If you were unable to make it to Missy's service, here is a link to our family's eulogy of our sweet girl. Here is a link to her best friends eulogy as well, and below is the slide show we played of our favorite pictures set to one of her favorite songs.
Thank you once again for your amazing love and support of Missy and our entire family during this heartbreaking time.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Arrangements
Here is a link to our Sweet Melissa's obituary and the details of her services.
Thank you all for the outpouring of love and support during this heartbreaking time.
Thank you all for the outpouring of love and support during this heartbreaking time.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Our Sweet Missy
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
An update on Missy
The last few weeks have had major changes for our sweet Missy. The past weekend brought new heartache with her mostly losing the ability to communicate with us and fighting constant focal seizures. Yesterday we were at the point of needing to have help from the hospital to fight the seizures, so an ambulance came to take her to the local hospice hospital.
Yesterday was very challenging, but around 3pm we got her seizures under control and she was finally able to rest. She has now been sleeping for a little over 24 hours. We don't know what each day will bring. We hope she wakes up, we hope to take her back home, but what we hope for most is peace for our sweet Melissa.
I wanted you to know we are here. I know your prayers, good thoughts, and support will give our family comfort. Missy has lived a faith filled life for many years. She relies heavily on prayer, and we are at peace with whatever is to come. But this heartbreak is so difficult for us all. Your loves prayers and support just help to lighten that load.
Monday, January 7, 2013
December NIH Visit
The week before Christmas Missy and our dad went back to the NIH to
meet with doctors about her cancer. We learned that her new medication
is not working. There is nothing else available to try. They are taking her off all
treatments and just placing her on steroids to keep swelling down. After
Christmas Missy and our parents met with the local doctors and with
Hospice to begin this new stage of dealing with her terminal cancer.
We are heartbroken. Truly and completely heartbroken. But we are also trying to focus on where we are right now. She is no sicker today than she was before the trip to NIH, we just have more information today. We had a wonderful Christmas as a family and rang in the New Year all together. We will just have to wait and see what 2013 brings, taking it one day at a time and enjoying every moment we have together.
This is harder than I could ever imagine. For now, our family is spending as much time together as possible. We are talking and laughing, hugging and kissing and telling each other as often as possible how much we love the other. Someone is always with her. We are all here together, spending time with our Sweet Missy. Hard days are ahead of us, but for today, we are living in the now. We are doing the very best we can and are loving each other with the time we are given.
We are heartbroken. Truly and completely heartbroken. But we are also trying to focus on where we are right now. She is no sicker today than she was before the trip to NIH, we just have more information today. We had a wonderful Christmas as a family and rang in the New Year all together. We will just have to wait and see what 2013 brings, taking it one day at a time and enjoying every moment we have together.
This is harder than I could ever imagine. For now, our family is spending as much time together as possible. We are talking and laughing, hugging and kissing and telling each other as often as possible how much we love the other. Someone is always with her. We are all here together, spending time with our Sweet Missy. Hard days are ahead of us, but for today, we are living in the now. We are doing the very best we can and are loving each other with the time we are given.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
September NIH Visit
Missy's visit to the NIH in September showed new growth of her cancer. She began a new treatment for this growth three weeks ago. We will not have the new MRI results for another nine weeks, but the treatment went well and has not been too hard on her physically. She is very tired, but thankfully has not been ill. She is doing very well.
We are all hoping and praying this treatment will stop the new growth. Please pray for healing while we wait for the new MRI results.
We are all hoping and praying this treatment will stop the new growth. Please pray for healing while we wait for the new MRI results.
Friday, July 27, 2012
July NIH Visit
Hello everyone! I am so sorry it has been so long since I have updated here at Kicking Cancer. I am going to make a real effort to post after every NIH visit from now on, even if it is a simple one or two line update just saying "Things are great! See you in eight weeks :)" . I know people check here to see how our sweet Melissa is doing, and I am sorry I have dropped the ball. Now on to the update!
