Sinus Infections from Cold After a Day Suck...

Just sayin'....again.

Colds suck.

 Just sayin'.

Love Offering

I am collecting for a Love Offering for a friend in need right now.  For privacy reasons, I can't post about the family here, but I would be happy to give full information privately.  Please e-mail me at faulknerkd@gmail.com.  Please consider a donation, even a dollar and tell your friends.

{Chip In Widget Above}

Shep: Good/Bad News

The vet called me yesterday.  She says, "I have good news, and I have bad news".  *sigh*  "OK".

GOOD NEWS:  The tumor removed from the neck is free and clear.  All cancer cells removed.  Yay!

BAD NEWS:  The tumor removed from the belly is NOT free and clear.  There are still cancer cells in the surrounding tissues.  And, it will continue to spread.  There is no other surgery to do- the vet took as much tissue possible.  If she would have taken any more, she wouldn't have been able to close him up.  The only other option would be radiation and we are not going to do that.  It is a good thing that she took the tumor out though.  If she hadn't, he ran a really high risk of having a ruptured tumor and then having a bleeding issue internally which would equal having to put him down.  Boo!

So, our cancer-free happy dance was short-lived.  He still has it and he has heartworm.  Now, the question is whether to proceed with the heartworm treatment or not.  Our vet is posting Shep's scenario on a Vet Board where over 20,000 vets come for help/opinions of other veterinarian professionals.  She is not one to do anything to a dog that  is not in his best interest and I certainly appreciate that.  I should hear back from her next week on that.

Overall, Shep is doing really well!  He is not messing with his incisions at all.  Of course, we don't think that he can really reach them anyway.  Shep has been hanging out with Scott during the day that way he feels back to normal and Scott can keep an eye on him.  Thank you to everyone who has voiced their concern for our Shep!

Shep's Surgery

Scott and I took Shep in this morning at 8am for his scheduled surgery to remove the mast cell tumor from his neck.  It was hard to leave him, but we knew that he was in good hands.  I started to cry on the way to school and Ethan kind of grunted at me like he was telling me it would be ok.  

I was told that a heartworm test would have to be done pre-op, so we expected that.  What we didn't expect was for him to actually have heartworm.  :(  I then had to wait for the doctor to decide what to do.  This required a chest x-ray to make sure that his heart wasn't too enlarged to risk surgery.  The radiologist also said that there was not any sign of metastasized cancer...YAY!!!  I got the call around 11:45 that everything looked ok and that they were starting surgery.

Close to two hours later, I got the call that Shep was out of surgery and doing well.  I didn't expect it to take that long to hear from them, but they said that he did well and they were considering keeping him overnight.  

On the way home, I stopped in to the vet's to check on Shep.  He was just waking up and looking good!  The doctor came out and said that she had a confession.  ???  She says that she decided to remove the tumor from his belly too!  ...FOR FREE!!!  So, now I can semi-officially say that Shep is CANCER FREE!!!  {pending pathology reports}  

Thanks to everyone who said a wonderful puppy prayer for Shep today!  We appreciate it!  I was able to bring Shep home and he ate some.  He is having a hard time figuring out how he can lay down without laying on his belly.  :(  I am anxiously waiting for Scott to get home so he can help with Shep since Shep has always listened to Scott better anyway- that's what happens when they went to work together every day for close to 10 years! 

Neck incision

Underbelly incision

Poor puppy just wants to lay down but can't quite figure it out with a big slice on his belly.  :*(

The incisions are even bigger than I anticipated, but he is cancer-free, so it's ALL GOOD!!!  :)

Marriage Tune-Up

 

Last night and this morning, Scott and I joined hundreds of other couples for a Marriage Tune-Up conference/seminar.  It was put on by Jeff & Debby McElroy.  We were able to attend thanks to our friends, Janet & Jeff Pemberton, who invited us as their "guests", otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford to go.

Some topics discussed:  Conflict Resolution, Intimacy, Spiritual Leadership

The speakers were awesome!  They were so funny and used great stereotypical examples to get their point across.  We feel very fortunate to have been able to go!

Instead of thinking about how 6 years ago today, Ethan was being diagnosed with leukemia, Scott and I were able to sit in a church, holding hands, learning new skills to better our marriage.  How awesome is that?  :)

Shep News

Wednesday night, Scott asked me if I had time to take Shep to the vet on Thursday.  I told him I would make time and then wanted to know what was wrong. Scott proceeds to tell me that Shep has a lump on his neck that is bothering him and he has been itching it.  I made sure that he showed me where it was so I knew what to show the vet.  It was a big red bump.  I was pretty sure it was a spider/bug bite.

Thursday morning, our vet got us in at 11am.  Shep was weighed, up three pounds to 79.6!  Aye, aye, aye...

