HE'LL BE LIVING HERE PERMANENTLY ON AUGUST 9TH!!!!
We got an attorney, Heather signed the necessary paperwork, we went to the courthouse and sat before a judge, he signed the necessary paperwork and it was official :o) That was the biggest relief. Jerry and I were both elated! We were on a high I was sure wouldn't end until mid September when I would start to ask " What have we done???".
On May 2nd, my in-laws came down from Wisconsin to visit for a week or so. They arrived that Monday afternoon, set up their camper in Grapevine and then headed over here. We had dinner together and then set about making plans for the week. We made a general itinerary then relaxed and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night.
The next morning I went to their campsite ready to embark on the adventures that sunny Tuesday held for us. It was around 11 a.m. and Tricia, my mother-in-law, was out walking their dog. Jerry, my father-in-law, answered a phone call and I could hear someone hysterical on the other end. It was my sister-in-law, Amanda. She was crying so hard he could barely understand her. They had just found that their beautiful 14 month old daughter, Brie, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was the size of an orange.
The white part is her tumor...
I immediately asked what I could do to help pack up. I knew they needed to be there for Amanda and Jason. Jerry asked if I would like to go with them as there was room for both Kenny and I in their truck. I call and asked "my Jerry" what he wanted me to do. I was in such shock I couldn't make my head wrap around it. All I could think was, "I have to do laundry. I need to make dinner tonight. What about the dog? Jerry needs me home." I was stuck in robo mode. I went into exist mode. Before I could finish asking what he wanted me to do he was telling me I needed to be there. I drove home, threw some clothes in a bag and we were on the road by lunch time.
We arrived at Mayo in Rochester, MN just before Brie went in for surgery Wednesday morning. I don't know that I've ever cried that hard for that long. We all just kind of held each other as we tried to make some sort of sense of it. Long story short, she was in surgery for 6 hrs, they removed all of the tumor, it took 7 days to get pathology back, I was gone for 2 weeks, Kenny and I flew home and we had our first trip to The Mall of America. Pathology showed her tumor was a pilocytic astrocytoma with pilomyxoid features. It took so long because they had 2 of the world's leading pathologists working on it. One of the gentleman is the guy who discovered pilocytic astrocytomas in 1999.
Brie is getting stronger every day and is crawling again. They say she's not going too fast, but she's getting around. I think she'll surprise us all :o)
After getting back home and slowly getting back into the swing of things I began feeling semi-normal again. I unexpectedly had to get my breaks done. I needed new rotors. It was expensive. I feel like I'm back on my college budget. I boo it.
I learned one week ago, that my best friend's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. We have known each other for 21 yrs... I cried. A lot. It appears to be in the early stages and treatable. He is one of the kindest and sweetest men I've ever met. He is a rock. I don't see him often, but I love him dearly and treasure his words of wisdom.
Jerry has been having knee pain for a little over a month now. He went and had an MRI to see if anything was torn. He was then sent to an orthopedic surgeon. He has a tumor in his knee. The doctors he's been dealing with so far have never seen anything like it. He will be sent to a bone specialist at UT Southwestern for further diagnosis. I learned recently that his biological mom's sister had a tumor in her knee. It was cancerous and ended up taking her life. I am eerily calm about this. I am concerned and I love my husband more than words can say, but I truly believe everything will be OK. Ask me how I'm feeling once we figure out exactly what's going on and there may be a different story! For now, I'm OK.
I'm OK and I'm an auntie!!!! My brother David and his wife Danielle welcomed their son Preston Edward into the world on June 1st! Isn't he perfect???
Look at all that hair!
He was 7 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches. I'm in love! My mom, brother, Kenny and I will be headed to North Carolina to see them on the 22nd.
Born on Texas soil
My mom went to all of the places that are significant to her/David/our family and collected dirt. She baked it and wrapped it in a Texas flag bandanna :o) He's still part Texan!
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