Going to the Chapel . . .

And I'm Gonna Get Married . . .


Wow . . . what a year this has been and it is only APRIL!  Abundant blessings have rained down on me.  I thank God for the challenges he put in front of me with the mass formerly known as Cecil.  I learned more during those 6 weeks than I have in a really long time.  For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with cancer the day after Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent) and my final surgery at MD Anderson was on Maundy Thursday (the end of Lent).  The things I knew that needed to work through were suddenly brought to light and there was resolve and reconciliation.  Seriously, God is so faithful. 


Which brings me to this weekend!


On Saturday it POURED but Eric and I made it out to Leita's house for a visit.  Of course I took her my favorite cookies in the world, Lilly's Cookies.  She was able to enjoy a margarita even though it was a sugar cookie!  Eric and I walked away from Leita's house in AWE.  She is one of the most positive people you will ever meet, very similar to my mother who has rheumatoid arthritis.  It was so great to see her.  She continues to make progress.  We have matching scars . . . however she has more and they are on her stomach.  She has Chester, the amazing dog, to protect her chest and stomach. And she gave me my very own amazing elephant, now known as Knight in Shining Armor to protect my arm.  Please continue to pray for healing and her pain to subside so that she can begin getting off her pain medications.


Later that day . . .  on April 17th Eric Benjamin Hughes asked me to marry him!


Eric tells the story so much better than I do.  I actually might have him write in and then post it!  He is such an amazing writer.

I am thrilled that I will get to spend the rest of my life with such a respectful, loving, loyal man.  YAY!

My family is happy that I am spending the rest of my life with such a respectful, loving, loyal man, too!  My dad was a little preoccupied with the grill that was on fire outside!  Smoke from the fire:

And the there is the ring, OH HOW I LOVE THE RING! 

Eric designed it and had it made.

Love you all!  Thanks for reading!  I have much to be thankful for!

 

Thursday, April 8th - One of the Hardest Days

Thursday was one of the hardest days of my life, even harder than being diagnosed with cancer and all of the uncertainty around that.

On Thursday I went back to my plastic surgeon for my post op appointment and to get my stitches removed.  Up until this point, I had not seen my incision.  My good friend Melissa went with me to support me through this process.  I didn't realize how important it was for her to be with me until Dr. Adelman slowly took off the dressing.

I had been warned by my family that Dr. Adelman said that there was extra skin that had to be gathered up when closing the incision.  But nothing prepared me for what I saw.  I was horrified.  My upper arm was still bruised and swollen.  The incision was longer than I had expected.  My extra skin stuck off of my skin like little mountains at the ends of the incisions. 

"Oh my gosh!  I have mountains on my arms!" I gasped as I look away from my incision.  I grabbed Dr. Adelman's wrist and said, "There are mountains on my arm."  He calmly said that is was just extra skin that he would be able to remove in his office in two or three months, after the wound has healed more. 

I really couldn't believe what I saw.  After struggling to pull the thread out of my arm, Dr. Adelman finally got my stitches out.  I asked him to cover it back up with gauze and tape.  I wasn't ready for anyone else to see it, except Melissa.  I needed some time to come to terms with it first.

As Melissa and I walked to the elevator, tears filled my eyes.  "Melissa, I have nipples on my arms."  We semi-laughed together.  We both talked about how it could have been much worse.  Melissa let me share my insecurities and let me be sad.  I am so glad Melissa came to this appointment.  I needed a woman, who could understand how hard it is to see your body change in front of your eyes.

On the car ride home, I learned that Melissa had gone to the doctor with two of her best friends when they saw their incisions for the first time after having mastectomies.  Again, I counted my blessings that this involved only my arm.  I knew that she was the perfect person to share this experience with; she understood.

After working half day with my children, I came home and decided I needed to exercise to get some endophrines going in my body.  When I was changing clothes, I decided to take off my bandage.  I looked in the mirror for the first time.  Uncontrollable sobs filled the bathroom.  I felt like a freak.  How could all this be happening to me?  I was a healthy 27 year old.

