Whenever Regan's mom mentions this aunt of hers she always uses the phrase that "if she were to look in the mirror she wouldn't recognize herself". This weekend I found myself thinking about how much we have changed in the last few months. Regan went from living to surviving. Preston went from a baby boy to a big boy. I have changed from being the care-free care takee to being a worried care taker. So strange to think about what different people we could be in the span of a few months.
I think I noticed the change in Regan this weekend. He was telling a story about some folks smoking out in front of MD Anderson which is a cancer center. The smokers were right next to some folks who were obviously there doing chemo and had gone out for a walk. There were some attendants that tried to wave off the smokers but the fact that the smokers didn't think to not pass on 2nd hand smoke to those battling cancer (possibly even lung cancer) whom already have diminished immunities really got Regan upset. Additionally, Reg is now sporting a black bracelet that says "say it, fight it, cure it". He has crossed over into this other community. A community of survivors and fighters without me even knowing it. His acceptance of all things melanoma is impressive. He will do whatever it takes to be healthy. Did I mention he is my Superman?
Regan is doing well post op. The incision is about 8inches long in an s-shape, it is accompanied by the drain tube and reservoir. He is recovering well but really needs to slow down and rest. I think he over did it yesterday by trying to get back to his normal routine, he is paying for it today. Relaxing with some pain meds. I stayed home to look after him. I guess I need to stop calling him Superman so he takes it easy! We should hear the pathology results for his lymph nodes within the next few days and then will push forward with a treatment plan. Praying the lymph nodes are clear and cancer free! Plastic surgeon will take a look at his face tomorrow to see how it is healing and then schedule round 2 of trophy husband rehab.
We moved Preston out of his toddler bed and into his full size bed. In doing this all the things that we had decorated his nursery with were moved out. His room is so big boy now. It looks really great and he loves the "big boy bed". He has slept well the past 2 nights. Kenzy and Pres tested it out for jumping and it appears to have passed the test. We are quite pleased with how sturdy it is. Very neat that his bed is made from parts of his crib, I think I will always have an emotional tie to that furniture. Feels like he is gonna be 3 any second and then off to college. Wish I could slow this roller coaster down!
I am along for the ride and trying to roll with the punches. My life in cliches! Just trying to be supportive and take care of the boys as much as I can. Appointment maker, calendar manager, travel planner and wound cleaner will all be added to my resume. In between I am still asking God "why us?" and taking a few minutes every day to have a pity party. Thanne tells us there will be a blessing in all this. I am not very good with suspense stories, I wish someone would send me a memo and clue me in! Work is work...odd thing to feel guilty about not being at work while also feeling guilty about not being with Reg.
Overall we are doing great. Staying busy and surrounded by friends and family, when we can, is the goal most days. Thanks for all the well wishes, positive thoughts and prayers. We have heard from so many folks who are thinking about Regs, we are so appreciative. I like to think that God is at his desk answering prayers and is thinking "Alright already! I will look after Regan!". Hope all is well in your part of the world. For those of you in Spokane...see ya soon!! xoxox
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Swiss Cheese
Lymph node removal day! Reg just went into surgery. He is having the left axillary (arm pit) lymph nodes removed. Using ultra sound yesterday they were able to rule out any concern with the right side. So far so good!! Thanne is with him and giving updates as news gets to her. Regan was in great spirits this morning. Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts!
UPDATE: Regan's surgery went well and he now has a 6-8 inch incision in his armpit that needs to heal. It was a long day from check-in to recovery but he and Thanne are now settled into a room for the evening. The doc came in to check on Regan and let him know the surgery went well. he mentioned that a few of the lymph nodes were a bit hard but we will have to wait for pathology to let us know what they find. Once we get that information back they will be able to give Reg a treatment plan. We are hoping for a clinical treatment that requires regular check-ups. We will wait and see. For now the plan is for them to get released from the hospital tomorrow and then fly home on Friday. Hoping for smooth travel, quick recovery and negative pathology results. Not too much to ask for, right?