Missy's MRI today showed that both the aggressive and the non-aggressive cancers are actually shrinking! This is wonderful news. The Avastin is still working to shrink the aggressive cancer, to the point that even the tiny peripheral dots were smaller. She is now also on Carboplatin for the slower growing cancer in her tumor, and it that too is shrinking. We are so thankful for this update!
Recently Missy has needed a few blood and platelet transfusions before her bi-monthly treatments. This is a side effect of the Carboplatin, and thankfully was not a sign of any other issues from the cancer. Because of this side effect, they are reducing her dose of Carboplatin, but are keeping her on the medication since it is working so well to fight the cancer. She is of course staying on the Avastin for the aggressive cancer too. We love Avastin!
So, that's the update for now! Missy is doing great! She is feeling tired from the carboplatin and her lower blood levels, but mostly she is truly wonderful. Since I last updated, Missy had her 30th birthday and we have taken a family vacation. I will end with a few pictures of our sweet girl so you can all see how great she is doing!
In the pool, enjoying the Florida sun
The entire family on the beach
With some of her best girlfriends at her birthday party
Sisters at the birthday bash
Love :)
You can see lots more birthday party pics HERE and more vacation pics HERE :)
Thanks for continuing to check in, even when I don't update often, and thank you for all of your prayers and support of our sweet Melissa!
Missy's MRI today showed that both the aggressive and the non-aggressive cancers are actually shrinking! This is wonderful news. The Avastin is still working to shrink the aggressive cancer, to the point that even the tiny peripheral dots were smaller. She is now also on Carboplatin for the slower growing cancer in her tumor, and it that too is shrinking. We are so thankful for this update!
Recently Missy has needed a few blood and platelet transfusions before her bi-monthly treatments. This is a side effect of the Carboplatin, and thankfully was not a sign of any other issues from the cancer. Because of this side effect, they are reducing her dose of Carboplatin, but are keeping her on the medication since it is working so well to fight the cancer. She is of course staying on the Avastin for the aggressive cancer too. We love Avastin!
So, that's the update for now! Missy is doing great! She is feeling tired from the carboplatin and her lower blood levels, but mostly she is truly wonderful. Since I last updated, Missy had her 30th birthday and we have taken a family vacation. I will end with a few pictures of our sweet girl so you can all see how great she is doing!
In the pool, enjoying the Florida sun
The entire family on the beach
With some of her best girlfriends at her birthday party
Sisters at the birthday bash
Love :)
You can see lots more birthday party pics HERE and more vacation pics HERE :)
Thanks for continuing to check in, even when I don't update often, and thank you for all of your prayers and support of our sweet Melissa!
Monday, January 30, 2012
January NIH Visit
Missy and our parents headed up to the NIH last week for her follow up scan following her six weeks back on Avastin. The tumor had an amazing response to the medication and is dramatically smaller! This is such wonderful news and we feel truly blessed.
The doctors explained to Melissa and our parents that there are three categories of people when it comes to Avastin. There are the people who do not respond at all, then there are the short term responders and the long term responders. There is no way to know if Missy is short term or long term, but the fact that she has been on the medication for nine months and during those nine months it was continually effective in suppressing tumor growth is a very good sign. All we can do now is leave her on this medication and closely monitor any tumor activity. There are "Long Term Avastin Responders" who have been on the medication for years and it continues to work. We continue to pray that Missy will be one of these people. Time will tell, but for now this was absolutely the very best news we could have received.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support of Missy and our family. We are so thankful for you all. She will go back up to the NIH in two months. I will update again at that time to let you know how she is doing.
