Thank you Dr. Banck

Dad, Mom, Tim, Arya and I left for Rochester on Sunday morning nervous and anxious, yet excited. Since our last visit where we received excellent news after just two chemo rounds, I have completed five more rounds totaling seven.  My first orders of business early Monday morning were fasting blood work and abdomen/pelvic MRI.  We waited around until 2:45 to meet with my doctor.

Dr. Banck is very pleasant German woman with the thick German accent to prove it.  My family and I, including my sweet pea, were waiting anxiously for the good German doctor to arrive to let me know the results of my MRI.  She was thrilled to give her report and somewhat shocked as well.

The lesions in the liver have shrunk approximately 50% since my last MRI at Mayo in September. Some of the small lesions in fact have disappeared.  The malignant regrowth on my pancreas has shrunk by approximately 50% as well.  There are still two undefined lesions on my spine that are likely cancer.  They are still the same size, but they have not grown and they are less dense than previously seen.

Dr. Banck then looked at me and asked "what would you like to do?"  I had been wanting to give her my input on our "plan" so I was happy that she had asked.  I asked to do 3 more months of chemo seeing as it has shown so effective with a surgical consult at the next 3 month appointment.  She said that is what she was thinking as well.  At that time, my doctor along with the surgical team will have to define the nature of the spinal lesions.  They most likely cannot be removed surgically without significant risk.  Radiation on those lesions might be needed, but we will not know until they are further tested.  She strongly believes surgery will be an option for my liver and pancreas, but it will depend on my spine.  Overall, she was very excited about the progress I have been making on these medications. She showed us the new MRI images and the pictures don't lie.

Dad, Mom, Tim and I left the appointment feeling like another huge weight had been lifted.  We had to celebrate our victory with the other miracle in our family, the Tommeraus'.  We had a celebratory dinner with cousin Dewey and his amazing wife Peggy, who has been in Rochester since September recovering from a successful double lung transplant.  For all of you who know cousin Peggy, she looks amazing.

We returned home today to continue our normal daily routines.  Arya for the most part was a trooper on the car rides, with only one major meltdown the whole trip.  Thank you everyone for thinking about us this past week.  It was an encouraging appointment and a major victory in my fight.

God Bless-Jenny

2014, my 31st year...

As we enter into the new year, I also enter into my 31st year.  In the past I have not been huge "fan" of my birthday, but I've learned we have to cherish each year no matter what your age.  Each year is a gift.

I have seen many people do their year in review, triumphs, trials and tribulations.  So here is a quick recap of our year.

My 30th birthday, Tim and I went out to eat crab legs.  Oddly enough, that is exactly what we had last night at my Mom and Dad's to celebrate the occasion.  I received the best birthday gift last year, when on January 5th, I discovered we were expecting a baby.  After months of waiting, we were finally blessed.

The first several months of my pregnancy went fairly smoothly.  On week 18 in mid-April, we found out we were having a baby girl.  We were ecstatic; we had both been hoping for a girl.  We immediately painted her room and started prepping for our new roommate.

May 20th the start of my 23rd week of pregnancy, life changed forever.  This was the day that the lesions were first discovered.  The next several weeks were extremely hard and emotional.  Many life decisions, health decisions, and financial decisions had to be made.  We had several weeks of waiting for our sweetheart to be far enough along to minimize likelihood of problems.  In that time we decided to move north, so Tim set the paperwork in motion.  I had not returned to my career as a speech pathologist since being diagnosed in May.  I resigned from my position in July with full support from the employer and coworkers I loved.

Arya was welcomed into the world July 26th.  The same day, we were notified that Tim's transfer to Fargo ATC tower was approved.  Arya spent the next 3 weeks in the NICU.  She made huge strides while there and was released sooner than originally expected.  While she was there, we along with our family were busy prepping and packing our home so that it could go on the market.

Also during this time, we had significant issues with our insurance companies (which we are still dealing with today), and a perfect home came for sale in Fort Ransom.  Again with the help of family we were able to purchase our new place before selling our KC house.

On September 11th, we left our KC home for the last time.  We arrived in Fort Ransom on the 12th.  In the weeks that followed, we unexpectedly had to deal with the government furlough, a time where Tim was not allowed to work as well as the sickness of our beloved Bentley.

Bentley passed away in early October after being diagnosed with a severe GI infection secondary to lymphoma.  The vet said that he had to have been sick for quite sometime.  We miss him every day.  

Amongst all of this we were concerned with family health issues, including Tim having a blood clot.

We were blessed with support from others through multiple benefits to help relieve the financial burdens of our health and abrupt life changes.  

We officially sold our home in Kansas City on November 12th.  It was a huge relief to no longer carry that burden but sad and bittersweet to give up the home we loved, that we bought when we were first married.

My initial visits to Mayo went smoothly with good news received.  The initial rounds of oral chemo were shown to have shrunk the lesions.  Good reports have been received at all follow-ups in Fargo, normal blood work, liver function tests, side-effect management, etc.

We have celebrated multiple firsts with Arya including first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in our new community.  Tim's parents have been able to visit twice.  She is the light of our lives.

Tim and I have talked a lot about our year in review.  It has seemed unfair that the best year of our lives has also been the worst.  We have received so many blessings and reaffirmed our relationships with many friends and family.  We moved to a community that we love and had always intended to come back to; however, the circumstances were very trying.  We miss our friends dearly in KC, but we have excellent family and friends in ND.  My sisters aka my best friends are with me, and my Mom and Dad are here as our rocks.  I miss my job and coworkers, but being able to stay home with Arya truly is my calling, and I cherish every moment of staying with her being mommy.  Tim really likes his new job at the Fargo tower.  He is enjoying the experience of learning new procedures as well as watching the planes daily.  With each coming year you take the good with the bad.  You celebrate the good times and blessings daily, and take all the bad days in stride, having faith that good times will come again.

I used to complain about my birthday, but I have made a promise to myself to be thankful for each day I'm given, each year that passes, and all good times I have to look forward to.

Happy New Year everyone.