No tests, no biopsies, no doctors at all. My Commanding Officer brought by some of Christie's favorite foods - shrimp and chocolate truffles after church.
Christie got a day off for her birthday today. Mom and I cooked hamburgers and we got her a cookie-cake with 24 candles. She felt great all day - so great that you'd have no clue she has a softball in her chest! Tomorrow is Dad's birthday, and we'll be going off to the Winchester House. I think she wants to go for a run or something tomorrow, too... crazy girl.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Oncologist Isn't Such a Bad Word After All
I told her that airshows are not that big of a deal, and that I could take her up in a Coast Guard helicopter soon. But Christie loves airshows and will quite literally do anything to see them - even if it means getting a monster. She was not convinced or impressed with the helicopter idea, and said it would be a poor substitute for the Thunderbirds. So we once again found ourselves at Travis Air Force Base - this time for a meet & greet with her oncologist after the airshow.
Oncology. Such a wild, menacing sounding word. Her oncologist's name is even Dr. Wild. Thankfully, we were very impressed by the Oncology department. Her doctor is available for walk-ins anytime she's at the hospital (weekdays during normal work-hours) which is much better than you might get at a civilian university hospital. And she's very willing to get second opinions and even transfer to different treatment facilities if that will help. It's good when you find that you are a name/face to the doctor, and not just a number.
We talked about Christie's constant nausea and chest pains (which Dr. Wild said are really not that bad, given the size of the tumor!) and treatment options, though in reality, we do not know what they will be. We have no diagnosis, and we will not have one until next week. However, we are expecting Hodgkins Lymphoma (HL). It is the most likely fit for her age and gender, her symptoms, and the preliminary pathology of the biopsy. It would also be the best of bad news.
Statistically speaking, it is the most treatable of possible cancers she might have, with well established and effective treatments. But only 8,000 people in America get HL each year. That's .002% of the U. S. population. And Christie has it? How bizarre.
But bizarre and terrifying is where the rubber of faith meets the road of reality. We heard said in our Bible study last week that spiritual maturity is measured by how long it takes us to surrender to God. Please pray that we grow in our quickness, depth, and sincerity of surrender to Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."
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Some other statistics I looked up:
If you have your own access to the internet, you are among ~1.5% of the world's wealthiest people. You are part of about 2.3% of the world's population owning about 34% of the world's wealth. Bizarre.
Oncology. Such a wild, menacing sounding word. Her oncologist's name is even Dr. Wild. Thankfully, we were very impressed by the Oncology department. Her doctor is available for walk-ins anytime she's at the hospital (weekdays during normal work-hours) which is much better than you might get at a civilian university hospital. And she's very willing to get second opinions and even transfer to different treatment facilities if that will help. It's good when you find that you are a name/face to the doctor, and not just a number.
We talked about Christie's constant nausea and chest pains (which Dr. Wild said are really not that bad, given the size of the tumor!) and treatment options, though in reality, we do not know what they will be. We have no diagnosis, and we will not have one until next week. However, we are expecting Hodgkins Lymphoma (HL). It is the most likely fit for her age and gender, her symptoms, and the preliminary pathology of the biopsy. It would also be the best of bad news.
Statistically speaking, it is the most treatable of possible cancers she might have, with well established and effective treatments. But only 8,000 people in America get HL each year. That's .002% of the U. S. population. And Christie has it? How bizarre.
But bizarre and terrifying is where the rubber of faith meets the road of reality. We heard said in our Bible study last week that spiritual maturity is measured by how long it takes us to surrender to God. Please pray that we grow in our quickness, depth, and sincerity of surrender to Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some other statistics I looked up:
If you have your own access to the internet, you are among ~1.5% of the world's wealthiest people. You are part of about 2.3% of the world's population owning about 34% of the world's wealth. Bizarre.
Friday, August 29, 2008
PET Scans and Radioactive Sugars!
Yesterday was a bit painful. Today was much better and with fewer needles!
It was another day of being poked and injected for Christie. They didn't actually take any blood, which is good, since they've taken so much she said she's going to charge them next time.
We got up around 05:45 to make sure we could get to an IHOP for breakfast. Christie's PET scan was scheduled today, and since it relies on a radioactive sugar dye for imaging, she could not eat anything after 07:00. We made sure to stuff her as much as we could with pancakes and eggs but promptly stopped at 06:59.
We returned to the hotel around 08:30 and Christie slept while Dad and I washed her car and ran errands. We returned in time to take her to the North Coast Cancer Center for her 1 PM PET scan.
After injecting her with radioactive sugar (I always did think she had a warm glow about her ... now she literally does!) she had to sit for an hour to let it circulate throughout her body. After the wait, she lay in the PET scanner for 20 minutes, lying completely still. Any movement gives blurry imaging.
Around 3 PM she was done and ready to eat and take it easy. After another long nap and a game of mini-golf at sunset, we just relaxed with her folks at the hotel.
Tomorrow we meet the Oncologist.
It was another day of being poked and injected for Christie. They didn't actually take any blood, which is good, since they've taken so much she said she's going to charge them next time.
We got up around 05:45 to make sure we could get to an IHOP for breakfast. Christie's PET scan was scheduled today, and since it relies on a radioactive sugar dye for imaging, she could not eat anything after 07:00. We made sure to stuff her as much as we could with pancakes and eggs but promptly stopped at 06:59.
