Hip Surgery Wed

I feel like I've been putting off blogging which makes me sad. The truth is that we've been really busy (cancer busy - not "fun trip" busy). First, I finished up with my left hip radiation. The pain has definitely lessened and we're hoping that the radiation will help kill that cancer.

Wed, July 22, was Shawn and my 20th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with dinner with the boys and by praying the Rosary with me in my pajamas. I had plans of Hawaii and/or Cabo and swimming and dancing. Actually, we were thinking we were going to throw a big party for our family and friends...but my LEAST favorite "C's" (Cancer and Covid) cancelled all of that.

 I also did see the Orthopedic surgeon and he said it was fairly urgent that I have a rod (they say pin, but it's a rod) put into my right femur to keep the bone from fracturing.

Quite frankly, I'm fairly stuck in my house right now because my doctors have said not to use my leg too much and not without a walker (not the cool modern commercial walker, but the old lady silver kind that needs tennis balls).

Praise God that my youngest brother, Tim, came to visit over the weekend:

And Sunday afternoon, my parents officially moved part-time to Denver (3 months on - 3 months off) and another of my brothers, Mike,  helped them drive out and move in to the beautiful tiny house they bought (not a "tiny" tiny house- the actual size of the house). It's been a fairly full house since Sunday and it's so good to have other people here to buffer the emotions and decisions. And Mike is a trainer with a lot of knowledge, so he was able to give a lot of advice and he could also just hang out with Shawn.

Going forward, I have surgery at 7:30am MST on Wed 7/29. The plan is for me to spend one night in the hospital. And - little miracle - Shawn can stay and visit all day. It's pretty great timing. I'm scared it will hurt but we've been praying that it happens quickly if it's God's will. Covid makes scheduling iffy everywhere.

The one beautiful moment we had (I'm going to try and get the video my brother took) was the serious, solemn blessing Fr Nathan gave us for our 20th anniversary. You can only get these blessings on significant anniversaries. It was beautiful.

General Update

It's been about 17 days since I posted...there are a lot of small things happening. First, my MRI showed that my right hip has significant cancer spread and is in danger of fracturing. I see the Orthopedic surgeon on Thursday and he'll most likely recommend that I have a pin put into my hip. Until then, I am using a walker to keep my hip safe.

My 10 sessions of radiation on the left hip are 1/2 way done. There is not much to the radiation in general. So far, I still have pain in the hip, so I hope that the next four sessions take the pain away.  We'll see.

Everything seems to be going well with the new chemo. So far so good, I guess.

We were blessed to have a special guest of sorts in our house...a lovely man here has a giant statue of Mary that was sent to him from St. Pope John Paul II. Karl (the owner) brings the statue to people who need prayer. We prayed the Rosary everyday as a family. It was a blessed week.

As we travel far into the summer and everyone wonders what the fall will bring, we are trusting that God holds the future. We've been enjoying time as a family and short visits from friends we love. My parents will be here soon and Shawn and I have a big anniversary coming.

Also, I've been holding on the the words of Jesus to St. M Faustina
"...the greater the misery of a soul; the greater it's right to my mercy..." 1182
I'm hoping for all of that mercy right now.

2nd chemo drug begins

It has been a special week...ending with our plans to head to the cabin tonight.

Tuesday, I was blessed to be prayed over virtually by a powerful prayer ministry - the Intercessors of the Holy Trinity. I was told that there were 1300 people who viewed the prayer service. Click here if you are interested in the service. Shawn and I sat at home and watched while the leaders called on the Holy Spirit to heal me. Lots of tears and trust.

The next day, I began the second new chemo drug that is a part of my new protocol - and we are trusting that this will be Jesus' vehicle to heal my body. I have to say that my leg is in a great deal of pain and I try to pray against it. We're hoping that this pain comes from the chemo fighting the cancer (this is what happened in the first twelve rounds and the pain went away as the cancer shrank). We have hope because my friend who is also on this protocol had her extreme pain disappear after a few weeks.

I hope and pray that you all have an awesome 4th of July. We'll be at the cabin enjoying some much needed screen-free family time. I hope you all have a great weekend as well.