The doctors explained to Melissa and our parents that there are three categories of people when it comes to Avastin. There are the people who do not respond at all, then there are the short term responders and the long term responders. There is no way to know if Missy is short term or long term, but the fact that she has been on the medication for nine months and during those nine months it was continually effective in suppressing tumor growth is a very good sign. All we can do now is leave her on this medication and closely monitor any tumor activity. There are "Long Term Avastin Responders" who have been on the medication for years and it continues to work. We continue to pray that Missy will be one of these people. Time will tell, but for now this was absolutely the very best news we could have received.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support of Missy and our family. We are so thankful for you all. She will go back up to the NIH in two months. I will update again at that time to let you know how she is doing.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Update on December NIH Visit and Conference Call
Melissa and my parents had the conference call with the doctors up at
the NIH and after meeting and discussing Missy's case the doctors
decided that Missy does NOT need surgery right now! This is such a
blessing. These surgeries are extremely difficult on Missy and come
with a ton of terrifying possible complications, so avoiding surgery is
the greatest news we could have possibly gotten today.
The doctors made their decision based on the fact that although the growth of the tumor over the last eight weeks is alarming, the tumor is not extremely large. Combine that with the fact that she is having no side effects from the tumor, and it makes them think surgery is not what she needs at this time. There is the IV treatment, Avastin, that prevented any new growth of this tumor the entire time she was on it, so they believe that is the the best treatment is to go with for now.
So they want her back on her IV meds as soon as possible. She has an appointment with her local doctor to hopefully set up an infusion before the end of the week. She will do that treatment right away, then another in two weeks. Two weeks after that she will go back to the NIH for another scan. Hopefully it will show no new growth. The option for surgery is still on the table at a later point, she is very strong and the tumor is operable, they just do not think the benefits out weight the risks as of today. We are hoping this medicine continues to work and she does not need surgery any time soon!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We are so very thankful for you all.
Merry Christmas!
The doctors made their decision based on the fact that although the growth of the tumor over the last eight weeks is alarming, the tumor is not extremely large. Combine that with the fact that she is having no side effects from the tumor, and it makes them think surgery is not what she needs at this time. There is the IV treatment, Avastin, that prevented any new growth of this tumor the entire time she was on it, so they believe that is the the best treatment is to go with for now.
So they want her back on her IV meds as soon as possible. She has an appointment with her local doctor to hopefully set up an infusion before the end of the week. She will do that treatment right away, then another in two weeks. Two weeks after that she will go back to the NIH for another scan. Hopefully it will show no new growth. The option for surgery is still on the table at a later point, she is very strong and the tumor is operable, they just do not think the benefits out weight the risks as of today. We are hoping this medicine continues to work and she does not need surgery any time soon!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We are so very thankful for you all.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
December NIH Visit
Missy had her 8 week scan up at the NIH on Thursday, and the results were not what we expected. Her MRI came back showing aggressive new growth of her tumor. So aggressive that the doctors think the best action to take is most likely going to be to go in and remove the new growth. Her doctor will be meeting with the board to discuss options on Tuesday, but when they spoke with him on Friday it seemed most likely they they would opt for surgery. Of course this news has been very difficult for Missy and everyone in the family, but we feel very blessed that they are options of ways to fight this cancer. We have aggressive treatments to fight aggressive growth, and that is a good thing.
We have two treatments that the doctors and Melissa feel will give her the best chance to fight. Four months ago the doctors took Missy off an IV infusion treatment, Avastin, that was meant to cut off the blood supply to the tumor. The six months she was on that medication there was no growth. She was also on a chemotherapy pill, Temodar, which they left her on during her break from Avastin. Without the Avastin the tumor has grown out of control.
Fighting cancer is very hard. And the most effect way to fight it is to remove as much as possible. And that's what we are fairly sure they want to do. The most effective treatment. Because she is very strong, she is fighting very hard, and they want to give her the very best chance to beat this. And that means taking out what they can, then putting her back on the medication that we now know works to stop growth of whatever is left. So we think that is the plan. Tuesday we will know for sure, but we are expecting surgery in early January.
Missy and the rest of our family are very happy to have two ways to fight this cancer. We know another surgery will be very difficult for Missy, but she wants to do what is most aggressive to kill this cancer. She is very brave, very strong, and she wants to do whatever it takes. We are leaving that decision up to her doctors.
