Medical Update

Today I had my last baby doctor appointment before the baby will arrive. I'm still dialated at 2 cm and 90% effaced. The doctor checked my fluid levels and that looks good. I have my induction scheduled for Monday May 4th at St. Alexius hospital. I went to my breast surgeon today and he removed the staples underneath my arm. He also gave me a couple of referrals for an oncologist and radiologist. After the baby is born I will have to start the chemo treatments 2 weeks later. The four chemo treatments will last over a 12 week period of time and the radiation treatments will be another 6-8 weeks. I will have to take an extended leave of absence from work. I'm grateful for the short term disability I have from work. I wasn't prepared for all this to happen to me. I just hope that we can handle the strains both financially and emotionally. We will have a few months of some real challenging times ahead of us.

Ten for Tuesday

Hello Everyone!

1. This has been the biggest week of my life. On Tuesday I received the call from the baby doctor that my test results were in and not good. I immediately started to break down at work and had to leave right away. I called Frank and was having trouble getting a hold of him. Apparently he was on his way to get me from work and didn't hear his cellphone ringing.

2. I went to the doctor and found out that I had breast cancer. We discussed the different options and where we needed to go next with the cancer treatments and having the baby.

3. I met with the breast surgeon and he ordered me up for surgery immediately and I had the tumor removed by Friday. The baby and I came through the surgery just fine. I'm currently trying to rest and make a full recovery at home. I'm very grateful to have my parents here to help me through this trial.

4. My husband and father put together the babies crib and I helped supervisor. I have been trying to get any last minute items settled before the baby arrives. My mother in law took me shopping and purchased me a bunch of new clothes and bedding for the baby crib.

5. My parents and I went downtown to a Korean market in Chicago and than we went out to lunch at a China buffet. It was nice to get out of the house and visit the city.

6. On Monday I went to the baby doctor and she monitored the baby and she is doing great. I have my induction scheduled for Monday May 4th unless she comes sooner. Frank showed up towards the end of the appointment and the doctor helped answer any questions we had concerning labor and delivery. I think I'm more scared about giving birth than I was going through surgery. Go figures!

7. On Tuesday we attended the temple and did a session together. It was nice to get to be spiritually uplifted. I'm grateful I had an opportunity to visit the temple before the baby arrives.

8. It was wonderful to hear from all of you and I appreaciate all of your thoughts and prayers. This is truly a lot to deal with all at once and I know that I will come though this trial just fine.

9. I received the call from Frank today. He gave me the test results from the doctor.. My lymph nodes came back 100% completely clean. The tumor was 7 mm however the doctor had to remove some pre cancerous cells around the area which measured 3.78in size therefore I WILL have to undergo the chemo treatments. I'm very upset about this and I'm very scared! I will have to be strong and try to get through the next few months. Please keep me in your prayers!

10. We decided to not have the kids come over this weekend under the circumstances. Frank is trying not to burden the kids with the news of the breast cancer.

Recovery Time

Well after a very long day at the hospital I'm finally home. I went into the hospital around 6:30am and the doctors ran every test under the sun on me. I had a little bit of wait time but it was nice to have my parents and in laws there to love and support me. The surgery went very well and the baby just slept with me through most of the surgery. The nurse told me they all had a good laugh when the baby kicked the surgeon while he was operating on me. It took me awhile to come out of surgery and the procedure took a bit longer than expected. Orginally they measured the tumor as 7mm but it actually was 3 cm. The lymph node was clean however they will continue to run more tests to make 100% that I'm clean. I'm worried now about having to undergo chemo therapy now. I will at least have to go through radiation treatments for 6-8 weeks. The babies heart beat did dropped down right after I came out of surgery and than went back up. She was probably feeling the after effects of me having gone through the surgery. The baby doctor took me up to labor and delivery and wanted to just monitor the baby for additional 2 hours. It turned out to be more like 4 hours. My baby doctor had to deliver a baby in the next room over. While I was trying to rest they did another ultrasound on the baby. That was very cool to see the baby at full term and to get a chance to share that with my parents. The doctor told me she was doing great and let me go home. I have another appointment on Monday and they will wait until the baby comes naturally. I'm hoping she can stay in my belly for a few more days so that I can recover from my surgery. They will probably induce me if she doesn't come by May 3rd. I'm offically 40 weeks pregnant tomorrow.

