Staples & Chocolate & Monsters - OH MY!!!

Staples & Chocolate & Monsters - OH MY!!!!!

Written ~ November 2014

This is a diary of my surgery experience...

A scary time.

A humorous time. 

A memorable time.

First I want to say that I am so thankful for what God taught me during that time!!! He held me close and cared for me. 

Also with our difficult situation with insurance and finances, so many people gave loving gifts of money, as well as cards and encouragement and LOTS of prayer. 

I am truly grateful for you All!!!

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So I had been in pain for a while...

I've had lots of health issues in the past, but something seemed different this time...

I was pretty sure there was a complication with my left ovary...

I asked my doc for an ultrasound and I was right!!!

I had a baseball sized "Chocolate Cyst" 

 NOW this is NOT

 the kind of Chocolate I wanted - LOL!!! HaHa!!!

Sorry, not trying to be gross, but that IS actually what it's called. 

Here is a medical definition:

"Also called an endometrioma - A chocolate cyst is a pouch growing on the 

ovary that contains fluids and sometimes solid material too, in which case

it may be referred to as a complex ovarian cyst. Because the endometrial 

tissue inside the cyst responds to monthly hormones it bleeds and fills the

interior of these cysts with unclotted blood. Chocolate cysts get their name

from the dark old blood that grossly resembles chocolate."

NOW at first, all that the ultrasound showed was a "massive complex mass" which really concerned my Doctor.  This type of cyst, many times, is present when a female has ovarian cancer. This is why they needed to do surgery - to explore and see  what was going on...I also did a blood test that gives a cancer count. This was a very scary and emotional time for us... wondering...waiting...praying... No cancer, Praise the Lord, but God taught me so much and I'm glad I went through this... *I wrote an article about the scare of cancer and how it changed my thinking - the link is below.

So many times we fight against the trials that come our way. We complain or become negative. We ask God why. We let the struggles get us down and even make us bitter. But the Bible says it's good for me that I have been afflicted, so that I can learn more about God and His Word(Psalms). In my weakness GOD is magnified and His strength is manifest through me(Corinthians). The Bible also says God's way is better and more perfect(Jeremiah). THAT ALL SOUNDS GOOD TO ME, so then why would I fight against God working these things in my life... Hard times are hard(pretty profound huh?) But even if it's a hard time, my desire is that its a GOOD time!!!!!  Its just a thought and mindset that God so patiently taught me :) 

Anyway...

WELL, 

It has been a year since my surgery and I've been reminiscing on that time. 

I had never had surgery and was SOOO nervous! Usually this type of surgery is just outpatient/lathroscopic, but I had to have a full 6 inch incision due to some concerns...

I cleaned my house real good... I love to come home to a fresh, clean home!

I got my nails done too, so recovering I would feel pretty(my sis payed for me to get a gel mani. LOVE YOU SIS, thank you!!!)

The day of surgery, I did my make up & hair real nice so I wouldn't feel yuk...its always nice to start off a "non-attractive" hospital stay with a little bit of PEP!!!!! 

I Grabbed my paper work, sunglasses, and comfy pillow...

and headed off...

took a selfi before going to hospital : )

I got all ready & settled

AND 

Neil prayed with me. 

(Don't you just love my shnazzy hat? I'm Stylin' :)

                                               

I shut my eyes REALLLL tight as they wheeled me into the operating room...

They transfered me from the gurney to the operating table and told me to relax as the anesthesiologist started... 

Relax. YEAH RIGHT!!! 

 I was SOOOOO nervous, and so I told them that it helps me if I sing or hum when I'm nervous...SO I started to sing Amazing Grace...

not sure how far I got before I slurred 

the words and fell asleep. haha!!! 

But later my Dr. said it was SO awesome and that she had never been sung to before in the operating room : ) LOL Glad I was able to be a testimony.

I was SUPER sick when I woke up...
they gave me a large dose of pain killer on an empty stomach(whose idea was that!!!!) so I was vomiting for several hours. Couldn't keep the meds down, so they gave me a pain suppository - now that was super duper fun!!!!!HAHA!!!! 

Mom and Neil told me that while recovering I was out of it and a little weird!!!! Mom said I grabbed her face, patted it, and in slurred words told her she was sooooo pwetty!!!!! (and she is pretty)

I stayed overnight and the next morning when my doc came in she told me 

I was stapled!!! and THAT just totally freaked me out 

because I didn't know I was going to have staples in my body...ewwwww!!!

She was real gentle and nice though, but made me look at my incision - like she actually FORCED ME(in a nice way) to look at it. haha!
I just about passed out! 

Anyway, had a VERY ROUGH night at the hospital and but was anxious to get home... Recovery was slow but good. It was nice to have family come stay with me at different times.  I DID EVERYTHING I was suppose to do and made sure I behaved, so I could recover properly : ) It all went perfect...

Well...perfect...kind of... and funny. I loved having my family around, except for one day when we decided to watch the new MONSTERS U movie!!!

Ummmm...Yeah...

that was a big mistake!!!! 

The movie was SO funny, but I could NOT physically laugh cuase it hurt my stomach toooo bad. 

Then my family was teasing about not making me laugh or my staples would start shooting out!!! 

ping...

ping...

ping!!! LOL 

Of course, I DID start laughing so hard until I cried because it hurt SOOOO bad!!! And then it hurt to cry too!!! Oh my!!! Poor me :(

A week after my surgery(and it was a year ago today), was my follow up appointment when my staples would come out and we would get the results of whether I did or did not have cancer... 
First of all it didn't hurt AT ALL when she removed the staples.

But best of all, I remember my husband and I calling my parents and telling them there was no cancer. We heard my Dad just weep over the phone - tears of joy flowed that day MANY times... Every time I told someone I was going to be ok, they cried!!!! 

