Finally, An Update :)

I have been trying to update the blog for over a week now... I just couldn't seem to find the time! Not to mention if I talk about the new situation it makes it a reality, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that...

The original plan was for me to have a radical hysterectomy and be cancer free, that meant no more babies, lots of physical changes but most importantly no cancer... well that didn't happen! So here's how my surgery day unfolded, sorry if this grosses some people out :)

I had my steroid shots as planned to help the babies lung maturity and then I was admitted before lunch time on Sunday the 10th, we started a Magnesium infusion to help with brain function for the baby, it was supposed to make me feel horrible, I had heard terrible things!!! But I felt great! I few hot flashes here and there, but no nausea or extreme tiredness, it couldn't have gone any better! Then the fun really started... the bowel prep! I let Will go home and my mom stayed with me at the hospital, I figured if something bad happened during my surgery I didn't want his last memory of me being me shitting my brains out! So it usually starts working after the first couple of cups you drink, but it didn't, it didn't work for 12 hours! I was up all night long! It made me so sick, I had to drink 4 liters of this stuff and it didn't work, it just sat in my stomach, it was horrible! God Bless the nurse that sat in the bathroom with me, she was a real trooper, and she had also just been diagnosed with cancer so we had something to talk about! And my poor mom... my poor, poor mom! Anyway, after success on the toilet and a few good hours of sleep I was ready to go! Will came in bright in early the morning of my surgery, we had to finalize Kaitlyn's name, nothing like waiting until the last minute! I had fifty different doctors, anesthesiologist, and nurses in and out of my room before my surgery, it was a mad house. But I didn't care, I was ready! I wanted it to be over with, I wasn't scared... until they put me in the wheelchair to head of to the OR...

In the OR it was controlled chaos! There were people everywhere, I had to "relax" when they put my epidural in... I was ready to say screw it and knock me out, but I soldiered through it b/c I knew that I would get the chance to see Kaitlyn before the 'real' surgery started! It seemed like forever before my epidural started working and they started the surgery. I will say that all of my IV sticks and my art line were painless, so kudos to the staff that put them in! Will was able to come in and be there when Kaitlyn was born and I had Dr. Vedder and Dr. Batts from the NICU to work on Kaitlyn so I knew she was in good hands, they talked to me the whole time to tell me what they were doing to her. Kaitlyn cried immediately, but I swear it seemed like forever until I got to see her! As soon as I saw her I asked to be put to sleep, I was sooooo scared and nervous for my surgery that I just wanted to go to sleep and forget about it all!

Then I woke up... it sucked... I hurt ALOT!!! But not only did I wake up in pain, I woke up to a nurse telling me she was going to massage my uterus... My uterus??? I'm not supposed to have one of those! But I quickly realized that I had a uterus because I had cancer... that was a sucky moment!! My doctors and my family all told me the news... they found a lymphnode that was covered with cancer, from my understanding the other lymphnodes were OK, but I we'll get more clarification on that this week. My doctor was obviously mad about the whole situation, it wasn't what he expected to find... he searched my entire abdomen, ouch! He moved my ovaries up so hopefully radiation won't kill them, and removed the affected lymphnode and surrounding tissue... it was pretty painful, I can't even imagine how much I would have been in if they did the radical hysterectomy...

So for now we are waiting until I can have a PET scan to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else, I have that on the 29th. The plan is to have radiation and a low-dose chemo, starting as soon as a heal, so probably in a few weeks.

I still don't understand why the MRI's never showed any signs of cancer... I have always believed God has a plan and we will never give us more than we can handle, so my only logic is that we would have terminated the pregnancy if my initial MRI showed cancer, but it didn't and now we have another beautiful baby girl! Because my lymphnode was cancerous I didn't have a hysterectomy b/c I need those organs to protect my abdomen during radiation, which sucks, but I didn't have a hysterectomy... so my recovery from surgery was a lot easier and the surgery itself was safer, and I'm not going through menopause at the age of 26! So yeah, it wasn't the way we expected it to work out, but it is what it is... Maybe radiation won't be so bad, maybe it will be easier on my body than a hysterectomy would have been. All I can hope for now is that the cancer didn't spread and after my treatments this will be all over! I'm still pretty optimistic... I don't think things have really sunk in yet, I'm still waiting to have my meltdown! I've come close!

I am so lucky to have such amazing family and friends, I have no idea how I could ever repay any of them for all of the help, love and support I have gotten through this whole ordeal! I may not show it all the time or even say it as much as I should, but I am so thankful! I hope my moodiness hasn't made anyone too mad at me :) But these post-baby hormones are no joke!

