast.

Update 2/11/12

2012-02-11T02:07:00.002-05:00

I've have a lot of people ask how I'm doing today, via phone, email, and facebook. I don't think I answered any of them because as soon I as got home at 3pm I went to sleep. Funny thing is I woke up at 7pm and thought to myself ahhhh Isaac's going go wake up soon. That's how well David's been taking care of the kids, I rarely hear them.
Well, I was supposed to have another follow-up with the plastic surgeon today. The first follow-up was to just pull out the drains. Well about 2 hours before my appointment they canceled it and closed his clinic for the rest of the day and possibly next week, his mom isn't doing so well. Emotionally I was on a high because I was having lunch child free with mu hubby and had all the questions that I thought I was going to get answered. So needless to say emotionally I plummeted , not only to someone that might be loosing their mom but also that the day wasn't meeting my expectations.
Thankfully David and I then had sometime to stop at an antique store where we found some fabulous finds. Since I'm at home most of the time now I've decided to redecorate and am super excited that David's on board with me. Day was also better because my bestie was watching my children and they had a fabulous time together. I love the story of them pretending to take nap time together not realizing we have a video monitor. I was told they would play and look out his window, but when Shannon came to check on them they would just in bed and pretend to be asleep. I'll also have to post the pictures of Nolan and Hayden together.
Now back to my update, I haven't taken pain pills during the but have been at night to hopefully help me sleep, which they eventually do at about 4am. Well, I've also been trying to do more of my physical therapy so I'm in incredible pain. Yesterday I took my pain pills all day which probably helped me get some good sleep. As David put I need to continuously take them so I'm not crashing and then trying to make up for, I just don't like not knowing the day or what's going on but I guess that's how it's going to have to be for awhile. My follow up is now scheduled for Monday the 20th.

Today 2/7/12

2012-02-08T03:04:00.002-05:00

I currently have no problems with how I look. I do have problems with how I feel. On my right side, the one that I call mutilated, I can feel the implant when I walk, which is really weird. I'm also weaker on my right side. I have not taken pain pills for two days, but am still in no condition to drive. I'm currently taking Valium for the muscle spams, the drugs are starting to remind me of when I was pregnant. If I had a full bladder and would cough, I'd wet myself. Which seems to be happening now because of these muscle relaxers. And of course the day I finish the antibiotics the kiddos gave me a runny nose and cough. Go ahead, it's ok to laugh.
Even though I'm not on the pain medication I still have no balance and am uber surprised that my legs and thighs aren't covered in bruises. Although if I am out some place it is guaranteed that I will knock something over.
David went back to work full time this past Monday and my mom will be leaving Thursday. So I will be sending out an email to those of you that want to come vacuum my house, do my laundry, and go grocery shopping for me.
I have another follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon Friday, so hopefully I be feeling brave enough to post before and after pictures.

This is the wonderful bra that I have to wear constantly that has know worn away the skin under my arms around the shoulder part.

You may also note that I do most of my blogging at 3am now. For some reason I can't sleep from midnight to 4am. I may do with me being a side sleeper and I'm now having to sleep on my back. But this weird sleeping schedule is also making me pass our at 2pm. Hopefully Isaac and Nolan's nap schedules will sync up.

I also want to thank all of you that have been praying and bringing meals. I feel God's presence through all of you.

Peanut butter playdough

2012-02-08T02:34:00.005-05:00

Fun messy activity that the dogs really enjoyed, I think Isaac likes it too. It's just made of peanut butter, honey, and powered sugar. So it was very yummy to eat, but every time Isaac would try it he would say yuck with a smile on his face. Then he thought it would be fun to see if the dogs would like to try to it and they sure did.

2 days after planting the seeds

2012-02-08T02:15:00.002-05:00

Since it was still warm I got out some more flower seed packets and told him he could plant them where he wanted to. He picked his playground area. How cute it that?

Two days ago when I gave him seed packets I told him he could only plant in two of our raised garden boxes. Can you see the bunch of off-white round seeds piled in the middle of the box?

Planting February 2nd, Why Not?

2012-02-08T02:02:00.003-05:00

We've had a warm winter and since it was another warm day I gave Isaac some seed to go plant. Hopefully we will be surpirsed in the Spring.

Realization

2012-02-05T22:50:00.002-05:00

Although I feel all fine and well and in a perfect condition to drive a car, I came to a realization this morning that I should not. While in the shower shaving my legs it took me a few seconds to figure out which direction to shave, this is something that all women know is an autopilot thing. I guess after being on various pain pills for a couple of weeks the haze feels like a new normal.

Whatever day it is after mastectomy

2012-02-04T00:11:00.002-05:00

Today was a good day. I has some much needed social time with my book club last night and today I took quite a bit of large baby toys to a resale shop. Yes I did end up spending half of the money they were giving us, but I feel like I got something accomplished. The pain is much the same, it's there all the time but not overwhelming. I guess I'm just really tired am have a hard time acknowledging that. I was up for 10am to 2pm then took a nap from 2pm to 8pm and was dead to the world. I should probably resting more but I want to be involved with life, husband, and children.

I am still so thankful for the comments and facebook friends that keep encouraging me or checking up because this is going to be a long recover and I know from my miscarriage years ago how much it hurts when people stop asking how things are going after the first couple of weeks.

By the way the ring was silver and emerald, my birthstone. I'm now shopping for some take my breath away Opal earrings.