Medical Update

I have my breast cancer surgery scheduled for April 25th at 10:45am cst.
I am supposed to report to the hospital tomorrow morning at 6:30am for some prep work. They will need to do another ultrasound to pinpoint the location of the lump and do some blood work to test for infections, etc...They will monitor the baby very closely and will do an emrgency C section if the baby goes into distress. I really hope this doesn't happen because I want to be awake for the birth of my own child. I'm hoping that she will just sleep through the procedure and that she comes out a few days later on her own terms. I will be leaving the hospital in the afternoon and will have a short recovery time. My baby doctor will be on call at the hospital tomorrow just in case of a quick delivery. I'm really hoping that the cancer hasn't spread and that I can just do the lumpectomy and just finish with some radiation treatment. Wish me luck! I appreciate that all of you prayers.

Breast Surgeon Appointment

Frank and I called the breast surgeons office this morning to see if we could get an earlier appointment. They told us that the doctor had two surgeries in the morning and that he would be leaving early and that is why he set our appointment for Thursday afternoon. The secretary called us back to tell us to come in at 12:30pm today. I was very happy to hear that the doctor agreed to stay later than expected to fit us in. When we got there we already had a good impression of the doctor and felt very much at ease with him. He came very highly recommended to us by our OB Gyn. After the exam was completed he discussed a couple of different options with us. The first option was the best one to both Frank and I and was the least scary. The doctor feels like he can just do the surgery to remove the small tumor in my right breast and than they will have to test the lymph nodes to see if the cancer has spread. He doesn't believe that this will be the case because he didn't feel any swollen glands under my arm. They still have to test at least one of the lymph nodes to be 100% positive. Depending upon the test results right than they may have to remove the whole string of lymph nodes. He left me feeling like the cancer is operable and that I detected the cancerous growth in it's very early stages and that I will make a full recovery. The doctor called this an infiltrating carcinoma in one of my breast ducts. The recovery time in 2-3 days and I will have a one night stay in the hospital. The doctor wants to do the surgery before the baby arrives. The surgery will be much easier to do before my milk comes in. He believes that I will still be able to breast feed my baby at the very least with the one good breast. There is a small risk that I may go into labor due to the surgery being performed. He also said that if the babies heart rate drops down due to the drug medication he will have my OB Gyn standing near by to do an ER C section to get the baby out right away. I'm hoping all goes well with my surgery and that he can remove the tumor than have the baby be born when she is ready to be come. My parents are leaving tomorrow to come help me with the baby and the surgery. Please keep me in your prayers! I'm very scared and have a lot to deal with all in a very short amount of time. I appreciate all of your love and support!

Medical Results

I received a call today from my baby doctor and found out that my test results for the biopsy came back bad. I was told to leave work immediately and go to the doctor. She broke the news to me that I have breast cancer. I was devastated to hear this news! I have an appointment on Thursday with the breast surgeon. I will call tomorrow to see if I can get in sooner to see him. I still don't know the severity and the stage of the cancer. I still have a lot of unanswered questions and hope to get some answers soon. The doctor's will have to either induce me or I will have to wait until the baby is born to operate. I will have to need to undergo chemotherapy and have some additonal testing done.The doctor is telling me that I might have a gene that could have caused the cancer and I will probably need to undergo some genetic testing. I will let you know what happens tomorrow....

Ten for Tuesday

1. I attended Enrichment night for the first time in several years. It was nice to visit with my church friends. I arrived a few minutes late and had to leave early. We learned about how to reduce stress in our lives.

