Still Resting

Well our patient is still doing well, but very tired today. Seems like she may have overdone it a bit today. She's up sleeping right now, and won't likely get up until morning. Her pain is not bad, however she says the area around the incision is beginning to itch - we'll keep an eye on it. She also got her second Zolodex shot late yesterday afternoon with no problem. So, she continues her resting and recuperation, and hopefully she'll have a little more energy tomorrow.

Doing Well!

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday - it was a combination rest and transition day. Kristine took it easy all day long. She had a little trouble finding a comfortable spot. Eventually she settled on one of the chairs in the theater in the basement. A couple of chick flicks and she was dozing nicely. She's eating well and the pain is not too bad.

She had a great night's sleep last night and woke up this morning saying she felt really good. She just needed a solid 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. She took a shower (with a little help) but did her hair all on her own. Now she's eating some breakfast and plans to continue her recuperation today. I'm off to work for a few hours then back this afternoon to take her to her appointment to get her Zolodex shot (yee-ha). We'll shoot for an update tonight on how the day went.

-- Greg

Back Home!

Kristine is back home safe & sound. She was discharged around 10:15am and is resting comfortably on the couch as I type this. She has not needed much in the way of pain meds, although she said she is a bit more sore today.

Her plan is to lay low and relax today as she builds her stamina back up and continues to heal. Her doctor stopped by to check on her at the hospital before she left and said everything looked good. Her doctor also resolved the drainage issue, so everything is working as expected this morning. I'm off to get a couple of prescriptions filled for her and generally pamper her back to full health :) Hopefully Kristine will be up to posting herself later today or tomorrow.

-- Greg

Last Update for Today!

Just got back from getting Kristine squared away for the night. Her extraordinary recovery continues as she has been walking around a bit since I left and she ate a big dinner. She has been chatting it up with all the nurses and docs and is doing well both physically and emotionally. She hasn't taken any pain meds since the one Vicodin around 3:00pm today. She still has a touch of a headache, but the area around the incisions is not bothering her at all! There is a minor issue with her two drains, they are not maintaining the suction properly. The doctor said this is not an issue as a) there is not much drainage and b) they can manual pump them a few times during the night to ensure any fluid is evacuated.

The best news is they expect to discharge her between 9:00am and 10:00am tomorrow, and she told me tonight she'll be ready to come home :) She was able to call home and talk to the girls briefly tonight and they were thrilled to hear mommy's voice. Annierae had a busy day and was out cold by 8:30pm. Ja is calling home to Burma tonight, then off to bed. I'm going to wrap up a few e-mails and head off to bed myself as it's been a long -- but good -- day!

Thank you all again for your thoughts, prayers and support! Kristine said she definitely felt the positive results and could not have done as well as she has without everything you have all done and God's tremendous help!

Good night!

-- Greg

Mid-afternoon Update

Hi All,

Our patient is doing well, but still very tired. She has decided to stay the night in the hospital as she's developed a headache and is inclined to continue to just rest here (plus, the staff here is spoiling her with excellent care!).

Kristine had a good lunch, eating most of her soup and roll. She's drinking lots of water and she finally took some pain meds about 3:30 to help with her headache (the site of her surgery is not bothering her right now). She's sleeping as I type, but had been up for about an hour straight earlier this afternoon. She's doing great on the breathing exerciser and has been up and moving around a bit as well.

So I'm off to home for a while to check on the girls, get them fed, walk Harley and put Annierae to bed before I come back to tuck Kristine in (and deliver a few personal items she requested). I'll probably do a final post later tonight with any other updates. More later.

-- Greg

Mid-day Update

Kristine is resting comfortably in her bed back in a private room. Looks like we'll be hanging out here for a few hours as she sleeps off the effects of the anaesthesia. She's doing really well, alert, with a few cat-naps here and there. She's drinking water but doesn't feel hungry yet, although she's eying the chicken noodle soup and baked pretzel rolls on the in-room dining menu. We'll have to wait a bit to figure out if she'll be released today or not. I'm off to grab a bite to eat while Kristine rests. More later this afternoon.

Success!

Hi All,

Kristine is out of surgery. The doctor just met with us and indicated everything went well, no surprises. Kristine is in recovery now and I expect to head back there to see her shortly. The doctor did indicate that she expects Kristine to stay overnight, but that is still up in the air. We'll know more on that later today. I'll send another update later once I talk to Kristine. Stay tuned!

