The Bumpy Ride....

So much has happened since I last wrote in my blog. I never meant to go this long without writing in here, but it's amazing how busy life gets and how fast it goes by.

Let's start off with Paul, my amazing little buddy. He is definitely two - and a half. He wants what he wants when he wants it, and will most definitely let you know it. But thank goodness for short attention spans, and knowing the little things that make him laugh. That's always helpful! He likes to manipulate things - put shoes in rows and piles, move people where he wants them, knock things down.....loves Thomas the Train and Super Why....is taking a renewed interest in the cats, especially Charlie (which is fine with Charlie until he starts pulling his tail or pointing out where his eyes and ears are!).....he's eating really well with a spoon now and starting to manipulate a fork pretty well......the only concern I really have right now is getting him to eat more of a variety. He likes certain things, and it's very difficult getting him to even TRY something new. I feel like if I could just get him to TRY pasta, that I would have it made....but he just doesn't want to have any part of it. Everything I've read has told me to not give up and keep trying new things and gradually change things up, so that is what I'm doing....hopefully this is just a (LONG) phase that he'll grow out of.

It's been a very bittersweet summer. Dad passed away June 29 (has it really been three months??). I miss and think about him everyday. I know that he's in a much better place and is yucking it up with friends and family who have gone on before him. We knew that his time with us was running out; I don't think we were prepared for it to end when it did, though. So during this transition of life without my father around, I've been dealing with some health issues of my own. At the end of July, I had to have a gum graft. It wasn't fun, but the recovery time was relatively quick.

Then came the mammogram.

I went in for my yearly mammogram Aug. 1 and, as was the case last year, was called back for another one a couple of days later. Things went crazy from there....I was told that I had a possible case of DCIS, and all of these options for treatment were being thrown at me. So, here we are on the last day of September. I was referred to Tolnitch Surgical Associates in Raleigh, and in the matter of a week I had a biopsy and a Sunday MRI done. I met with my doctor the day after the MRI and was told that I do have DCIS in my right breast. Basically, it had spread throughout my breast, but was still confined to the milk ducts, which makes it an early stage of cancer (Stage 0). I will not need chemotherapy or radiation, as far as they can tell right now. I will be getting a double mastectomy on October 12. I decided to get the double because in just about every instance I've heard about this, it shows up later in the opposite breast. They were going to have to do some massive work on my left side anyway, so I decided getting a double was the best option. I won't have to worry about it anymore. At the same time, I am going to have reconstructive surgery.

People ask me how I'm doing, and I honestly don't know what to tell them. What I do know is that I'm thankful. I'm blessed. I have a wonderful support system through my family, friends, and coworkers. I'm thankful for their prayers and smiles and encouraging words. I'm thankful that my disease was found in the early stages and that after about six months I'll be back to living a normal life. I'm thankful that I'm busy with Paul and school, so I don't have a lot of time to think about it. Except now, since I'm writing about it. :) I'm not worried about the surgery at all....I think that will be the easy part....the recovery is going to be the challenge for me because I am such a WIMP when it comes to pain. My surgery will be at Rex Hospital, the same hospital Dad was sent to when he had his stroke. After the surgery I'll be in Turkey for a few days or so....I know that the first few days after the surgery are the roughest and I do not want Paul to see me going through that because I know that he wouldn't understand why I can't get down on the floor and play with him or hug him. It will be VERY hard not being around him for that long.

And so another journey begins......