Cancer Sucks part 9

Ok sorry i havent updated since the last one it has been very busy with the holidays. We havent had the major surgery yet. On Friday they went in and did a biopsy of his lung wall. They cut a wedge out to make sure that the cancer had not spread into the lung wall. So far all biospies have come back negative which is great news. My dad did very well with the procedure and he only had to stay one nite in the hospital due to the drainage tube. He was back to his normal self by sunday. At first the news was that on Dec 8th he would meet with the lung surgeon and have a ct scan and do the surgery on Dec 20th but they called this morning and changed the surgery to Dec 5th. Which makes me happy because now my father will be well and get to enjoy the christmas holidays. So what they are doing is major surgery. They are not going in lyposcopicly (spelling?)... they will be cutting my dad open in his chest and taking the cancerous tumor out and we believe at this time that they will also be taking out the benign tumor that is in or around his bronical tube. Which makes us both happy because might as well get rid of it before it turns bad on us. They said that my father should be in the hospital for no longer then five days and then he will have a two week recovery time at home. My dad is a lil disappointed that it will be the harder surgery but we both agree that it needs to be done the best way possible to make sure everything is taken out right and done the right way the first time so we can put this lung cancer behind us. So please pray that the surgeons have an easy time doing the work on my dad that needs to be done and that my dad gets thru the surgery great and that he recovers well. My dad will be going down on thursday for pre op stuff and so if we find out more on exactly what will be happening i will update the news, otherwise i will not post again until after my dad comes home. Thank you again for all the prayers everyone.

Tutu's

So I have started making tutu's along with making bows for ppl. I have been having alot of fun with it and it has been very stress relieving. I just completed five tutu's and I still have five more to make. I am hoping I can get three of the five done while waiting in the hospital on my dad's stuff. So I just wanted to show you some of the recent tutu's I have made. Hope you like them.

 Next blog I will post some new pics of ava and her showing off the tutu I made her.. she loved it alot.. have a great thursday everyone!!

Cancer sucks part 8

Ok this will be a quick update on my dad. Atm the surgery to cut the cancer out is on hold. But we do have to go down friday morning for another procedure which will cause him to have to stay a nite at the hospital. Alright from the beginning. Tuesday my dad had to drive down to UAB for an ultrasound on his lymph nodes in his chest. Well found out he should have had someone to take him down there. But it all worked out due to no fluid showing up around the lymph nodes they were looking at. Today we left at 3am to go down to UAB. Today they made a small incesion right under where his neck is to draw some lymph fluid from around those lymph nodes in neck and to do a biospy of them. The biospy came back negative. No word on the lymph fluid. They also went and looked around my dads brochial tubes. And this was the kicker kinda. ( Back in July we were told there was another tumor but it was benine in his bronical tube) Well the dr took a biospy of that tumor cause he seemed surprised by it. If that has become cancerous the surgery can not proceed to take the cancer out of the lobe area in his right lung. We are hoping for a negative. So on Friday we are going down for my dad to have an incesion made i believe on his right side so the dr can get the lymph fluid and a biospy of the lymph nodes that they did an ultrasound on tuesday. Also he will look around ... and hopefully pending all tests can do the major surgery. So here is hoping. My dad did good today. He did have a weak spell but we were smart and had already decided we werent going to leave until my dad felt good. So he waited for over four hours almost and then we made the trip home without any problems. So here we are waiting for Friday and waiting for good news. So until then hope you all have a great weekend and ty for the prayers.

Ladybugs

So I have always heard stories of ladybugs. What I think is odd is that the past couple of days I have been seeing alot of ladybugs. I am wondering what does this mean? Only because my father is fixing to have surgery. Well I looked up thru google and found this article , which back when Maddie passed ( baby girl to the Staatsblog) I was googling ladybugs because Kelli had said that after Maddie passed she saw alot of ladybugs all over the place. Well here is the article that I have now stumbled across twice.
 

