Wow, two blogs in two days! I wanted to at least let you all know that Anna did well for todays procedure. In the last few weeks Anna has had an Endoscopy, Sigmoidoscopy, Colonoscopy and a series of Upper GI tests for her gastric distress issues. All returning fairly normal results. Although some slight inflammation found earlier suggesting Crohns. But after today, our GI specialist isn't so sure. He took some additional labs, which will hopefully (I think) reveal something.
With that aside, I wanted to post to you all a "post" from another fellow blogger, Cameron Von St. James. More info about he and his wife Heather, who suffered from Mesothelioma, can be found here: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/. He read my blog and felt that we had similar approaches to our healing plan. So he wanted to share his story with my audience as well.
Here is one of the blogs he wrote:
What Cancer Taught Me and My Family
My wife has said on many occasions that she doesn’t know what I went through when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. It was three months after the birth of our daughter, Lily. We were so overjoyed and happy with our daughter, full of excitement at the prospect of what the future might hold for our new little family. We had no idea that all that would change when her doctor looked at her and told her she had cancer. I watched as Heather cried at the news, and I wondered how in the world we were supposed to get through something this awful. I was on the verge of a breakdown when the doctor’s comments about medical decisions forced me to focus on our terrible reality.
More than anything, I was so angry. I was angry that my wife had cancer, and I spent a great deal of time and energy on angry outbursts of profanity. It took me a little while to realize how selfish I was being, and I realized that the last thing my wife needed was to see how scared I was. I knew I had to get my emotions under control. It wasn’t easy, but eventually I was able to get to together, and from that point on I did my very best to be nothing but a source of hope and optimism for my family.
My wife has said on many occasions that she doesn’t know what I went through when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. It was three months after the birth of our daughter, Lily. We were so overjoyed and happy with our daughter, full of excitement at the prospect of what the future might hold for our new little family. We had no idea that all that would change when her doctor looked at her and told her she had cancer. I watched as Heather cried at the news, and I wondered how in the world we were supposed to get through something this awful. I was on the verge of a breakdown when the doctor’s comments about medical decisions forced me to focus on our terrible reality.
More than anything, I was so angry. I was angry that my wife had cancer, and I spent a great deal of time and energy on angry outbursts of profanity. It took me a little while to realize how selfish I was being, and I realized that the last thing my wife needed was to see how scared I was. I knew I had to get my emotions under control. It wasn’t easy, but eventually I was able to get to together, and from that point on I did my very best to be nothing but a source of hope and optimism for my family.
I had such a long to-do
list that included everything from my job, to making travel arrangements for
doctors appointments, to taking care of my family, our pets, etc, that I almost
couldn’t handle it. I was overwhelmed. I had to learn to prioritize and create
a plan. I also learned to accept all of
the generous offers of help that came from our loving community. I realize how
blessed my family is to have such amazing loved ones in our lives.
In February, Heather and I traveled to Boston for her extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery. While we were in Boston, Heather's parents were caring for Lily at their home in South Dakota. We had a decision to make. I had to work, and I couldn’t give Heather and Lily the constant care that they needed while working full time, so after the operation Heather went to South Dakota to stay with her parents while she recovered and prepared for the next phase of her treatment. They were gone for two months. It was so hard being away from them, but it was necessary.
I saw my family one time in two months. I drove through a snowstorm on a Friday night after work and had to do it again on Sunday so I could be at work Monday morning. The drive is 11 hours one way. It was hard, but it was so good to see my family. I don’t regret making any of the difficult decisions we made, because they were decisions we were lucky to be able to make. This is something I learned throughout Heather’s diagnosis – never regret the tough decisions that cancer forces you to make. Instead, take comfort in the fact that you retain the ability to make decisions at all. I also learned that you just have to accept the help that is offered to you if you ever plan on making it through these difficult days. I am forever grateful to those who helped us overcome this time in our lives.
Heather has now been healthy for more than six years, and it is such a blessing. I hope that this story, and my experience can help someone else who is suffering from cancer to get through this very difficult time.
In February, Heather and I traveled to Boston for her extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery. While we were in Boston, Heather's parents were caring for Lily at their home in South Dakota. We had a decision to make. I had to work, and I couldn’t give Heather and Lily the constant care that they needed while working full time, so after the operation Heather went to South Dakota to stay with her parents while she recovered and prepared for the next phase of her treatment. They were gone for two months. It was so hard being away from them, but it was necessary.
I saw my family one time in two months. I drove through a snowstorm on a Friday night after work and had to do it again on Sunday so I could be at work Monday morning. The drive is 11 hours one way. It was hard, but it was so good to see my family. I don’t regret making any of the difficult decisions we made, because they were decisions we were lucky to be able to make. This is something I learned throughout Heather’s diagnosis – never regret the tough decisions that cancer forces you to make. Instead, take comfort in the fact that you retain the ability to make decisions at all. I also learned that you just have to accept the help that is offered to you if you ever plan on making it through these difficult days. I am forever grateful to those who helped us overcome this time in our lives.
Heather has now been healthy for more than six years, and it is such a blessing. I hope that this story, and my experience can help someone else who is suffering from cancer to get through this very difficult time.
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