I will update again next week after we hear from the doctors about surgery details, if they do decide surgery is the best option. Thank you for all of your prayers and support during this difficult time. They mean so much to Missy and our entire family.
We have two treatments that the doctors and Melissa feel will give her the best chance to fight. Four months ago the doctors took Missy off an IV infusion treatment, Avastin, that was meant to cut off the blood supply to the tumor. The six months she was on that medication there was no growth. She was also on a chemotherapy pill, Temodar, which they left her on during her break from Avastin. Without the Avastin the tumor has grown out of control.
Fighting cancer is very hard. And the most effect way to fight it is to remove as much as possible. And that's what we are fairly sure they want to do. The most effective treatment. Because she is very strong, she is fighting very hard, and they want to give her the very best chance to beat this. And that means taking out what they can, then putting her back on the medication that we now know works to stop growth of whatever is left. So we think that is the plan. Tuesday we will know for sure, but we are expecting surgery in early January.
Missy and the rest of our family are very happy to have two ways to fight this cancer. We know another surgery will be very difficult for Missy, but she wants to do what is most aggressive to kill this cancer. She is very brave, very strong, and she wants to do whatever it takes. We are leaving that decision up to her doctors.
I will update again next week after we hear from the doctors about surgery details, if they do decide surgery is the best option. Thank you for all of your prayers and support during this difficult time. They mean so much to Missy and our entire family.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
October NIH Visit
Hello everyone! Just wanted to stop in and let you know that last week Missy had her eight week check up with the NIH and things went well! There was no new growth of the tumor, which is always the best news. They are watching the tumor closely to evaluate if she can continue her break from the IV treatment she was previously doing along with her chemo. She will go back up in eight weeks to have another scan and they will go from there. For now, the doctors felt good about the visit and told her just to stay with her current treatment plan.
Everything around here is going really well for our sweet Melissa. She has started keeping Henry (her nephew) one day a week and they are both loving this schedule! Henry loves his Aunt Mimi! She is spending lots of time with family, friends and her boyfriend George and she is feeling good.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us all.
Everything around here is going really well for our sweet Melissa. She has started keeping Henry (her nephew) one day a week and they are both loving this schedule! Henry loves his Aunt Mimi! She is spending lots of time with family, friends and her boyfriend George and she is feeling good.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us all.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Recent NIH Visit
Missy and Mom went back up to the NIH last week for a follow up MRI. On the plane from here to the DC airport they realized they were traveling with a celebrity!
John Wall had been back in town to play an exhibition game and was flying back to DC at the same time as Missy and Mom. It makes any trip more enjoyable to see someone famous at six in the morning!
The visit to NIH went very well. The MRI showed that the tumor had no change, so the treatments are working well to prevent new growth. They are making so changes to her medications, taking her off one for the next eight weeks to see what the effect is, but all in all things are going very well and Missy is doing great!
Thank you all for your continued support. We appreciate you all so very much.
John Wall had been back in town to play an exhibition game and was flying back to DC at the same time as Missy and Mom. It makes any trip more enjoyable to see someone famous at six in the morning!
The visit to NIH went very well. The MRI showed that the tumor had no change, so the treatments are working well to prevent new growth. They are making so changes to her medications, taking her off one for the next eight weeks to see what the effect is, but all in all things are going very well and Missy is doing great!
Thank you all for your continued support. We appreciate you all so very much.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Overdue Update
Hello everyone! I am so sorry that I have not been on here to update in so long. I have no real excuse except to say that things have been going very well for Missy, and so it hasn't really occurred to me to post. I will try to do better and at least post a general update every month or so, just so that people using this blog are in the know about our sweet Melissa.
Several weeks ago Missy went back up to the NIH to have a repeat MRI to see how her current treatment is working. The scan showed that everything is looking wonderful! That the cancer is under control and her brain is healing and looking much healthier than it has since this all began. We feel so very thankful and blessed.
