Day Full of Surprises

Surprise Surprise! My surgery is now cancelled/postponed. I was having second thoughts about the ablation and for a variety of reasons that I cannot post here, I have cancelled it. I have also postponed the gallbladder surgery until mid to late May. I did see Dr. Bieser today, who is my general practioner. I trust his judgement and he is also the one that I credit with saving my life b/c he insisted last year on the colonoscopy. He is an incredibly good doctor. He and I talked for a long time and so now I get a breather from all this medical stuff for awhile. Vacation here we come! I am so ready to get a pedicure, still trying to decide what color to choose. If you have been reading my blog from the beginning, you will know how important it is for me to get the "right" color. Send your suggestions! I had planned on Gallbladder Green but now that can wait (just kidding).
So I was so stressed today and I even hit a 6 on the tear scale but then the mood lightened when we took our cat to the vet. Jasmine came to us about a year ago as a stray and we took her to the vet today b/c she got into yet another fight this weekend and mangled her face. And to our surprise we found out Jasmine is not a Jasmine, she is a JazzMAN. Yes, that's right- she is a he! A neutered he! The girls and I laughed so hard over this. I was going to change it to Jasper but Megan thought of Jazz-Man and so that's the new name.
Here's a pet peeve I discovered this weekend. When I see someone for the first time in a gazillion years and they pretend they don't know I've been sick but they ask me five times "but how are you really doing", it makes me mad. Either ask about the cancer or accept that I don't feel like telling you. Oh and when you tilt your head, I know you've already heard. The head tilt gives it away. Picture it: [Head tilt] "but how are you REALLY doing?"
Thanks for reading my blog, I still feel the need to be connected to all my friends. If I haven't heard from you in awhile, post a comment just to say hello, I'm still here. Scott says he can see how much I enjoy staying connected. I love you all!
Take care,
Love,
Michele;

The plural of the story is...

First of all, I want to say I am all wound up right now, so I may sound squirrelly! I have had an eventful 2 days. I saw Lillyhammer yesterday and my blood counts were normal, platelets just a little low, he told me not to bang my head against a concrete wall and I'd be fine... He also thinks the neuropathy will go away, he does not believe it is permanent. I have a hard time believing this but only time will tell if I will ever feel my feet again. He said my hands will come back before my feet. So there is hope that I will eventually be able to tie my shoes again and write legibly. My blood pressure was sky high but he thinks it was b/c I was nervous. I wasn't nervous, I've sat in that office so many times, how could I be nervous. Also, he thought my fatigue should be starting to get better, so he said if it doesn't improve in 2 weeks, he may have to give me something to pep me up. He is very understanding about how tiring it will be to lay on the beach for a week...
Today I saw Dr. McGinty, my surgeon. He is coordinating my gallbladder surgery with Dr. Uhls and it will be done on April 7th. I will have my gallbladder removed and an endometrial ablation. The gallbladder is supposed to be done laparoscopic but b/c of my colon surgery, there is a chance they may have to do it open. Please pray this doesn't happen. Our vacation is quickly approaching and if I have to have an open surgery, we will have to postpone it. Most importantly, I would have to take a month off work, and I just can't do that right now. I have missed so much work already.
Since I can't use the "chemo brain" excuse anymore, I need a new way to lay the blame. Yesterday, I was so mixed up in the head. I was at work and I kept calling animals by the wrong name and I mixed up the Dora characters names. Then last night, I made a really big blunder. I was lecturing Megan about something, I was all serious and then I said "and the plural of the story is...". Megan thought that was hilarious. I think we have coined a new phrase.
I have so much to do right now, I feel overwhelmed.
Gotta go, Emily is crying.
Michele

Declan's webpage

My sister set up a site so everyone can watch Declan's amazing progress.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/miraclebaby3
Thanks for the prayers!
Michele

Need a Favor...

Wow, I'm setting a record here with all these posts. I wanted to ask a favor. Emily is begging for a playdate. She thinks she has no friends. She is stuck on wanting someone to come over. So if any of you Moms have a 4-5 yr old daughter who wants to come for a playdate, please email me privately. Sorry to discriminate against the boys, but she has requested a girl. I've never been good at setting up playdates, I'm afraid of rejection...lol.
Declan had a good day, he is slowly improving. What a miracle!
Michele

Who is NED???????

Forgot to mention in my last post about the whole NED thing. Apparently some of you thought I had gone off the deep end when you saw my NED hat. My friend Amy Franklin thought I had really lost it b/c I was calling myself NED. NED stands for No Evidence of Disease and in the cancer world, that's what you wait for. It's a reason to celebrate when you become NED. So I am not crazy, I just thought everyone knew why I was calling myself NED. It made for some great laughs when the topic came up the other night. I've done some crazy things, but this time there is a logical explanation:) Thanks Amy for clearing that up!

