5 Days of Movies

At this time of year usually one would think of 5 Golden Rings, but for our little family it has been 5 Days of Movies.  If it wasn't enough that Jill is still recovering from her surgery and has been given orders for rest it has been a rough rough week for our children, too. 

Monday, Jill called the doctor to report the drainage of her tubes and after a couple of conversations with the nurse, she was called in to remove the tubes!  I rushed home from work to pick Jill up and we barely made it to the doctor's office in time.  Dr. Self removed the tubes and told Jill "this will hurt."  I told him, "I just told her this won't hurt."  He said, "I'm not going to lie, but it will be over soon."  He pulled the first tube out and Jill jumped a bit.  The second tube was so long!  I couldn't believe how long the tube was inside her body.  When I saw how much came out I commented, "that is huge!" and the doctor shushed me.  He didn't want Jill to know how long it was.  The 3rd and 4th tubes came out and caused Jill some pain as well.  Removing the tubes was a huge step forward in Jill's recovery.  She can now sleep easier and take a shower!  

Tuesday night Logan wasn't feeling too well.  Little did we know at that time what would be in store for the next few days.  Wednesday, he was sick and Landon and Alyssa didn't feel too hot either.  I took the day off work and tried to help out as best I could. That began the the first day of movies.  Thursday I had to work so Judy came over in the morning and my mom came over in the afternoon to help us out and watch kids.  Friday I arranged to take work off again and everyone was miserable.  At one point each kid had a temperature of 100 degrees or more! Ugh

Every night the coughing starts.  It's so loud and constant, Jill and I have both slept in the rooms with the kids to try to calm them. There is no way we could have made it through this week without our Moms.  Also to help us in our plight, every night dinner was brought to our home from neighbors who didn't want Jill to cook. Thankfully they delivered our meals because it has been one of the hardest times with needy children and Jill still recovering. 

One night Jill was able to leave the house and for the first time get dressed in her clothes and visit with some friends.  It was our neighbor's birthday and many ladies from the neighborhood all went to her party.  So many of the women asked Jill about her recovery.  She is very loved. 

This week also marks the 12 days of Christmas.  For the first night we brought up a gift for the kids to open together.  It goes along with the new elf we have in our home, "Elf on the Shelf."  The kids liked it, but mostly gave their attention to Grandma who spent so much time at our house this week.  

Here is our sick Alyssa with her grandmother.

This is what the boys have looked like for the last 5 days.  The movies they enjoyed seeing include Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the Harry Potter movies 1, 2, and 3.

Finally Saturday after being homebound for so long, we loaded up in the van and we went to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point.  It was nice because we stayed in the van and saw the lights. We got home and decided to decorate our ginger bread house. We used a kit, which was great with our kids and their small attention spans.  They had fun adding frosting and candy.

Sunday we thought everyone was feeling better but kept them home from church to recover.  Sure enough at bedtime the coughing has started again.  We have to get this sickness behind us so we can enjoy Christmas.  

Jill Comes Home

Wednesday morning Dr. Self visited Jill and told her that she would be able to go home.  One would think this is great news, but she still didn't feel wonderful so it was bitter sweet to get discharged.  Dr. Self did tell her to take her time and go home in the afternoon.  Within an hour, a nurse came in wanting to check Jill out.  The nurse couldn't understand why Jill wasn't happy to go right home.  Another hour later, the nurse came back and told Jill that they were backed up and she encouraged Jill to check out. We agreed that Jill would take another nap and after lunch she would go home.  

I took a nap also.  The night before was rough for me, too.  Landon had woken up and thrown up.  The good thing is he made it to the toilet. The bad news is that when he was about done, I looked down and could see a pool of yellow at his feet.  I asked, "Landon did you pee your pants?"  He answered almost crying, "Well I couldn't do both."  He has a point.  

We drove home with Jill still in pain. Her reunion with Alyssa was priceless.  Both were so happy to see each other. 

Leaving the hospital took a while because I had to make so many trips out with the many flowers.  EnerBank sent three bouquets, and Jenn, Kandis, and Elizabeth (cousin) also gave flowers.  People have been so nice. When we got home I set up a cancer-table.

More flowers came from neighbors Lonnie Stevens, Ashley Rogers, Deanna Nielson and Sean Wilson. By the next day I needed to upgrade to an 8 ft table.