Ladybugs - What Do They Mean When You See Them

Posted February 1st, 2008 at 8:53PM

After my mother died, each of my two sisters and I saw a multitude of ladybugs in our houses around the same time.  Since it was in the middle of winter, that was quite an odd and unusual coincidence.  We all felt that the ladybug must hold a message for us.  Below is the information which I gathered and share with my sisters.

The ladybug is a member of the beetle family. They are found in nearly all climates. They are hemispheric in shape, have short legs and are usually bright colored with black, yellow or reddish markings. The females lay eggs.

Their life cycle requires about four weeks, so several generations are produced each summer.  This cycle ties the ladybug to the energies of renewal and regeneration. Those who may have this totem are usually family oriented with strong morals and social values.

The name lady bug finds its origins in the middle ages when this beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called the "beetle of our lady."  This name links the ladybug to spiritual ideals and religious devotion. It also holds a link to mothers. 

Past lives associated with religion or the church are common for those with this animal totem and some form of daily meditation or prayer is recommended.

This tiny little beetle brings with it a powerful message. Because the life cycle of the adult ladybug is short it teaches us how to release worries and enjoy our lives to the fullest.  When it appears in our life it is telling us to "let go and let God."

An adult ladybug can consume several thousand aphids and other scale insects within a few months. Since aphids & other insects can be harmful to crop production, farmers and growers have long considered the ladybug a good omen. Because of its diet, the ladybug often has parasites and people with this animal totem need to take care of their digestive system.

The ladybug is also one of the few beetles that are well liked by humans. Unlike other beetles, the ladybug brings a feeling of joy to us. Its small size signifies a delicate and loving nature. It portrays the energy of harmlessness and can show us how to stop self harm.

The shell on its back protects it from predators. Its wings fold against the body serving to protect its soft underside. Ladybugs have sharp instincts and feel vibrations through their legs. This allows them to sense energy of whatever they touch and is another form of protection. In spite of the ladybug's size, it appears to be fearless. 

Seen often as a messenger of promise, the ladybug reconnects us with the joy of living. Fear and joy can not co-exist. We need to release our fears and return to love  - this is one of the messages that the ladybug brings to us.

Ladybug teaches us how to restore our trust and faith in the great spirit.   When the ladybug appears, it is telling us to get out of our own way and allow the great spirit to enter into our lives.

Cancer Sucks part 7

So here is the lastest update on my dad. He went yesterday to UAB to get his stress test done and another CT scan. Both looked good but the surgeon wants to do one more procedure before we have the go on surgery. So next wednesday my dad has to have a procedure done to draw the fluid from around the lymph nodes to double check on if they have been infected by the cancer or not. The reason why this has to be done is because the area does light up on ct scans but the previous biospy when they did the tk bronchioscopy didnt show anything so they are doing this as a safety net procaution. If all turns out good with this then my dad is set to have surgery nov 18th. We are hoping this can be done liapscopic (spelling?) instead of them having to do a major surgery. If they having to actual do a major surgery then he can be in the hospital up to two weeks due to the recovery time and also the physical therapy on his lungs he would need to receive. If they can go in there liapscopic then he will be out of the hospital in five days. Also my dad did speak with the surgeon about what happened with him convulsing. They said that vercet is actually called a twilight drug, meaning it doesnt actually knock you out. They stated they believe that due to the chemo he is on and the drug vercet it caused him to have this reaction so they will not be using it again. My dad is doing really good and is excited and hoping this surgery goes off. He actually canceled his last chemo treatment today due to the surgeons suggestion of not wanting it to wear him down before the upcoming procedures. So here goes hoping and praying that everything works out. Thank you again for all the prayers they are much appreciated. Just keep my father in your thoughts as we are leading up to this surgery that everything will go right and he will come out of it great. I will update more next week or after the surgery depending on what news we receive. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Hunter and Ava's 4th and 2nd bday