2. On Friday night my two friends Mike and Heather got engaged. They pulled a trick on Heather and my husband called her and pretended that I was going into labor. The story was that Frank was an hour away on an appointment and he needed Heather to come over to comfort me until he could make it home. She rushed over to my aid and I went outside by the pond for some fresh air. Her boyfriend came up behind her and proposed to her. The whole night was a success and she was surprised.

3. On Saturday morning I went into work for the last time before I go on maturnity leave. Work was very slow and boring. My last day of work will be on April 23rd. I can hardly wait to have a break.

4. Afterwards I headed home and stopped off at Target to pick up a birthday gift for baby Ricardo Jr. I rushed home and grabbed a quick bit to eat and wrapped the gift and than left to pick up Frank to head out to the party.

5. Frank and I took Frankie over to the party which was being held at a park. We got a little lost but we eventually arrived there. The party started late because everyone else was running late. The food arrived and they had a nice cook out. The food was so delicious. I must have over eaten that day. I just couldn't get enough good food. We had cake and than we went home. Frank had to leave early to go back to work so his dad dropped us off back home.

6. Sarah spent the night over at her friend's house for her 14th birthday party. She missed the party but rejoined us the following evening. We made it home late from the birthday party and I went to the Gold and Green Ball at the stake center. I couldn't do any dancing but did manage to dance to a few slow songs with my husband who arrived an hour later.

7. I went to the doctor to have a breast biopsy. The procedure went very well and I will get the results back in a couple of days. The radiologist thinks I have a benign fibroid. I have an appointment with a breast surgeon on Thursday. I hope all is well and that I can put this experience behind me soon.

8. I went on another appointment to the baby doctor. I'm still holding steady at 1 cenimeters and 70% effaced. I have been having some minor contractions and hope to deliver the baby soon. I'm definately getting more uncomfortable and nervous at the same time. I have been very emotional all week long. I guess this is normal????

9. I was released from being a temple worker this week.

10. I continue to put the final touches on the babies room and geting all the last minute tasks accomplished before the baby arrives. I took the day off so that I could run my doctor appointments.

Doctor Visit

Today I had an appoinment at Good Shepherd Hospital for a breast biopsy. The procedure went well and I will get the results back in 2 days. I was very proud of myself for going through the procedure alone. Frank came and joined me afterwards to give me some additional comfort. The radiologist believes I have a benign fibroid and that the tests results will probably come back normal. I have another doctor's appointment on Thursday with a breast surgeon to go over the results. I hope they don't have to extract any growth but will we will see what happens later in the week. I also had my baby doctor's appointment today and I'm still dialated to a one cenimeter and 70% effaced. I'm starting to feel little contractions and becoming more uncomfortable everyday.The baby is due in just 6 more days. Wish me luck!

Ten for Tuesday

1. We attended stake conference on Saturday night with Mike and Heather. It was sad to hear the news that one of our beloved stake presidents was moving to Salt Lake City for a job opportunity. This is a wonderful man that will be sorely missed!

2. I had a baby doctor's appointment and this week. The doctor ordered up a fetal monitoring test for the baby. They wanted to see if the placenta was working properly for the baby. I guess they were concerned about the baby being on the smaller side. They believe the baby is currently around 6 pounds and will not be the biggest baby on the block. That is FINE with me personally. It was neat to see myself having small contractions even though I couldn't feel any of them.

3. The baby is doing well and on Easter Sunday I discovered a lump on my breast. I took the day off work on Monday and went into see the baby doctor. She recommended I go see a breast surgeon and have an ultrasound done.

4. I have an appointment tomorrow and I hope all will go well. I believe this has something to do with me being pregnant and getting ready to have the baby. I'm hoping it's a clogged milk duct. I'll keep you all posted. Keep me in your prayers!

