Well it looks like the last time I blogged anything was 6 years ago. Holy cow! Time has flown by and life has been crazy! Where do I start?
Well, obviously the kids have all grown. Jaycen and Callie are both in college now. Tyler is a senior in high school. We never thought we'd see these days come and now they are here and we can't imagine how it all happened so fast.
Derek still works for EAC. He loves his job there and we are so fortunate that he is blessed with such an amazing job and the gift he has for computers and technology. Our kids are blessed to be able to go to school there and have a break in tuition also. Otherwise, we would surely be struggling to see two of them and soon to be three through college.
I am still working at the long term care home as a registered nurse. I work in the dementia unit. It is a wonderful and rewarding job that I love, but it can be very stressful and mentally exhausting as well. I absolutely relish my time off and try to make the most of it.
The last few years of our lives have been pretty crazy with kids graduating, finding their first jobs, and beginning their own ventures into adulthood. We have also struggled with health issues. Mostly me. In 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately we caught it early and it was limited to the right breast and one lymph node on the right side. I underwent a full mastectomy on both sides, as I was told it may likely return if I were to only have a lumpectomy. It was a tough decision, but I decided to nip it in the bud and save myself the worry of it returning later on. After the mastectomy, I underwent several rounds of chemo for a few months. This entailed another surgical procedure to place a chemo port because my veins are like little, limp noodles and are not easy to get IV's into. After several rounds of chemo, I was given a clean bill of health. The chemo was very hard on my body. I was very sick after each round and spent weeks sleeping on our couch because I couldn't rest in bed comfortably after the surgeries. I have a lot of lasting effects from the chemo and I continue to take meds to prevent the cancer from returning elsewhere in my body. Those meds also come with some uncomfortable side effects as well, but overall, I'm doing well. About 5 months after finishing chemo, I attempted breast reconstruction with implants. Unfortunately, that did not go as well as we hoped for. I had a bad infection following the surgery and they had to be removed. I was very sick for an additional 2 months while recovering from the infection. I am a candidate to try another type of reconstructive surgery, but after all I have been through, I just can't quite decide if I'm willing to risk my regained health to do it all again.
This year, I had to go in and get a complete hysterectomy as I was at risk for uterine cancer and I had been having some issues with pain in my side which was likely due to ovarian cysts. That was another 6 weeks off. I'm hoping that I'm running out of things to remove and that we can get through a year or two with better health.
I am fortunate to have gone through all this and survived and have regained my health. I am also very lucky to have had a very supportive family and friends. Derek was amazing in taking care of me everyday and still working to provide for our family. The kids handled it all very well. We had hoped to reassure them that all would be well and that they would continue to have as normal of a life as possible throughout all this and I think they did. If they were worried or scared, they didn't show it at all. They were very strong throughout the ordeal.
I am back to work full time. Derek has never stopped. The kids all lead their own busy lives too. We all have very busy schedules, however, I think we all definitely have new found perspective on what is really important and taking time to relax and enjoy our time here in this crazy world.
Sending all our love and wishing everyone a blessed life.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Well, here I am again...attempting to set up a blog, with the intention of actually using it. We'll see if I really follow through. This only makes about my 4th attempt. I guess since I have never actually posted anything on here ever, I should update our friends and family on what is new in the last year or so. So, here it goes.
We moved a little over a year ago to a 3 bedroom, 3 bath house in our dear little town of Safford. We actually made a family room into a 4th bedroom for Tyler so we would no longer have to listen to the boys fight over shared (or in reality, NOT shared) space anymore. We live across the street from the Safford Middle School, which has been rather convenient for our kids. Although Jaycen started high school this year so he now has to walk a little farther in the mornings. Callie still gets to enjoy only having to walk across the street for school for another year, and Tyler will be able to have the luxury next year.
I still work at the long term care and rehab here in town as an RN. I enjoy my job for the most part. I love being able to take care of people and help them learn about their illnesses. Derek is still working at the college. With my crazy work hours and his semi-normal work hours we manage to see each other on a rare occasion now and then.
Jaycen is 14 now, Callie is 13, and Tyler is almost 12. I have to say that having teenagers has not been a whole lot of fun thus far. Jaycen wants to grow up and act like he is in college already, always wanting to go hang out with friends and be out way later than a 14 yr old should. Callie has fortunately managed to stay pretty well grounded with only an occasional flare for the dramatic. Luckily she is not into the whole boy thing yet. Tyler is in 6th grade and wants to quickly move on to the middle school phase. Heaven help me! I don't know how we will survive the next 5-6 years. OR maybe we will survive and they won't :)
Our last few months has been kind of riddled with illness and injury. On Father's day Derek was hospitalized with diverticulitis at St. Josephs in Tucson. He had been feeling bad for a few days prior and finally..with much encouragement (nagging) from me, went to the ER where they determined he had a rupture in his intestine. We spent a good 7 hours in the ER before they finally sent him to Tucson via ambulance. Lucky for him he got the good drugs and doesn't remember the bumpy ride. By the time we got to Tucson the next morning, I was wishing someone would give me some good drugs and an available room since I had worked a 12 hour shift prior to taking him to the hospital and had not slept in over 24 hours. We were very lucky though, because after a couple of days they determined he did not need surgery. He stayed for about five days in the hospital and then came home with some much needed changes to his diet and lifestyle.
