My Rock

My liver resection was a complete and total success! All my doubts and fears surrounding the surgery were short-lived and gone before I even entered the operating room. Those are gone, and so is 30% of my liver (which is much better than pre-op estimate of 50%), my gallbladder, spleen, as well as the tumor near my spleen. During the operation, my surgeon also performed an ultrasound directly on my liver, which allowed him to discover an additional 5 or 6 tumors that were too small to be seen by the naked eye. A radiologist then stepped-in and performed on oblation to burn-up those suckers. Apart from some spikes in my temperature and being foggy from meds, recovery has been great. I'm out of ICU and expect to be released this week! Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who have thought and prayed for me leading up to and throughout my surgery. It was felt and so appreciated.

Speaking of appreciation, the topic that seems so timely for right now is one where I get to highlight the person who has been here through this entire cancer ride and beyond. 

I met Scott online in 2009, as we were both ready to delete our respective 'profiles' on this particular dating site. A conversation was born from a snarky comment I made to him about USC- go figure that would be what got his attention!- and we talked and phoned from there. As we continued to get to know each other the number of coincidences in our background made it impossible to believe that our meeting was chance. Our families went to the same church and knew each other growing up. We lived in the same, very small community and my Dad even drove him to Little League! It was very easy to be swept up in how kismet our relationship seemed. 




But not only did we have a shared history to build off of- our collective journeys and the way each of them led up to meeting one another makes me know that we simply would not and could not have worked as a couple before going through the things we did. Little did we know when we were first married, our individual hills and valleys had prepared us for some of the greatest obstacles we'd faced yet. 



Scott is my teammate, my partner, my best friend and a wonderful husband and father. We have grown so much together in the last 9 years and our growth rate has hit steroid level since my cancer diagnosis 4 years ago. I've always said to him that I'm going to have the be the one who 'goes' first because he is a way, WAY better nurse than I am! It may be a joke between us, but I can't tell you what it's meant to go through this process- along with all the other challenges we have faced- being with someone whom you know with absolute certainty will be there through it all to take care of you. While getting ready to have this surgery he has been my rock. 




Behind every photo you see of me in a bathtub recovering from chemo, hooked up to a machine, or meeting with one of the numerous doctors on my team, what you don't see is the man who is making it all happen. The man who continues to work and carry on in spite of the fact that there have been times we each wanted to throw our hands up with helplessness, not knowing what to do. The man whose own health has been under the microscope, yet he still manages to put me first always. The man whose comfort and presence has made all the difference in my health and in my life. We are so lucky to have people in our lives who's love and effort allows us to feel that irreplaceable gratitude in the face of mortality. And I am so lucky for the one I have in mine.