Update

Just a little update on me... I haven't had chemo for almost five months now! When I stopped chemo my levels were  at 5.something and without chemo they just have been dropping slowly. They are now at .7. My doctors favorite thing to say to me is "I'm very puzzled," in her Jamaican accent. She said it's good that it is dropping on its own, but doesn't understand it and is vey puzzled. In order to be considered normal my levels need to be under .5. Origanilly, once my levels got to normal I would do an extra six weeks of chemo, but that last time I talked to my doctor she said if my levels don't go back up then I'm done if chemo. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because she has been known to change her story.

 I asked her if I could get my port out and she said no... I was bummed because it is so annoying. And every once in a while Eason will find it and start playing with it...it's just annoying. If this cancer is going to come back, it is likely to happen in the first six months after stopping chemo. So only two more months and I'm in the clear. Then at six months, I can get my port removed!

Birthday Boy

Eason turned one on May 20th! Crazy! Part of me thinks the year went really fast, but part of me thinks it was the longest year ever. We had Eason's one year appointment. He is a very healthy boy, which I am very thankful for. I dont know if I could have handled a sick baby this year. My baby is getting skinny! His whole life he was been above 90th percentile, but now hes down to 80. He weighs 23 lb. 9 oz. Hes gained exactly 15 pounds since he was born. Hes in the 55th percentile for height, same as last time and 100 for head, same as last time. That head comes from his dad.

We didn't really do anything on his birthday, but we had a little party in Oregon. And the night before we went to our friends house, the Alston's, and had cupcakes for Eason.

Eason's favorites: Anything outside, daddy, peaches, broccoli, iPad, opening things with lids..like his puffs, taking every single piece of clothing out of his dresser, books, magnets on the fridge, swimming, eating.

He pretty much is a happy boy unless you wipe his nose, he has to go inside from playing, or you don't give him food fast enough.

He does this face all the time

Two of favorite things...swing and popsicle. 

His latest...hes crazy. 

Oregon trip

Since I havent been doing chemo the last few weeks, actually it's been almost 11 weeks, my doctor okayed me to go to Oregon for two weeks! My numbers are still not considered normal, but they aren't going up. So I am doing weekly blood test and as long as everything stays the same, no more chemo. I was really scared I was going to jinx myself by saying I would have to go to the doctor or hospital for two weeks, but we did it. Nothing medical for a whole two weeks...it was amazing!

 The day before we flew out we went to the Nationals baseball game with my brother Dave and his wife Emily. I think they won, I really don't know. Me and Emily walked around most of the time. It was fun though.

The next afternoon we flew out on a direct flight. Eason did really well. He slept the first hour and a half and the last hour and half. So we was only up for about three hours. He did manage to poop twice in those three hours....I swear he poops more than any baby I know.

On the flight there

Anyways, that first weekend we were there my brother Jake, his wife Brittany, their three kids, and my twin brother Nick came out from Idaho. It was nice to see them.

 Grandpa with Lorren, Nick with Eason, and Grandma

Carter, Jason, Eason, Lorren

The rest of the time there we went to the beach, went clamming, to the zoo, got Eason's hair cut for the first time, had a mini birthday party for him, and just hung out with family a lot.

Eason loved the piano at my parents 

At the zoo with his cousins, Dylan and Bailey 

His second mom while we were there, Bailey

Before: This is right when we woke up from a nap so it's really crazy.

After: He looks like such a big boy!

On the flight back was was really nervous because I was flying by myself and we had a 45 minute layover in salt lake...that's not very much time with a baby. But he did great. On the first flight he slept most of the time and stole the pretzels of the guy next to us. He acted like he got them just for Eason. Ha. And on the second flight he had his own seat which was really nice, we could move around some. But the guy next to us on that flight was like a business man and had his laptop out most of the time and Eason of course kept trying to take his mouse. And a one point I looked down and there was a puff just sitting on his nice church shoes! I was trying so hard not to laugh. I didn't tell him....

Last three weeks

It's been three weeks already since my last post. My numbers are still all over the place and the doctors still don't know to do with me. It's never a good thing when you hear your oncologist say we're not quite sure what to do next for you... Um...ok.