Day 10 or 11 after Mastectomy

2012-02-03T01:19:00.003-05:00

Yup, I've completely lost track of time. I'm usually up until 3am so that I can take my last does of medicine and them I'm up around 10am when it's time to feed Nolan. Today was a much better day, David went to work and Mom took care of Nolan for most of the day while Isaac was at preschool. Mom would come get me when it was time to feed Nolan which just really lifted my spirits today. I attempted to rest today but wanted to be around the kids so I think I got a nap in somewhere.

The new pain pills don't take the pain completely away like the others did but I'm more of myself. The pain is mainly under my arms right now so it's hard to get comfortable because your arms can't be next to you and they can't be too propped up either, but it is definitely managable.

Since I'm not having these late night sessions with the computer I've taken up jewelry shopping or as some may call it retail therapy. Today I got this wonderful ring in the mail. If I keep you this habit I may amke Valentine's Day and our anniversary very easy for him. By the way the ring is silver and was only $32.

Day 9 after Mastectomy

2012-02-01T23:07:00.005-05:00

No pictures today. They look the same, swollen, bruised, and deformed. The breast surgeon today said that the hard yellowish thing under my right breast is scar tissue from the drains and if the dimple doesn't go away then the plastic surgeon can take some of my fat and fill it in. But I actually like them now better than I did before. They were too big and always in the way. I also hated how I sweat under them. Definitely not an issue now.
My issue today is completely emotional. Now that I feel like I can do more I want everyone back to their regular schedules too. I guess being a SAHM (stay at home mom), I kinds of a control freak when it comes to my house and kids. So David's going back to work tomorrow and my mom will help me with Nolan, which I am completely looking forward to because I have missed holding, eating, and even changing him.
Another issue I'm having is that I can't drive anywhere. I feel like I'm a teenager on restrictions. My friends have likened it to bed rest, and I'm only a week and a half into it. This really sucks!
I had my first follow-up with my breast surgeon and as soon as she saw me she said I didn't look good and needed to tell her what's going on. So I went into more detail on the emotional stuff, which she totally gets since she's due to have another baby in a week. So she sent the psychiatrist down for me to talk to and come up with a plan to get more back to my normal. My breast surgeon also put me on a different pain med because the the that I was on worked wonders for the pain, but I was no where near my normal self. It was impossible to walk straight or keep up a conversation. Now the new meds aren't even touching the pain. I'm feeling worst than I was in the hospital.
I'm now going to try to focus on the positives for the day. My son Isaac was ecstatic to see me and wanted to be attached to my hip. I had tons of laughs and felt more normal at our small group. We had a delicious dinner delivered to us. I was even able to dress myself without any help. I got so many supportive emails and comments that this journaling is helping them.

Day 8 After the Mastectomy

2012-01-31T23:09:00.003-05:00

First I want to thank all of you that have been sending me messages of encouragement and how I have been helping you through this journaling process. I am so grateful that I am able to show others what their experience might be like. I am also very grateful for all the prayers that helped me keep calm and healthy through this. I may not be able to thank all you individually but I will always remember your kindness.

Today has been much better as far as doing things more independently, but I do still have limits and it's hard to remember those limits when I feel like I can do it. I find it is difficult to reach for things off the shelves in my cabinets or to reach for the shampoo in the ledge in the shower. This is kind of embarrassing, but it's also hard to wipe after using the restroom.

Now on to the pictures. As you see in the first there is something yellow just under my breast that is hard like a rib but it is not a rib. My guess is that it is alloderm, or cadaver skin to help hold the implant in place. It's just really weird how both sides look completely different. By the way the wrinkles across my breasts are from the bra that I have to wear 24/7. Today I didn't sleep nearly as much but the pain drugs still make me completely unbalanced when I try to walk. I'll talk more about this to the doctor tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing doctors weekly for a while. I thought it was interesting that one of my doctors wants me to continue to take the Valium long after the Norco (pain pills) to help with the muscle spasms as they try to readjust. I feel like I'm on a slew of medicines right now since I need benadryl for the side effects of the pain pills, antibiotics, Valium, and then a stool softener to counter act all the drugs.

Day 7 after the mastectomy

2012-01-30T15:10:00.004-05:00

Well, the drains got yanked out today. It hurt like the dickens but oh so comfortable now that I don't have them hanging on me. I asked why one side has a huge dimple in it and was told that is is a dissoluble stitch to keep the implant in place. If it doesn't go away in a few weeks then the doctor will go in and take it out.

Right now I'm feeling down for a few reasons one is the way it looks, if I had know that this is how it would look with my body I would not have done reconstruction. The other major reason I'm down is that I was told today that I not be able to pick up my baby for 4 to 6 weeks, which means he will need to be in someone elses care during that time. I miss holding him and rocking him to sleep oh so much. It will all be worth it in the end but it really hurts, emotionally, right now.

Day 6 after Mastectomy

2012-01-30T14:57:00.004-05:00

At home and looking at my new self. Not what I anticipated to see. I thought that I would look uniform and hopefully that does happen over time. I have a lot of swelling and bruising, Also the incisions are held together with glue, which is much more comfortable than stitches. I'm continuing to do my physical therapy exercises and am surprised at my range of motion over the last few days. The first day out of surgery I could not lift up my hand to grab a cup. The second day I could grab the cup and drink from it. Then the third day I was able to grab a small jug of water and pour myself a cup of water.