My sister, Malinda, gave me a gift to cheer me up during my recovery - a little wooden high-heel with the perfect quote!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! Still have it on my dresser as a special reminder...

The doctor said there was a very high chance that this surgery would clear my endometriosis, change my body, and help me to get pregnant within a few months. At 6 months I called her and told her - no luck yet. She then told me that according to my profile, age, and health, she wasn't surprised and that I should consider In-Vitro. We decided against it and started praying about what God wanted us to do. We really do have so much peace and I am not in as much turmoil as I have been in the past. I feel strong and we are looking forward to what Gods special plan is for our lives.

ANYWAY, just thinking about some memories - difficult memories & good memories of a hard time, but also a blessed time!

Never forget that even in the hard times GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD!!!!

Walking by Faith,

DeAna

*Take a look at a this post from LAST Thanksgiving - DeAna shared her thoughts on "what if"she had cancer and how God gave her peace & thankfulness... 

LINK - http://deewarthan.blogspot.com/2013_11_01_archive.html


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My Squeaky Answer to Prayer

~ My Little Squeaky Answer to Prayer ~

I LOVE answers to prayer!!!!!!
 No matter how BIG or LITTLE they may seem...

and sometimes the answer comes in a way we never thought of...

I'd like to share the trial first, then the blessing...
and if you scroll down to see the blessing first, that's cheating : ) hahaha!!! Just joking.

So, I've dealt with some pretty major loneliness over the past few years. Loneliness that many times, unfortunately, sank me into depression.

 I am a social butterfly and when we moved to Davis the trial of loneliness became very real. 
Hubby worked several jobs to keep us and our new church going. My job was taking care of an old lady but she mostly slept. Many days...all day, I would practically be alone. 

I really worked at filling my time...I tried meeting new people, calling friends to chat, doing extra projects, and taking walks with a new lady from our church.  I prayed a lot too, but the lonliness just closed in on me.  Many times this severe lonliness prompted me to prayed MORE for missionaries as I knew they dealt with loneliness too. 

During this time, I prayed and asked God earnestly for a friend, 
a pet, 
a child, 
more church people...
anything to fill the void!!!!!! 

We did look into getting me a puppy, thinking that would help, but EVERY TIME we tried the opportunity fell through.

I learned that Satan doesn't need a tragic situation to ruin our lives...many times satan uses common challenges, such as loneliness, to defeat us and make us useless for God.

I don't know why, but God allowed me to face this difficulty for a couple years before he  brought "something" to fill a bit of the void and renew my spirit!!!

A very cute "something"...

MEET ANNIE.

*She is now two years old, 
but here is the story of how I found her...

I called her my "Snuggly Squeaky Baby". She was super affectionate. She didn't meow for the first few months, she just made little squeaks : )

I found her in the middle of the road one morning as I was starting out on a run to prepare for my first 5K...didn't get my run in : )haha, but I got a kitten : )LOL. 

I Asked around the neighborhood and discovered that she was abandoned and that her mommy, daddy, and siblings had all died, so I named her Annie- after Little Orphan Annie, in the movie.

She had two different colored eyes - HOW UNIQUE!!! She was only about 4 - 5 weeks  when I brought her home. 

She was dying, eyes crusted shut, malnourished, infested with fleas, had very little blood in her body...we weren't sure if she'd make it...several times i thought she died in my hands!!!! She was soooo sickly - poor baby :(

I bottle fed her drop by drop...

I sang to her when she was shaking and scared... "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

I stayed up for hours at night with her...

I carried her for 3 days, barely putting her down (I tied a sweatshirt around my tummy and kept her tucked against me) She was very lethargic and just slept. (to this day, she loves to just be carried around - Oy! I have sure spoiled this kitty) 

I was her mommy because she never really had one...I even had to teach her to go potty - not trying to be gross, but mommy cats normally do that by licking their kittens little bottoms, so I would take a warm cloth and rub her little backside to get her to go. I also rubbed her fur with a warm cloth to mimic licking so she would learn to clean herself.

Funny - now she actually goes potty in the toilet!!!!! and becuase we made such a big deal of her going potty when she was learning as a kitty, now she bounds off the toilet and runs around all spastic and super excited EVERY time she uses the bathroom. Hahaha)

So it took her 5 months, but now she finally found her "meow" : ) She still squeaks though.

She's strong and growing and doing well...

I LOVE having her, and Neil is really good with her too. 

When Neil gets home she can't wait for him to sit down so she can hop on his legs and play with his shoes. Its one of her favorite things : ) haha She loves shoes(she takes after me - haha) 

She climbs all over him and just plays and snuggles : ) She loves her Neil...

I come home from work and play with her, instead of just coming home to a quiet house and feeling depressed.

When I'm sick, she snuggles with me. When I'm home alone, she keeps me company...

She's just a good distraction. Since I've had her I haven't really had any major moments of loneliness : )
She acts spastic and runs, and plays, and jumps, and attacks her toys...

She makes me laugh!!!!

It's funny because I have never been a cat person(grew up in a home where they were hated and my hubby doesn't like them either) 
I really did try to give Annie away at first too. I was enjoying caring for her, but wasn't expecting to keep her, but one day, through several circumstances, I heard the Holy Spirit's still small voice prompting me to keep her. Hubby was so gracious about letting me keep her. He knew I needed her too : ) 

My little Squeaky Annie was an unexpected answer to prayer. God doesn't always answer when we want or how we want, but HE DOES know what is best for us. He works in mysterious ways.

Annie is a sweet addition to our family. She is, in fact, a creation of God - a cute little critter He made for a purpose and I am thankful for her and her sweetness...

...and Annie lived Happily Ever After

with her new family

YAY!!!

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