*Rumor Control*

Things have been going well. We are keeping very busy between household, work, and summer activities... Scott went back to work pretty quickly (after only a couple of weeks,.. desk work mostly), and has been doing incredibly well. All of his physicians are amazed, and speak very highly of him in regards to just how wonderful he really is doing. He does still tire easily, but overall he's doing awesome.

Of course, we have had to handle some *rumor-control* that our competitors allegedly started... which was that Scott had a heart attack and that was why he needed open heart surgery. Obviously, we all know the real truth, and that he is doing great, but on the off chance that certain individuals are reading this blog, I thought I'd comment on it. Scott had a valve of malformed structure which has been repaired 100%, and is not at any further risk for heart complications. He is in excellent health. That is our official statement on the matter.

For the rest of us, I'd like to continue by adding that he may not even ever need another heart surgery. Except for the small chance of needing the ring replaced that repaired his valve, but the statistics for that are usually not for a good 10 years,... and he has been told he would likely be a good candidate for the new robotic style surgery, which does not require open-heart through the sternum,........... The surgeon actually controls the robotic machine through special gloves (and from an adjoining room no less!), and the procedure is actually performed by going in between the ribs under the arm,........... isn't technology cool? Anyway, Scott is doing fantastic and so is business. We feel very blessed.

PS- Happy Birthday, Sis! xoxo

Girls Night Out...

I had a much needed break this weekend, and just wanted to share,..... My sister, Jo's Bday is coming up on Tuesday, and so last night my sis, our mom, & I all went out to this incredible Hungarian restaurant, then on to a quaint little coffee shop for italian sodas, followed up by the civic theatre where we saw the play, "On Golden Pond". What an excellent evening! I want to say a special thank-you to the men in our family who made that night possible for us. The girls all stayed home with Scott, and my niece stayed with Papa so the three of us could have our special 'Girls Night Out'. I really cannot recall when the three of us have ever had opportunity to do such a thing so it really was extra special. We are actually talking about trying to go to the theatre regularly now,... we all love plays a great deal so it would be a real treat for us to look forward to every month or so.

I got to stay over at my sister's place last night, just the two of us, and then spent almost the entire day hanging out together, just sitting, relaxing, and talking. I needed that,... I have felt dehydrated not seeing her lately.

I had originally had plans to go away for the weekend down the coast with one of my dearest friends this weekend, but we had to cancel when Scott was having his surgery for lack of knowing whether I would be in a position to be away like that at this point. Another time, but it was disappointing because that would be another special excursion. I rarely get to see her due to our hectic schedules (& geographical distance), and I miss her! Speaking of my friend,.. today is the 25th, right? Happy 4th 'Hysterversary' today, AT! xoxo

A better way...

Scott's dad had an accident tonight, and ended up in the Emergency Room. He was picking cherries in the backyard this evening when the ladder slipped. He had to jump from the ladder or else he would've been thrown over the fence into the neighbor's yard, and a good chance he could've broken his neck or something much worse than he did.

He ended up falling about 10 feet, and speaking of 'feet',... he broke both of his. They're mild fractures, and so he is just having them splinted, but he's in quite a bit of pain, and very, very lucky that's the extent of his injuries.

He was unable to get up off of the ground, and Carol couldn't hear him so he laid out there yelling for help for about 10 minutes before a neighbor heard him, and alerted her. He's going to be okay though (thank goodness!), and it doesn't appear to have effected his hip (he has an artificial hip, and if you know anything about hip replacements, you know why there was extra concern).

Anyway,... he's going to be on crutches and/or using a walker for awhile. He was supposed to have jury duty on Monday,......... we told him there are better ways to get out of jury duty than breaking both your feet! Bad joke, I know, LOL.

Celebrate!

Today is our company's 1-year birthday/anniversary! We have 10 years experience in the industry, but it has officially been 1 full year today since we established our business, and we are doing by far better than we ever expected to by now so all the more reason to celebrate! We had a pizza party at the shop this afternoon with cake, but everyone got so full on pizza that we actually never quite got to the cake, LOL!

Today is also my 4-year 'hysterversary',... to most, that may seem a silly thing to celebrate, but if you knew just what a lifesaver it was for me, you'd understand. My friend, AT, & I met on a hysterectomy support site shortly before our surgeries which were only 5 days apart,... anyway, we connected at heart, and as it turned out we live only an hour apart (close enough to see eachother, but far enough not to see eachother as often as we'd like! *sniffle*). We've been very close friends ever since, and so I suppose that adds to my celebration every year because it's also what brought us together.