Day 5 after Mastectomy

2012-01-28T20:41:00.004-05:00

Just some miscellaneous thoughts. It takes a long time to take a shower partly because you can't raise your hands above your head and partly because I'm way off balance. I wake up every every 4 to 5 hours due to needing pain meds, but that means that I miss the the time for the other drugs that aren't on the 4 to 5 hour schedule. It is impossible to put a bra by myself and hold the gauze in place. I'm also not able to brush my hair myself. I love having the kids just come and sit next to me in bed, it makes all of this worth it.

The drains aren't that bad, just kind of in the way when dressing, undressing, taking a shower, and such. I'm finding it hard to open things like pill bottles, because you have to press down and twist. I also had to call the nurse while in the hospital to tear open a ranch dressing package for me. I feel normalish when I'm lying in bed, but when I'm on my feet I'm way off balance and often have to keep a hand on the wall. So far things are going great, Granny and David are doing an awesome job taking care of the kids and myself. Also I have the greatest group of friends here. God has truly blessed me. I will continue to need help for many weeks to come and I'm sure that my friends will still be here to help me.

Day 4 after Mastectomy

2012-01-28T11:30:00.005-05:00

I finally get to take a shower! As you see from the last two pictures it was much needed. The hardest part was getting the drains situated. Hopefully they will get taken out on Monday.

Day 3 after Mastectomy

2012-01-28T11:27:00.001-05:00

Today's highlight is that I got to watch the fat snowflakes out the window.

Day 2 after mastectomy

2012-01-27T22:59:00.003-05:00

My chest is really bruised and swollen with two drains sewn in on each side. Recovery is going better than I expected, but I'm also on a lot of drugs. So I have no idea what time it is or what day it is. I usually pass out after reading a paragraph from a book too. It made my day anytime someone came to visit, especially my children.

Day of Mastectomy

2012-01-27T22:34:00.005-05:00

As son as we got into the car to go the hospital one of my favorite songs was playing on the radio. I knew that God was with me. All the facebook comments and messages also made a impact. Super excited about getting this thing start, but the surgeon was running over an hour late. Super sexy hospital socks. The worst part was getting the IV. Even got some Flowers before going to in to surgery. Coming out of recovery was a little rough, but the drugs finally kicked in. Surgery lasted 4 hours and I was told that it went better than expected.

Day before mastectomy

2012-01-22T19:34:00.002-05:00

I went for a photo shoot with Morgan Matters Photography. I just decided yesterday that I should get some pictures done and luckily she was available. Since this was her first time doing this sort of shoot she didn't charge me, how awesome is that?! I'd like to document this journey so there may be some semi-nude photos on here coming up. Well today I'm anxious and trying to get my house in order. Laundry has been going all day, finally caught up on the blog, took Nolan to the doctor for an ear infection, now making lists of how to care for the children and trying to set up help for us, which is kind of hard since I'm not sure how we'll need help. But our freezer is fully stocked. I feel much like I did before going in to have Nolan. It's a weird feeling knowing that my life is going to change tomorrow. I greatly appreciate all the prayers and feel completely surrounded by God's peace with all our your comments. Thank you!

Enjoying hot coco

2012-01-22T18:35:00.001-05:00

Two days after playing in the rain

2012-01-22T18:30:00.000-05:00

Playing in the rain in January

2012-01-22T18:24:00.001-05:00

Playing Xbox Kinect

2012-01-22T18:02:00.002-05:00

Currently we have to move Isaac around to play the adventure games and he loves us throwing him around.

Breast Cancer Support T-Shirt

2012-01-21T15:21:00.000-05:00

Previvor

2012-01-16T11:38:00.002-05:00

I thought this was a corny term when I first heard it, but it has become a part of my vocabulary when trying to explain to someone why I'm having a mastectomy and what BRCA 1 is. I'm now just one week away from my mastectomy and I'm really excited or maybe that's just nervous energy. I'm trying to get my house in order and make lists of how to care for the children.
I also went to another FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) and there are three of us having the same surgery within weeks of each other and I'm going first. So they are anxious to hear what I go through.
I was also asked to speak at a Women of Influence conference about my journey with BRCA1. I'm so excited and honored, but I'm a horrible public speaker. I know kind of ironic since I was a teacher. I know God will give me the strength to educate others on this subject. So I'm going to do in just a couple of months. I should probably go ahead an write my speech so I'm not trying to write under the influence of anesthesia or pain drugs.

Japanese Steakhouse Adventure

2012-01-09T17:18:00.004-05:00

Nolan watched in awe. Isaac attempted to hide under his chair the first time there was fire.

3 Year Old's Pirate Party

2012-01-09T16:53:00.004-05:00

There was sword fighting, walking the plank, and shooting cannon balls into a bag, but mostly importantly this special 3 year old was surrounded by people that love him to celebrate him growing a year older.

Peek-a-boo

2012-01-09T16:40:00.006-05:00

Peek-a-boo with the curtain.

This guys loves peek-a-boo. Hopefully I'll get a video up soon of him playing by himself.

Swallow Study

2012-01-09T16:19:00.003-05:00

Nolan had a swallow study this past week to see what's going on when he swallows since he throws up a lot and gags regularly on baby food. It turns out he has reflux and some sensory issues with food. Gagging and throwing up are his ways of saying he doesn't like the food, which seems to be most foods. The doctor gave us the go ahead to give him solid foods, but he just looks at them so far. He has no desire to put them in his mouth. Also the reflux medicine causes him to throw-up. So I'm waiting on the doctor to give me another suggestion. Nolan will start to see a speech therapist to address his sensory issues with food. And I thought Isaac was difficult with food, boy was I wrong.