-- Greg

Underway

Good Morning All,

Greg here. Well, the day started early. Kristine and I were up around 4:00am and made it to the hospital by 5:30am. Check in went smoothly and Kristine got settled and preped with no issues. She's in great spirits, laughing and joking with the staff here. I have to say, the people here at Spectrum Hospital are fantastic. Absolutely professional yet very personable and accommodating. They are definitely making this whole process much easier!

I was waiting in the preparation room with her and at exactly 7:30am the doctor came in to chat with us and off she went to the OR. We're planning on about a two hour surgery with an hour or two recovery time post surgery. There is a new program here at Spectrum that allows me to be in the recovery room with Kristine shortly after she comes out from the procedure (that could be fun as she'll still be groggy :) ).

So now it's just a matter of waiting. I'll send more updates later today once I have something else to report on. Thank you again to everyone for your prayers, thoughts and support. It is greatly appreciated!

-- Greg

FAITH

Today, Pastor Paul spoke about Faith at our church service this morning, something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Mostly, I have wondered how anyone gets through life without it. I have been pondering the power of faith because so many of my family and friends keep commenting on my upbeat attitude and whether or not I am truly doing okay with the fact that I have cancer.

Well the truth is, I am devastated in many ways that I have to go through all this and wish there was an easy way out. It is a huge inconvenience, and I am really not looking forward to the surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. I hate that at the age of four, Annierae has to learn about cancer because her mom has the disease. I am frustrated that instead of me helping Ja adjust to her new life in America, I will be relying on her for help. I am sad that Greg has a wife with breast cancer. This is the ugly reality of some of the feelings I have right now.

However, I do have faith, and that faith comes with peace in knowing that I will get through this journey and fully recover, continuing to live my life to the fullest. I have faith that Annierae will help me through this with lots of laughter; she is already excited for me to loose my hair so that I can get a purple wig with ponytails. I believe that God sent Ja as an angel to our family knowing our time of need was coming. And God blessed me with an amazing husband that has pledge his love for me no matter what happens in life.

I have put my trust in God and have faith in Him, and with that I can be confident and optimistic about my future. What a wonderful gift from Him!

On a different topic, I met with Dr. Lange on Friday and will go forward with my surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30am. All my blood work, including the BRAC1 & BRAC2, came back negative which is awesome news!!! Also, my chest X-ray and MUGA test all came back normal, so I will be good to start Chemo in 3-4 weeks.

Greg plans to provide near real-time updates tomorrow via this blog and Facebook. If all goes well, the surgery is expected to last approximately 2 hours, then an hour in recovery and another hour in the outpatient area. I’m hoping to be home by early afternoon (although my doctor did indicate there is a slight chance they would keep me overnight depending on the number of lymph nodes they remove). Keep checking here if you’re interested in how the day goes tomorrow.

Once again I thank you all for your love, support and prayers – you are all truly amazing!

Love,

Kristine

Thank You!!!

Hello All,

Well, I finally had time to write a quick post which is a bit overdue. I am overwhelmed with all the love, support and encouragement you have all shown me these past few weeks. When Greg first mentioned having a blog, I thought - no way - I don't want this to be a martyr site. But after I had made the first ten calls to inform my family and friends of my diagnosis, I decided that Greg had a good idea, at least from a communication perspective, to let everyone know how I am doing with each procedure. I also decided it would allow me to share all the blessing that have, and will, come from this journey. The first obvious blessing is the testimony of a life filled with incredible family and friends!!! I could not get through this without all of you!

So a quick status update - I have completed all my blood work, MUGA test (this was a test that measures how my heart functions) and chest X-rays. This all had to be done before my surgery. I also received my first hormone injection which I will get every 28 days. The hormone injections are needed because my pathology report came back showing the cancer is highly sensitive to hormones.

Now I am off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to enjoy a week in the sun with my family, which this year includes Greg, Annierae, Ja, my parents, my sister-in-law Sue and niece Kari, Greg's sister Judy and her husband Bob and their son Kevin and daughter-in-law Monique. When I get back I will have a week to get my life in order before my surgery. For now, I’m just concentrating on having fun!

Once again, I thank you all for the prayers, comments, cards and books – it really means a lot to me!

Love, Kristine