Regan is sore and a little nauseated. He has pain meds and Thanne to whip him back into shape. He is positive though....so optimistic about his recovery that he ordered Salmon, green beans and mashed potatoes for dinner. Will post more news as I get it.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day!
Some guys were born to be Daddys. Regan is a natural. Thanks for doing more than your share every day.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Especially Bob, Ron, Chris, Sean & Dan! Your kids are a reflection of all your hard work. It is appreciated.
xoxo
Friday, June 18, 2010
Trophy Husband (Revised)
Reg had the Mohs Surgery yesterday to remove the basal cell from his upper lip. They were able to successfully remove it all but took quite a bit of skin. As a result he gets to go to a plastic surgeon today. Dr Carver (not kidding) will do a procedure that requires him borrowing other face skin to fill in the pot hole and it will need to grow and then be shaped. No idea how all this works but the end result should be that Reg looks like himself again. If he ends up with a scar that will only step up his cool factor...pirates have scars.
Update (6/19) Regan had something closer to facial reconstruction. He has over 20 stitches and was in an incredible amount of pain. Chalk this up to another surgery we didn't take seriously. We were under the impression that he would be out of the hospital in 90 min and then we could carry on our Friday plans. No such luck we were there for just over 7 hours, only after Regan was given a whole lot of pain meds and a little versed (sp). Poor guy was uncomfortable but couldn't tell you what would make him feel better. As it turns out he didn't recognize he was in a lot of pain. Thank goodness for drugs. The wound is a temporary wound so there was a ton of bleeding. Lots of changing of the bandages. Regan is only going to be chopped up a little more next week, feeling sorry for his body. Just not fun. He is in great spirits though. I think he was a little shocked by Preston's & my reactions. I was under the impression there would be 2 stitches to close this surgery site. A whole new surgery and Reg looking like he was in a nasty bar fight was not on the agenda. It was scary to say the least. So we are floating along today and just gonna take it easy. Regan slept great and is feeling better. There is a lot of swelling, once we can get that to go down it will help him heal up. We did take pictures but I am pretty sure you will all want to take a pass on those. Hard to believe that the clean up or cosmetic part of this surgery was so much more invasive.
Thanne flies in on Sunday to accompany Reg down to Houston for his surgery next week. Having an RN by his side should ensure that all goes smoothly! Nice of her to take the time. This will allow me to work and keep Preston on his schedule. We are grateful.
The Borellas have come and gone. Despite the garbage weather and a day at the Dodge dealership, we had such a great time. Any time with the fam I will take. Pres loved having them here. They were in their 5th wheel and the RV camp is right across the street from his daycare. He thought it was pretty neat to be their neighbors. After they left he informed me that "they didn't have to go home". I should have told them that ;) Thanks for the visit, we loved it. Also if you want to keep tabs on my folks they have started a blog, just click the Bob & Carol Borella link to the right.
Other than that Preston and I will be holding down the fort. Try to get some biking, swimming and gymnastics in while they are gone. The weather here should be great and we will take advantage!.
xoxo
Update (6/19) Regan had something closer to facial reconstruction. He has over 20 stitches and was in an incredible amount of pain. Chalk this up to another surgery we didn't take seriously. We were under the impression that he would be out of the hospital in 90 min and then we could carry on our Friday plans. No such luck we were there for just over 7 hours, only after Regan was given a whole lot of pain meds and a little versed (sp). Poor guy was uncomfortable but couldn't tell you what would make him feel better. As it turns out he didn't recognize he was in a lot of pain. Thank goodness for drugs. The wound is a temporary wound so there was a ton of bleeding. Lots of changing of the bandages. Regan is only going to be chopped up a little more next week, feeling sorry for his body. Just not fun. He is in great spirits though. I think he was a little shocked by Preston's & my reactions. I was under the impression there would be 2 stitches to close this surgery site. A whole new surgery and Reg looking like he was in a nasty bar fight was not on the agenda. It was scary to say the least. So we are floating along today and just gonna take it easy. Regan slept great and is feeling better. There is a lot of swelling, once we can get that to go down it will help him heal up. We did take pictures but I am pretty sure you will all want to take a pass on those. Hard to believe that the clean up or cosmetic part of this surgery was so much more invasive.