3 Years Old!

2012-01-09T15:48:00.003-05:00

The Golf Cart We Love to Hate

2012-01-04T14:36:00.002-05:00

The lake house we stayed at had a lot of fun toys for us to use and one of them was this golf cart. Julie and I decided to take it for a spin the night before. Supposedly it can go for 2 hours on a full charge, but we quickly found out that you will be on the side of the road with a dead battery in about 20 minutes. Julie ended up pushing the cart while David followed us in the van since it was night time and we didn't want to get run over. Julie thought maybe it just hadn't charged enough so we charged it overnight. She then took some of the family for a spin around the neighborhood. When they got back I took Julie offroading, which turned into Julie pushing us back home offroading. It had potential of being an adrenaline pumping fun ride, but it turned into Julie getting a good workout while I laughed hysterically.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-04T14:25:00.003-05:00

This picture was taken at about midnight EST, so Isaac and Nolan aren't in it but the rest of the family is and amazingly everyone is looking at the camera and smiling.

Most of us didn't realize it was NYE until late, so I guess you could say we partied by making cookies, watching a movie, and reading.

Yup, that's dueling e-readers while the rest of us were watching Midnight in Paris. I guess we're a nerdy family.

Houston Children's Museum

2012-01-04T12:24:00.006-05:00

I really wanted to take Isaac to the Houston Children's Museum for his 3rd birthday since it was rated the #1 children's museum in the US by Parenting magazine. Well, the day of his birthday was filled with other activities so we went the day after. David and I also took along his cousin, Augustine, with hopes that it wouldn't be as busy as the Indianapolis Children's Museum during Christmas break, which is rated #2. It was busy, but very manageable. We split up so we could focus more on the kid that we had and explaining the exhibits/activities to them. We didn't get to do the entire museum but the kids were very happy with what we had explored.
Then we came home to a wonderful home cooked meal by Mama and Aunt Barbara. And finished the night with a few rounds of a game called BANG!

Christmas Dinner and Birthday Cake

2012-01-03T22:19:00.011-05:00

Isaac had a great time with his cousins, Myrhh and Augustine. He was so sweet in this first picture sharing his cereal with her. Isaac also enjoyed bring things to Yehyeh to fix and trying to drag him around the house to play with toys. I think Nolan's favorite person at the house was Baba, who tour him on countless tours of the house. We had some marvelous meals too, on this day we had handmade dumplings for lunch and a turkey for Christmas dinner.

4 generations of Huangs.

Yehyeh, Aunt Dorthy, and Isaac shared a super yummy birthday cake.

Trying out a neck massager, incorrectly.

Trip to Texas

2012-01-03T22:09:00.003-05:00

We left this snowy wonderland and drove to a warm 70 degree lake house. Along the way we had a few stops for fast food and had to spend the night in a hotel. Our plan was to drive through the night, but Nolan had other plans. By midnight he still wasn't sleeping and was throwing up from crying, so we had to stop for the night. Thankfully on the way back he actually slept for a 4 hour stretch and we were able to make it home in 18 hours. The drive wasn't that bad, and it was well worth it to visit the family; so I'm sure we'll be making this drive again.

Christmas

2011-12-26T20:09:00.006-05:00

A fun filled day with family celebrating our Savior's birth.

Christmas with friends

2011-12-26T19:50:00.004-05:00

I don't know where I would be if I hadn't met Shannon. She's my best friend here in Indiana and at times seems like my only friend. She comes over at the drop of a hat to help me deal with a child's bloody nose and a screaming baby. She's also the only person I know that will come over to help me vacuum, dust, and clean when I have company coming into town, or to just help me not stress out over the mess. She's made us countless meals and is always available to talk. We've gotten together with her family two Christmases now and it's starting to feel like tradition.
Our boys had a wonderful time playing with the kids and toys. We had a fabulous time eating and having conversation. I was also able to surprise her with a Kitchenaid Mixer, which made her cry. Funny how a mixer can make a mom have tears of joy. Isaac got a superhero cape and mask, which was a big hit with all the kids. Isaac picked out some jewelry for Kylie, which she loved.

9 months!

2011-12-26T19:49:00.001-05:00

Unintentional Christmas Gift

2011-12-24T20:30:00.003-05:00

We got a package of presents this week and Isaac absolutely loved the packing peanuts.

Preparing for Christmas

2011-12-24T14:23:00.007-05:00

He put out the magic reindeer food that he made a school. Next year well work on spreading it out.

Here's an ornament he made at school too. He really doesn't like having his picture taken.

This year he loved telling Santa what he wanted. He told Santa he wanted a tractor. Then after seeing Santa he got a goody bag and when he opened it he was disappointed their wasn't a tractor inside. A lot happier than last year.

Nolan's 9 month well visit

2011-12-21T11:24:00.002-05:00

Nolan is doing ok. He's not crawling, but the doctor says this is one milestone that is ok for them skip. He does want to see him cruise around by 12 months. Also since he throws up often we are going to do a swallow study to try to find out why.
His weight is 23 lbs. 2 oz., 94 percentile.
Length is 31 in., 99 percentile.
Head is 46 cm.

Isaac's 3 year well visit

2011-12-21T11:18:00.002-05:00

Isaac's doing great! The doctor was pleased with his speech and was able to understand more of what he's saying.
His weight is 38 lbs., 98 percentile.
His height is 40 in., 94 percentile.

At least they are playing together, right?