It's late so I guess I'll have a piece of that cake tomorrow! :P

Happy Father's Day...

Scott slept in, and then was greeted by all three girls who delivered cards and presents to him in bed followed by breakfast in bed. Waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, a blueberry bagel, Starbuck's coffee, and a parfait of fresh sliced strawberries, vanilla yogurt, & almond cluster granola,.... Mmmmm! Shortly after, our youngest daughter, Ashley (6), came up with us all singing a song to him to the tune of 'Happy Birthday',... it went like this, "Happy Father's Day to You, Happy Father's Day to You, Happy Father's Day-God Bless You, Happy Father's Day to You!", LOL. And then he enjoyed the rest of the day playing with the girls. We hope you all had a wonderful day, too!

Happy Father's Day!

No rest for the weary,...

Well, I opened my mouth too soon, didn't I? I checked my voicemail, and it turns out that I got a call this very afternoon,.. a reminder that Ashley's follow-up is fast approaching with the oncologist, and it's once again time to schedule her next MRI. I always get nervous when this time rolls around,.. and unfortunately, it rolls around every 3 months. Every time, my mind races & wonders "Are the tumors still growing??"or "Are they really stable again??" The very mention of chemotherapy makes my stomach churn, and we discuss it's possibility with every visit,... and hopefully it will never come to that, but still,.. there it sits,.. waiting in the shadows. Lerking there, taunting us, and making me miserable at the very thought of my child having to go through it.

For those who don't know, Ashley is our youngest daughter, 6, and she has Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which is a peripheral nerve disorder where tumors grow on those nerves. They're usually benign, but can still cause life-altering and even life-threatening problems. Ashley has these tumors on both of her optic nerves, and although they are benign, they are considered semi-malignant because they threaten her eye-sight. They could cause blindness, among other serious complications. These brain tumors have been growing again now for a year, since last summer, whereas they had been stable for about 2 years before that. Her latest MRI looked as though they may have stabilized again, but we won't know for sure until this next MRI in the next couple of weeks. Thus, my constant fear whenever Ashley has appts coming up.

Anyway,...... there it is. My 'replacement worry',...... Darn it!! Should've waited to check voicemail until tomorrow! *sigh*,.........

*Whew!!!*

GREAT NEWS!!! Brittney's appt. up at Doernbecher's went fantastic today, and we found out that it really was a false alarm after all!! We were there for about 3 hours this afternoon. They started off with the echocardiogram, and did a thorough evaluation which included 115 images for the cardiologist to review. Her heart looked perfect,.. textbook perfect. They checked every aspect of her heart,.. the chambers, the valves, the arteries,.. everything looked great. Her EKG was perfect, too, and her clinical exam was also. In fact, the cardiologist didn't hear ANYthing,... not the clicking that the pediatrician said he could faintly hear,.. not even the slightest murmur. Nothing. What a huge relief,........ NO HEART CONDITION!!!

They said that something to look into might be exercise induced asthma or possibly some gastrointestinal acid reflux that gets stirred up during high activity,... neither of which they consider life-threatening or dangerous, but something to be looked into in case her symptoms could be remedied. And Brittney is thrilled to know she can go back to playing soccer this fall.

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner to celebrate, and the girls were excited to sit at one of the tables inside the big trolley. Scott & I haven't been there in so long,.. it's been a good 10 years for me. It was a really nice evening. We're back home now, and heading off to bed. I'm exhausted.

I cannot tell you though how relieved I am,.... the kind of relief that moves you to tears, especially once the day finally draws to a close & everything is quiet. The kind of relief that you thank God over & over & over for. The kind of relief that means you're finally going to be able to sleep well tonight,.. sleep well & rest,.. rest without worry. Rest without fear... even if it's just for a short while before the next one takes it's place. And yes, that's coming up very quickly again with Ashley,...

But, for now,... we are breathing a huge sigh of relief for Brittney. *smiles*

Holding my breath...

