Results

Well, my mom got her test results back. She is right in the middle of the chart for needing chemo and not needing chemo so it was up to her. The Dr. gave her some statistics for each, but they are just statistics... man I wish medical was more of an exact science. So after a few days of thinking and praying about it, my mom decided that she felt safer going through with chemo therapy. So... in 2 weeks she has her first treatment and with in 7-10 days after that she looses her hair. She going to get a wig that looks close to what her hair is now, I just ask her "please mom NO PINK" cause my mom can go a little nuts.  So, that's that. I don't really know how I feel or what to expect. I'm kind of numb at this point. I just want my mom to be okay and be with me for many many more years to come. I'm selfish like that. This was all SO unexpected! I mean, the lump in her breast was SO SMALL that they didn't think it was cancer at first, they thought it was just a sist. And after the biopsy came back saying it was breast cancer, we all thought that it was so small and caught so early that she would just have a simple little lumpectomy and be DONE with it.  This little thing has really turned out to be quite the little pain to take care of. I'm not trying to complain, my point is you just never know... you never know. I'm not ready to handle such adult things i guess. I still feel like a kid. Especially with having a baby in 2 MONTHS! I'm just a kid, wow my life has really changed this year. Heavenly Father must be trying to tell me "Rachel, it's time to grow up, to put away childish selfish things and become a woman... a mother." I'm listening now, You got my attention.

 I know that I have some much to be grateful for; I've got this amazing little person growing inside of me. Healthy, strong and getting bigger everyday. It's crazy that there is something inside of my body that I have no control over, he's got his own little personality and no matter how hard I try to get him to move when others want to feel my belly, nothing happens. I think he is trying to listen to what is going on when I call someone over cause he can be kicking or stretching or twisting, but the moment I say "come and feel," he stops it's so funny. I love him so much.  And I have the most amazing husband, he treats me so wonderful. I had no idea how much you can actually love someone,  just when you think your heart couldn't hold any more esteem for another person, your heart grows and that person fills each and every new crevasse of it all over again. 

I could go on an on, but I will keep those for maybe a little later. I don't know why I felt like getting so personal and opening up so much, It's not really like me. I tend to keep things in and/or share them usually only with Josh (poor guy). One more thing that I'm overwhelmingly grateful for; I'm so grateful for all the prays and best wishes that everyone has offered me and my family right now. It means so much to me that my Mom has so much support and so many people that love and care about her. She really is an amazing women and I'm so blest to have her as my mother because she has certainly been a great one. 

Thank you.

I'm finally ready to talk about it

I feel like it's time to get a little personal

The last few months have been flipped upside down. Nothing to do with my pregnancy, everything is going great there. 

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Those who know me really well know that my mother is my best friend. I don't know what I would do with out her. Especially right now when I'm about to make her a grandmother. I need her. 

I cannot thank my mother enough for being soooo good on going in for her yearly mammograms. Though by no means has this been easy even though the Dr. caught it early. Here is here recovery story as of now, it's not over, but it's looking good and we are so lucky. 

Her story:

The Dr. found a small pea size lump on her left breast through an x-ray. The mass was hardly noticeable to the touch. Even after the Dr. showed her where it was, she still had to really concentrate on trying to find it. It was determined that she needed to have a lumpectomy (surgery where they only remove the cancer lump and maybe some tissue around it for testing). The test results came back a few weeks later and said that she had some pre-cancer cells around the area they were working, so they needed to do a second surgery to remove more tissue. So she went in again, my dad was out of town on business so I stayed with her a few days to make sure everything was okay. She did great, she heals very fast. A few weeks later more test results came back and the Dr. told her that she has pre-cancer cells all over her left breast so a mastectomy (removal of the entire left breast including nipple) would be her best option at this point. The Dr. also told her that there was some good news, her test results also showed that her lymph nodes were clear of cancer cells which means that the cancer has not spread out through the breast to the rest of the body. That's the best news a breast cancer patient can hear!

So, my mother being the brave women she is went in just a few weeks later for a 3rd, more extensive, surgery. This surgery lasted all day. Her regular surgeon did her thing, than a plastic surgeon went in right after to do a "temporary" implant so that my mom didn't have to go with out a "lump." . So again, I stayed with her, this time a lot longer. This surgery was a lot tougher recovery. She was in a great deal of pain, it was very heard to watch. But she is a tough women and it's been about 2 weeks now and she is doing much better. Her favorite part about this whole thing is that in 3 months when everything has completely healed she will get the permeant implant in her left breast and since they are making that one look nice, they are going to make the right one match. My mom is telling everyone who knows about her situation that she is getting 20 year old boobs and she couldn't be more excited about that. It's not over yet though, we find out in a few weeks after extensive testing is done on the tissue if she needs to have chemo therapy. We are hoping not cause I don't want her to loose her hair, but we'll see.