While Jill was sent home she is to be on bed rest for a week.  We came to the realization that the hospital discharged her, not because she is 100%, rather because she was stable and could rest at home. It's obvious the nurse at the hospital doesn't have 3 kids at home. Thankfully Judy spent the day on Thursday and Friday watching the kids so Jill could rest.

Saturday was chocolate dipping day for my Mom and sisters.  For a few years Jill has joined them to make neighbor Christmas gifts.  Jill cherishes her time with them and has the greatest time. Unfortunately she just didn't have the strength to help this year. Thankfully everyone filled in for her and made the neighborhood gifts for her!  Jill did go in the afternoon to thank everyone and help by putting chocolates on plates.  There was so much to assemble for the first time they had to use the garage to set it all out on tables.  Plus it was colder outside so the chocolate would set faster. We were able to get everything delivered that night, so thankfully we can check that off the list and be closer to being ready for Christmas.

Neighbors can create such powerful peer pressure.  Unbeknownst to us, Santa has elves that come to children's houses, specifically their shelfs.  Neighborhood children have told our boys that Santa sends elves "and if you wish really really hard he will send one to your house."  Logan had been wishing really really hard each night and finally ($30 later after a trip from Target) our elf made his debut. Each night the elf reports back to Santa if the children have been naughty or nice, then returns to a different place.  Time will tell if this tradition makes the rotation each year, but our Santa doesn't like being pressured into traditions!

Sunday I somehow managed to take the kids to church by myself.  Jill helped me get the kids ready, but I was on my own when we got there.  Mostly the kids did well.  Church was nice; every time I turned around people came to me asking about Jill.  She is just shy of a week removed from surgery and still hurts. Next week she looks forward to removing the tubes from her chest and hopefully with more time, she will feel better.

Jill is Cancer Free!

Monday was the last day Jill had cancer in her body.  Our morning started very early because our appointment was scheduled at 6:30 a.m.  Grandma Bryant was at our home at 6:00 a.m. so we could leave leave to be at the hospital. Having such loving family has helped us more than we can say.  Shanel took our kids to school which also lightened a burden. 

We arrived at St. Mark's hospital on time and spent about an hour getting registered and paying the cashier our deductible.  We were supposed to go to pre-op at 8:15 a.m. but it was closer to 9:00 a.m. that we ended up going into pre-op.  

 

Here is Jill just before she left to go to into surgery (I'm not sure how long she will let this picture stay on-line but wanted to post it).

Doctor Lloyd spent a few minutes with us and explained the game plan. She would work on Jill for just over an hour and remove the cancer.  Then Dr. Self would take over for just over 2 and a half hours and insert the tissue expanders.

I waited in the waiting room for word from Doctor Lloyd to come that the surgery was successful.  She told me that not only did the surgery go well, but also that under the microscope that there was no sign of cancer in her lymph nodes!  There is still an extremely small chance there could be cancer when they send the lump to the lab, but even if there was invasive cancer it would be so small that the most extreme treatment would be radiation.  That means that come what may, Jill won't need chemo therapy.

All the while Jill was in surgery I signed Christmas cards for my clients.  I had seriously cramped hands by the time Dr. Self came out and told me that everything went very well.  I was excited to see Jill, but there were still hours of waiting before Jill woke up.

It was after 4:00 p.m. by the time I was able to see her.  Judy had finished work and had came to visit about a half hour before Jill was brought to her room.  When Jill was brought to her room she was so exhausted she could barely ask, "could you tell me what the doctor said later" before she fell asleep again.

Around 5:00 p.m. Corwin came and Jill was up long enough to say hello but then dozed off again.  Also her cousin Liz came by for a brief moment to say hello and gave Jill some flowers.

It was after 9:00 p.m. before I got home and my parents had been with our kids all day.  They were so great to watch them all day and take them to dinner.

Tuesday morning early, Judy came by to be with the kids so I could spend the day with Jill.  She even took Landon to gymnastics.  It was so nice of her to let me be with Jill for the day.

Poor Jill is in a lot of pain, but she is now cancer free! Here is her first picture without breast cancer.