Doctor came in, looked at the bump, squeezed it a little and some pus came out so she was pretty much guessing it was a bite like I was.  She took Shep into the back where she could lance and drain it.  When she came back in the room, she says that there wasn't as much pus as she thought there was going to be and she was going to look at it under the microscope.  When she came back in, she had a look of worry and began her sentence with, "Now, I am not a pathologist but..." {you know that is ALWAYS a good sign when pathology is mentioned- not}.

"It's a tumor".

"Um, WHAT!?!?!  {with look of shock}"

"Yeah, and this one worries me.  It's different than his other tumor in his chest that we are watching".

So, um- yeah.  For the second time in the month of February, I sat alone in a doctor's office and was told one of my babies had more cancer.  {Ethan was diagnosed with leukemia February 13, 2004}  This one is worrisome, too.  It is a mast cell tumor and because of the location and rapid increasing size, it needs to be removed in order to ensure that it doesn't metastasize.  The vet was ok just watching the other tumor Shep has because it is a soft-tissue sarcoma with less risk of spreading quickly, whereas this one is already proving to be on the rapid track.

Shep will be going in for surgery first thing Monday morning to remove the tumor.  He should be able to come home that afternoon, but will have one heck of an incision.  So far, he has been taking his meds well, so the irritation and infection around the tumor is definitely better.  Poor puppy has to take two antibiotics and three Benadryl's twice a day, and a pain pill once a day.

Praying that everything will go smoothly on Monday!  Shep still has so much life in him- we have to give him this chance, we just have to.

In Remembrance: Livvie

Still missed as much today as two years ago.

(Video in post for those on reader)

Birthday's...

I haven't been around the computer to be able to post two very special birthday's that were on February 5th.  Soooo....

~♥~

 ♫Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Jeff,

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!♫  I'm so sorry you're old...ha.  

~♥~

♫Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Olivia, 

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!♫

~♥~

Two people who will always mean the world to me:  My Dad and Olivia. I wasn't able to talk with my Dad, but I did get a text in to him mid-morning- didn't want to wake him up and make him a Grumpy Old Man.  HA!

I was able to spend the evening with Karen and celebrate what would have been Olivia's 10th birthday.  I wore Olivia's Cinderella tiara and picked up her birthday cake as usual (even though it looked like the cake we normally get, it did not TASTE like it- BOO).  This year has been harder than last year...please pray for Karen as this time of year is an overwhelmingly reminder of the most  painful and heartbreaking moment in her life.  ~THANK YOU~

Just one of the kids

I am about to do something that I said I would never do in blogland.  I am going to post the same picture more than once in one post.  I never understood why that was done, I mean- I saw the picture the first time.  LOL.

So, it snowed on Friday/Saturday and Scott made a snow run off the back deck.  Our neighbors came over with their girls to sled.  The kids were having a lot of fun making the Mommy's and Daddy's cater to their fun.  The kids would take turns going one by one, but then we started having them go tandem.  Ethan went with Rachel and they both had the biggest smiles afterward.



So, why did I tear up tonight when I mentioned it at small group?  Because we don't have play dates.  It's just complicated...anywho.  Our neighbors kids don't see that Ethan is different at all.  I think that they may have asked a question like "Why doesn't Ethan talk?", but it has never been an issue.  We give them an answer and they say "oh" and go about playing.  If anything, they think that Ethan is pretty cool because he has a swing in his living room and a trampoline!  :)  When they play, they tend to play in their own corners so to speak- not necessarily together.  Sunday, they played together.



They played together.  They smiled together.  They laughed together.  They had fun together.  And so it was captured- he was just one of the kids.

Urban Dictionary

All around Facebook, people are posting their Urban Dictionary definitions of their name.  I have decided to just do a blog post.  LOL.  So, whenever I need to make myself feel awesome, I can just come back to this post.

Urban Dictionary - Kristen

Slang for "most awesome girl ever"

usually extremely beautiful. can surprise you at what she can do. very outgoing. can be emotional at times, but mostly just wants to party!


Very hott girl that you won't seem to every forget about,amazing personality and great figure. {damn skippy!}

amazing


An amazing person, not likely to ever leave your thoughts, always to the be te only one on your mind . Incredibly beautiful, nice, smart, caring, and all-around great . Her eyes gleem with a radiance of a thousand stars, her lips draw you in, like magnets, her love is like life, without it, you surely cannot live.


being of extreme beauty, class, and creativity.

also happens to be pretty rad.

1. E-karma's Queen.
2. Extremely nice person.
3. Awesome

The girl who makes you want to be a better man. Shes incredibly smart, funny, and stunningly beautiful. You are often thankful for every second that she is a part of your life and lament the times that you arent talking to her because with her every second is like being in heaven.Often a girl with spunk that other girls fear.Hates drama usually and normally doesnt do well with guys who cheat.Loves to go out an party. Never doubt her cause shes always changing and you dont ever truely know what shes thinking.