2011-12-19T21:09:00.002-05:00

By the way Karen, we finally finished off the case of scotch tape.

Blessed by our church

2011-12-19T15:35:00.003-05:00

So we don't go to church regularly but when we do it never disappoints and I always leave there with wonderful message to carry me through. Well this week Isaac was given this goody bag to make a birthday cake for Jesus, which includes the cake mold, balloons, candles, cake mix, and frosting. I love the message that they are sending to not only me, but to my children, and our entire family.

First Day of Public School

2011-12-16T16:56:00.003-05:00

Getting on the bus early in the morning. He was smiling and waving as he left. I, on the other hand, was crying. I then went inside and told Nolan he couldn't grow up and he just smiled.
Nolan, Daisy, and I waiting on the bus to return. He was asleep when they brought him back home, therefore I have a crazy kid right now because he didn't take a nap.

Mastectomy and Reconstruction Plan

2011-12-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

I'm having a mastectomy and reconstruction on January 23. I've know about this date for a few weeks now and have been letting it sink in before I talk to others about it. To recap I'm doing this because I'm a BRAC1 carrier and have a 86% percent chance of getting breast cancer and a 43% chance of getting ovarian cancer. This is a preventative measure and does not eliminate my chance of breast cancer, but it does reduce it to 1%.
I got a packet of paperwork from the plastic surgeon this week, which made this decision a little more real. I have a lot of paperwork to sign and send back. I also have a lot of labs I need to go get done for the breast surgeon, which I've had for a month now. A part of the plastic's paperwork that I thought was interesting were the numerous pages on Alloderm, donor tissue. It's awesome and creepy at the same time. I will have cadaver tissue used to help my body build more soft tissue.
I've decided not to do the oophorectomy at this time because the gynecological oncologist would like for me to be on hormone replacement therapy for the next 20 years, which I'm not comfortable with. So for now I'm going on birth control to reduce my risk of ovarian cancer at this time and see my doctor for an ultrasound every 6 months to try to screen for ovarian cancer. Even though ultrasounds don't do well at detecting ovarian cancer, it's the best option at this time. She would still like for me to have the oophorectomy by the age of 35.
On January 23 I'll be have a bilateral mastectomy and am not keeping my nipples. By doing this I'm reducing my risk from 3% to 1% and also I won't have to wear a bra. There is really no reason to keep them, they will be numb but be able to respond to cold and may even be in different places after the surgery. As for the plastic's part, I'll be getting silicone implants under the muscle. The doctor will be able to do this surgery the same day without expanders because my fabulous children have stretched out my skin and I've got plenty to spare.I'm starting to look forward to this surgery for few reasons. One- I won't be worry about breast cancer nearly as much as I do now. Two- I won't need to wear a bra after surgery. Three- My extra skin on my tummy area will hopefully get a little lift.
Recovery will be rough. I won't be able to pick up my baby for at least two weeks and it will be difficult after that. I know that recovery will be very hard for the first 6 weeks, after that I'm not sure what to expect. Luckily David and my mom will be here for 2 weeks to take care of the kids and me. I will be relying heavily on my friends after that. Thankful that my freezer meal group is already planning delicious meals to bring us.

Not too cold

2011-12-13T16:57:00.001-05:00

Yup, that's a block of ice behind Isaac that he just came out of his dump truck. But of course it's not too cold for Isaac to play outside.

Surprise Pictures

2011-12-13T16:53:00.002-05:00

I love it when I pick up my camera and there are surprise pictures that David has taken.

Ready to eat

2011-12-13T16:47:00.001-05:00

A successful day

2011-12-13T16:32:00.004-05:00

Looks yummy, cake on a stick.
Some days are successful because I get laundry done, clean the kitchen, get the dishes put away, and dinner cooked. And then their are days like today when simply getting a shower means that today was a success.
This morning started with an ER visit because Isaac put a sticker up his nose. This was with in 20 minutes of getting out of bed and before I had a coffee. I tend to need coffee on mornings when I haven't had a full night's sleep. Nolan woke up a few times last night and then Isaac woke up too, therefore not a good night's sleep. Isaac's been waking up because he wants Daisy to sleep in his room but she wants out of his room before he's awake. So last night she wanted out at 3am and he woke at 5am wanting her. Thankfully he went back to sleep until 8. Isaac's refusing to take his pain meds so he's a little testy at times. He seems to be healing well and was a great patient at the hospital this morning. Oh, they didn't see the sticker so they assumed he swallowed it. Also a wonderful friend left some cookies on door. A wonderful welcome home from the chaos of the morning.

Circumcision Revision

2011-12-12T16:54:00.002-05:00

Isaac's surgery went well, now we are in the recovery phase. They prescribed Tylenol with Codeine and he's refusing to take it so well see how we do these next few days. He was such a big boy. He walked to the back with a nurse by himself and talked to her along the way. He just wanted to go home when he woke up, so we got to leave a little early. He drink his milk, which they weren't happy about, and kept it down. Then ate a huge breakfast. He was pretty funny this morning when we got home, and now he's sleeping.

Observation and Visit

2011-12-10T19:25:00.002-05:00

I took Isaac into the developmental preschool so he could meet his new teacher and classmates. He had a great time. In fact he was having so much fun that he had an accident and they had to call the custodian to shampoo the carpet. When it was time to leave I asked if he wanted to stay or go and he wanted to stay. That made me feel so much better about him attending this program. The other children were also wonderful by including him in what they were doing. I observed two more lessons one was a book called the Santa Duck and the other was a poster of December words that contained Hanukkah and Kwanzaa but not Christmas. I'm so glad that he has the opportunity to go to a Christian preschool and that our church has the resources for their wonderful children's program that goes up into high school.

