Farewell, Old Friend

Well, this will be Kaelyn's last weekend with 2 kidneys.  Monday we will be bidding adieu to Kidney 2.  I'm hoping to have a little farewell party for him this weekend.  I'm not sure how many organs are properly sent off in these situations.  I want Kidney 2 to know we appreciate all he has done for our sweet Kaelyn.  It was there through diaper sizes newborn to 4, and even got her through the potty training milestone.  I like to think it was present for some of the most important kidney achievements in life.

Kaelyn has her big surgery on Monday, Memorial Day, scheduled at 8 a.m.  We were told she could potentially be in the ICU depending on how she does.  So far she has proved to be a fighter, from kicking the nurses trying to take her blood to beating the sedation for the CT scan and needed a second dose.  The surgeon said to expect about a week in the hospital to recover from the surgery.  A few days from the surgery we should finally be able to find out the official diagnosis, stage, and prognosis, as well as the type and duration of chemotherapy.

For Kaelyn's last weekend of freedom for a little while we are going to the airshow at Hill Air Force Base tomorrow.

Today we were scheduled for an ultrasound to make sure the tumor has not spread into any blood vessels, and to make sure everything looks OK before surgery.  And everything did look good.  It is so weird to see how large the tumor is.  It really just baffles me!  Have a look.  This is a view of the CT scan from Thursday:

 

Happily today Kaelyn has had a lot more energy compared to the last few days.  I'm glad she's able to enjoy these few days with family before her surgery.

Once again, I am so grateful for the way things have gone with this whole thing.  From Kaelyn's primary physician finding the lump, to being sent to Primary's and having family near.  There are so many little tender mercies that I cannot even name them all.  Thank you to everyone who has offered prayers and help in many other ways.  We love you all!

WARNING:  I am so tired this may not make sense!

Today was another good day.  Despite last night!  Just before we went to bed I noticed a little lump along Kaelyn's spine.  Normally I wouldn't think much of a lump, it just the last lump I saw on her turned out to be CANCER.  I don't think I'll be able to see that as something minor for a while!  I was pretty stressed and couldn't sleep.  I guess the majority of what made last night so terrible was the anxiety of what could happen tomorrow.  Everything turned out great though.  The lump disappeared when we got to the hospital.  It was gone on examination, although it was still there when we left the house!  After about an hour of trying to get Kaelyn to drink the Sprite spiked with contrast, we had to wait another hour for it to coat her insides, and then she had the CT scan.  We found out the tumor is about 10 cm in diameter (pull out a ruler to get an idea of how big that is).  In an almost 3-year old, the scan shows the tumor takes up the entire left side of her abdomen.  There is hardly any kidney left there.  So, the surgeon says we will be removing the tumor and the left kidney on Monday.  We still will not know for sure the type of tumor she has, because the biopsy will be done after it is removed.  Therefore, we don't know the stage of the cancer either.

I will have to post a video of Kaelyn under sedation tonight.  Pretty funny stuff :)

UPDATE

Just an update for those of you who read my last post, Kaelyn's CT scan was moved to tomorrow, the 24th.  She seems to be in much better spirits today and handling her pain better. Hasn't lost an ounce of sass.

The C Word

It's time to turn over a new leaf and keep my family and friends updated, especially now that I have something to update about!

Today was quite the eventful day.  See below:

Today we had a planned recheck with Kaelyn's primary doctor.  I took her in a couple of weeks ago because she had a prolonged fever and suspicious cough.  We left with the answer that it was a virus, so there wasn't really anything we could do.  The doctor did, however, find a suspicious mass on her left side.  In order to rule out stool causing the lump, he asked that we follow up in 2 weeks.

Here we are, 2 weeks later.  The last few days Kaelyn has had fevers, again, this time associated with pain in her left side, just below her ribs.  When we took her in for her recheck, the doc asked us to go to the ER because of her acute pain in the abdomen.  Of course it was a nice long 4 hour visit in the ER!  After some tests, Kaelyn's doctor decided the pain was being caused by a bladder infection and was sending us home with an antibiotic, and would have us check up with the primary doc the next day.  Brock and I were not satisfied with this answer!  We both had gut feelings that this was something more, and me, Mrs. NOT-assertive, asked the doctor to do an ultrasound because we weren't comfortable leaving (proud moment for me:)).  He obliged, and we found out about 15 minutes later that she has a tumor in her kidney.  More specifically, a Wilm's tumor.  I don't think the news hit me until the doctor used the infamous term "cancer."  Whaaaa??  At the same time though, I have felt this coming.  I knew some big bad thing was coming to get us, I'm just glad it's finally here and I don't have to worry about what the mystery is.  We can start working on getting through it now, one day at a time of course.