Declan Update...My Update

Baby Declan continues to fight like a real trooper! I got to spend about 20 min in the NICU with him yesterday, the nurse let my sister pose him and I took pics. I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave him. I can't believe how much my sister and I have switched roles. I remember when I got sick, she had a hard time leaving and then when she got home, she had guilt b/c she felt like her life was going on and I was fighting for mine. Now I feel the same way and I completely understand what she meant. I think about him constantly, just wondering what he is feeling and is he in pain. I work with preemies every day but I never see them when they are this small. So it was really hard for me, but then again, it gives me a new perspective on what families go through.
Someone asked how to pronounce Declan's name- it sounds like DECK lun, just in case you were wondering.
The week coming up is a busy one. I see Lillyhammer on Wed and my surgeon on Thursday. We are really unsure about whether to do the surgery b/c we are going on vacation soon and I don't know if I should do it before or after. Take the risk of not being healed or risk a gallbladder attack? I also have to schedule an appt with gyno to decide how to deal with the other issues I've been having. I have to decide if I want the endometrial ablation done- I bled so bad last week, that was why I needed 4 pints of blood. I have so many drs and so many issues right now, it's hard to coordinate everything. When I was in the hospital last week, no one could seem to figure out how to make a decision. Now my family doctor is involved again since I'm no longer on chemo. So I had onc, surgeon, family doc and gyno all trying to make decisions. I will tell you Lillyhammer was so mad when I told him what his nurse told me last week when I called about the bleeding. Did I tell you what she said, I can't remember, she told me to take my problems elsewhere since I was no longer getting chemo. Can you believe that??? Oh, he was SO MAD when I told him. He said he NEVER turns away a patient who is having problems, especially since I am only 5 weeks out from chemo.
Gotta go, a quick rest on the couch is just what I need right now. I am so tired and it's not even noon yet.
Love,
Michele;

Welcome to the World...

Yesterday our family welcomed Declan Alexander Richards. He weighed 2lb7oz at 25 weeks gestation. He is quite the fighter! He came out crying, and he is already showing remarkable progress. I can't believe there will be another little one running around calling me Aunt Mickey.
So I'm in Joplin, MO and Scott is home with the girls. I am feeling fairly good, just normal fatigue. I will see my surgeon next week to schedule my gallbladder surgery.
I will post more later, I am waiting for my turn to get my first peek at my new nephew.

Home With No Surgery!

I am home!!!!!! No surgery, it was cancelled d/t the surgeon had an all night emergency surgery and so I guess it wasn't meant to be. So I am going to see my own surgeon next week to set up the surgery later. I feel great, I got 4 pints of blood and my counts are all normal right now.
I will post more later, I have to get settled in and get some stuff done. I know, I need to rest, so I promise I'll take it easy...
Love,
Michele;

Update on Michele

Hey it's Kasey again. Just wanted to let everyone know that they found out what is wrong with Michele. Its her gallbladder and she's having surgery tomorrow. Please just keep her in your prayers.

Where's Michele?

Hey everybody!! This is Kasey, Michele wasnte to let everyone that she wont be chatting for awhile. Michele hasnt been feeling well this week so Scott took her to the ER earlier today and she has been admitted to the hospital---at first the Dr's thought that she either had a blood clot or that the cancer had spread. In Michele's words though "Good News--I have pneumonia. Not exactly good news in general but good news that she didnt have a blood clot or that her cancer had spread. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

OUCH!

When I got up this morning, I had no idea this would be the day I would get my tattoo. It just kinda happened. Kasey went with me and she got one too. It hurt so bad, I was surprised at the pain! The girls were excited, Scott was shocked. I didn't call him and tell him I was going. So anyway, Kasey and I had a fun time, it felt good to do something so....ridiculous.
Gotta go, Emily is hungry.
Michele;

Wanted: Van that will hold family of 4, 1 dog, 5 cats and a gecko

Hey, how do you like the new look? The picture was taken in Aruba, Christmas 2005. Talk about paradise, that place is gorgeous!
I am doing great, just a few weird things now and then. Today I have really struggled with both balance and dizziness , I don't know why it's worse today. Plus, the chemo brain was in overdrive today. Sometimes I don't realize how bad it is until Scott mentions something really crazy that I did (or forgot to do). Lately, I have noticed when something gets screwed up, my chemo brain is the first to get blamed, whether I am responsible or not! Like last week, we got a letter in the mail saying our house was in foreclosure, Scott assumed I had forgotten to make the payments. He called me in a panic and all I could do was laugh at the ridiculous notion that we would be pitching a tent somewhere. But wait, don't set out the collection jars just yet, it was just a minor problem with our account number. We are in no danger of living in a van down by the river. If we were, we would be in trouble, b/c we no longer own a van, we would be living in a Civic down by the river.
One more thing, my friend Sandy who lives in Jackson and also has colon cancer (we met at the mall in a weird twist of fate), anyway she called from St. Johns hospital today, she has multiple blood clots in her lungs from chemo. She is really scared and worn out, please pray for her healing. She doesn't even know if she'll get any more chemo. She had a severe reaction to the Oxi (the drug I took) so they switched her awhile back and now this happened. I am so worried about her.
Take care and thanks for reading my blog!
Love,
Michele;