the whole enchilada

Here is the story. with full details. and pictures. as promised.

you should be caught up after reading this. well, at least with my cancer journey. this is a story of how thankful I am that God can see the big picture and knows what is around the corner. and how He puts people and opportunities in our lives for a reason.

Lets get started. we have to go back to this spring when Chuck lost his part time job unexpectedly. We were in a pinch financially and started talking about how we were gonna make up the lost income. Then came summer and we were so busy. YIKES!! Towards the end of August we were on a date and started to discuss the idea of me getting a part time job to help with the general budget. and to foster my photography habit and business, and maybe to grow my wardrobe :)

The next week I got a call from my old boss at State Farm and we met to talk about a job opportunity he had. Fast Forward a week or so, and I took the job. I wasn't really convinced that I wanted it, but my hubby was all for it, and we did need the money. So, since I was back in the Arlington circle, I decided to try out the new spa that is owned by my boss's wife. its really convenient since its in the same building as the Farm.

Before my first day, I went to her wax Wednesday. ( $10 brow, lip, and chin) since she is responsible for getting me to the dermatologist, she gets a plug... http://www.lavendersskincare.com

Ok, so i see her for my wax and she asks me about the light pink spot on my forehead. I tell her its been there forever and is nothing. She suggests I go to the doc, I tell her I don't have money to hear I am fine. She strongly suggests I go to the dermatologist. this goes back and forth for a bit. Ok, I will go!! Her hubby is going to be signing my checks soon. Sheesh!

So, I go to Rosario Skin in Mount Vernon. They say I should have the spot looked at. I go to my doc and get a biopsy. Three days later I get a call its cancer. Ok, are you still with me. So, my doc appt was the first week of Sept, my biopsy the 2nd week, cancer diagnosed the 3rd week. Last week I had my pre-op visit. I got quite an education on basal cell carcinoma and what the Mohs procedure is. They commented many times that I was really young to have this, and that it may raise my eye brow, and that it was no big deal, and that I have terribly damaged skin. Left there feeling real great.


here is my before photo. in the car waiting to check in. see the pink spot on my forehead? yeah, me niether. that is why i haven't had it checked. it doesn't look like anything...

Wednesday was my surgery. I had to miss work (after only like 5 or 6 days on the job, good thing I have a GREAT boss!) I checked in at 8am. The paperwork says the procedure takes 3-8 hours. They take out what they know is cancer in the first scoop. then send it across the hall to the lab. They freeze it, slice it, put it on a slide and look at it under a microscope... all while you wait. then you get the results back ...if they got it all.. if the skin around the scoop is cancer free... then they take the next layer. repeat. This is less evasive than cutting off half your face just to be sure they got the whole mass of cancer.

Good news, they got it all the first time. So I didn't have to be there all day. the stitching took almost an hour. not what i had expected. they had to stitch a lot up in the inside. and the worst part... they cauterized it... which smells like burning flesh... it was horrible. When all the inside stitches were done, they moved to the outside. with bright blue thread of course. they are really small stitches which scar less.. but they are not as strong. So, i am not supposed to move my face muscles. no laughing or being dramatic.

THAT IS FUNNY!!! Me... dramatic... never.
Ok, so I came home feeling ok. They prescribed pain pills, but that is not my thing. I was taking tylenol for the first day. Yesterday felt pretty good. Little tired.



here is me yesterday .. taking it easy.. as long as I don't laugh.. this is approved behavior.

Last night we were playing board games with the kids. chuck looked at me and said "um, honey... I think the swelling has started" and it hasn't stopped since. This morning I looked horrible. Not sure if the pics show how puffy and fat my eyes are. The lids are laying on my lashes, and the bridge of my nose is twice its normal size. Supposedly it will turn black and blue too!!



I got to rip off the dressing and tape this morning to reveal the battle scars. not too bad compared to the horrific tight feeling on my swollen eyes. have switched to Ibuprofen to help with swelling.

so, I am supposed to not use my facial muscles to communicate, or lift anything, or do too much... to protect the stitches. I get them looked at this coming Thursday. They may not take them all out. might have to be partial. and, as a bonus, they are going to biopsy some small spots on the other side of my face and then stitch it closed too.


here is the actual wound



this is this morning. can see you the swelling? ugh...