With her health finally looking better and under control Missy has been enjoying her summer. She is looking for a low stress part time job, since her full time position in research was just too much for her at this time. She has taken a couple small trips this summer and has been enjoying quality time with family and friends. Her treatments, along with the travel to and from the NIH every 8 weeks, is taking a lot out of her, but she is feeling much more like herself and is very thankful for that.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We all appreciate all you do as she continues down this road of treatment and recovery.
Several weeks ago Missy went back up to the NIH to have a repeat MRI to see how her current treatment is working. The scan showed that everything is looking wonderful! That the cancer is under control and her brain is healing and looking much healthier than it has since this all began. We feel so very thankful and blessed.
With her health finally looking better and under control Missy has been enjoying her summer. She is looking for a low stress part time job, since her full time position in research was just too much for her at this time. She has taken a couple small trips this summer and has been enjoying quality time with family and friends. Her treatments, along with the travel to and from the NIH every 8 weeks, is taking a lot out of her, but she is feeling much more like herself and is very thankful for that.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We all appreciate all you do as she continues down this road of treatment and recovery.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Follow Up at the National Institute of Health
Missy and Dad flew up to the National Institute of Health yesterday for a follow up MRI and to meet with her doctors about the effectiveness of her current treatment plan. She found out this morning that the scan shows her cancer is responding exactly as they hoped to this new treatment! This is such amazing news! We were all very hopeful that it was working well, since she seems to been feeling more like herself lately, but there was definitely the fear that we would get a report of new cancer growth as we did last time. Hearing the words that this is working like it should, to just continue on with treatments as planned, it's just such overwhelming and wonderful news.
Missy and Dad will be flying home tonight, and she will continue on with her current treatment plan here at home. She will go back up to the NIH for another MRI in two months, just to keep an eye on things and to make sure nothing has changed.
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us all.
Missy and Dad will be flying home tonight, and she will continue on with her current treatment plan here at home. She will go back up to the NIH for another MRI in two months, just to keep an eye on things and to make sure nothing has changed.
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us all.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Update
I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have posted an update here on Kicking Cancer. Time has just been moving since Missy's surgery and it doesn't feel like there is much to report. Still, I know you all use this site as a way to know how our sweet Melissa is doing, and I will try to do better with updates, even if they are just to say she is doing good and there isn't anything new to report!
Since my last post Missy has recovered very well from her surgery! She is back to work part time, which is the plan for the foreseeable future. She is just not up to a full work week with everything she has going on. She tires easily and really needs that extra time to focus on recovery. Luckily her amazing job has worked it out for her to stay on at the hospital in a part time roll. She is currently still in the Cancer Research department and we hope she will be able to stay there, but we are just very thankful for all they have done to keep her on as part of the Central Baptist team.
A little over a month ago Missy started her new treatments and they seem to be going well. For the last few weeks she has been fighting off a terrible flu like virus, and then a sinus infection and bronchial infection, but she seems to be feeling better. It is just extremely unfortunate that when you are fighting things like cancer your immune system is down and you end up picking up every bug that comes down the line. Hopefully with the start of spring she will be feeling better!
Thank you all for stopping by the blog to check in on her. She so appreciates all of you!
Since my last post Missy has recovered very well from her surgery! She is back to work part time, which is the plan for the foreseeable future. She is just not up to a full work week with everything she has going on. She tires easily and really needs that extra time to focus on recovery. Luckily her amazing job has worked it out for her to stay on at the hospital in a part time roll. She is currently still in the Cancer Research department and we hope she will be able to stay there, but we are just very thankful for all they have done to keep her on as part of the Central Baptist team.
A little over a month ago Missy started her new treatments and they seem to be going well. For the last few weeks she has been fighting off a terrible flu like virus, and then a sinus infection and bronchial infection, but she seems to be feeling better. It is just extremely unfortunate that when you are fighting things like cancer your immune system is down and you end up picking up every bug that comes down the line. Hopefully with the start of spring she will be feeling better!