Thursday I mourned my arm.  I know that it sounds crazy and maybe vain, but I needed to cry.  Eric held me and said I was beautiful.  He told me it was okay to cry.  He allowed me that time.  The night ended with all of the things I am thankful for . . . not having a stub for an arm, not having chemo, having a cancer that is treatable quite possibly with only surgery, living in Houston close to MD Anderson, and knowing God is taking care of me.

I know I am in His hands and I am thankful He took on a marred appearance to save me. 

Today is Saturday and I am completely fine with my "new look".  My arm and I spent the day bonding as I wore a tank top around the house.  Today I can laugh about my arm.  Time heals. 

 

Pray for Kate

I know . . . give me time and I will write and write and write.

Yesterday at my church's Easter service, I met a sweet 6 year old girl named Kate Mcrae.  She and her family are amazing.  They have traveled to Houston for Kate to receive treatment at MD Anderson.  Her story is one that you will not forget.  I know that we are all busy but I urge you to read it.


http://www.prayforkate.com/
A Day in the Life of Kate

Kate and Lucy hold a special place in my heart.

Hmmmm . . .

God has this way of putting people on my heart.  I will be driving to work and all of sudden I will have some one weighing on my heart . . . out of the blue.  I thank Him for trusting me to listen. 

Two weeks ago God placed a teacher I work with Kelly Schuler on my heart as I was driving to work.  I had no idea why but I decided I would send Kelly an email that I was thinking about her.  Life continued on. 

Today I read my school email and learned that Kelly's daughter, Lucy, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on Good Friday.  Lucy has already begun her chemo treatments.  Her website is http://www.lucillelorraine.com/.  I ache for the Schuler's . . . I understand the uncertainity.  I know that Kelly and Bruce will bear the brunt of this journey as I know that my parents have -- and not me.

I wish I could take on little Lucy's chemo instead.  At times I struggle with survivor's guilt -- why has it been so easy for me?  I have to immediately channel those feelings to God having a definite purpose for these events.   That He is preparing me for holding someone's hand, that He is showing me how my mother has felt all her life, I know that there is a purpose.  I just wish I could make everyone better.  But I know, as Leita and I have been talking about our journeys and struggles with illness, we become the people of God has called us to be through the challenges, through the illnesses. 

Leita is doing well.  She is stuck in her house right now and experiences pain, but she is still upbeat and positive.  I hope that she will write a book one day.  Her words and her faith are beautiful and I wish she would share them with you! 

So today, I thank you for reading and I ask you to check out Lucy's Website.  I also ask that you would continue to pray for Leita and her healing. 

With love,
s

It's A New Day . . . Happy Easter ALL!

It is a NEW DAY! 

I have two hands to type again.  :o)

The past two days I had the misfortunate of painstakingly attempting two other postings using my less dominant hand.  When I was about to push "publish post",  I encountered the dreaded "error" message.  Instead of attacking my computer in retribution, I left it to sit by itself in time out.  But now time out is over.

I am going to keep it short and simple tonight.

In complete awe, I celebrate this Easter knowing that I am not in control of my life and that I will never be.  I thank God for this "trying" Lenten Season and the unknowns that have become triumphs.  I thank each and every one of you for keeping me close in thought and prayer. 

The sunshine did me well today.
I hope you all had a glorious day celebrating the Risen Lord!

Message from Eric

HEY ALL... this is Eric,


Just a quick note to let you know that Sarah is doing well! She is back home and sleeping. Which unfortunately prevents us from being able to experience the hilarious ramblings of Sarah on drugs post surgery... as her hospital visitors can attest to. Apparently she had the anesthetist and surgeon rolling after they slipped her the feel happy drugs pre-surgery. When I spoke with them just before they wheeled her off I asked "How do you know if it's kicking in." They laughed and said that with Sarah it's a bit more difficult since she's always so upbeat and talkative. So, all went smoothly with the surgery, as they received clean margins on the area that was removed and no skin graft was required! We have been very fortunate to see continual blessings and better and better news as this whole process has progressed. Thank you all for your support, love, prayers, and encouragement during this process.