Road to Recovery

Mom has been home from the hospital for a few days now. She is not allowed to move her right arm at all and is only allowed to move her left arm very little for the next several weeks. Kristen's nursing skills are in full swing, while the rest of us are pitching in everywhere else! Mom cannot yet go out anywhere; however, there have been a few online shopping purchases :) She had a visit from one of her chemo friends today named Shelley, along with her husband. They brought over some delicious chicken tortilla soup, and Mom and Shelley were able to swap surgery stories. The four of us Minions have been taking turns escaping the house for various errands, and today we all sat on the couch and watched the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" movie from redbox.

Tomorrow morning Dad will make his famous cinnamon toast for breakfast before mass. Also this is big news...Dad became a Eucharistic minister this summer, so he can bring the Eucharist to Mom on the days she doesn't feel well enough to go to mass :)

Thank you for continuing to pray for Mom's speedy recovery so she can begin the next leg of her treatment in a few weeks...radiation!

~~Headbands of Solidarity Unite~~

Mom is now in recovery! After several hours of surgery, her wonderful surgeon came out to the waiting room to inform us that everything had gone according to plan and that there were no complications! Mom has woken up and Dad has been able to go in and see her. Us kids hope to be able to go in and see her soon! Kristen is going to stay overnight in the hospital with her tonight and tomorrow she should be discharged. This is such a HUGE relief to us all and we cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support.

Speaking of support... I have received several photos from family and friends in their headbands of solidarity! Please continue to send them throughout the week, as Mom is getting a huge kick out of this :) She has been so excited to see all your smiling faces! I'll add them to this blog page as I get them!

Headbands of Solidarity

Hey everyone! Mom is having her surgery tomorrow and we thought of a fun way to show her support... Headbands of Solidarity! If you would like, take a picture of yourself wearing a headband/ head wrap sometime this week and text it to me! I will show it to mom and put the photos on the blog! My phone number is 954-829-8332 for you to send the pics! Thanks for the support and I look forward to seeing the photos! (If you would prefer for me not to put your photo on the blog, no problem just let me know!) Kris and I have put up an example photo, but feel free to be creative!

The Calm Before the Storm

Mom and Dad have had quite a number of visitors and even a little vacation this past month! Aunt Di came for a weekend and enjoyed a Sunday brunch Jazz buffet, as well as the butterfly exhibit at the Houston Natural Science Museum. Uncle Mac and Aunt Dede also came and visited the Natural Science Museum, although they spent time admiring the Bulgari Jewelry exhibit which included jewels worn by Elizabeth Taylor. They also viewed a 3-D movie about D-Day. Father Gerry graced my parents with his presence this past week, braving the Texas thunderstorms to arrive safely last Monday. He and Dad are "brothers from another mother" (pardon the phrase) and so they kept each other busy every second of the visit. They went to an Astros baseball game one evening, the Planetarium another, and even rode the gyroscope at the Science Museum!

Mom and Dad also spent a week up at the farm between all their visitors. There they were able to catch up with the Applebys and the Shufords, as well as the Taravellas! It happened to be the weekend of our favorite "Fair in the Square" and Mom felt good enough to go down and do a little bit of shopping with Kristen. Dad was of course hosting one of his famous rafting adventures! The Mountains were gorgeous with perfect weather and it was a wonderful way for them to relax before the surgery.

Mom's surgery will be this coming Tuesday, Aug, 19. On Monday she has lots of appointments all day to prepare. Some good news we received last week after an ultrasound...Mom's tumors have shrunk significantly and are looking good to be removed! Mom will only have to spend one night in the hospital if all goes according to plan :) She will be smothered by us kids for her surgery...I got in today, Kristen will be here tomorrow and Russ arrives on Monday. Today in the car on the way back from the airport Mom was talking to be about how she's not going to bring her purse to the hospital, only a little bit of cash incase she wants to go buy a soda. I promptly informed her that that would not be necessary, that she will have four Minions here to do her bidding!

After her surgery she will have a 4-6 weeks rest period before beginning her radiation. The radiation portion of the treatment should last 6 weeks and will be 5 days a week. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, visits, letters, emails, and support. Even though Mom sometimes can't respond, know that she appreciates all of your well wishes and constant love!