September 5, 2009

What a weekend this turned out to be. I went to the Jon Schmidt concert at Thanksgiving point with Rosey, Tina and Peter! I seriously had a blast!!!!!! The line was forever long to get into the concert but once we were inside we found a pretty good spot to sit. TONS of people showed up, I was amazed. You know you are in Utah when Jon Schmidt asks from the stage, "Does anyone know if BYU won?!" Then the crowd cheers loud with people screaming "YA!!!!" because they had beaten Oklahoma 14-14. HAHAHAHAHA Not a BYU fan so I could care less. :)

September 4, 2009

This night Melissa, Tina, Peter, Rosey and I went to Park City, UT. Since my family planned to go to Park City when they come out for Conference we went up there before I would have to have surgery. We rode the chair lift up to the Alpine Slide!!! :) We had not been on the slide for years and I had wanted to go for the longest time! I had to take it easy since my stomach was still trying to heal from my first surgery but that didn't stop me from going as fast as I could down.

The best part was that we were all at the bottom waiting for none other than... Melissa!!! haha We got kind of worried that something had happen to her since it took her FOREVER to make it down. However given that there were some steep dips, we all knew she would freak out a little and go as slow as she could. Alas, Melissa did make it to the bottom with nothing but her infamous smile!

September 3, 2009

This was the day I went to see Dr. Christopher Jolles. My appointment was at 5pm but since it was an appointment he made to squeeze me in I had to wait til about 5:45pm to see him. While waiting in the office, the average age of the women in the office was about 65. I felt so young yet so bad for the women in there since they had all been going through Chemotherapy.

I was not really sure what to expect in this appointment nor did I know how the doctor was going to be. Talking with him about the options and things that would need to be done I felt such a peaceful and calm feeling about Dr. Jolles. After reading through my chart he was particularly drawn to my appendix rupturing when I was 12. He said that when the appendix ruptures the fluid can create tumors on the ovaries which is exactly what happen to me. He started to write out the options I could do until the surgery notes were faxed in. Once he read that the tumor ruptured as it was being removed his plan of attack changed! He was concerned that since there was cancer within the tumor which suffocated my ovary he would need to do exploratory surgery in order to rule out the possibility of the cancer cells embedding themselves elsewhere.

At this point I was pretty speechless while he was telling me everything. My grandma was actually the one asking all the questions and getting the info since I didn't know what to say or do. The end result was SURGERY... AGAIN!!! Jolles said he would need to take biopsies of my organs and tissues and whatever needed to be done! Honestly, I was sad, upset, calm, confused, and happy all in one. The reason I say happy is because I felt that Jolles was a very good doctor. He is one of the only doctors in the state that specializes in female cancer like mine. He had such a caring and composed nature about him that I felt very confident.

After the appointment I called my family to let them know the verdict and start to get things worked out for my next surgery. My grandma and I went to Paradise Bakery in Bountiful to eat dinner. FYI, Paradise is SO GREAT!!! Joshua Allen introduced me to it and I have been there a couple times since, I LOVE IT!!!

The Catch up post!!!

Seeing as the last time I posted anything was over a month ago I figured it was time to finally catch up to whats been going on. Im going to have to resort all the way back to August 21st... the day Tina dubbed "D" day! hahahaha

I went in for my 3 weeks check up after surgery in which I thought it was just going to be one of those look at the scar and everythings ok deal. I had lost a total of 22 pounds at this point and was feeling great.. but...NOPE! Such was not the case. Dr. Johnasson walked in and put my scar on the table and said, "Well, I'm going to need to talk to you about your pathology results." I thought to myself... ok great, lets talk about it! Well much to my surprise she said I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. I was so numb at the very moment that all I could think to say to her was, "Well damn, now what?!" I never expected to go into the doctor and come out with that type of news so I didn't know what to do. She went on to tell me that it was found in the tumor that was removed and she had already set up an appointment with me to the a female cancer specialist in SLC, Dr. Christopher Jolles. According to her, my right ovary looked fine and she was not worried at all. Julia was not sure what Jolles was going to say or have me do but at this point my situation was out of her hands.

I didnt know what to do and the emotions where numb at this point. As soon as I got out to my car I could not hold back any tears. I had just heard that dreadful C word I never thought I would ever hear!! I called my mom and she didnt answer so I called my dad. I could barely make any words out to tell him what I had just been told. I remember him saying, "Oh hun, I am so sorry!!! What does this mean now? Dont worry you will be fine and we will get through this together!!" After talking with my mom and dad I sent work an email and told them what I had just found out and I would not be able to make it in the office. I was not able to talk to anyone at this point because I knew I would just start crying. My mom, that great person that she is, called my grandma Nebeker and she drove down to Ogden from Brigham City and took me out to lunch. We talked a little bit about what I had just been told and where I was going to go from there.

I really had no other answers until my appointment with Jolles the 3rd of Septemeber

A break from the tumor... onto FLORIDA!!!

I completely forgot to mention and include photos from Florida. Although I was in the ER twice and did not feel well most the time, it was a blast to watch my brother march at Disneyworld and just be around Melissa and my mom and dad!!!

The Big Question?!

I have gotten this a lot...

"How did you not know there was something wrong?"