Ok, you can stop laughing now....

Reposting: The R Word

My friend, Michele, posted the link to the following article on Facebook and I have to say that the author's opinions are pretty much to exactly my feelings. I find myself telling people how offensive the 'r' word is to me, but I also find myself not wanting to offend the offender. ?!?!?! I try to be the best advocate I can for Ethan and for those with special needs, but sometimes my words are not as on point as Ms. Liane Kupferber Carter. Please read.

The R Word
by:  Liane Kupferberg Carter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liane-kupferberg-carter/the-r-word_b_443627.html

We were trying on hats at a department store counter when my childhood friend said it.


"I never know how to wear these," she said. "I'm such a fashion retard."


I was shocked. I said, "We don't use that word."


She turned red. "You're right. I am so sorry," she said.


And she was. Truly embarrassed. Not only because she is a kind person, but because I am the parent of a child with autism.


The thing is, she is about the last person I ever expected to hear it from. She is one of the smartest people I know, and I'm not talking about her Ivy League education. She's an active community volunteer. She works in soup kitchens and bakes her own bread. She's passionate about social justice, someone who thinks long and deeply about everything. She treats my son with unfailing compassion and respect, and has taught her two children to do the same.


So to hear the R word slip so automatically from her lips was as shocking as if she had taken off her clothes and danced naked in Times Square.


Recently my mother-in-law forwarded a joke that had obviously been making the rounds among her friends. It was a silly story about children who mistake words they hear, not worth repeating here. But the subject line of the email was "retarded grandparents." I took a deep breath. Then I clicked on "reply all" and wrote this message:


"For years I've received jokes like this and kept quiet, but one of my New Year's resolutions this year is to speak up, so here goes. As the parent of a developmentally disabled child, I find the use of the word "retarded" personally offensive. So-called jokes like these reinforce the discrimination and intolerance children like mine face daily. 'Retarded' is not a synonym for 'stupid.' It's time to retire the 'R' word from everyone's vocabulary."


My mother-in-law emailed back, "Actually I didn't even notice the title of the joke. But you are right about this."


Well yes, that's my point. No one notices. Not even the people who know and love my son. That's how ingrained that word is in our culture. It's a knee jerk reflex in people's vocabularies. No one else replied to my email. I imagine that many of her friends who received it probably felt sorry that my mother-in-law has a humorless prig for a daughter in law. And it's true. I am humorless when it comes to this.


People use the R word as an all purpose put down. It's hateful trash talk, the ultimate playground zinger. The Special Olympics has been campaigning aggressively against the word since the film Tropic Thunder, which introduced the term "Full Retard" to the cultural conversation, was released last year. Even President Obama has been guilty. Not of using the R word, but of viewing those with disabilities as something to joke about, when he told Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" that his poor bowling performance was like "Special Olympics or something." (Obama later apologized for his remark.) Or Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman, during interviews on both CNN and "Charlie Rose", who repeatedly said that our involvement in Afghanistan "is like adopting a special needs baby." Just last week, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was quoted using the phrase "f--ing retarded," in the Wall Street Journal.


I am not the first to write about this, and I won't be the last, either. I'm not trying to be the word police. And I know that if we banish this word from everyone's vocabulary, something equally noxious will probably take its place. But the malice behind this word is palpable and ugly and heart constricting. Do you think kids with intellectual disabilities don't know they are being put down when someone calls them that word? That they don't feel the insult and disdain?


The R word has been retired by medical and social service organizations. It's time everyone else does too. This isn't about political correctness. I am asking for no less than a basic cultural shift. People need to understand that the R word is as offensive to persons with intellectual disabilities as the N word is to the African American community. The old saw "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me" is patently untrue. Words do wound.

Winter Storm 2010

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The last time it snowed, I looked into getting Ethan some snow bibs/boots so he could stay out longer, but since accumulated snow is not the norm around here, we figured that we had our snowfall for the year. Well- it snowed this past Friday. The approximate amount was around 8 inches and we still don't have any bibs/boots for Ethan. :(

We put a dozen layers on him and headed out. Scott spent the morning turning the back deck into the launching pad for a snow run. Our neighbors came over with their sled and we all had some sledding fun! We found that Ethan did much better going down the ramp backwards because he bends his body in half and just enjoys the ride.

After naps, I went and picked up Mary to come back and sled again. So, Ethan had a full day of sledding fun. The weather peeps are calling for a possible wintry mix again this weekend and we still have icy roads. School is canceled again tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if school is out until at least Thursday because the residential places are still pretty icy for the buses to run through. Looks like no Spring Break for the kiddos with the way things are going...

{For those on a reader...there is a video at the top}