We returned to the hotel around 08:30 and Christie slept while Dad and I washed her car and ran errands. We returned in time to take her to the North Coast Cancer Center for her 1 PM PET scan.
After injecting her with radioactive sugar (I always did think she had a warm glow about her ... now she literally does!) she had to sit for an hour to let it circulate throughout her body. After the wait, she lay in the PET scanner for 20 minutes, lying completely still. Any movement gives blurry imaging.
Around 3 PM she was done and ready to eat and take it easy. After another long nap and a game of mini-golf at sunset, we just relaxed with her folks at the hotel.
Tomorrow we meet the Oncologist.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Still Waiting...
Today I had a bone marrow biopsy (during which I screamed like a baby - when they tell you you will feel only a little bit of pressure - they are lying!!!!), and a follow-up appointment with my surgeon. We are still waiting for the final diagnosis to come back from the pathology clinic in Texas. They expected to have it the end of this week, but now they are thinking it might take a little longer. When they first saw my CT scan, they thought it was probably Hodgkin's lymphoma, then after my surgery they told me it didn't look like a lymphoma but possibly a teratoma (a group of disorganized stem cells you are born with and eventually start growing) or one of about 20 different rare cancers, but now they are back to thinking it is most likely a lymphoma, probably Hodgkin's disease. I am really trying just to be still and wait for the final diagnosis since what they "think" seems to change everyday. Hodgkin's lymphoma is one of the more favorable results, as chemo treatment for it is highly successful and it would probably not require a major surgery. My parents flew in from Texas last night, and it is really good to have them here with us now. I have a PETSCAN tomorrow, to see if monster has spread, and we meet the oncologist on Saturday. Conveniently, the Thunderbirds are flying in an airshow at Travis on Saturday, I have never seen them, so we are hoping to catch that.
Please pray for a quick and good diagnosis - while my dad is still able to be here - he has to leave on Tuesday morning. Ryan and I are doing well - please pray for continued peace. Thank you for all your prayers - we can tell we are being lifted up.
Please pray for a quick and good diagnosis - while my dad is still able to be here - he has to leave on Tuesday morning. Ryan and I are doing well - please pray for continued peace. Thank you for all your prayers - we can tell we are being lifted up.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Friday that Changed my Life
So, I've had a cough for four months. I'm not sure what made me pick up the phone one day and schedule another doctor's appointment, but I found myself at the Coast Guard Island clinic on Friday, August 14. The doctor asked minimal questions about the cough, but as he examined me seemed to become concerned about some other strange symptoms, such as my unusually high pulse and unexplained weight loss over the past couple of months. He ordered an EKG and a blood test(for thyroid hormones and anemia) and told me to follow-up with him in a week.
On Wednesday, August 20, I felt dizzy and nauseous and decided to try to follow-up two days early. The doctor said that my thyroid levels were normal and I was slightly anemic, but not enough to cause symptoms. He ordered a chest x-ray.
On Thursday morning, I found out that my chest x-ray was highly abnormal. I had a CT scan Thursday afternoon, which revealed a large mass in my chest, that was pushing on my heart and lungs, causing the cough, increased pulse, and chest pain I had been experiencing. I like to call the thing "monster", and henceforth I will refer to it as such. On Friday, August 22, I was admitted to David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base. Before even looking at my CT scan, they decided I probably had TB b/c of my symptoms and the countries I had been to and I had to wear a duck mask everywhere and it was all very ridiculous b/c as soon as a doctor actually looked at the films they decided I didn't have TB but I could have told them that all along. They did surgery on Saturday morning to remove a piece of monster for biopsy. They cut a 2 inch incision in my chest and took pea-size pieces of monster. They had to cut a rib in the process. I am now at home recovering from the surgery and awaiting diagnosis. I am hoping to find out more on Thursday or Friday of this week. I will keep you posted.
On Wednesday, August 20, I felt dizzy and nauseous and decided to try to follow-up two days early. The doctor said that my thyroid levels were normal and I was slightly anemic, but not enough to cause symptoms. He ordered a chest x-ray.
On Thursday morning, I found out that my chest x-ray was highly abnormal. I had a CT scan Thursday afternoon, which revealed a large mass in my chest, that was pushing on my heart and lungs, causing the cough, increased pulse, and chest pain I had been experiencing. I like to call the thing "monster", and henceforth I will refer to it as such. On Friday, August 22, I was admitted to David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base. Before even looking at my CT scan, they decided I probably had TB b/c of my symptoms and the countries I had been to and I had to wear a duck mask everywhere and it was all very ridiculous b/c as soon as a doctor actually looked at the films they decided I didn't have TB but I could have told them that all along. They did surgery on Saturday morning to remove a piece of monster for biopsy. They cut a 2 inch incision in my chest and took pea-size pieces of monster. They had to cut a rib in the process. I am now at home recovering from the surgery and awaiting diagnosis. I am hoping to find out more on Thursday or Friday of this week. I will keep you posted.
The purpose of this blog
We have created this blog page to keep our family and friends updated on our situation. We love all of you, but we realize we do not always have time right now to call you back as soon as you would like. So, by updating this page, we will try to give you the latest information about what is going on. We have invited only our close family and friends to this page, and it cannot be found by searching google or any other method. If you have reached this page by some random twist of fate, we would appreciate it if you do not post the link anywhere, as this is the story of our personal lives. To our family and friends, we love you and appreciate all the support and prayers!!!! Thank you for being there for us as God helps us "fight the monster"!!!!
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10
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