More Updates

I just got off the phone with my gyn. (Who, by the way, is amazing. If you live in central NC and are looking for a doctor, please email me. You will love her!) Here are some things that she clarified for me:

·         I tested negative for the HPV that causes cervical cancer.

·         VIN is not an STD, genital warts, or anything that can harm R.

·         However, VIN and HPV may be related.

I am thrilled about the first two. Great news!

I’m not quite sure how I feel about that last one. Although I have tested negative for HPV, the fact that I have VIN2 means that I may have it. So, what does that mean? I’m not sure yet. The only things I know right now are the above: negative for HPV-related cervical cancer, negative for genital warts.

Which, really, is good news.

I’m going to stay away from Doctor Google for a while. No reason to worry myself before we get the post-op results.

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

I’m going to the mountains and I’m bringing…

Did you ever play that car game? Well, I'm bringing:

·         Running and hiking clothes/shoes

·         Basic makeup and toiletries

·         Sunscreen and bug spray

·         A ball cap and ponytail holders

·         My Bible, devotional book, journal and pen

·         A leisure book

·         Sunglasses

·         iPhone and Earbuds

·         (Feminine hygiene products and advil. Of course. *sigh*)

You know what I’m not bringing? Worry, stress, anxiety, or fear. God is in control of all things, including my health. His timing is perfect and that perfection has been seen over and over the past two weeks.

I’m also bringing vodka, tonic water, and fresh mint leaves from my garden. Heh.

Bring. It. ON!

Update

Sorry that I don't have a catchy title today.

Three good things:

·         Mountain vacation in two days

·         My mom is coming to visit

·         The skin lesion continues to NOT be cancer

The official diagnosis is Vin2. Super cool CO2 laser surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27^th. My mom is flying in on Tuesday, June 26^th.

A fourth good thing:

·         I get to be unconscious for surgery.

While I’m under, my doctor will do a thorough search for other lesions, biopsy any suspicious areas, receive the results, and perform any further ablation during the same surgery.

A fifth, sixth, and seventh good thing:

·         This should be a one and done surgery.

·         The HPV culture was negative.

·         The information the doctor shared has convinced my husband to stop smoking. Day one is scheduled for Friday of this week.

I will have a post-op follow up one week later and will be examined every six months to make sure nothing new develops. I will also be visiting a dermatologist this summer and, unless she finds something, will return annually for examination.

God continues to be so good.

Prayers for peace, strength, wisdom, and healing are appreciated.

A great reminder came from my Bible study leader yesterday: God knew. God knew that this lesion would come up and He provided a way for my doctor to find it. The same way, God knew this surgery would be required and He will provide the finances to cover it. (I hope we see this soon!)

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How has God provided for you this week?

Two Words: Vaginal Biopsy

Three Good Things:

·         Planning on a trip to the mountains with my bestie this coming weekend!

·         The kids are officially gone for the summer – LOTS of alone time with R!

·         Biopsy results are in and it’s not melanoma!

However, the biopsy results did come back abnormal with a high grade look which now classifies the darkening as a pre-cancerous area. I am not clear if this is related to the abnormal cells from my pap smear three weeks ago. My doctor personally called a gynecological oncologist to take my case and my first appointment is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 PM.

So, a fourth good thing is:

·         The specialist is seeing me within 26 hours of receiving the biopsy results.

Which is pretty darn impressive.

I’m pretty peaceful about the whole thing. The phrase “pre-cancerous cells” doesn’t scare me because my father had several pre-cancerous cells removed from his back within the past few years. My doctor, bless her heart, was very concerned about how I was taking the news and repeated several times that it’s not melanoma and is highly treatable/curable.

It is such a God thing how we found the darkening. When the abnormal cells from the pap came in, the doctor wanted to wait it out for a year. When I mentioned the bump (which was later diagnosed as a something-something-totally-normal cyst), the two combined won me a follow up appointment. When attempting to find the bump (which turned out to be a blah-blah-blah cyst which resolved on its own), my doctor saw the darkening. She waffled for a good five minutes trying to decide whether or not to biopsy the area, eventually landing on “rather safe than sorry.” If any one of those things had not occurred, we would just be letting this area grow… eventually, into cancer.

There are no coincidences.

God is so good.

So, now we wait to see and hear from the specialist tomorrow. Prayers for peace (for our family) and for wisdom (for the doctors) are appreciated.

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How have you seen God’s hand at work in your life today?

Good News, Bad News

Mom always picked us up from school. There was a rule when you got in the car: Talk about three good things from your day before you talk about the bad things. It was a great practice and one I’m trying to pass on to Little K. I occasionally use it with adults, too. You would be surprised at how talking about the good before the bad can really brighten your day!

Three good things:

My thyroid blood test results came back normal! TSH 1.100, Glucose 80, Lipid 152, Tri 49, HDL 65, LDL 77. These are all awesome numbers!

HPV swab came in negative. Woo!

The trip to Florida was a blast!

Really, these are all great things. I am excited about all of them and very relieved.

A bad thing:

Atypical cells from my pap. Biopsy yesterday afternoon on a very sensitive spot.

The good news about this is that, whatever it is, we found it early. My doctor was debating whether or not to biopsy the area but decided to go for it in the end. Results early next week. If it is something we need to deal with, treatment will be going on while the kids are away.

The other good news is that I’m not nearly as sore today as I anticipated. Yay!

So, there you go. Prayers are appreciated. Hopefully it’s nothing.

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Tell me three good things about your day!

Cats and Bags

aka Announcement but not mine.

We've been given the all-clear to announce that my awesome sister, Becoming Brina, is pregnant. You can follow her journey at Becoming Mama.

When presented with unavoidable hard situations, I go to the facts. Either gaining or sharing information, asking questions, clarifying... Basically putting the emotions into a box until I feel prepared to deal with them. It's been about three weeks since she found out about the pregnancy; the baby is measuring 7w1d today. I have spent the past two weeks swallowing statistics about losses, trying not to freak her out. I am so releived that they saw a heartbeat today!

(Of course, anyone who has had contact with the ALI community knows that a heartbeat doesn't mean it's a sure thing. Prayers are so appreciated at this point.)

I'm doing much better than I anticipated. I feel like I'm past the "happy for her, sad for me" stage and plan to start unpacking the emotions box soon.

Little K and I are heading to Florida tomorrow afternoon and have SO much to get accomplished before bed tonight. I plan to catch up early next week, including:

A Photo Dump
Kindergarten Graduation
Being an Alternate Bridesmaid
Dspence is running and cooking?!
and (hopefully) Thyroid Results

In the mean time:

What are/were your fears about pregnancy or parenthood? How did you/are you planning to address those fears?