"Did you not feel weird?"

"Did you not notice you gained weight?"

"Were you getting a regular Pap?"

"How old are you and you had what removed?"

The best one by a nurse in the hospital... "Where is your baby?!"

To answer all those... No I did not really notice anything different. For the past year I had been pretty sick, tired, worn out, etc but never thought I had a major problem. I noticed I gained some weight but was so frustrated because I was doing all I could to loose weight. I ended up getting more sick after school got out in May. From there it was just a downward sprial... I was not able to lay on my stomach because it hurt too much, my GERD (acid reflux) was out of control, my back hurt, I had bad headaches, got pleuricy and pneumonia. Since the surgery, NONE of that has occured. It really is amazing to me to see that this tumor had been causing ALL sorts of problems. I have never felt better and it really is a miracle!!!

August 8-10

My next 3 days were spent in the wonderful hospital! I had plenty of visitors and loved every second of it! :) I dreaded the fact that on Saturday my family went out Jet Skiing and I had to sit inside with no mobility at all. However, I got over that quick since it was cloudy and about 60 degrees. :)

The nurses probably thought I was this crazy girl because I requested the most random movies. :) Rigoletto, Days of Thunder, My Best Friends Wedding, and Son in Law. If you have never seen these movies, DO! They are so great!!!

Each new nurse I got or when I walked in the halls I got the, "Oh you are the one who pretty much delivered large twins... Or... Oh you are the one with a watermelon in your room!" Yes, thanks to my mom, I had a watermelon to represent how large my tumor really was! :) It was so funny.

August 7, 2009

SURGERY DAY!!!

My wonderful mom worked until 4am and got on a plane hours later to fly out to Utah for my surgery. It was scheduled for 5pm that night. I had to deal with the intense pain ALL day with NO FOOD!!! Man, what a struggle. Once I got to the hospital and an IV was started, my first question was, "Can I have some pain medicine?!" Man, once that was injected, I thought the pain would go away right away, alas that was not the case!

Dr. Johannson was running a bit late so when she finally arrived it was time to get the show on the road! The Anesthesiologist took me back and as I was transfering beds, I asked if he injected the meds in me. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room! He was definetly sneaky!!!

Usually as I wake up I can be mean to the nurses. However my mom warned the doc that I wake up and do not feel good along with me not being very nice. The Anesthesiologist listened for sure because when I woke up, I was just fine! :) I actually was probably a little too nice... haha I had to do a couple of breathing treatments due to me just getting over pneumonia. (I KNOW I KNOW... I always have health problems!) Once I got back to the room, everyone was laughing at me. I apparently said a lot to everyone... I remember a little but not too much. hahah :)

I remember sitting in bed that night thinking to myself... Wow, I didnt realize what I was really getting myself into. I was not able to move much nor did I realize how major the surgery was. I was told the cyst (now classifed as a tumor) was about a total of 20 pounds which ruptured as it was being removed. I had a 9 inch scar from my belly button down! Now I for sure wont be wearing a bikini!!! haha

I was also given an epidural which I HIGHLY recommend. It was absolutely fantastic!!! I was numb throughout my stomach and part of my thighs and anytime I needed more pain med, I just had to push this button. I loved every second of it!!!!!

At this point, all I wanted was some NORMAL food... not crackers, Sprite, Jello... something with substance. I would need to wait until the next day...

Catching up... yet again! :)

Yes I am bad at updating my blog on a regular basis. Usually I have no excuse, however this time I do! :) I have had quite the challenge placed before me and have had to learn how to deal with everything that has been thrown at me.

On August 5th I went to the doctor for a bump I noticed in my belly button. As the doctor exaimed me she said I had an umbillical hernia which would need surgery to remove. I thought to myself... MAN, I dont want to have surgery!!! She further said she felt I needed to have an ultrasound done before my stomach felt rock hard and I needed to be further assessed. Ok, I can do an ultrasound, NO BIGGIE!!! :) Well, that night I could not sleep and was in some serious pain. As I got out of bed to get ready for my 8:15am ultrasound I could not even walk! From my bathroom to my bed its about 20 feet. That 20 feet literally was the most painful 20 feet I have ever had to endure. I called me mom and barely being able to talk she caught enough of what I had to say that she called Tina and she took me to the ER. :) Great, just what I needed, to go to the ER!!!!! Anyways, Tina sat with me until my grandma was able to show up. I had blood work done, X-Rays, and a CT scan. I felt as though I was having all these tests yet no results with how long the ER takes!!!!! Then the dreaded news came... the ER doc came in and said my WBC count was way too high and that the CT scan showed a 25cm mast on my left ovary. I questioned him and said, "Don't you mean 25mm?" Yeah, no! He said it was about the size of a volleyball and I would need to go see my OBGYN immediately. The nurse made an appointment with my OB and that appointment would tell me what was next!

The OB appointment... Well I have by far the best OB doctor EVER!!! She walked in and just put it to me straight... She had never seen anything this large before and I needed surgery the next day! I just love her!!! She wears her biking sunglasses on top of her head along with a variety of Converse shoes! As soon as the surgery was scheduled, my grandma was on the phone with my dad and he booked my mom a flight out to Utah for the next day!