One last thing.. thanks to all you who have prayed for us. The kids aren't too bothered, they think i look normal. umm... that is a problem!! Chuck has been fabulous with the kids and housework and cooking. He went to work today so my mom is up to help. Thanks to those who took the kids so I could go to have this blessed procedure

It takes a village.

Ok, so I just want to point this out. God knew I had cancer. He pushed me towards this job, where I would see a new esthitician, who would push me to go to the doctor. and, now I am cancer free because of this!! You helped save my life.. or at least my face!! God had a plan and put people into my life that I needed, even when i had no idea I needed them. amen

june happenings

So, its the 3rd of july already? June was a blur. a good blur. Here are some highlights.

elijah lost his second tooth



the first came with so much pomp and circumstance, and the second tooth was no big deal. I came home, Elijah smiled. I noticed it was gone. I asked him about it. he said, "oh yeah, eden and I were wrestling and she accidentally kicked me in the mouth and it flew out. I thinks it on the carpet." that was it, he ran off. I was sad I missed it. I thought it should be something a mommy witnesses. I guess he is growing up. he will be in first grade next year, so i will miss a lot of moments. deep breath.

elijah's end of the year field trip


all 4 kindergarten classes went to kayak point. insane. he had a blast playing with the kids and running amuck.

eden's daddy date


towards the end of the school year we were busy with elijah stuff. We wanted to make sure Eden wasn't getting lost in the shuffle. chuck took her on a date day. I tagged along for a small part just to capture some pics. then back to the books. I am in a photography class and have lots of homework to do.

the big reveal


my friend angela is pregnant again and she wanted to do something special to announce the gender. During her ultrasound, she had the tech put the gender of the baby in an envelope. on her way home, she dropped it off at a friends house. Dawn, the friend, made a cake with pink filling and then brought it to the big reveal party. we ate dinner and anxiously awaited the dessert. I actually peeked. I had to know since I was behind the camera, I didn't want to miss the moment. Anyway, angela and peter cut into the cake... its a girl. woot woot. here are some of the guests at the partay.




a big deal


we got rid of our tv cable ..hopefully just for the summer. this has been quite an adjustment. we are so used to watching one of our shows after the kids go to bed. I have enjoyed it so far. I have taken some online classes and read. two things I have missed. this picture above is us sitting in bed watching TV on our laptops. ha! we don't need no stinkin cable!

elijah graduates from kindergarten





what a fun afternoon for the kids. he was in his glory. at the end of the day Mrs Neuman told each kid who they would have for first grade and then paraded down the hall to meet thier new teacher. It was awesome. he got to see where he would be going, who was in his class, and just feel more comfortable about the whole thing.


Mrs Lenz, his first grade teacher, is a family friends from a community theater group from way back when i was a kid. So i guess that makes her moms friend, not mine. She didn't recognize me, but when I told her who I was, she was delighted. the first thing she did with the kids is pick up her guitar and start singing. Elijah asked if he could get up and dance. They will be quite the pair.

settlers


must mention again how much I like this new game. we are now addicts and are trying to teach all our friends. If you play, let me know.


first fruits


Chucks garden is doing well. I was not sure how things would grow out in our neck of the wood. We have already eaten fresh cilantro and chives and strawberries. So fun.

bye bye burb


our $700 monthly gas bill and squeaking brakes got the best of us. We had to trade in the suburban before it cost us an arm and a leg. We downsized. not sure how it will work out, but for now am optimistic. We are now the owners of a toyota camry.

it only has 50K miles, so hopefully it can be Elijahs car! Man, that sounds weird, he is only 6.

Philippines
still hoping to get all the teams pics together and post some, but we did get a thank you letter out to those who responded to our support letter earlier this month. Here it is if you want to see it.



battle
with all this gloomy weather we have had lots of time to do inside things. like battle. and make cookies.



rolling



the kids have been saving for over a year for our big trip to silverwood. big in the sense that they have never been there, or to disneyland, or wild waves, or anything of the sort. So, they are so excited. they check the website to look at pics of the rides and just can't wait. we finally emptied the change jars and helped them roll the coins... they had huge grins carrying the coins into the bank. shoulda got a picture of that. super cute. grand total... $73.

we are leaving next weekend for our first camping trip of the summer, in our car! ha! Guess I will have to start learning to pack light. ha! Here's hoping July will bring sunshine and much much more regular blog posts. and funny ones at that. this seems very informative. guess the out of towners will be in the know now.