On another note... Kaitlyn is doing great! She immediately cried at delivery, but she did have a few issues. She needed oxygen for about a week, but she is doing awesome now! She finally started to eat on her own and we expect her to come home tomorrow, typically they would have held her a few more days to make sure she's eating well, but being a NICU nurse has it's benefits! They trust me enough to be able to take her home! It is going to be a Happy Easter at the Berry house!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!

Reality Check...

Next time I post, I should be cancer free!

So it's 3AM and I can't sleep, not uncommon these days, but since every room in my house is occupied by family I am sitting in the corner of my room trying to type softly to not wake up Will :) I figured now is a good time to update the blog, hey at least I'm not up crying which is what usually happens, I get up to pee in the middle of the night and I end up staying up for 2hrs crying! I was going to make phone calls to my Florida friends and family, but I'm not sure the other five sleeping people in the house would appreciate it, so it will have to wait!

So I have had all of my pre-op appointments and everything is set, in a little over 48hrs I will have a new baby girl, no more baby making parts, and hopefully no more cancer!

Apparently I am a pretty popular case at Tripler Army Medical Center... I think I am up to 8 Doctors that I am aware of that will be in the OR during my surgery, a few being 1st year med students, I'm all for a teaching hospital, but they better not touch me! Every time I meet a new Dr. they tell me they have heard about me, the least they could have done is giving a special parking spot!

I had my first steroid shot in the bum yesterday for the baby's lung maturity and then I get another tomorrow, and then I get admitted in Sunday to start a drug that is typically used in pre-term labor but it's side-effect for the baby is decreased risk of some neurological issues like cerebral palsy, which I am all for, but this drug sucks and I'm going to spend my last few hours feeling like I'm hungover... I can't catch a break!

So we had the "what if" talk last night... Will asked me on the way to movies, probably so I couldn't avoid him or run away! I remember having this same conversation before he left for Iraq, but now the tables have turned... it's me we're having to worry about... So we quickly discussed my end of life wishes and that was that, kind of like peeling of a band-aid! He started making jokes about it before I even had time to cry, that's why I love him! The surgery is very serious, but that is a very extreme outcome! I haven't thoroughly discussed with my Dr what outcomes and changes I will go through after my hysterectomy, it's much different from a regular hysterectomy, and since this really isn't elective I decided I wouldn't ask until after it was done... but of course I couldn't let it go! I became like the same patients I complain about, doing research on the internet is the devil! People rarely post about the good outcomes, the people who discuss things are the people who have had issues and are looking for help... not a smart choice for me to do right before I go to bed, so Will shut off my phone and told me the surgery was not elective so we would deal with whatever comes our way... did I mention I love him :)

It's now 4AM and Will is up, oops! I guess I'll try to go back to sleep....

I will try to update everyone while in the hospital... but I will definitely have Will post on facebook a picture of the baby and of course how I'm doing :)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am sooooooo blessed and thankful to have such amazing friends and family... I know I haven't spoken personally to many lately, but my coping tactic is avoidance :) But I've learned that not talking about it doesn't make it go away! So thanks for loving me anyway!

3 1/2 weeks!!

So it has occurred to me that my life will be completely different in 3 1/2 weeks. We'll have a new baby and if all goes well I will be cancer free... 3 1/2 weeks, that's it! No wonder I wake up in a panic every morning! I feel like I have soooo much to do to get ready for the upcoming events, but absolutely no energy to get anything done! Being pregnant with a toddler is tough!

This past week my co-workers threw me a baby shower, I certainly am thankful for the material things, but I am so grateful to have such a great support system! It meant so much to me to know that I had their support and well wishes.

We also toured the NICU on Friday, I am well aware of what's going to happen during Baby Berry's stay, but I needed Will to see it for himself, I think it's always better to come from the healthcare provider, not me... It's way smaller than the NICU I work in, but I am familiar with Dr's so I have no doubts she'll be in great hands! I also found out which NICU doc will be at my delivery, Dr. Batts for all my NICU friends :) I'm pretty excited about that!

Monday is my LAST MRI, so as long as everything is still clear, our delivery date is set for 4/11/11. I have 2 Dr. appointments on 3/30 one with oncology, one with my OB, to cover any last minute issues/questions and talk about what to expect for my surgery. Then my FINAL pre-op appointment is 4/5 with the OB who will be there during my surgery, since my OB I've been seeing will be off service... That's it!!

Well, since everyone in the house is taking a nap except for me, maybe I should try to get some of these things checked off my to-do list :)

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers :)

We Have A Date!

April 11, 2011 =)

So everything has been going really well, my last MRI was still clear and I haven't had any complication with this pregnancy, since everything is going so smoothly they agreed to let me push the delivery date a week to 4/11, I'll be 33 weeks and 4 days, which is awesome! Will the one week really make a difference? Who knows! But it is definitely better for the baby and a can't imagine that in one week my cancer decides to go haywire! I know they were basing my delivery date off of studies about the outcomes of waiting certain lengths of times from date of diagnosis, but one week can make a huge difference to the baby, so I'll take my chances.

