A year ago today....

Wow! How fast time passes. Last year at this time I was quietly resting in my room at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, TN recovering from my surgery to remove a rather large ovarian tumor. By the grace of God, it was benign! Thank you Jesus! I will forever be grateful for the gift of that blessing.

It was rather scary how it was all discovered and how quickly everything unfolded. In late September I had an ultrasound to see how many eggs I had--didn't know this was even possible, but hey, I was curious. Or rather, God was protecting me. With my advancing age, I've been pretty concerned about my potential infertility. The doctor said she could look at my ovaries and have a better assessment of my current and near-future fertility possibilities. That was the intention, but as soon as she began the ultrasound everything changed. Dr. Whitworth said, "Oh my. You have a large cyst on your left ovary. Have you been cramping?" Well, trying to process what was being said to me, I just replied with, "Well, yes, but I thought that was normal." After this she began taking all kinds of measurements and telling me that I was going to have to have surgery.......this is about all I really remember. The rest seems like a huge blur. Of course I was bawling at this point and couldn't imagine 1. having to have an IV--ick! 2. being intubated to be put to sleep and 3. what kind of pain was this going to cause? I hate needles! I'm the biggest weenie out there.

Naturally, I was alone for this appointment. But who was expecting traumatic news? This was supposed to be an informational appointment--but not for bad news. Dr. Whitworth was so kind, and ever so patient with me. I immediately began text messaging Gary and my family of what was going on. It was such a nightmare to me.

Then I had to have blood tests done---great, more needles! Of course, I'm still bawling like a baby. Then my blood sugar dropped and I thought I was going to pass out, so they had to give me a snack and I think they gave me some juice too. Yes, total basketcase. Dr. Whitworth then referred me to Dr. Wheelock, a gynecologic oncologist. (Gary went with me for all other doctor's appointments. Thanks Honey!) Dr. Wheelock is the one who termed Thorn (the name of this thing quickly growing inside me....the "thorn" in my side) as a TUMOR. This was an alarming label to me because until that moment, I wasn't even considering that Thorn might be cancerous. More tears.

He advised that I schedule surgery within the next 3-4 weeks. I wasn't ready. Could I ever be ready? Would I ever be ready? My surgery was scheduled for Monday, October 22, 2007.

By the grace of God, Thorn was non-cancerous. But unfortunately, as Dr. Wheelock expected, the tumor was too big to save my left ovary and fallopian tube. The tumor had consumed them both! Thorn was initially measured at 6.38cm x 9.4cm. Five days before my surgery, it had grown to 7.35cm x 9.86 cm. The final pathology measurement was something like 9cm x 11cm if I remember correctly. I do remember that it weighed 1.16 pounds! Ever the picture fanatic, of course I asked my doctor if they'd take a picture of Thorn for me once it was out.....I hope you weren't too grossed-out! Honestly though, all joking aside, I'm truly grateful that it was benign. Dr. Wheelock said the white-looking parts of the tumor are what end up becoming cancerous. As you can see, there were a lot of "white-looking parts." Dr. Wheelock's words were, "You dodged a bullet."

My Mom selflessly took off work for two weeks to come and be with me, to love me, support me, encourage and comfort me and of course to nurse me back to health! I so appreciate you being there for me Mom! Thank you, my recovery wouldn't have been the same without your love, compassion and presence. Extra kudos to you for putting up with me while I was on Percocet too....boy that stuff can really make a person grouchy! My Mom was so understanding.....I don't know how she did it. I couldn't stand myself on that stuff!

Aside from an ugly four inch scar (aka. war wound), I've healed up very nicely! I always remind myself that I'd rather have this scar than to be dealing with cancer and chemo and all of that. I'll take the scar...thank you. :-)

Thank you too family and friends for your love, support and encouragement during that hurdle in my life a year ago. I know so many people were praying for me and it means so much to me. I'm so thankful it's all now behind me! Thank you Jesus for healing me.

Happy 105th Birthday Doc!!

Where to begin? Wow, today is my great-grandfather's 105th birthday!! Can you believe it? I stumble to fathom the magnitude of this momentous occasion. There really aren't too many people who have a loved one who lives such a long and amazingly healthy life for so long! I am truly blessed....and I realize it. Although Doc's physical strength has begun to decline over the past year or two, he's still completely with-it mentally! What a huge blessing he is to me and our family. We're ever so thankful for this patriarch of our family. He's an amazing man of God, a well-grounded leader who offers each of us wise counsel, and has such a huge heart for so many. These are just some of his endearing qualities.

I called Doc today to wish him "Happy Birthday!" He was so happy to have survived to this amazing birthday! He said he's been following his philosophy: "Everytime you breathe out--be sure to breathe back in!" For those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing Doc, this is just like him! He has such a spunky wit about him! Today, on his birthday, he was painting wooden blocks for children with numbers on them to help them with their counting and math skills. I believe the secret to his long, healthy life is the fact that he never lets his mind slow-down. He's always busy reading, watching the news, knitting and sewing booties for the "Gifts for the Unborn" charity his children (my Grama Lou and great Uncle Rich) began when their mother passed away in 1987. To date, he's personally made over 20,000 booties! To me this is just so amazing! He's been involved with a program called Elderhostels for about 20 years now. This has also been a great source of strength, wisdom, and quality of life for him in his later years. He also met his second wife there! Her name is Nora. She's a true sweetheart. She takes great care of our Doc and is always knitting and sewing booties too for the charity and is also involved in several other charities as well.

Gary and I went to visit my grandparents and Doc and Nora last year during Doc's birthday. We had a great visit! Doc was just as lively as ever and even drove himself and Nora over to my grandparent's house three miles away from their home. I have so many wonderful memories of going to my grandparent's homes in Pennsylvania during our summer vacations. Many of those memories include going over to Gram and Doc's and swimming in their great built-in pool! We used to have so much fun jumping off the diving board and just relaxing in the pool--all together my whole family (and extended family). I always love hearing Doc's "stories" of the good 'ole days. I also like reminiscing through the old family photo albums and hearing who is who and seeing all the old fashion styles and things of the past....those were simpler times it seems.

Doc's grandparents and parents were German. Doc has a copy of the immigration papers for his grandfather when he entered the United States arriving from Germany! In his home growing up, they spoke both German and English. He's such a well-educated man! His birth name is John Theodore Jacobs. But he was nicknamed "Doc" when he became a chiropractor. Since then the name has stuck. He was a chiropractor for a few years and then went to work in the Pittsburgh Steel Mill. This is where he made his career and eventually retired. He and my great-grandma traveled all over the world together after they reared their children. He's so full of stories....living through the depression, BOTH World Wars, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, 9-11, and the War in Iraq just to name a few.

I hope you enjoy some sweet pictures of this precious member of my family! We took these last year when we celebrated his 104th birthday.

What a legacy he's given us. Thank you Doc--I love you!