Thanne flies in on Sunday to accompany Reg down to Houston for his surgery next week. Having an RN by his side should ensure that all goes smoothly! Nice of her to take the time. This will allow me to work and keep Preston on his schedule. We are grateful.
The Borellas have come and gone. Despite the garbage weather and a day at the Dodge dealership, we had such a great time. Any time with the fam I will take. Pres loved having them here. They were in their 5th wheel and the RV camp is right across the street from his daycare. He thought it was pretty neat to be their neighbors. After they left he informed me that "they didn't have to go home". I should have told them that ;) Thanks for the visit, we loved it. Also if you want to keep tabs on my folks they have started a blog, just click the Bob & Carol Borella link to the right.
Other than that Preston and I will be holding down the fort. Try to get some biking, swimming and gymnastics in while they are gone. The weather here should be great and we will take advantage!.
xoxo
Saturday, June 12, 2010
What in the name of Sam Houston?!
When we last left our heroes they had company coming and then were headed to Houston to meet with some competent folks...
The Benavidez fam came for their SoDak visit and it was not long enough. They stayed for 7 days and we tried to maximize our time the best we could. We ensured they visited Bear Country, Reptile Gardens, Old McDonald farm, Spearfish Canyon, Mt Rushmore, BAGELS!, Story book Island, took in a bike ride downtown, nightly hanging out and phase 10 tourneys! We got everyone together for a BBQ on Memorial Day. Reg and Mandi made the best Ka-bobs, salads and desserts. Weather was beautiful and we spent lots of time outdoors. Perfect visit and was so sorry it had to come to an end. Nice having friends that you are comfortable with. They could come and go as they pleased, move in to all corners of the house and it didn't bother us in the slightest. We loved our time with them, thanks for the visit!
Our new nephew, arrived on Monday. Sounds as though things are going very well and his parents are doing great. Good job team Halsted, we look forward to meeting our new nephew!
Wednesday morning Reg & I headed down to Houston for his first appointment at MD Anderson to discuss Regan's diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The nurse got his FULL history squared away, then we met with Dr Veelapong who discussed Reg's cancer saga and finally we met with Dr Ross. We both feel very comfortable with the doc and are so glad we lucked into getting the best Melanoma Surgeon in the world. No joke, that is his claim to fame, and he is the biggest goof. Perfect fit as far as personality match which set as at ease at once. He informed us that the way Regs' tumor would typically have been handled is that it would have been biopsied/identified first so that once it was surgically removed they would have also removed all the lymph nodes in that region (left side). Since the Doc here in Rapid left the remaining lymph nodes, Reg is scheduled to have them removed in 2 weeks. Additionally, they have ordered a brain MRI (done on 6/15 and the results came back normal and clear! woohoo!!)to ensure that they have covered all bases to fully diagnose Reg. Once they have the lymph nodes analysed to see if there are further malignancies we can work out treatment options. Additionally, they felt a lymph node on the opposite side (right side) that is in the 1cm range. They intend to do ultra sound on the right side the day before surgery. If there is reason to be concerned then the lymph nodes on that side will be removed as well. Chances are that it is inflamed due to the recent basal cell removal from Regan's shoulder, cross your fingers!!!! (6/22 Lymphnode looks good, no reason to be removed on that side!!) Clear as mud? Suffice to say we are still in clean up mode from the initial findings. Although frustrated we are still not moving forward, we are so grateful to be in good hands and are finally getting a good plan of action. The docs also gave Regan a thorough look over and all confirm that he is in excellent health and could not identify where the primary melanoma was. The removal of the lymph nodes may require some drain tubes and follow up that can cut into our Spokane trip in July. We will just have to keep you all updated.
Despite the long delays and humidity we really enjoyed our time in Houston. We didn't have Preston with us and that was actually quite tough. I knew we would miss him but didn't realize how much. With the exception of the 5 hours we spent at the hospital I would rather him be with us for the sight seeing, dining, travelling and shopping. Although, it was nice to have one checked bag and one carry on rather than the stroller/car seat/16 bags combo we normally lug. Preston stayed at Camp Ingle. Derek and Stacey have gone above and beyond for us. They take such great care of him and made the trauma on him minimal for his first stint away from us. Thanks Ingles, would offer up our first born but I can't see being away from him again until he leaves for college.
