More News...

Well, I don't really know how to put all this, so I guess I'll just wing it...

Today I had a doctor's appointment to check on my progress and remove the drainage tube I had (yeah!). I was worried about finding out how well my facial nerve was healing because so far my face has stayed about the same. Little did I know that JR and I would be hit with worse news that we definitely weren't expecting. Luckily I found out that my face should return to normal, but it could take upwards of six months. I'm not looking forward to that, but at least I know it'll eventually go back to normal. The news that we weren't expecting was the results of my biopsy. From what the doctor said on the day of my surgery the initial findings from my tumor looked benign and there were no worries. I honestly wasn't worried about the results of the biopsy, so when my doctor told me today that the more in depth biopsy results showed cancer I was floored. At my appointment they didn't have the final results yet, so JR and I had to wait a few more hours for a phone call telling me what my fate would be. Finally, we got a call from the doctors telling us the good and bad news. The bad news: it was cancer. The good news: the biopsy results showed they got all of it. It was still hard to hear given that I was holding out for some miracle that it would all come back benign, but for bad news it was the best you could get. I won't go into too much detail about it all, but so far things look good. I might have some radiation treatments to make sure that it's all gone, but we'll talk to the doctor about that next week.

It's the weirdest sort of reality hearing a doctor tell you that you have cancer at 27, but I'm taking it one day at a time. JR and I are both very hopeful given the type of cancer it is and the results from the surgery that everything will be just fine and that I won't have too many more problems from it. I'm feeling really grateful right now that we caught it when we did and that the doctor handled my surgery so well. Right now, I'm just excited to see my kids! JR is on his way home from picking them up from my parents home. I haven't seen them since before my surgery on Thursday. I miss them like crazy! I'm sure Cali will wonder what's wrong with mom's face, but I don't care :-). I love my family so much and I'm so grateful to them for their love and support. Thank you so much to all of you for your love and prayers. I know it makes a difference. I'll continue to keep you posted and let you know what we decide to do from here. Thanks again for all of your support. I love you all!!!

PS- Sorry no photo. I though about putting one up of my face trying to smile, but decided against publicly humiliating myself :-).

Surgery: Before and After...

Well, for those of you who really wanted a visual, here's some pictures of my surgery. For those of you who didn't want to see...sorry :-). It's kind of hard to see in the before picture, but if you look close you can see the marble sized bump behind my ear that I had to get removed. They thought it was a cyst, but from the surgery they realized that it was more like a tumor because it was much more solid. My doctor is confident that it's benign, and we haven't heard any different from the biopsy results, so so far so good. I'll probably know for sure what the results are on Monday at my appointment, so I'll let you know then. With how small my incision was around my ear it's amazing that my surgery took over three hours. My facial nerve was attached to the tumor, so they had to carefully scrap it away. Because of that I don't have full mobility on the left side of my face, but that should return shorty. It's weird not being able to close my left eye all the way or move my nose and mouth very well. It's a little annoying, but I guess it could have been worse! I just get to look like a freak for another week. Then hopefully things will be back to normal. Thanks for everyone's concern and prayers. It really means a lot! When I'm feeling better I'll write more and keep you updated on my progress.

Before...

After...



Here's the gross drainage tube I have attached to my ear. That will be removed Monday (hopefully)!

Crazy January

Well, so far our new year has been a little crazy! We enjoyed New Years, but everyone got sick after that and we're still trying to recover! I spent my birthday (Jan. 8th) taking my sick kids to the doctors. Cali has handled her virus pretty well, but poor Isaac has been really sick with an ear infection (his first one) that just doesn't seem to want to go away. This was his first time really being sick and it was so sad :-(. He had to have three antibiotic shots plus take oral antibiotics. He's a tough kid! Luckily they're finally getting better, but now JR and I are sick and are trying to kick the bugs that we have. I swear we've been to the doctors more times in the past two weeks than we ever have before! And to make matters worse I have to have surgery next Thursday! I'm a little freaked out because it will be my first official surgery, and my first time being put under for anything. I'm just trying not to think about it. So, by the time my surgery is over and I'm recovered (hopefully :-) January will be over! I guess every family goes through months like these. I'm sure February will be better :-).

Here's a few pics to get you through until next month :-). Hopefully life around here will be back to normal. Wish me luck with my surgery!!!

Cali and I with the beautiful cake JR made for me. Chocolate and coconut...mmmmmm.

Here's a cute pic of Isaac sporting his cool 'faux hawk'.

What a cute little stinker Cali is :-).

She's a stinker, but she's so pretty too, if I do say so myself :-).