I still of course have my worries about the tiny microscopic cells that could be lingering around in there, but for once I have been thinking positive about the situation. The whole time we were waiting on a diagnosis on the mass coming off of my cervix I was telling myself it was cancer, but for some reason I am finally pretty optimistic about them being able to get all of the affected tissue and I won't have to have any further treatment. But for those answers, I'll have to wait until April!

I am so thankful to have such amazing family and friends. I couldn't ask for anything more! Well, except to maybe not have cancer :)

Upcoming Appointments:

2/24 - Ultrasound

3/2 - Complicated OB

3/4 - New Complicated OB, since my Dr. will be gone for my surgery

3/15 (tentative) - LAST MRI!!!

3/30 - LAST Oncology appointment before my surgery!

Just An Update :)

So I think I told most people, but my MRI was fine :) There was no sign of the cancer spreading so we are in the clear for now!

I met my Complicated OB, Dr. Rabie, and he's awesome! There was some confusion at first because I am being seen on Wednesdays which is "Twins-day" So at first he talked to me about having twins, I guess the look of confusion on my face let him know he had my history wrong! So once he took a minute to switch out of twins-mode he was amazing! He talked in depth to me and Will about what will happen when I deliver, the procedure and what to expect, I'm not sure I was prepared to hear all the details at once...

Having a C-Section is not a big deal and having a hysterectomy is a really common surgery, but having them together is a REALLY big deal! The surgery will be 3-4 hours long, there will be a lot of blood loss since the majority if my blood supply flows through my uterus and they are taking it out, it causes a problem. They won't use my previous incision scar, I will be cut vertically and I will probably be in the ICU... it was not what I was expecting to hear... it was really scary! But, I am not the first person to have this done, I know the scenarios they were giving me were the extreme, but it was still a shock, I guess I never considered the severity of my procedure, I've been to concerned with what will happen to the baby...

Speaking of the baby... she has been moving and kicking and doing great! She measures right on track so there is no concern of her being smaller than her gestational age, unlike Addy who measured small my entire pregnancy! Today at the Dr. her heart rate was low, but only briefly so they didn't feel the need to admit me to monitor her, but I do have to go back next week just to re-check and make sure she is still behaving! I swear, I can 't have one uneventful Dr. appointment, it's always something!

Oh, I did learn that when they do the hysterectomy they will transplant my ovaries into my abdomen so if I have to have radiation they won't be damaged, WEIRD!

So, not many new things happening, we are continuing to take it day by day. Tentatively we will be having a baby on 4/4/11 as long as nothing comes up between now and then... she'll be born at 32 weeks and 3 days, If I could keep her in there longer I would, but delaying treatment any longer could be detrimental to me so we had to find a compromise.

Thanks for all the well wishes :)

Dr. Appointments

So I figured this would be an easy way for me to let people know when my Dr. appointments are, it's easier than me trying to call or text 20 different people :)

2/2 Complicated OB @ 1055

2/9 MRI @ ??

2/16 Complicated OB @ 1035

2/23 Oncology @ 1130

2/24 Ultrasound @ 1000

No more hiding it, here's the whole story....

I have Cancer... it's not serious, it's complicated...

I decided that I am going to come to terms with the fact that I have cancer and I have a right to be mad about it! No more hiding it, no more pretending that everything's ok! So writing about it is how I'm going to get out my frustrations!

So here it is... from the beginning...

At the beginning of November I was 10 weeks pregnant, I had some bleeding so I went to the ER, the stellar(insert sarcasm) ER doctors at the Army hospital told me I was fine, I wasn't having a miscarriage and sent me home with a follow up in the OB clinic the next day. At the time I thought the follow up was ridiculous since I had been told everything was fine... After hours of waiting to be seen in the clinic b/c the ER failed to do the correct lab work it was finally my turn! Of course I get this young Resident who does my exam, while I'm spread eagle on the exam table for the second time in 2 days I here a "hmmmm." Great, just what you want to hear while someone's staring at your who-ha! He then tells me he's sees something on my cervix, but he's not sure what it is, so he's going to get someone else to look at... so as I lay on the table half-naked, I start to get nervous... your cervix is what holds the baby in... this can't be good... So another Dr comes in to take a peak, she then gets another Dr to look, I should have started to charge admission! After numerous Dr take a look they all decide I need to be seen by the Oncologist as soon as possible because I have a tumor on my cervix, a TUMOR, please explain to me how the ER missed this!