The Borella 'Rents are here now and we are enjoying the time. Sight seeing and bagels today. The weather is not cooperating at all so we will see what the next day and a half holds. This evening we will celebrate Kenz's 3rd birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENZ!!
Hope all is well with you all, GO USA!
xoxox
The Benavidez fam came for their SoDak visit and it was not long enough. They stayed for 7 days and we tried to maximize our time the best we could. We ensured they visited Bear Country, Reptile Gardens, Old McDonald farm, Spearfish Canyon, Mt Rushmore, BAGELS!, Story book Island, took in a bike ride downtown, nightly hanging out and phase 10 tourneys! We got everyone together for a BBQ on Memorial Day. Reg and Mandi made the best Ka-bobs, salads and desserts. Weather was beautiful and we spent lots of time outdoors. Perfect visit and was so sorry it had to come to an end. Nice having friends that you are comfortable with. They could come and go as they pleased, move in to all corners of the house and it didn't bother us in the slightest. We loved our time with them, thanks for the visit!
Our new nephew, arrived on Monday. Sounds as though things are going very well and his parents are doing great. Good job team Halsted, we look forward to meeting our new nephew!
Wednesday morning Reg & I headed down to Houston for his first appointment at MD Anderson to discuss Regan's diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The nurse got his FULL history squared away, then we met with Dr Veelapong who discussed Reg's cancer saga and finally we met with Dr Ross. We both feel very comfortable with the doc and are so glad we lucked into getting the best Melanoma Surgeon in the world. No joke, that is his claim to fame, and he is the biggest goof. Perfect fit as far as personality match which set as at ease at once. He informed us that the way Regs' tumor would typically have been handled is that it would have been biopsied/identified first so that once it was surgically removed they would have also removed all the lymph nodes in that region (left side). Since the Doc here in Rapid left the remaining lymph nodes, Reg is scheduled to have them removed in 2 weeks. Additionally, they have ordered a brain MRI (done on 6/15 and the results came back normal and clear! woohoo!!)to ensure that they have covered all bases to fully diagnose Reg. Once they have the lymph nodes analysed to see if there are further malignancies we can work out treatment options. Additionally, they felt a lymph node on the opposite side (right side) that is in the 1cm range. They intend to do ultra sound on the right side the day before surgery. If there is reason to be concerned then the lymph nodes on that side will be removed as well. Chances are that it is inflamed due to the recent basal cell removal from Regan's shoulder, cross your fingers!!!! (6/22 Lymphnode looks good, no reason to be removed on that side!!) Clear as mud? Suffice to say we are still in clean up mode from the initial findings. Although frustrated we are still not moving forward, we are so grateful to be in good hands and are finally getting a good plan of action. The docs also gave Regan a thorough look over and all confirm that he is in excellent health and could not identify where the primary melanoma was. The removal of the lymph nodes may require some drain tubes and follow up that can cut into our Spokane trip in July. We will just have to keep you all updated.
Despite the long delays and humidity we really enjoyed our time in Houston. We didn't have Preston with us and that was actually quite tough. I knew we would miss him but didn't realize how much. With the exception of the 5 hours we spent at the hospital I would rather him be with us for the sight seeing, dining, travelling and shopping. Although, it was nice to have one checked bag and one carry on rather than the stroller/car seat/16 bags combo we normally lug. Preston stayed at Camp Ingle. Derek and Stacey have gone above and beyond for us. They take such great care of him and made the trauma on him minimal for his first stint away from us. Thanks Ingles, would offer up our first born but I can't see being away from him again until he leaves for college.
The Borella 'Rents are here now and we are enjoying the time. Sight seeing and bagels today. The weather is not cooperating at all so we will see what the next day and a half holds. This evening we will celebrate Kenz's 3rd birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENZ!!
Hope all is well with you all, GO USA!
xoxox
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