Friday, December 30, 2005
Farwell to 2005!
2005 has been one heck of a year and I for one am glad it is ending. The year started off about as well as one could wish. Everything in life was nice and quiet. In fact, I would say that it was eerily calm. Even then, I realized that I should soak up every moment because it is always calm before the storm. I just had no idea how big & horrible the storm would be.
The storm began all innocent and mostly just hectic. Right about Valentines Day, we signed a contract to buy a home. It wasn't necessarily a bad time, but we were first time home buyers and quite nervously trying to navigate the biggest purchase of our lives. Fortunately, everything went pretty well and 6 weeks later we had the keys and were doing renovations. We had also started seeing a fertility specialist about that time and were being subjected to numerous tests, which were anything but fun.
Right before moving in, we found out that I had a huge cyst on my left ovary. More tests needed to be performed, but one reason had been identified. The evening we moved in, Steve's mom shared her devastating news. Her doctors had been performing chest x-rays and were certain that she had lung cancer, but the extent of the disease was yet to be determined. While I was going in for more fertility tests (quite invasive), she was going in for MRIs and other tests. Believe me, I am not comparing what I was going through to what she was going through, but it was happening at the same time.
Right after she found out that she indeed had lung cancer & it had spread to almost every organ in her body (except her brain), I got a call from my sister saying that my dad was admitted to the hospital and had numerous tumors in his brain. They were cancerous and he was going in for emergency surgery. From the end of April to the end of May, it seemed like every time our phones rang, there was more bad news about cancer. We became quite paranoid of ringing sounds.
Finally there was great news for us, somehow throughout all of that, I got pregnant. Totally shocking because we hadn't started treatments. Even when I showed Steve the results, he didn't believe me. It took an ultrasound at the fertility clinic to persuade him. We were ecstatic! It made all of the bad things seem 100 times better and helped us cope in a way we couldn't imagine for the rest of the summer.
To lighten everyones' moods, we decided to invite both of our families to Miami for Thanksgiving and even started preparing our house, but it was not meant to be. After several more surgeries, it was clear that my father was coming to the end of his life. The doctor warned us that we should try to see him soon, so Thanksgiving was held in Houston. All of my siblings gathered there to be with him one more time and enjoy the holiday together. Two weeks later, my father passed away. We all headed back to Houston for his funeral. It was a sad time, but we know he is much better off.
December has been crazy, but we spent a wonderful Christmas with Steve's family. His mom was looking better than ever since her hair had grown back, but that is not a good sign. The new chemo treatments are doing nothing for her. The doctor ordered another MRI and next week they'll be trying to figure out another plan of attack. We are hoping that it is not so traumatizing, but that it fights the cancer with a vengeance.
So, that brings us to today. On the last day of work for the year, our office A/C broke. I know it is December 30th, but in Miami that means it is still HOT! It is over 80 degrees in here. With my sore back, difficulty breathing, and generally uncomfortable belly, I am ready for this year to END!
Here is to 2006! Hopefully, it will be all about good news starting with a healthy beautiful baby girl. - Happy New Years to us ALL!
my name
Husband:
Steve
Baby: Lexi (born Jan 26th)
This blog is like a journal for me. It is also a way for my friends to keep tabs on me.
For people who don't know me, I come from a big family (3 brothers & 1 sister). We moved around a LOT, so I am not really from one particular place. I like to call Katy, Texas my home though.
Recent news, my Dad & Mother-in-Law were diagnosed with Terminal Cancer in April/May of 2005. My dad passed away 5-Dec-05 .
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