So the following week I saw the Oncologist, Dr. Whitcomb and his Resident Dr. Braden, I loved both of them, they were great! They did a biopsy the first day I met them to see if they could get a definitive diagnosis, hoping it was just a polyp or fibroid, neither of which are serious. The following week I went back to the Oncologist for my results, it wasn't a polyp or fibroid, but they couldn't rule out cancer, they need to remove it surgically. Seriously... I'm pregnant and you want to remove something attached to my cervix?? So it was decided that we would wait until I was 14weeks pregnant which put me at less risk of a miscarriage, but that fell over Thanksgiving weekend so I had to wait until the following week... in the mean time I couldn't eat and I cried all the time, I really didn't want to wait, I could have skipped Thanksgiving! Thank God my mother-in-law was here to help around the house, I was pretty useless! So finally surgery day had arrived....

My mom flew in to be there for my surgery and for when I got my results. I had to stay the night at the hospital so it was nice to have an extra set of hands to help with Addy, who does not understand why mommy doesn't want to play and is grumpy all the time! Thank goodness for her grandmothers! I was all jokes and smiles until I got to the pre-op area... as soon as the anesthesiologist walked over to my bedside I started crying and didn't stop until they put me to sleep! Oh, and getting an epidural while not in labor hurts WAY worse than getting one while your in labor, just incase anyone was wondering! The surgery went great, the tumor was removed, they weren't able to remove all of it because it actually went into my cervix, but the majority was gone and there were absolutely NO complications! The baby was fine and so was I! So once again, we wait another week to get the results...

"It's Cancer" The exact words that came out Dr. Whitcomb's mouth before he even said hi, how are you! So immediately we started talking about our options for the pregnancy and treatment and anything else you can think of, but I barely remember the conversation (I now bring a pad of paper and pen to my appointments!) I was told I need follow ups with him every 3 weeks and monthly MRI's. I was headed to Florida the next day so Dr. Braden, his awesome Resident, got me booked that same day for my MRI, she even called me that evening to tell me my MRI was fine and there weren't any signs of the cancer spreading so I wouldn't worry about it while I was on vacation! So that brings me to this week and Dr. Whitcomb's new Resident...

So this week I met Dr. Whitcomb's new Resident Dr. Zoltz, super nice guy, but he's really aggravating me! I was told by Dr. Braden that I wouldn't need separate OB appointments, that she would take care of it, but now I'm told I need to be followed by a separate OB Dr, no big deal. Dr. Zoltz set up numerous consults for me with Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatologist and I though with Complicated OB (COB) Dr's, but when I asked he said he didn't set up a COB consult I contacted my regular OB for an appointment.... I went it to see her today and she told me I can't be seen by her, I need to be seen by COB! I tried to address that yesterday... strike one Dr. Zoltz! Then I'm told to have my MRI next week, which I already knew, I asked him to put the order in for ASAP b/c MRI doesn't usually have any openings, he told me that if there was an issue to call and let him know and he would take care of it, instead of just putting in the order for ASAP... surprise, surprise, MRI can't get me in next week so I have called and left 2 messages for him to get it changed, I haven't heard back from him... strike two Dr. Zoltz... I'm really not confident in this new Residents abilities, I hope he fixes his issues soon. It's not smart to piss off a pregnant woman, it's just plain stupid to piss off a pregnant woman with cancer!

So for now, I have Dr. appointments every week, my MRI isn't until the 19th, hopefully it will be sooner, since it is my health and the health of my baby that's in jeopardy...

So how things stand as of now... We were asked if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy and start treatment right away, but how do you choose between your health and your unborn child, trust me, it's not was easy as you think! We decided that depending on the MRI results we would make a decision. My initial MRI showed the cancer was only in my cervix so we are keeping the pregnancy and will take our chances... Unfortunately my cancer is more aggressive than most cervical cancers, but we are hopeful that it will stay put! Terminating is not an option for us at this point, she moves around and kicks and has a strong heartbeat, she is healthy and the cancer will not harm her at all. They will have to deliver me early, probably around 32 weeks... I am 20 weeks pregnant right now. A baby is viable at 24 weeks, I am a NICU nurse, I've seen the good and I've seen the bad. Hopefully my MRI's will remain clean and we can make it to 32 weeks, but I know the risks... After I deliver they will do a radical hysterectomy, most cervical cancer are cured with the hysterectomy, but they'll biopsy all of the tissue removed and see if I need radiation or chemo, or both, or neither.

I have Cancer, and I'm ok with it. It sucks, but it could be worse... I am blessed to have such an amazing husband who has stood by me while I've cried, while I've been a mad, and has been to every Dr appointment, and there's been a lot! I may have cancer, and I'll never understand 'why me and why now' but I'm dealing with it!