So on Oct 30 my son Hunter turned 4 yrs old... I cant believe that he is that old already.. it seems like yesterday he was just born and now he is writing his name, counting to 30, and saying his abc's. Ava turns 2 on Nov 12th and she is just growing up way too fast. It has seemed that she is growing up faster then what it took Hunter to get to 2. She is a mess but I love her soo.. she is constantly voicing her opinion. She is such a demanding child unlike Hunter. This weekend we did a joint bday party for them since it worked out easier with my inlaws having their christmas sessions all next week and sales the next week. This year we decided to do a Chuck e Cheese bday party. It went great!! Hunter invited some friends from school. Everyone from his class showed up except for two ppl. All the kiddos had a great time playing the games. When it came time for Chuck e Cheese to come out Hunter was a lil apprehensive at first but he warmed up to him almost immediatly. Ava of course had this heck no and did the death grip on me lol. But Lele ended up getting her to hug and kiss him by the end. The kiddos racked up on presents, you would almost think it was Christmas lol. One of their biggest presents they got was a swing set from mama lou and daddy mac. Nathan and Mac worked hard yesterday and then me and Nathan finished it up today. Here are some pics of it. 

I just love this swing set!! Hunter is enjoying it too.. he has said several times today mommy i just love this so much.

Ava immediatly went to the swing.. the whole time while she was swinging she was saying weee weee wee mommy. The swing set has two swings and monkey bar type swing, a slide, a rock climb like ladder and then a lil cubby hole up top, and it also has a pinic like table. The first thing Hunter said once it was completed was mommy can I eat some lunch on my new table please mommy. Of course I couldnt say no. All in all I would say this was an awesome present for them. Other stuff they got was some cute clothes, colors, stickers, cars, batman cave, two cabbage patch dolls, barbie mermaid doll, cars 2 , princess and the frog, toy hair accesories, and some other things. I thank all my family and friends that came out to the party and made it such a great success. Now I just gotta wait to get the pics from my mother inlaw cause I was such a busy mom that day making sure all went well that I did not get any pics myself. So in another blog I will post pics of the day when I get them. Hope everyone had a great weekend like we did.

Cancer sucks part 6

So here are the newest updates on my dad. Currently he is on his last round of chemo coming up to the possible surgery. He has been doing really well thru all the chemo sessions. Yesterday we went down to UAB to have a TK bronchoscopy. What they did was go down thru his throat with an ultrasound device and used it to do a biospy of his lymph nodes around his sterum area. We should get the results back in 2 to 3 days of the biospy. The procedure went great but it was afterwords I had a scare with my father. We were on our way back from UAB on hwy 157 and he started feeling faint. I offered to give him something to snack on since he had not ate due to the procedure except for a few crackers when he was in recovery. As I was reaching around for the snack my father laid back in the seat. When I said here you go dad there was no response. When I looked at my father he had blacked out and was having a convulsion?? his head was tilted back and his eyes were rolled back in his head. He was shaking and gurgling. I immediatly pulled off the road and lifted his head and called 911... by the time the person said hello what is your emergency my father had snapped back into his old self and was asking what happened. We had the emt's come out and evaluate him on the side of the road. He did throw up before they got there. They said he didnt have a stroke or a seizure. Since his vital signs checked out good the ambulance ( which luckily one of my friends from highschool was the emt on the ambulance) followed us back to his house ( we were only 30 mins out). My father got sick two more times but finally got some sleep after 9pm. This morning he woke up good like nothing had even happened at all. Last nite after talking to some of my emt friends we think that due to the chemo, plus having to wait so long not to eat due to the procedure (it had been 14 hrs) plus the vercet they used to put him under, and the being in a moving car and cool air blowing on him is what cause the episode. It is possible he could have had a TIA. I have finally convinced my dad to speak with the drs about it... at first he was worried this would set him back on surgery but I told him that this would prolly make them use a different drug to put him to sleep. It was a scary moment when it happened and it seemed it lasted longer then the 80 secs. I am just so happy he snapped out of it and is better this morning. Next thursday he will have to go back to UAB for a CT scan and a stress test. Hopefully they will speak more on the surgery and so far there is a tenative date set for Nov 18th for them to proceed with the surgery. So this is all I have to update for now. Please pray for my dad that everything will go smoothly and we can find out what caused yesterdays episode without it hurting his chances on having the cancer removed. I thank everyone that has been praying for my father. Your prayers were definitly heard yesterday.