Sorry for the delay, but no news has been good news. Not to worry, everything is alright. Just been very busy... Scott is doing extremely well, and tried work on for size last Wednesday and Friday, and then all week now this week. It certainly takes it's toll, but he is managing pretty well. The doctors have been thoroughly impressed with how well he's doing, too, and so I think that boost of confidence has done him well all the more. Geez, how many times can I use the word 'well' in this paragraph? Oh 'well',.. I'm not going to change it,.. I'm just too tired.

Tomorrow is Brittney's appt at Doernbecher's. She's scheduled for an echocardiogram and an EKG, and after that, a clinical with the pediatric cardiologist. I'll try to be sure to post asap on how that goes, although please keep in mind that it may take a few days to get all the results in. She's nervous,.. I'm nervous,.. but we've been trying not to borrow trouble. Staying positive until we know more, and hoping it will turn out to be a false alarm. At the same time, I'm not getting my hopes up too high either. No, right now I'm just trying to keep my eyes on the horizon,.. always the horizon,.. and remember to breathe,.. breathe, just breathe,.. because I'm a mother & I worry regardless, and so naturally,.. I keep holding my breath.

Leaps & Bounds...

Another good day,.. Scott is improving daily. I am amazed at how quickly he's bouncing back,.. the trick is to not overdo too much, too soon, but so far, so good. He's able to be up & about and stay awake for pretty much the entire day, with an occasional nap as needed. He's eating a lot more,.. gone from a little something up to three (moderate) meals a day plus even a couple of lite snacks here & there.

He started using the treadmill today, and did well so this will probably begin his daily cardiac rehab that we talked about with his surgeon... it's so hard to believe that today marks only one week since he came home from the hospital.

He's not pain-free, but we're keeping it manageable,... he's up & alert throughout most of the day, but he does still tire easily, of course,....... he's doing very, very well considering he just had open-heart surgery only 11 days ago! ;)

Tonight, he put the girls to bed himself,.. kisses, hugs, read stories, and sang songs. Was winded afterwards, but he did it, and he was proud. I know it meant a lot to him,...... it meant a lot to them, too. Each day has brought a new blessing.

We know that there is still a long road ahead, but we are hopeful he'll keep improving by leaps & bounds.......... for now, we're still taking things one day at a time.

Stronger everyday...

Things are going well. Scott is recovering nicely.

Our friends with the MCVFD came by Thursday night, and brought us dinner. They pulled up in the ladder truck, and then the guys brought us in a feast. It was such a cool thing for them to do! It was also the day we got the latest news on Scott's mom, and so an even more perfect day to not have to worry about fixing dinner. THANK YOU to Lt BW, SMcD, and I&DK!!!

A cousin of mine up near Seattle decided to generously help us out by hiring a housekeeping service to come in,... THANK YOU!! They're coming Monday, and I can't wait,.. I just haven't had time for all the nitty-gritty stuff,... I can't say enough how much I appreciate this help.

I'm contemplating hiring some landscapers to come in and do some 'catch-up' & then maintain for awhile because things are falling behind quickly outside,.. my neighbor to the north has a team that comes weekly so I plan to ask her for a referral. I'm learning quickly how important it can be to set pride aside and seek assistance where you need it... and that it is not always a bad thing to need help. You just can't do everything by yourself.

So, we're doing pretty well, and I'm really impressed with how well Scott is doing,.. He's able to be up & awake most of the day now, he's eating a little more, and his pain is manageable most of the time. He does tire easily, of course, and he does have rough moments,.. but he's getting stronger every day.

Thank you again to everyone for all of your support,.. it would be a lot harder to get through this without you! (((BIG HUGS)))

Calling all Prayer Warriors...

Just got a call from Scott's mom,... she's full of Vicodin and on her way back home from the hospital after a 2 day/2 night stay. She sounds much better, but she said that's the drugs. She also had bad news,.... they (the doctors) think that it is either the ovarian cancer invading her colon now, or else an all new separate cancer,.. colon cancer. They've biopsied, and so we should know which soon,.. either way, she has cancer in her colon now, too. I can tell you,.. right now I feel sick to my stomach, and am fighting tears.

An emotional day today,.. Scott has been good today & is resting now, but I have to tell him about his mom when he wakes. She asked me to tell him for her... she can't bare the thought,.. I've got a tremendous lump in my throat at the thought of having to tell him. This is never any easy thing to face.

Please keep her in your prayers,....... (((hugs)))