Wednesday, April 21, 2010

well then...


It's been an odd couple of weeks. One of those twilight, out of body confusion, wierd times.

3 weeks ago: my mom emailed us from her mission that she hasn't been feeling well. In two months time she had lost her appetite and a bunch of weight but had some sort of mass in her stomach.

2 1/2 weeks ago: Tuesday: mom had a CAT scan, saw her military doctor and spoke with the mission doctor. He was very concerned with the results and sent my parents home early from their mission the NEXT DAY.

Wednesday: Mom and Dad came home. Yeah their home! Oh no, what was it that she needed to come home for?!

Thursday: Mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Usher in all the feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, frustration, you name it.

Last week: Surgery. Surgery that went 3 hours longer than planned. Stressful! Thankfully the surgery went really well, but there were many more tumors than expected. Doctors removed a bucket worth of tumors, her ovaries, appendix, gall bladder, half of her colon, and part of her diaphram. Ouch. Thankfully the surgery went well and removed almost all of the cancer. This makes it very likely that chemo will be sucessful with the remaining cancer.
Now Mom is recovering well and expected to be released from the hospital soon. In six weeks she'll start chemo. So with as crazy and difficult as this has been, it's good to look for the silver lining. My mom and entire family has been very blessed throughout this experience, it's great the cancer was caught when it was, my parents flew home before the volcano grounded people in Europe, I've been able to hang out with my dad, my cell phone is full of calls and texts from family and friends, Ruby got to meet her Oma and Opa sooner, and last but not least, I'm going to go wig shopping with my mom.
So, hopefully all will continue to go well. If you want to read updates, my mom has asked that my sister and I update my parents' blog with clever progress posts. So how do you make cancer clever?

4 comments:

cleverly content said...

loving the pics of little ruby & your mom. hating missing the daily updates on our early morning walks. loving the thought of wig shopping together.

e-clan said...

i can't believe it! i hope she recovers well. we'll be thinking about her and your family!

Sarah holman said...

Rachel, I am so sorry to hear about your mom. Cancer is so scary, but I am a true believer in miracles and the power of prayer. My mother has a brain tumor and had been undergoing chemo treatments. This is actually the second time she has had to face this. I am no stranger to the fear, anger, frustration and sadness that accompanies something this this. But with a little faith, prayer, and hope, a lot of things are possible.
The first go round she lost all her hair. The wigs they had back then (15 years ago) were pretty great so I can only imagine how realistic they are these days. I keep telling my mom that this time she should just go crazy and dye her hair hot pink or something. She hasn't bought into it yet. I hope you have fun shopping!
I want you to know that my heart goes out to you and you and your mother will be in my prayers. I am happy to hear that her surgery went well I hope the best for her and your family.

Jen said...

So sorry to hear this. Hope the recovery is quick and all is back to healthy and happy soon!