Another Scan

On November 19th I had another PET/CT Scan.  I met with the Oncologist a few days later and she said that everything looks good. Things are shrinking, but I still have cells in my spleen that are lighting up on the scan.  I most likely will be finishing up the last 3 rounds of chemo, wait another 4 weeks and have another scan. At that time we should know if I need to have another form of chemo, radiation or even a bone marrow transplant.  I had chemo the day before Thanksgiving which is number 9 out of 12. I'm doing well and seem to be holding up ok.  This week we are going up to Huntsman Cancer Center for a second opinion.  

We had a nice Thanksgiving. This picture of me was taken on Thanksgiving. We went to my Aunt's house for dinner and it was very nice. Lilly got to meet some of her cousins she hadn't seen before.

Lilly is growing like a weed.  This week she has started scooting. She really likes my mom's watch and we put it on the carpet a couple feet away and she has been scooting to get it. She is now starting to scoot for toys as well. She has been up on her hands and knees and has been rocking back and forth for a while, but can't quite figure out how to make her arms and legs move at the same time. I have a feeling she will be crawling soon.  Presley is holding up well. He is continuing to have physical therapy on his shoulder and it seems to be getting better.  He will still be out of work for another few months. It looks like this surgery will set him back 4 months instead of 3 like we originally thought. He will be coming to Utah for Christmas which will be nice since we haven't seen him since September.  

Halloween

We had fun for Halloween. I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling. Our neighbor was kind enough to purchase a little costume for Lilly and we went to visit Aunt Geraldine and Grandma. I've still been feeling pretty well. 

September 2012

September was a crazy month!  Presley came to visit and we had a nice time. We went to several doctors appointments while he was here. Presley had his gallbaldder out at the end of August and when he came to visit mid-Septmeber his should was still hurting. We found out that he obtained a labral tear when he had an MRI done, after the surgeon admitted the Hospital Staff may have accidently injured him during his gall bladder surgury. He had to have another surgery on his shoulder and start physical therapy and will be out of work for at least 3 months. While Presley was here we also took family photos. 

Our Crazy Life for the past few months!

It's been a while since I've written and Presley has been asking me to update our blog. A lot of things have happened to us since May when I last wrote.  The last time I wrote, everything was great, I still felt tired from being a new mom. Just after I last wrote I developed a cough that I could not get rid of. I went to the Dr. who tried antibiotics and steroids and neither helped. I received a chest x-ray and they saw nothing.  While I was pregnant what we thought was a cyst or a lyphnode popped up on my neck and I had scheduled to go back to the surgeon to have it looked at after Lilly was born. That's when another adventure started...

May 18th- Had a second ultrasound of my neck where a lymphnode had popped up while I was pregnant.

June 11th-Went to have a CT scan of my lungs to figure out why I kept coughing.

June 14th-Our lives would change forever. I got the call no one ever wants to get. I was told to come back to have a biopsy done, because my CT scan was not good. I was told they thought I might have Lymphoma. I was dumbfounded! 

The following week I went in for surgery to have the lump removed. About a week later we met with an oncologist who told us that everything pointed to lymphoma but they were waiting to hear back from the pathologist to make sure.  We were told that once a lymphnode has presented itself, that person typically has had it for 2-5 years. They thought I've had this for at least 2 years. June 29th-I was told it was definitely lymphoma, they just weren't sure of the type.

During this time, my mom and my sister came out to help with Lilly while I had other scans and another surgery to insert a port-a-cath. We decided it was best for Lilly and I to move to Utah for treatment, where I could get help with Lilly and Presley would stay in Memphis to continue working and finish school.  Presley also had to have his 3rd surgery of the year and have his gallbladder removed. I went to Utah on July 18th, and started chemo therapy on July 25th. I would need 12 rounds of chemo over 6 months.

At the end of August, Presley had his gallbladder removed. He went back for his 2 week post-op visit and when he mentioned that his shoulder was still hurting, the surgeon said they may have accidently hurt him when they were moving him during surgery. Presley came to visit us in Utah on September 12th and went to see an orthopedic surgeon while he was here. The surgeon took an MRI of his shoulder and when they looked at the results, determined that Presley had a labrial tear from front to back and would need another surgery, and that he would be out of work for at least 3 months.  He was still on FMLA from his last surgery. He had his fourth surgery the end of September and is currently recovering in Memphis. He plans to come visit again at Christmas time. 

Currently I have had 6 out of 12 chemo treatments. I seem to be doing well, I haven't been to sick. Occasionally I get tired, but usually fair pretty well.  They've done a scan and everything is shrinking! 6 more treatments to go!  

