I think he's naughtier with the hat on backwards...

Brady has a thing about hats lately - he loves to wear one, which is a change from the past 15 months of his life. His favorite is his Cubs hat. And, I've noticed a trend...if the hat is on backwards, the boy is naughtier. Of course, he doesn't have pants on either, and what little boy ever behaves when he doesn't have pants on?

Silly Daddy

I just love Brady's belly laugh!

Snapshots of the little man

Almost 16 months old now! Here he is playing in the "corral", climbing on the kitchen chairs, reading and having a snack at his new table, eating chocolate cake after dinner, wearing his Cubs hat, and using a fork! What happened to my little baby?

Quick Update and Prayer Request

Just a quick prayer request. I met with my doctor (Dr. Khalil) last week and found out that radiation is still a possibility for me. My oncologist (Dr. Simmons) is now "waffling" as to whether I should have radiation or not, and Dr. Khalil is pushing for me to have it. He says that he knows it might be considered "overkill" but with my age and the nature of the cancer, that is what he recommends. The decision is ultimately up to Dr. Simmons, but he confers with Dr. Khalil.

The reason why Dr. Simmons is now "waffling" is because when we originally met, a portion of my pathology report was missing from my patient file. He told me he still wanted to see that part of the report, and would follow up with me in a week or so, but he felt very strongly about me not needing radiation. We took that to the bank! He didn't follow up, so we figured no news was good news. Now I find out that he's been talking with Dr. Khalil and that's why he hasn't followed up with me.

One thing I found comforting is that Dr. Simmons studied at University of Iowa, which Dr. Khalil says is "one of the best head and neck cancer centers in the United States." Well, we all know that anything good comes from Iowa! ha ha! While I am not exactly a Hawkeye fan (at ALL) I wouldn't mind kicking this cancer in the butt, Iowa style! :)

I don't have an appointment with Dr. Simmons until December 1, so I have a while to wait. We aren't exactly on pins and needles here, but we would still appreciate your prayer. I am hoping this is much ado about nothing...and it will be confirmed that I won't need radiation.

Thanks for praying for our family, once again!

Scar Progression

I thought I would post a picture of how my scar looks six weeks post surgery, especially for my friends and family who are out of town. Overall I think it looks great; I am not self conscious of if at all, which is good because it is hard to hide! Feel free to gawk!

WARNING: I also posted the "before" picture that was taken one day after my surgery so you can see the healing. DO NOT scroll down if you are faint of heart or enjoying your lunch!

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"Before"

Blowing off some steam...

It seems like at least once a day, Brady needs to get outside where he can just run free. The fresh air is good for both of us. Most days we wait until after nap. Since the weather is cooling down, I decided to bundle him up in his new snowsuit. A little big, and the jester hood might be a bit much, but overall, isn't he cute??

Cancer Mail

Below is a photo of encouragement. I have affectionately named it "cancer mail"...notes and cards from "you guys"...my friends. It measures three inches high! Three inches of encouragement. If I could add to this all of my e-mail messages, facebook posts, and comments to the blog, my stack of encouragement would surely grow two feet and walk away.

THANK YOU for the cancer mail. It's the best kind of mail. Really.

Our Crazy Two Weeks...

I wanted to post a few photos of our crazy two weeks of my surgery and recovery. We are so thankful for Grandma and Grandpa and Granny and Papaw (say that three times fast) who worked so hard to keep our house together and our son loved to pieces. Sure, we did have a few days of "detox" from the spoiling, but that's not a bad trade.

Please note: I realize that the following photos of me are not the most flattering. I wish I could say I was one of those people who looks naturally beautiful after major surgery and while in a fog of pain medicine with no shower for six days. That's right...six days. No shower.

This was Brady's first visit to see Mommy in the hospital, one day after surgery. I cried when I saw him, so then he cried, and then he wanted nothing to do with me. It was great. We took a few trips up and down the hall so he could entertain the nursing staff.

My mom and Brady were pretty "tight" and I don't think they allowed anyone else in their club. My dad was allowed in occasionally but not me or Jason. HA.This was Friday morning when I was first released from the hospital, only to be readmitted 24 hours later. I'm smiling because of the the cute boy who finally decided he'd sit by mommy...and I'm smiling because of the vicodin, too.

Daddy and Brady visiting Mommy the second time around.

I was released again on Monday morning, and for good this time, with a great pathology report as a send-off present! That brought my total count to 2 nights in the Intensive Care Unit and 4 nights in a regular room. (By the way, the means 6 nights of not sleeping at all, but who's counting).

By this time, my parents had left and Jason's had arrived. I must say, I had a blast hanging out with my in-laws for a week. We had fun together when I was awake and coherent, and they did everything for Brady and the house so I could just recover.

I felt like Brady grew 10 pounds and three inches. He just seemed so much older by the time I was home. I missed him so much!

Papaw and Brady were fast friends. Granny has way more energy than I do! Even when I am 100% healthy, she's got me beat!They came bearing gifts - matching Cowboys shirts for father and son. We decided we could possibly end up being Dallas fans since the Browns stink this year (and every year) and although I grew up a Broncos fan, I have nobody to share that with in Ohio! You can see, it is quite a pickle for me. I'm sure you are glad that I am still talking about it right now.

The weather was kind of yucky for most of their stay, but we did take one sunny afternoon trip to the park. Granny went down the slide with Brady who was belly laughing the whole time. He cried when we put him back in the stroller.

Love the smiles. Yes, mine is still partially pain med induced, but mostly because of that one-year-old laugh!Finally Jason and I spent some time alone in Cleveland at the Taylor Swift concert with 50,000 screaming teenage girls. Despite our hearing loss, we had a great time. Our pictures turned out really lame and this is the best one! You can see my scar has improved, and it looks even better now. At this point I am smiling because of the Percocet...which is even better than Vicodin, who knew?? HA HA.

One more photo...here is the boy in his fleecy jammies playing with his new stacking train from my parents. If you put one of the blocks on the stacker for him, he claps for you. Hilarious, and also kind of a confidence booster. HA HA.

Thanks for reading this and my ridiculously long photo captions that are probably only funny to me. I really get wordy when I update the blog in the middle of the night, huh?

We are so thankful for the Lord's provision for us during my surgery. We felt His healing hand and He answered our prayers. He gave us wonderful parents to care for us and who rearranged their lives to be here. We are so blessed, and yes, I have said that 100 times and will likely say it 100 more times!

CANCER SCHMANCER!

Now, off to bed.

Winter Hat

It's getting cold outside! Brady got a new hat for winter...

Another Reason to Praise!

Just got back from a meeting with the radiation oncologist. Bottom Line: NO RADIATION! He feels my cancer has been treated at this point. He did want clarification on something in my pathology report, so he made a call to my pathologist and will follow up with me. But still...NO RADIATION!

This has been my cancer journey so far: Diagnosis...followed by dark days of unknowns...followed by HOPE...followed by blessing after blessing after blessing...and the blessings just keep coming! And through it all: unwavering comfort from the Lord! Without the Lord my cancer journey would be much different!

Next step: Post Op appointment with Dr. Khalil in a week. Then PET/CT scan in six months to make sure the cancer has not reappeared. Scans will continue and if I have five years of clear scans, I will be considered cancer free!

One minor item for prayer...I broke out in a rash around my incision that is crazy itchy and bothersome. It is rapidly spreading up my neck and onto my face and down across my chest. I called the doctor and started a steroid last night to try to put a stop to it. Pray that the rash will go away because it is driving me nuts! I might have to duct tape oven mitts to my hands so I will stop itching! :)