Freezer Meals Wontons and Fruitcake Cookies

2011-12-08T16:39:00.004-05:00

You can find both of these recipes on my other blog. I hope the freezer meal group likes them as much as we do.

Cute and Curious

2011-12-08T16:27:00.000-05:00

Excited about speech

2011-12-08T16:06:00.002-05:00

I've been on the edge of tears the past few days.

When I went to observe the development preschool class yesterday the first thing I noticed was that the kids there are giants. It turns out he will be in a class with other children that are 3-5 years old. I then noticed that they were reading a book about Santa Claus and the kids were answer questions. These kids were answering questions like they were in first grade. They then went to work on handwriting and do another lesson on Santa Claus. I noticed when they were working on handwriting two of the boys started playing swords with their crayons because they had finished the activity. The teacher then got on to them and they stopped. This made my heart break. There is a reason I picked the preschool I did, because it focuses on social development and has lessons geared towards Isaac's age along with a strong foundation in Christianity. I think the developmental preschool is a great opportunity for Isaac to get ahead academically but not necessary at this time.

In his preschool right now they are learning colors, shapes, and about God, not words, addition, and Santa Claus. I've been praying a lot about this decision because although I see it as a great opportunity I don't feel like this is the right way to address his speech problem.

So thankfully I have a friend that her son went to developmental preschool and I reached out to her for some information and she made a recommendation for a private speech therapist. I had already contact Riley Children's Hospital to get the ball rolling with them since they told me it would be a few months before we would be seen. While on the internet last night I was researching the private speech therapist and emailed her. Within 15 minutes I got a response! She called me today and we'll be meeting her next week. I am soooo excited and feel like God is answering my prayers and sending us in the right direction. This speech therapist has given me so much hope and I can't wait for her to finally diagnose the problem and give me instructions on what to work on with him. This is the pricier option but I feel like it is going to be worth it.

Allergies

2011-12-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

We noticed he had some red bumps on his legs last night when we got home from church and this morning they had spread to his feet. He kept itching them too and telling me he's sick. Off to the doctor and his diagnosis was a food allergy. I'm to keep an eye on him for 48 hours because it will probably get worst and to give him benadryl. The doctor said the usual suspects are peanuts/tree nuts, shellfish, and strawberries/berries. I guess there is a reason Isaac tries to stick to pasta, corn products, and bread. I can't figure out what he's allergic to though. Last night the snack at church was cookies with M&M's on them and lemonade. He's had peanut butter many times before too. I'm stumped.

School Conference

2011-12-05T20:55:00.002-05:00

Today I met with the school to discuss Isaac's results on his evaluations. I knew he was delayed in his expressive speech, because he does not form his lips when he talks. Which makes it hard to understand him. Well, it turns out he is a little delayed academically too, he scored 83 when 85 is average. For speech he scored 74 when average is 90-100. All this means that he qualifies for special education services through the school district and they have to start services before his third birthday. So he starts next week, since next week is the last week of school before Christmas Break. He will be going to developmental preschool 3 times a week in the morning and will be paired up with a peer. He will also be riding the bus to school. It will be a small bus that comes to our house and has harness seat belts. This should put my mind at ease, but I'm not ready. I will be going to observe his class on Wednesday and taking him in on Friday to meet his class.

Overwhelmed

2011-12-03T15:33:00.002-05:00

Forgive me for not blogging in over a week. I don't know if it's the time of the year or with all that I've got going on, but I'm pulling away from everything. I tend to do this when I'm overwhelmed and need some peace. I haven't been to Bible Study Fellowship in awhile, nor have I been to a MOPs meeting this semester. I am keeping up with the book club, even though I didn't finish the last book, and freezers meals. Hopefully I'll get those meals made this weekend since we are meeting Thursday. When I feel like my life if out of balance, I just take a step back until I'm ready to deal with it again. And that's where I'm at right now. Even though there are things I have to deal with and can't step back from, which include Isaac's meeting with the school district on Monday, his circumcision surgery next Monday, and my surgery in January. Hopefully catching up on the blog today will help me feel less overwhelmed with one less thing on my to do list.

The Ghost on the Potty

2011-12-03T15:32:00.003-05:00

I think that would make for a good book title.

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-12-03T15:22:00.002-05:00

Visiting Aunt Julie

2011-12-03T15:14:00.002-05:00

Isaac and I took a day trip to visit Aunt Julie in South Bend. It was raining so we didn't get to check out Notre Dame, but that will be there next time. Isaac got to open his presents from Julie and Jason, which he loves.

He got a Leap Frog pen and books.

He also got a magnetic reindeer that they put together.

He also had fun with the dogs. In this picture he is putting them in their kennel and trying to put them in the closet. He had a great time with Aunt Julie, as always, and can't wait to see her again.

Friends

2011-12-03T15:03:00.004-05:00

8 months

2011-12-03T14:48:00.004-05:00

At 8 months you love watching other kids play and love it when girls interact with you. You also cry when boys or men talk to you. You love it when your brother plays peekaboo with you.
You love to eat squash and I'm pretty sure that's why your nose is orange. You still gag and throw up a lot, but you are solid and growing just fine.
You do turn over but have no desire to roll any where. You love to bounce up and down, especially to music.
You also have two more teeth coming in on the bottom for a total of 8 teeth.