The reason I'm getting so personal in the blog is that maybe this story will help others. Early detection in the key! Incase you are wondering, there is no history of breast cancer in her family that we know of. It just happens sometimes. With how quickly this spread over her left breast, who knows what would have happened if this went untreated for years. Here's some hard facts my mom's Dr gave her:

1 in 7 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime 

That risk increases to about 1 in 5 over the age of 50

This is a HUGE number! 

Early detection is the key

Happy Anniversary to us! Last Monday was our first wedding anniversary!

After years of dating, months of planning, we finally got married. Now it is 1 year later and we can't believe how time flys! It's just really incredible how fast life really is. I have learned that you really have to make the most out of each and everyday because before we know it, Josh and I are going to be 80 years old, feeding each other jello and apple sauce and trying to remember were we put our false teeth! Back to now, I just wanted to take a minute to write out our memories and thoughts about our amazing day so that I don't forget any little detail because it truly was the best day of my life. It certainly wasn't with out a little stress and chaos but I look back and laugh at it now. It really is quite the story

It took us and some of our friends and family a whole day and a half to decorate the church. We had our wedding and reception at the same church that I have gone to since I was 6 years old, so it was really special to me to have it there. It looked like absolutely everything I dreamed it would be and more, I LOVED the decorations.

The ceremony was very small, just family and very close friends. I remember I was standing in the hall with my Dad and I was just thinking how calm and collected I felt and how I knew that this was right. I guess the best word to describe how I felt was peace. But then the Bishop kept saying "Josh and Sarah" during the ceremony, that was a little stressful, but I really do look back a laugh a little, not a lot, just a chuckle, maybe in a few years it will be a knee slapper, but for now, it's still kinda sucks, but I'm slowly getting over it. When ever I'm feeling a little cranky, I let Josh know by telling him that his wife Sarah isn't in a very good mood. Then we both laugh and it kinda makes me a little less cranky actually.

The cake was amazing and delicious. I was really bummed that I only got that small peice that was more on my face than in my mouth (thanks Josh). But I must say that after carefully freezing it, a year later it actually tasted really good! I was VERY impressed!

I had an great photographer! She's very good, professional and experienced. Her name is Irene Jones and her website is www.ijphoto.net She walked around and got pictures of my whole reception, not just my guests, but the gifts, the decorations, the food, just all these little things that you just don't think about. And I'm so grateful that she did that because I want to remember every piece of our day.

The food was absolutely delicious! My father-in-law was so incredible, instead of having a rehearsal dinner that the grooms parents pay for, he paid for the catering at the wedding. It was catered by this little Italian restaurant in Kent called Paolo's. Oh my goodness, I'm not kidding you, the best Italian food I have ever had! Everyone loved it! I didn't hear one bad comment about it. Thanks Shelley (my mother-in-law) for booking such a great venue!

The day went by SO SO fast, and we loved every minute of it. But no contest our favorite part was the very end. Josh's step mom Tina got us a limo to take us to our hotel, so at the end of our reception, all our guests went out side before us and as we left the church they were all standing on each side of the limo waving and saying "good bye" and "congratulations" "we love you" and it was so perfect, so amazing! I have a little tear just thinking about it. We are so blessed to have such supportive friends and family!

Update on me and the baby

It's been a long time since I updated everyone on what is going on with me. I want everyone to know that I'm doing very well. I've had a very easy pregnancy so far. He is growing SO MUCH and betting so big. I LOVE to feel him move and kick inside of me. It's an unbelievable feeling and I feel like we are bonding in those moments. Sometimes when he is really active, usually in the morning, I will press down on my belly with 2 fingers and then he will kick that spot and follow me around. His record is only 5 times in a row, but it's still an amazing feeling. Maybe he is playing with me or maybe he is saying "get out of my space." =)

Here's the belly shot at 25 weeks and 4 days.

I'm really hoping and planning on natural child birth. We'll see what happens, there is no shame in saying enough when the time comes. There is a slight chance that I might have to have a C-section because my placenta is low, which means that you can't deliver the baby if the placenta is lower than the baby. We will find out in a few weeks. I'm really hoping not because I'm more scared of the idea of being cut open (while awake) then dealing with the pain of natural child birth. And the placenta being low is just something that happens. It's not genetic and it doesn't mean that it will happen with all my pregnancies, it just means that the place were the baby attached itself was low. So it's not that big of a deal these days. Medical science has come so far. It's called Placenta Previa if you feel the need to google it for more information. Well, I think that's everything. Me and the baby and baby daddy are all doing great! I'll try to be better with updates. Thanks for reading and checking in =)