Anyways three weeks ago my levels were at 2.7, then they went up to 4.4 and now they're back down to 2.9. I'm pretty convinced that the lab at the hospital I go to is not accurate because I have been up and down from 6-2 ever since January. Doesn't make much since to me. But good news is since they still have no idea what to do with me, I sill am not doing chemo. And my doctor approved me to go to Oregon for two weeks. So we're leaving the day after Payton gets done with finals, the 27th, and I'm going back the 10th and Payton will go back on the 4th. Payton also got a job working in the finacial office at SVU and he will start May 6th. We're going to be the managers of our apartment complex, staring May 1st. Free rent! So we have a busy few weeks ahead of us.

We have had really nice weather here lately. We bought Eason a little pool and he loves it! He didn't really get in it, he would just dunk his head. Ha. Weirdo.

And he loves the song if you're happy and you know it!

No Chemo Update

So it's been three weeks since I haven't had chemo... The first week my levels were at 5.8. The next week they jumped up to 6.8, and then on Friday they were down to 4.4. I haven't talked to the doctor about the numbers yet, so I am not sure what she is thinking. It's just weird that the numbers are up and down.

Since I haven't done chemo, I have had a lot more energy and feel a lot better. We have one more week or just blood testing and then we'll discuss with the doctor what will happen next.

Two weekends ago we went to DC with Payton's brother Brantley. Eason loved it.

My mom also sent us a  gift card, so we took Eason to McDonald's and the park.

New week, new story

Went to the doctor on Friday...AND...surprise surprise my HCG level decided to go up again. It's at 5.8. This put the doctors in a little bit of a tizzy. They decided to stop chemo for 4 weeks to see how my body reacts without chemo. They don't really know why my levels went back up. They either think its because there is an active tumor (hopefully not), a fibroid sending out false HCG, or my body is still adjusting to birth control. 

I will go in every Friday to get my blood tested, and if the levels continue to rise and they find a tumor, surgery will be done then. Then I will have 6 more weeks of chemo...and hopefully be done. My original goal to be done with everything was Christmas, then Payton's birthday (Feb. 5th), then Eason's (May 20th). Now my new goal of being done with everything is September 26th. One year after I was diagnosed. So I will be able to for sure reach that one.

I made Eason a little tie onsie for St. Patrick's Day. I just used the iron on stuff thinking that would stick enough for one day, but it only lasted until about sunday school. Ha. But he looked cute anyways!

Fridays

Since I didn't do chemo last week, the doctor had me come up Tuesday to get blood work done. My hCG dropped from 3.6 to 2.5...without doing chemo!! That's a good sign. My doctor also told me that we are not going off of UNC's blood test anymore. So, we have to wait until my hCG level is below 0.5 before the last six weeks begin. So...we are hoping to be done with chemo by May.

My blood tests came back and said that I was healthy enough for chemo. But...we had a huge snowstorm and the hospital got 18" of snow! The cancer center was closed. I rescheduled my chemo appointment for Friday and this will probably be my treatment day from now on.

Here is my tech savvy baby:

You Win Some You Lose Some

This last Wednesday we went to the hospital for my blood test and chemo. My mom and Eason took me up because Payton was in Pennsylvania for a basketball tournament. They lost in the 2nd round, so he was back Friday. His dad came to see Eason for a day.

When my blood work came back, it showed my hCG level at 3.6. This is the lowest it has ever been, but still  not low enough to be considered normal. It is a little confusing because when my blood is sent to North Carolina to be tested it come backs normal. Hopefully this will get sorted out soon.

My blood work also showed that my hemoglobin was at 7.9. Anytime it gets below 8, a blood transfusion is suggested. I didn't get one yet, but because it was so low I didn't do chemo. With the week off we are hopeful the hemoglobin levels will go up and I won't need the transfusion.

Baby Eason is doing a lot better. His RSV and thrush are all but gone. He had two top teeth pop through this week, so he has been a little cranky. 

Just Waiting

When I went in for chemo on Wednesday they took another blood sample to make sure the levels were still normal. The levels came back higher than last week. They don't know if it was due to a tumor that is growing or the fact they started me on birth control. The birth control may have caused the higher HCG level. Hopefully that's the case. Next Wednesday they will test again to make sure that it's not increasing. So we are kind of in wait mode right now.