We head for Primary Children's early tomorrow morning so we can get there in time for a CAT scan.  I was surprised how fast things were getting started, but I'm also so happy I don't have to wait around for them to start.  I am kind of surprised how blessed I've felt through this whole day, as opposed to a doom and gloom feeling.  Oddly enough it's almost seemed to be a positive day.  Granted, tears were shed and sad thoughts were thunk!  But I have just felt an increased measure of love for my family, my Savior, the gospel, friends, and all the little things in life.

We would be so grateful for all prayers in Kaelyn's behalf.  I will do my best to change my ways and become an avid blogger for those of you who care.  I love you friends and family.  Until next time,

Parenting 101

Just kidding! I can't give any advice on parenting. But I have learned a lot about parenting (though not nearly enough!). Things like, 1) it's hard, and 2) you shouldn't judge that mom in the grocery store whose child has no shirt on outside in the middle of winter. Some children are just uncontrollable and they have to learn their lesson! (i.e. Kaelyn). Anyway, I have been thinking lately about one of the hard things about being a parent. One of those things is not laughing at inappropriate behavior. A couple of Kaelyn's latest ignoring-mom techniques can be interpreted as funny or naughty. Any time Kaelyn has done something she shouldn't and I ask her about it, or any time I ask her to do something (pick up her toys), she becomes mute. She pretends her lips are glued together and she's trying really hard to talk, with her cheeks puffed out and her hands in the air, but unable to help. An alternative to becoming mute is narcolepsy. The moment

she is to be reprimanded, she hits the floor and begins snoring. It's amazing. How did our parents do it?

Can you even imagine any sass from this face?

I want to hear some stories about your kids, because then I can laugh and not feel like its bad parenting. Thanks.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Kaelyn, Isaac and I just got back from visiting my family in Utah for a week and a half. I love being able to visit my family, but I also love coming back home. What I don't love is the 10 hour drive it takes to get there and back!

One thing I love about coming home is seeing how home has changed when I return! Brock loves to do some redecorating and surprise me when I get home. He had plenty of projects to work on while I was gone. This kind of behavior dates back to our courtship days. When I left school for a weekend for a vacation with my family, I came back to my apartment to find a fashionable homemade quilt on my bed and a completely redecorated and organized room. He does a good job. Here are some of the new additions I came home too.

This is just a fun "sign" he made from scrap pieces of wood and paint.

I saw these framed sayings up in a nursery online and begged Brock to make some for us. They look just like I wanted! These are hanging just outside Isaac's nursery and are some important words of wisdom for him to abide by.

Isaac's room. Completely changed. New-old metal framed crib that Brock painted, a refinished-retro dresser for a changing table, and a halved and painted night stand. Also, the "I" from a neon sign that serves as a nightlight. It's a good thing we have similar taste and I can just trust Brock to do these things without me!

Brock was looking for an old locker for a nightstand, but he didn't have any success while I was gone. He did find a matching nightstand at a local rescue mission and he cut it in half for a fun look.

He finally got new pedestals built for the laundry room. Hooray!

And he redecorated our bathrooms. My favorite part about this is he made all the wall decor.

And a new rug! We have rugs in almost every room in this house we are renting, mostly because the carpet is so stained. The rugs make a big difference.

And THIS was my favorite addition! We had talked a little bit about throwing in a big word somewhere in our house, but I was reluctant and unsure how we were going to do this. I think Brock did a perfect job, and I love the word he came up with.

And last, but not least, a new kitchen table and chairs. (Keep in mind that when I say "new" I only mean new to us. Most of the purchases were from either Craigslist or secondhand stores and repainted/reupholstered.) I love the pedestal and the fun details on the chair frames.

The table still needs to be painted, but I wanted to include it anyway. :)

I feel so lucky to be married to an awesome guy with great taste and ambition!

Latest Updo's

Since I don't get to see most of my family and friends very often, I thought I would post a little bit of what our temporary home looks like right now. Just the decor, really. Most of this is Brock's handiwork, but I hate that all his hard work is usually just seen by me, unless we have some rare visitors. :)

This is the latest TV stand. We were finally able to find one that we could make work for the electronics and keep the kids out at the same time!

Brock built a few pieces of furniture using the same wood that was used to build his great grandparent's home. He's a sentimental guy, so I'm glad he was able to find a way to incorporate some of his sentiments in a trendy way. Haha!

This is the little stand he built. He also recovered these chairs.

We had originally kept some DVD's and our DVD player in this. It has faux drawers, but it's actually a door that swings out on a hinge, closing with a magnet. It only kept Kaelyn out for approximately 2 weeks.

And finally, here is the matching console table.

Brock likes to copy almost all things Pottery Barn. So he and I cut this tree out of cardboard, then he covered it in fabric. It's pretty cute.

And here's the one thing I've contributed! Thanks to Gail and Diane for the idea. Each of these is from an actual photo taken of Kaelyn. I love them because they show her personality and are a fun way to brighten her room!

And that's all folks!