I'm Cancer Free!!!

Yea! I finally feel alert enough to give you all an update! First let me start out by saying thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. I cannot even begin to describe the peace I felt going into surgery. My fears were swept away and I knew that God was right there with me, holding my hand every second. I have to admit that I don't remember much from yesterday. However, from what I understand, Dr. Cavagnol couldn't even see the tumor when he removed my breast. We are waiting on a pathology report, but that is just standard procedure after a bilateral mastectomy. As of now, there is no evidence that the cancer has spread. I am faithful that God was with Dr. Cavagnol as he did the procedure and that the cancer is completely gone. I am so happy that I went ahead with the surgery first and that I can now focus on healing and preparing for further treatment.

I will be going home tomorrow. The unfortunate part of that is that I will be going home with my drains. I will have them for about another 12 days. Apparently, I have a lot of fluid in my chest area that needs to be drained out. I want to do what is best, so I guess I will have to get used to living with the drains for awhile. At least I don't have to actually clean them out......that's Ryan's job. I can't tell you how much he is looking forward to that!

I really haven't had a lot of horrible pain. I have been on fairly strong pain medication which I know has helped. The downfall of that has been a horrible itchy feeling I have developed. So, in addition to the pain meds, I am now taking benadryl. Let me just tell you that the combination of those two drugs is almost enough to make you comatose! I am actually holding off on the drugs until later tonight so that I can eat dinner with Ryan and visit with my family. However, I am excited for the great amount of rest I will get this evening.

As I mentioned earlier, I know that so many of you have been praying because I can feel it within my soul. My mom and dad's Sunday school class held a prayer vigil for me during the hours of my surgery yesterday, and at last night's prayer service at James River, the pastor and entire congregation prayed for me. That is incredible. The power of prayer continues to work in my life. I know that through this blog lives are being touched. I pray that everyone who reads this blog knows the God that I know or comes to know Him. I am so excited because I feel that He has great things in store for my life. I can't wait to see how He uses me to bring others closer to Him. As crazy as it sounds, this is such an exciting time in my life. With each new day I am encouraged and strengthened by God's love and His work in my life. My prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened as well.

I would like to end this posting by thanking all the wonderful doctors and nurses who have taken care of me the past two days. I will always remember Dr. Cavagnol and Dr. Geter as two exceptional doctors, chosen by God, to heal me and put me back together again. Thank you! I have also met so many amazing nurses while at the hospital. Thank you Mandy, Bobbie, Tammy, Deb, Candace, & Shelly for your exceptional care. I will always remember your compassion and the care you gave me, even when I was a little difficult to handle. Also, I can't thank my family enough for everything they have done. Thanks Sharon and Roger for taking such great care of Charley while I was in surgery yesterday. I know that she had a great time playing with her MiMi and PaPa. Thank you Ryan for your great care and compassion. I know this is affecting you as much as it is me and I really appreciate your strength. My mom has also been a great help during all of this. She has sat with me and been at my beckon call. Thanks mom. You are so awesome and I am so glad to have had you by my side through this experience. You are such an inspiration to me and I love you so much. To my dad, thank you so much for the wonderful prayer you said before I headed into surgery. Your prayer meant so much to me and comforted me in a time of fear and anxiousness. I am so blessed to have such loving parents.

I am looking forward to going home tomorrow and sleeping in my own bed. Although a big part of this journey is over, another part is just beginning and I continue to need all of your prayers. Please pray that I would recover quickly and gain my strength back. I can't wait to hold Charley in my arms again. Also, please pray that the pathology report would come back all clear. Remember, I am human and waiting for a pathology report is not something I enjoy. There is always some fear hanging over my head and following me around no matter how hard I try to get away from it. Please know that just as you are all praying for me, I am praying for you as well. We can all use prayer, and I pray that God would touch your lives and show himself to you just as He has done for me. Thank you and Praise Be To God for His unconditional love and miraculous healing.