Posts filed under "Breast Cancer"

A Clean Pathology Report

We got word from the hospital that all of the pathology reports came back negative! Praise the Lord. This is a huge answer to prayer. What this means is that the cancer is completely contained. Because my mom has had the entire cancerous area removed, her prognosis is excellent. She is going to see the oncologist in the near future to see what the next step is. 

Going into this whole cancer thing, my mom was acting like it wasn't a big deal and that is was just surgery.  Since the recovery process has begun,  she has come to realize how much of an emotional battle this has become. She is often emotional,  not sure why she is crying, but feeling down  just the same. Please be praying that  the Lord stays near to her and comforts her. Her healing continues to take it's own sweet time so she just continues to rest. :-) She's read a lot of books and done a lot of looking at the backs of her eyelids. 

Our kids came home today. Seven days without your kids is a loooooong time. I say this in both a positive and a negative way. We missed them so much but we loved having some time to ourselves. We spent numerous days watching movies, falling asleep in the middle, and then having to rewind. Don't you just love days like that? I know, they are few and far between for most of us, but much appreciated when you get the chance to indulge.

Josh and I had a ton of time to talk about how we are going to continue moving forward as a family. I say this with reservation because I know there are some readers out there who have experienced an injury similar to Josh's or is the significant other of that person. I realize it has been over a year. I realize we need to move on. I realize how much we have been blessed and loved. I also realize that as of about 3 weeks ago, I was ready to check myself in somewhere because I felt I was standing on a precipice, getting ready to fall off. My sanity was gone long ago (I'm joking... okay... only joking a little) but I do need to be able to function at a certain level where we can all survive and be happy. Because of my lack of sanity, Josh's parents took the kids for the week so I could get some uninterrupted sleep and figure some things out. We've come to the conclusion that we may be looking to hire some help. I know many families do this without help, but my personality definitely predisposes me to depression. It is a constant battle for me to feel like I can do this. So many of you have been so much help to us over the past year, but I will ask again. :-) Will you please be in prayer for our family as we journey down this road of looking for someone who fits in well with our family and meets our needs? We aren't even sure what we are looking for at this time but we are praying for God to prepare us and this person who may become a big part of our lives.  It is difficult for me to admit that I can't do it all, especially when I see other's handling it without outside help. I guess this was just not to be for us. I wish I could do all the laundry, make all the meals, clean the house, play with the kids, help Josh with all his needs, and still have a lust for life. Most evenings, I'm so tired I just want to get in my bed and have a few minutes alone before falling asleep. 

I was in the chapel at the YMCA this past week and doing some praying about our present circumstances. I get so frustrated with myself for not being able to handle everything with a decent attitude. It was then I felt like the Lord was telling me that HE made me. He knows what I am capable of and what I can and cannot handle. He put me in this situation. It did not just "happen." God chose for me to be Josh's wife, knowing full well Josh would become a quadriplegic. When He placed Ava in my womb, He knew we would only have her a short time. He created me to be Josh's wife and Ava's mom. Whether I think I can handle it or not is insignificant. My God can get me through anything. But my God has also allowed others to help us so that we CAN handle it. Those people are you. So many of you are my sanity. The meals that people brought, the money people gave so we could survive and outfit Josh with all his new needs, the people who came and cleaned my skanky house and toilets, the lawn that was mowed, the driveways that were shoveled, the time you spent loving my kids and still do... all of these things were my sanity. But most of all, your prayers for God to continue to surround us and love us, for Him to make his presence known to us in even the hardest situations, these are the main things that get me through. Please continue to pray for us. When I have a day where I think I should be losing my mind but I am just thankful for life, these are the days I know I am being prayed for. Thank you. More than you know...
Posted on April 13, 2008 and filed under "Breast Cancer".

Things are going well over at Spectrum Butterworth.  My mom says the pain is a more endurable than she had anticipated. They are keeping her pretty doped up to keep the pain under control.  They did have her stand up for a minute or two today.  Keeping all the tubes and wires straight was quite the challenge. :-) She did very well and did not get too light headed. One prayer request- around 8:00 this evening she started running a fever. After another hour it had gone up significantly. They were taking some blood samples and doing a chest X-ray to see if she is developing pneumonia. Please pray that this truns out to be nothing of significance and she can continue on the road to recovery. 

Here at the Buck household, things continue along pretty quietly.  Josh is planning on starting driver's training this spring. We (meaning me) are excited to allow him some independence and get him out of the house on his own.  The house is coming along amazingly well. The drywall is pretty much done. We are starting to pick out things for the house such as bedding for the kids bedrooms and that kind of fun stuff. :-) Ephram started crawling TODAY!!! We are so excited. He was 10 months yesterday and finally decided to get moving. He is so laid back we think he has had no desire to try. He is so cute, he gets his nose all scrunched up and gets this gummy smile on his face like he's so proud of himself! Noah continues to be a stinker. He is getting up a lot at night and not going back to sleep. This makes mommy tired. He has found danger again in some new ways. Day before yesterday, he drove our van across the road and ended up in the neighbors yard. We totally flipped! He got himself into quite a bit of trouble. He has started a new med and we are back to monitoring his every move. Please pray for his safety and our ability to be good parents to him. Zoe is loving learning. She is learning how to sound words out and loves to figure out what letter "comes next." Vowels are hard for her but she is doing great. She is also our little homemaker. She definitely has the gift of hospitality. When she heard I was heading up to the hospital to see grandma, she had to make grandma some food. She got a baggie of animal crackers and strawberries for her. When I got home, she asked me if grandma liked her food. She loves to be a caretaker. She is one special gal.

Josh's mom, dad and brother came up last night. The snow made the trip trecherous but they made it here safe and sound. Having them here allowed me to spend the day with my mom. After all she has done for us, it was the only place I wanted to be. It's nice to be able to do something for her for once. :-)

Tomorrow is Easter. I pray you all have a blessed day and remember to stop and think of what an amazing God we serve, one who died on a cross and then miraculously rose from a grave so that we can have eternal life. Wow.  When you grow up in the church and hear it so many times, it sometimes doesn't seem so amazing. But when you stop and think, how can we be anything but thankful?  Even when life throws you curve balls, the truth of Lord doesn't change. And for that, I am thankful.

Posted on March 22, 2008 and filed under "Breast Cancer".

Jean Surgery pt. 1

Jean went in for surgery at 10:45 today. They removed four lymph nodes, sent them to pathology, and already have the results back.  There was no cancer in the lymph nodes.  This is really really good news!  She is still in surgery for several more hours with reconstruction . Keep gene in your prayers, and we will update again later today.
Posted on March 21, 2008 and filed under "Breast Cancer".