Flippin

2011-12-03T14:36:00.003-05:00

It only took half an hour.

Any excuse to be outside

2011-12-03T14:28:00.003-05:00

Love this picture of him testing out the deflated Santa with his foot. He loves mowing the grass and everyday when we get back from school, rain or shine, he mows.

Everything's a sword

2011-12-03T13:09:00.000-05:00

Daddy's boys

2011-12-03T13:07:00.001-05:00

Trying to steal brother's toys

2011-12-03T13:05:00.001-05:00

Highlights from our annual family pictures

2011-11-25T02:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T21:10:00.000-05:00

Love watching David entertain the kids

2011-11-23T22:05:00.001-05:00

Sunrise

2011-11-23T21:58:00.001-05:00

Brothers

2011-11-23T21:50:00.002-05:00

The other day I took Nolan with me to put Isaac down for a nap and Isaac asked me to put Nolan in his bed. Then he wanted me to leave him to take a nap with him. So stinkin cute.

A year ago today

2011-11-20T17:00:00.001-05:00

It's weird to think that a year ago Nolan was growing in my belly.

Our first snow 11/10/11

2011-11-17T05:53:00.000-05:00

Lazy?

2011-11-16T05:47:00.000-05:00

He finally turned from back to stomach and he did it 3 times in a row. Of course he hasn't done it since and it's been 5 days. Is this guy lazy, too big to move, or slow? I have no idea.

Our street tonight

2011-11-15T21:55:00.001-05:00

I'm still playing with my camera, trying to figure out how to take pictures.

7 months

2011-11-15T21:37:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I know these are really late, but I was putting them off hoping that he would stay 6 months.

Christmas Present

2011-11-14T19:03:00.003-05:00

Good thing Isaac doesn't check my bog yet. Here's what he getting from us. If you need ideas, he still loves trains and we have a Thomas and Friends set and a Geotrax set. He loves both of them, but I like the Geotrax better. Also his teachers say he really like eye spy books. I wouldn't might him getting a few new Bluray/DVDs, like Jungle Book, The Princess and the Frog, and Despicable Me. Of course he like all tractors, farm equipment, construction equipment, but we currently have a lot of those. This is what we're getting Nolan. Hopefully this toy will get our lazy guy moving. As of right now he just happy laying there playing with his feet. He's currently wearing 18-24 month clothes, but I'm sure he'll grow out of those pretty soon.

Digger Man

2011-11-11T11:05:00.006-05:00

Isaac has a slight obsession with construction equipment. So Pawpaw took him for a ride on his digger. Isaac was so excited and confident that as soon as he was on he started steering and pulling on levers. He has a great time and was very serious. After he got off he went to check out the tracks and where he dug. He even collected a few rocks, which are still in my car and I'm not allowed to touch them. The last picture of his face is when I asked him if he had fun. So stinkin' cute. We've been reading a book about a boy that plans on buying a digger and drive his baby brother around. I guess this book convinced him that he was old enough to own a digger, because he was a little upset when we didn't leave with the digger. He truly thought it was his. Since then we've read Digger Man everyday several times a day.

Trip to Greenville

2011-11-11T10:16:00.006-05:00

This trip made me want to live closer to home. I loved seeing all the various grandparents loving on my boys and giving them so much attention.

I used to play with this wooden firetruck at G-ma's house when I was a kid.

Isaac's favorite past time was raking leaves with Grumpy. They did this everyday, several times a day.

Nolan loved discovering every one's faces, especially the guys that had hair on their face.

Isaac loved eating cake, jumping in bounce houses, and trying to get strangers to into bounce houses with him at cousin Olivia's birthday party.

Isaac also loved looking at Granny's 'treasure.' He's ask to see it everyday. Mom- he's still saying up and down all the time.

He also had a great time cheering on the Gamecocks with Grumpy. Their is now a play called the chip play, based on Isaac's enthusiasm during that play while eating chips that resulted in chips all over the couch.

He also discovered my old dollhouse.

While I was packing up the car for us to go back to Indy. Grumpy and Isaac pushed Nolan around.

Isaac, Nolan, and I drove down to SC in just 11 hours while it was pouring rain. We left at 1pm after picking up Isaac from school and got there at midnight. I was so very thankful for XM radio, a DVD system in the car, Isaac's portable potty, and that the boys slept. Isaac was dry the entire way there. While there Nolan got G-ma, Granny, Grumpy, and me sick. The way back had wonderful weather but did not go as smoothly. Nolan ended up throwing up all over me and himself and at one point I had to tell Isaac that we weren't stopping anymore and that he would just have to pee in his diaper. Not a proud mom moment, but at the rate we were going we weren't going to get home in less than 12 hours and I pretty sure he was telling me he had to potty just so he could get out of his car seat. None of us wanted to be in the car anymore, which is why Nolan cried most the way home. The next day Nolan cried when I put him in his car seat to take Isaac to school.

Even through all of this I'd do it again. I'd much rather drive than fly for many reasons, taking as much stuff as we want, DVD system, portable potty, stopping when we want, and so on. I'm pretty sure that if we did fly, we'd have to make an emergency stop due to the amount of vomit Nolan produced. Yuck.

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

2011-11-09T15:27:00.002-05:00

These were fabulous! Recipe is here.

Halloween Favorite

2011-11-09T12:39:00.003-05:00

He's been jammin' all over the house with this guitar he picked up from the candy salesman down the street when he was trick or treating. I must say, that guys gives out the best candy.