Day 2 Jill was able to say awake for hours at a time and she looked 100% better.  She still felt like an anvil was sitting on her chest and she could barely move. It hurt to move but she was able to get up and walk a couple of times and is eating well.  She made the comment that while she understood the steps for this procedure, she hadn't realized how much it would hurt. She was in a lot of pain but still much better than Day 1.

Throughout the day we had so many flowers delivered to her room.  In the end she had 6 vases of flowers, she is so loved.  Here she is with all of the flowers decorating her room.

Dr. Lloyd had said some patients are ready to go home after 1 night in the hospital, but after one night Jill can't even think about going home.  By the evening Dr. Self came by again and said that she is improving nicely and he will discharge her on Wednesday.  At this point she just can't imagine being home and feeling like this, but with continued improvement she should be fine.  Also my Mom is going to be coming again to spend the day with the kids. The rest of the week Judy will be spending the days with us to help around the house.  

We don't wish this on anyone, but it has really been eye opening to be the recipients of such an outpouring of love. 

Brooklyn Baptism

Saturday was a special day for our niece Brooklyn, she was baptized.  

Our day started very early in the morning for Logan's first basketball game this season.  It was at 8:00 a.m. and while at the game Alyssa threw up again.  She and Jill were dressed to go straight to the baptism but we decided that I would take the boys and Jill would stay home with Alyssa.  

Brooklyn looked beautiful and she is so talented.  She played the piano for the opening song for the program.  She was baptized with her cousin, and it was close to home because Logan could have been baptized today too, but is waiting until January to be baptized. 

Also at the baptism was my terrific Aunt Carma and my amazing cousin Michelle.  They had traveled up to spend time with my mom and came to the baptism to see all of our family.  Later in the afternoon they came by our house and gave Jill one of the softest blankets I have ever felt and included the nicest card.  It read:

What Lies Behind us and

What Lies Before Us

are Tiny Matters

Compared to

What Lies Within Us

Tomorrow is Jill's surgery. We ended our family fast at family dinner.  After dinner we invited the Bunkalls over to the Bryant's and we gave Jill a blessing.  We go in at 6:30 a.m. I didn't think surgeon's woke up that early.  At least we get it over with early.  Jill has been worried and would love to do a million other things rather than go through with this, but she knows it's what has to be done.

The outpouring of love from our family and ward have been amazing. By this time tomorrow Jill should be cancer free.

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving week and we have so much to be thankful for.  We have such a wonderful family, healthy beautiful children, a beautiful home, and the knowledge of God's plan of happiness.  So we don't exactly have our health this year.  Not only is Jill sick, but we both have cold viruses.  It's not fun having a cold especially during Thanksgiving. 

Landon has been looking forward to his class feast all week.  Our kids went to school all the way up until Wednesday the day before Turkey Day.  They ate a delicious feast but also dressed up like Indians. 

Jill was asked to make an apple pie for the Bunkall Family Thanksgiving feast. She did a fantastic job and it was delicious. In addition to making a pie, she knew some of the children wouldn't want pie, so she had the kids help her make some turkey sugar cookies.  Our kids loved helping make the cookies, and they were also a huge hit at dinner.

Like I mentioned we were both sick with cold viruses so I wasn't able to go on my Thanksgiving Day run. It was the first time I've missed running on Thanksgiving in a lot of years. I still arranged for the boys to go play football and soccer with their friends at the park.  They love being with friends and playing sports is something they both love.  I took some doughnuts for all to enjoy.

Dinner started at 1:30 p.m. at Brent and Tara Bunkall's.  It was a bit sparse as spouses try and please both sides of families.  Robert came, but everyone else went to visit with other families.  Corwin and Judy were in Omaha, so it didn't quite feel like Thanksgiving without them.

I'm disappointed I didn't take more pictures.  Everyone was so nice and asked about Jill and her plan to eradicate her cancer.  We have such a loving family.  In the evening we went to Grandma and Grandpa Bryant's house for pie and visiting.  Their house is decorated for Christmas already and it looks so nice.

Friday we also decorated for Christmas. Here are the kids setting up the kids' tree.

Mostly we rested and watched a lot of movies this week.  To have surgery on the next Monday Jill has to be healthy.  It's important she rest and be healed as soon as possible.

Sunday Colton Roundy was blessed.  Aaron did a great job blessing him and we went to eat lunch after church at their house.