Lilly is doing great. She is 7 months old! Where has the time gone? She has two teeth, can sit on her own for about a minute before she tips over and is starting to get up on her knees.  She should be crawling soon! She is 20lbs, happy and healthy. She loves green beans, peas, sweet potatos and most fruits.  

Blessing Day

Lilly had her Baby Blessing on May 6, 2012. The Hall Grandparents came, and Presley's brothers, Allen, David and Steve, came. 

Lilly is here!

I found out that people weren't joking when they said that when the baby got here I would be busy. Lilly is 5 weeks old and the last day I wrote was the day before she was born. Life definetely hasn't been the same. Lilly was born Wednesday March 7, 2012. Daddy made it out of the hospital for two days so that he could be there for the birth. Lilly and Mom did great during the delivery and the Doctor said we could go home the next day. We decided to stay an extra day in the hospital because Presley went the day after she was born and has his gall stone removed. Grandma and Grandpa Keate came to meet Lilly when she was a week old.

Presley has his own "Water Baby"

We thought our lives would change forever when we expected to become new parents on February 29, 2012. Little did we know our lives would change in a very different way than we ever expected.
On February 11th we took Presley to the Emergency Room for severe abdominal pain. They did a CT scan and ultra sound and what they found was very shocking. Presley had a 10" x 8" fluid filled cyst that took up his whole abdominal cavity! We were glad to have finally figured out what was hurting him so badly. Later we would find out this wasn't the real reason he had been hurting.

We were sent home from the ER and told to contact our family Dr. who would then refer us to a surgeon who could remove his cyst.
We met with the surgeon on Valentines day and were told that his surgery would be February 17th, that Friday. Presley was a trooper. He had to have a tube inserted into his nose to his stomach that would drain his stomach until his bowels started working again. He also had a catheter which they removed too soon and had to put back in while he was awake. When the surgery was over, the Dr came and talked with the family, we were told that his cyst had been filled with lyphatic fluid and they had dug deeper and found a clogged lymphnode which they called a tumor. The labs had not returned the results yet, so it wasn't for sure, but they supposed it was malignant and that Presley might have to have radiation or chemo therapy to get rid of it. When the lab results came back we were please to find out that Presley did not have cancer and every thing had been successfully removed.

They told us the cyst was so large they had to drain it before they could remove it, so unfortunately we'll never know how much it weighed. However, 8 days after his surgery when we left the hospital Presley had lost 15 lbs!We were glad this was over and after just a few days of being him being home from the hospital his intense stomach pain returned. I still had not had the baby at this point and was already 4 days past my due date. On March 3rd we returned to the ER and they did another ultra sound. They told us his Gall Bladder looked slightly enlarged and that his liver enzymes were through the roof. Instead of being 30-40 they were over 800. We were very concerned at this point because Presley's mother had liver problems which caused her to pass away from Sepsis. After spending two nights on a cot in the hospital with Presley I attended my OB appointment on March 5th in order to determine when I would be induced. I was told to go to the hospital on March 6th at a totally different hospital. Later that same evening after two separate HIDA scans we found out that Presley had gall stones that were blocking his bile duct and that was the reason his liver was so backed up. They suggested he go home and come back March 9th to have this stone removed and a few weeks after that have his gall bladder removed.
Today is March 6, 2012. Presley came home from the hospital late last night. We are to report at the hospital in four hours from now to be induced. Presley and I are both grateful that he could be there for Lilly's birth. Lilly should come sometime tomorrow.

Be sure to stay tuned as we post our next adventures with labor and delivery...

Baby Lilly will be here soon!

It's hard to believe I haven't updated my blog in such a long time and it's already 5 weeks into 2012. Our family is doing well. I stopped working just before Christmas to get ready for the Baby and have a little break in preparation to be a stay at home Mom. We are very excited with just a few weeks left. My ward had a baby shower for me a few weeks ago which has helped out quite a bit. My family in Utah will be having a "virtual shower" and I will join in on the internet. We have our crib and changing table set up, we got purple curtains with polka dots for the window and I've been making things to put on the walls. My Mom and Dad will be coming mid March to visit and see Lilly. This year we changed classes in Primary and we no longer teach the sunbeams. We now teach the 10 and 11 year olds. I think Presley enjoys this a little bit better because the children can participate and read more and have a slightly longer attention span. Next week Presley will take his test for his last class and he will officially be done with classes! Now he just has to study for his final exams and clinicals and he will be an RN We are deciding where we would like to do come September when our year lease is up for our apartment. It really just depends on where Presley finds a job I guess.