We took Eason to the doctor this week for his 9 month check up and because he was sick. Just when I thought he was getting skinny, he measured in the 100th percentile for weight. Just over 22 pounds!! We did find out that he has RSV and thrush...but he is getting better.

Oh, and he was hungry at church!

Big boy

Big NEWS!! Eason took his first steps yesterday. His career high is now 4 steps.

No Need for NC!!

On Monday we left for UNC women's hospital pretty early to make our 1:30 PM appointment. It was a 4 hour drive, and Eason did really well on the drive, with some help from Sesame Street, food, and the iPad.

We didn't get lost getting the to the hospital, but we got lost in the parking garage and the hospital. I don't want to point any fingers but Payton was in charge of directions.

At first when we met with the doctor he was unsure of what he was going to do.  He said that he might not know for a few days. They took a blood sample to test my hCG and was going to go from there.

When we got the hCG results back, the doctor told me my levels were NORMAL!!! BOO YA!!! He suggested 4-6 more weeks of chemo, and then I would be done! We were very happy on the drive home, and we stopped by Chili's to celebrate.

At Chili's, Eason tried ice cream for the first because he wanted to be part of the celebration. He loved it.

NC here we come

I just finished my 19th week of chemo!!  Do you know how long that is...that's half of a pregnancy!!

So, like I said earlier we started a new chemo that was supposed to be more aggressive and get my HCG number to 0 within a cycle. Going into Wednesday the doctor was hopeful that this would happen. But...my  number only dropped by 0.2, from 5.4 to 5.2.

Because my doctor has never treated this type of cancer before and because she doesn't really know what to do next, she is transferring me to a specialist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I have an appointment on Monday and they said I could be there for two hours or ten days...depending on testing and possible surgery. I guess we will see what Monday brings. 

New Hospital Website

Payton had a birthday this last week, we didn't do much because he had a lot of homework, and all I got him was two powerades. HA. Eason decided to say "da da" for the first time on his birthday! We tried to make a cute sign for Payton, but all Eason wanted to do was eat it.

Here's a picture of the nurse using my new port for the first time. It was really nice not having an IV hooked up to my arm.

PORT

Today, I was scheduled to get a portacath. A portacath is a device placed under the skin that has a catheter that runs into one of your main veins. It is placed in your chest near the collar bone. It requires a short minor surgery.

The purpose of the port is to save the veins in my arms from constant pricking. The chemo ruins my veins and veins in your chest handle the chemo better.

I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 AM for my surgery at 9:00 AM. There was an emergency surgery that happened, so I didn't go under the knife until noon. After the surgery was done a chest X-RAY was taken to make sure the surgery was done properly. I just have to take it easy for the next weeks while taking care of Eason.

I wasn't able to eat since the night before. When we left the hospital at around 3 PM, I got a Wendy's Double Cheeseburger. Twenty miles down the road, I was still hungry and got a Whopper Jr.!! While I was gone Eason spent time with daddy, and our good friend Travis.

CT scan and new chemo

Hey everyone, last Wednesday (January 23^rd) I got a CT scan. This scan was of my chest and abdomen and was done to check on the tumors in my lungs and uterus. The scan revealed that I had 18 areas in my lungs where tumors had been. Now, the doctor believes that there is only scar tissue left.

I still have one large tumor in my uterus.  The tumor has gotten smaller, but is not being as receptive to the chemo as the other tumors. Because of this, I will be starting a more aggressive chemo regiment which the doctor hopes will get rid of this tumor. When all the tumors are gone, my HCG levels will then be at zero.

So, yesterday we started the new chemo (cisplatin). It is longer than the one it replaced, but we are hopeful that it will get the needed results more quickly. So far I haven't gotten too sick from the drugs, but cisplatin is more intense and is supposed to cause more nausea and vomiting. Ugh. We'll see what the weekend brings...because the side effects usually happen in 48-72 hours.

And I had two visitors come see me...Eason and my mom. Eason kept pulling on cords so he got sent out to the lobby to play!

Learn about GTD

Here are some links to websites where you can learn more about GTD:

1. Cancer.org
2. MedLinePlus
3. Cancer.gov

SVU Knights dedicate game to Nattie

Southern Virginia University and the men's basketball team dedicated a game to Nattie on Wednesday 1/23/2013. The Knights won by 10. Here is the link below.

Nattie's Story

Game Recap