Grandma and Grandpa Bunkall flew in from Omaha on Saturday night.  Judy was so nice she bought Logan a book on baptism. 

Logan will be baptized in January so we took some pictures of him for an announcement for his baptism.  Here is the picture we are going to use in the announcement. 

Monday Santa came to Riverton City!  Each year we have taken our children to see him and they love it.  Even Alyssa did great at sitting on "Mommy Santa's" lap.  The boys both told Santa they wanted Lego Ninjago toys and Alyssa told Santa that she wants "two dollies, a pink and a purple one".

The city also has activities for the kids.  Each child can decorate a sugar cookie, get a craft kit, and eat scones and hot chocolate.

Later in the week was "bring your parents to school lunch" day if it was your birthday in the month of November (that's kind of a mouthful).  Last year we all ate school lunch, but this year Jill picked up McDonald's and we took it to him.  It's not the best picture but we had fun seeing him at school.  He was excited to show us his chess class which he goes to often on his lunch break.  

Logan Goes To Cub Scouts

It feels like I have been posting all week so there isn't much to share today.  Last night Jill and I went on a date to see the local high school production of "Grease".  It was a great show and our ward had three students that all had parts.  They did a very good job.  But before we went to the play we had dinner at a trendy Thai restaurant.  I love Thai food, but Jill hasn't tried it much and needed the help of an experienced Thai guide to help us.  We went with the Burton's and they eat Thai food all the time (he served his mission in DC and spoke Hmong and knows all about Thai food).   The food was great, and to top it off Jill got a fortune cookie that said, "Time heals all wounds, keep your chin up".  We thought that was a great fortune.

Also this week Logan went to cub scouts for the first time.  He is pretty excited and had a very good time. 

These are the flowers the Roundy's had sent to our home.  It was very kind of them, it made Jill's day.

Also Logan had a cavity filled this week.  Rather than give him a shot, the doctor used gas so he wouldn't feel the drilling.  Logan liked it so much he said, "I felt like I was flying".  I am a bit worried that he may abandon brushing his teeth so he can get some more gas the next time he goes to the dentist.

At work this week there was a lot of drama with my boss in the office from North Carolina and two people from the sales team resigned from EnerBank.  It will mean some changes in accounts etc.  One of the people who resigned has been my best coworker for 5 years.  I will miss him. 

Thanksgiving is next week and we look forward to spending time with the family and relaxing.  Also we are going to try and get a jump on the holiday shopping.  The more we can do now the better it will be because Jill will have 2 weeks of down time after her surgery. 

Gene Test Negative

Today we saw the surgeon again for a final consultation before the surgery.  Dr. Lloyd was very nice and the first thing she told us was that the gene test came back negative.  They had told us the test results would take two weeks, so I'm not sure how they got the results so quickly, but we are grateful.

Testing negative for the cancer gene is terrific news not only for Jill but also for her sisters, cousins, aunts, and hopefully, daughter.  If Jill had the cancer gene, it would mean that she would have roughly an 80% chance of getting cancer again.  She still has an increased chance of getting cancer again because she has had it once, but now with annual checkups the doctors should catch it in time.  

Dr. Lloyd still believes that the cancer is limited to DCIS and has not spread throughout her body.  After surgery she will examine a couple of lymph nodes and closely examine the lump to confirm there is no invasive cancer.  We continue to believe that after surgery Jill will be back to normal.  

There is a chance of moving the surgery date up, but as it stands Jill is slated for a double mastectomy on December 3rd.  She should be fine for the Christmas holiday, however the doctor told her she can't do any house work, cleaning, laundry, or lifting of children for 2 weeks.  

A husband has to wonder if the "woman" doctor isn't in cahoots with her "women" patients, to give them a much deserved break.  Two weeks of no laundry, no cooking, cleaning, or lifting children?  Clearly I am going to have to order lots of take out, buy more clothes, and possibly hire a nanny!  

We have pretty traditional roles and Jill takes amazing care of our family.  She deserves this break and I will polish up my skills around the house.  Our ward and family has already been amazing and will help lighten my load. 

We don't plan on having too many updates for a while.  Perhaps I can update with a regular post showing pictures of Logan on his first day of scouts.