On top of all that, the kids have decided that they need to join the party and have had numerous visits to the Dr. as well. If this keeps up I will need to have therapy for the mental stress that my lack of sleep and empty pocketbook has caused. Tyler hurt his back and had to have physical therapy for a few weeks and an MRI. Jaycen also fell and obtained a stress fracture to his knee which cost us another MRI and several weeks of down time from PE class for him. Then Callie started having problems with severe jaw pain after having some dental work done. After months of not being able to find out what was wrong and many more medical bills, we finally found out today that she had a molar that had not developed correctly and was removed. We had been through many sleepless nights due to her pain. We had even gone to see a specialist in Tucson because she had been diagnosed with a disorder called TMJ. We are not certain that the malformed tooth is the only cause of her pain, but are very hopeful since it is the only thing we have found that makes any sense so far.That racked up two ER visits, x-rays, blood work, and a CT scan, multiple dentist visits, a doctor's visit, and the consultaion with a specialist who fitted her for a very pricey mouth guard that we have not yet received due to insurance who refuses to cover anything associated with TMJ because it is a vague diagnosis.
In the end, all I can say is that we have somehow managed to survive all this chaos and are hoping to have a much better year in 2012. We are grateful that we have good friends, family, a lovely home to come to and seek comfort in. We hope that all is well with all of you and wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season. May we all be blessed in the year to come.
Much love to all,
Derek and Holly and family
We moved a little over a year ago to a 3 bedroom, 3 bath house in our dear little town of Safford. We actually made a family room into a 4th bedroom for Tyler so we would no longer have to listen to the boys fight over shared (or in reality, NOT shared) space anymore. We live across the street from the Safford Middle School, which has been rather convenient for our kids. Although Jaycen started high school this year so he now has to walk a little farther in the mornings. Callie still gets to enjoy only having to walk across the street for school for another year, and Tyler will be able to have the luxury next year.
I still work at the long term care and rehab here in town as an RN. I enjoy my job for the most part. I love being able to take care of people and help them learn about their illnesses. Derek is still working at the college. With my crazy work hours and his semi-normal work hours we manage to see each other on a rare occasion now and then.
Jaycen is 14 now, Callie is 13, and Tyler is almost 12. I have to say that having teenagers has not been a whole lot of fun thus far. Jaycen wants to grow up and act like he is in college already, always wanting to go hang out with friends and be out way later than a 14 yr old should. Callie has fortunately managed to stay pretty well grounded with only an occasional flare for the dramatic. Luckily she is not into the whole boy thing yet. Tyler is in 6th grade and wants to quickly move on to the middle school phase. Heaven help me! I don't know how we will survive the next 5-6 years. OR maybe we will survive and they won't :)
Our last few months has been kind of riddled with illness and injury. On Father's day Derek was hospitalized with diverticulitis at St. Josephs in Tucson. He had been feeling bad for a few days prior and finally..with much encouragement (nagging) from me, went to the ER where they determined he had a rupture in his intestine. We spent a good 7 hours in the ER before they finally sent him to Tucson via ambulance. Lucky for him he got the good drugs and doesn't remember the bumpy ride. By the time we got to Tucson the next morning, I was wishing someone would give me some good drugs and an available room since I had worked a 12 hour shift prior to taking him to the hospital and had not slept in over 24 hours. We were very lucky though, because after a couple of days they determined he did not need surgery. He stayed for about five days in the hospital and then came home with some much needed changes to his diet and lifestyle.
On top of all that, the kids have decided that they need to join the party and have had numerous visits to the Dr. as well. If this keeps up I will need to have therapy for the mental stress that my lack of sleep and empty pocketbook has caused. Tyler hurt his back and had to have physical therapy for a few weeks and an MRI. Jaycen also fell and obtained a stress fracture to his knee which cost us another MRI and several weeks of down time from PE class for him. Then Callie started having problems with severe jaw pain after having some dental work done. After months of not being able to find out what was wrong and many more medical bills, we finally found out today that she had a molar that had not developed correctly and was removed. We had been through many sleepless nights due to her pain. We had even gone to see a specialist in Tucson because she had been diagnosed with a disorder called TMJ. We are not certain that the malformed tooth is the only cause of her pain, but are very hopeful since it is the only thing we have found that makes any sense so far.That racked up two ER visits, x-rays, blood work, and a CT scan, multiple dentist visits, a doctor's visit, and the consultaion with a specialist who fitted her for a very pricey mouth guard that we have not yet received due to insurance who refuses to cover anything associated with TMJ because it is a vague diagnosis.
In the end, all I can say is that we have somehow managed to survive all this chaos and are hoping to have a much better year in 2012. We are grateful that we have good friends, family, a lovely home to come to and seek comfort in. We hope that all is well with all of you and wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season. May we all be blessed in the year to come.
Much love to all,
Derek and Holly and family
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