5. On Saturday I went to Target to pick up some last minute items for the hopsital and I wasn't feeling too well. I started to get really hot and sweaty while shopping and began to feel lightheaded. I sat down for a few minutes in the shoe dept while looking for some flip flops for the hospital shower. I called Frank who was busy on an appointment and told him what had happened. I quickly checked out and picked up something to eat. I wasn't sure if I had low blood sugar or just having some weird hormonal changes happening. I felt the baby drop down a little. I started to feel better after I ate and than I drove myself home.

6. I have less than two weeks to go before I have the baby. I'm starting to get nervous and want to prolong the actual D Day for a little while longer.

7. My dear kind loving husband came home early from work on Monday night and cooked me dinner and was very supportive since he knows that I scared about my most recent finding.

8. On Tuesday night I went back to work and was surprised to come home to a candle light dinner that he had prepared for me. This is unusual to have Frank home on a Monday or Tuesday night. He is such a wonderful husband and makes he love him that much more!

9. On Easter Sunday we went over to Frank's sisters house for a luncheon and than we had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. I went around with Elena and we collected a ton of eggs filled with chocalate candies that had partially melted due to the sun. The older boys enjoyed finding the two golden eggs that were filled with money.

10. Frank and I headed over to Heather's house for dinner. She made a nice pork tender loin and than we just sat around and visited the rest of the evening.

Happy Easter

This year for Easter we headed over to Denise Johnson's house for and Easter lunch. We had a great time and enjoyed re-connecting with everyone in the family. We had roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad and sloppy joes. Afterwards we headed outside for an Easter egg hunt. All the kids were excited and we picked up most of the eggs scattered around the back yard. They were filled with chocolates that had melted from being in the sun too long. Some of the kids found money in some of the eggs. The kids were given Easter baskets and afterwards we came home. For dinner we were headed over to our friends house. She made a great pork loin. I'm definately stuffed from all the yummy meals.

Ten for Tuesday

1. I'm starting to find it harder to move around. My belly is growing rapidly now and I have only 20 more days to go. I have developed a bad case of hives. I ran out of my normal pregnancy lotion so I decided to try putting babys oil on my belly. It wasn't taken care of the itchiness so I started to put on some lotion from Bath and Body works on and that made it worse. I now have hives all over my body and I can't seem to get rid of the problem. I'm not sure if I should call the doctor or try some home remedies first. Any suggestions?

2. I'm trying to wrap up any loose ends before the baby arrives. I called and filed for my short term disability and scheduled a tour of the hospital. I was never able to sign up for any prenantal classes due to scheduling conflicts. I'm just going to have to read up and do some self studying.

3. I had my 36th week doctor's appointment on Wednesday. Frank was supposed to come with me but had to cancel on me at the last minute. He had an appointment to run which he couldn't get out of.

4. The doctor made me wait around for about 30 minutes in the room and I was falling asleep in the chair. Luckily the baby was very active so she kept me entertained. The doctor saw me for only five minutes. She told me everything looked good and that I have already dilated 1 centimeter. Next week they will put a moniter on the baby to see if the placenta is working properly. They want to check the babies movements since the measurements from the hospital came back a bit on the small side. I'm sure she is fine and all this concern over her size is based on family genetics. They are predicting a normal sized baby.

5. I'm looking forward to meeting our new little baby soon. It's hard to believe my life is about to change forever. No more sleeping in I guess...

6. After I went to work on Saturday morning I met up with my friend Wendy to do a little shopping for some nursing bras. Afterwards we went out to lunch at Colonial's. We had some free coupons for some ice cream sundaes.

7. I went home and tried to resolve my current issues with AT&T. The pending issue is still being disputed and could still take up to a couple of weeks to resolve. I called back to cancel all the upgrades to my phone and internet services. I also cancelled my order for direct TV.

8. Frank and I spent a relaxing weekend alone together. I went to sign the consent forms at the hospital.

9. We attended General Conference and really enjoyed all the talks. We invited
a friend over for dinner. Frank cooked a delicious pork roast and than we played a few games afterwards.

10. Frank put together the stroller and I re-arranged some of the stuff in the baby's room.

Nine months and counting down the days