Youtube favorite

2011-11-09T12:14:00.003-05:00

I recently read an article on how a video of garbage trucks picking up garbage for 10 minutes has over a million hits and it a hit with toddlers everywhere. So I thought I'd see how much Isaac liked it. Well, he loved it. Can you figure out what we watched next?

Pumpkin Fun

2011-11-09T12:00:00.002-05:00

Candied and seasonsed pumpkin seeds.

Going Bovine Review

2011-10-30T12:26:00.002-04:00

A couple of my friends read this after I did and I was surprised that they didn't like it. I liked it but it did take a while to get through because it has some slow parts. This book is about a teenager that get mad cow disease and goes through his adventures. I must say that I will never look at a yard gnome without thinking about what adventures they've been on.

Surgeon Appointments

2011-10-28T23:00:00.001-04:00

Apparently there is a minimum of an hour wait time before meeting with a surgeon. I met with the breast surgeon, Dr. Bowling, last week and she was late because she got stuck in surgery, which is understandable. Even though she was able to answer all my questions, I felt kind of rushed through that appointment.
My next appointment was with the plastic surgeon, Dr. Soods, who was late because he was in surgery, which is understandable, but I had to leave after and an hour and a half because David had to get back to work. So just as I was walking out the surgeon was walking in and he said that he'd visit me the next day since I was going to be in the same building with my appointment with the gynecological oncology surgeon.
Next appointment with the gynecological oncology surgeon, Dr. Rossi, went very well. After my mandatory hour wait, she was able to answer all my questions and even gave me more info that I didn't know. The info she gave me really has me thinking about what might happen down the line because of early menopause, i.e. increased risk of heart attack, osteoporosis, ovarian cancer in the abdomen, and early Alzheimer's.
After I was done with Dr. Rossi, Dr. Soods sent over his minions to get me and take me back to his office, which was across campus. Did I mention that I had Nolan with me and we are now going into the 3rd hour of being there? Well, Dr. Soods was the typical plastic surgeon, Dr. 90210 comes to mind. He suggests that I go with silicon implants and in fact that is all he would do. If I wanted a different procedure, like relocating fat, then I need to talk to a different surgeon because he doesn't feel the procedure is safe. After meeting with him one of minions walked me back to the original building because my car is in the parking garage over there. Did I mention that I had Nolan with me along with his car seat, which together weigh about 30 pounds? But it turns out these walks to and from the appointment were a blessing. I got to ask a lot of questions and got very real answers from these ladies. Also they have the best waiting room ever with computers, puzzles, tons of magazine, snacks, and drinks.
Fast forward a couple of hours and I'm at another appointment for second opinion from a breast surgeon, Dr. Lottich. I've heard very good things about her, but I never heard that I would have to wait a very long time to see her. My appointment was at 3:45, which I was 20 minutes early for, and I finally got to see her at 6 and left there at 7. I have no doubt that she's great with how thorough she is, but she's further away from home and rarely sees patients on time. With all the follow-up appointments I'm going to have I really don't was to waste time.
During one of my waiting times I called my oncologist and told him my evaluation of the surgeons so far and was wondering if he had someone else he could recommend just for comparison, so I'll be seeing one more surgeon next week and it looks like I'll be having surgery in 2012.

First Steps Evaluation

2011-10-28T21:56:00.002-04:00

Today Isaac got evaluated by the First Steps team again. This time I really liked the team and so did Isaac. He had so much fun playing with them that he didn't want them to let. They even showed me some exercises to do with Nolan to help him get moving (flipping over, since he only did it that once). Their findings on Isaac where exactly what I knew, he's delayed in speech. Their advice on exercises are things that we've been doing since before he was talking. Next step will be meeting with the school district and then getting evaluated by them. His speech is getting better but he's still not forming his lips so he's hard to understand at times. But he is potty trained! His teachers were so impressed by him yesterday because he told them he had to go potty, but they didn't understand what he was saying. So he shouted it at them, and then there was no question what he needed. I'm super proud of him too.

Isaac Quilt

2011-10-25T14:49:00.003-04:00

Just stole this off my mom's blog. She did an awesome job making this quilt with just 4 fabrics from this picture.

Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-22T22:37:00.005-04:00

Isaac as Captain Hook, Nolan as the tick tock croc, David as Peter Pan, and me as Wendy.

Chicken Coop Progress

2011-10-20T05:59:00.001-04:00

Now I just need to cover the run with chicken wire. David's shoes are hilarious but he was practicing safe wood cutting practices by wearing close toes shoes.

Discovering Halloween Decorations

2011-10-19T05:43:00.000-04:00

BFF

2011-10-18T05:15:00.000-04:00

Isaac did it to me again

2011-10-17T22:36:00.002-04:00

A little over two years ago I got an intense pain in my right shoulder/neck and next that I had to visit a doctor while I was visiting family in South Carolina. It turns out that my heavy baby, Isaac, gave me a pain, torticollis, that was fixed with some heavy muscle relaxers.
Well, I got a migraine two weeks ago and then woke up the next day with that same intense pain but on my left side. So I just took Advil and it would get better but not go away. Finally a friend convinced me to go to the doctor. The doctor prescribed steroids for the day and muscle relaxers for night. With the amount of steroids I'm taking this week I may not be sleeping for a few days. While at the doctor, she was asking questions trying to figure out how this happened and we finally figured out that I carry Nolan on the right side and Isaac on the left side. So Isaac managed give me a pain in my neck again.