Thank you all for stopping by the blog to check in on her. She so appreciates all of you!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Treatment Plan
This morning Missy, along with our parents, met with her doctors at the National Institute of Health (NIH). The lab tests done on the tumor removed during her 2nd surgery shows that she has a Grade 3 Astrocytoma. We had feared it may be a Grade 4, so this is good news. Her original tumor contained a less aggressive cancer type along with the Astrocytoma cells, but they now seem to be gone.
After meeting with the doctors and discussing options it was decided that the best thing for Missy at this time was an FDA approved IV treatment that will cut off the blood supply to the tumor. The IV treatment drug is called Avastin and she will receive it once every two weeks. Along with that she will take a chemotherapy medication called Temodar each evening. Hopefully these two medications combinded will stop the growth of the cancer and shrink the existing cancer cells. Both treatments can be done in Lexington, so she will only have to travel back to the NIH every eight weeks for monitoring.
Missy is doing amazingly well. She is exhausted, but ready to continue this fight. She is so thankful for all of your love and support during this time. You all mean the world to her and to all of us. Thank you for all for your prayers and constant support!
After meeting with the doctors and discussing options it was decided that the best thing for Missy at this time was an FDA approved IV treatment that will cut off the blood supply to the tumor. The IV treatment drug is called Avastin and she will receive it once every two weeks. Along with that she will take a chemotherapy medication called Temodar each evening. Hopefully these two medications combinded will stop the growth of the cancer and shrink the existing cancer cells. Both treatments can be done in Lexington, so she will only have to travel back to the NIH every eight weeks for monitoring.
Missy is doing amazingly well. She is exhausted, but ready to continue this fight. She is so thankful for all of your love and support during this time. You all mean the world to her and to all of us. Thank you for all for your prayers and constant support!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Resting
Hi everyone. I just wanted to drop in and let you know that Missy is doing really well, and that there isn't really any new medical information at this point. She got home at the end of last week and since then has been at my parents house resting and recovering from the surgery. We spent the day with her Saturday and had a wonderful visit. It was good for my heart to see her sweet face. She came to town Monday for a quick check in with the doctor and stayed in Lexington to spend time with her boyfriend. I know she was very happy to be back at her house and to spend time with George. Tuesday she headed back to my parents so she can continue the recovery process. She is very tired and sore, but is so strong. She is doing amazing.
The next step will be to head back up to the NIH and find out the lab results and get her new treatment plan. As far as I know, the NIH likes to start treatment four weeks after surgery. We are expecting her to go up for the meeting with them at the end of next week or possibly the beginning of the first week of March. The date has yet to be set, but we know it will be soon. At that point we will have more information and a course of action. For now she is just trying to feel better and be as ready as possible to start fighting this cancer with her new treatment plan!
The next step will be to head back up to the NIH and find out the lab results and get her new treatment plan. As far as I know, the NIH likes to start treatment four weeks after surgery. We are expecting her to go up for the meeting with them at the end of next week or possibly the beginning of the first week of March. The date has yet to be set, but we know it will be soon. At that point we will have more information and a course of action. For now she is just trying to feel better and be as ready as possible to start fighting this cancer with her new treatment plan!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Home Again
I am really sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days! Time just got away from me. Missy is doing amazingly well. She is actually flying home this evening! She has had a good last couple of days, just resting and healing at the NIH hospital, and she is now ready to continue healing here at home. Both of our parents are still there with her and will be helping her make the trip home. Lucky she has a direct flight right into Lexington, so it will be as easy as possible. She will then be going to our parents house for the next week or two to continue recovering from the surgery. We will not have any lab results or treatment plans until she goes back up to the NIH in three to four weeks. For now we are just so happy to have our sweet girl back home!
Many of you have asked if you can do anything to help once they get home. First we want to say thank you for all that has already been done for her and our family. Your donations, thoughts and prayers have made a huge difference during this time. Plane tickets, food baskets, money to cover bills, constant messages of support. These are things that have meant the world to all of us and the words Thank You just don't seem to feel like enough. You have all done so much already, the question of "what can we do?" is hard to answer. Not because we do not need things, but because we already feel so blessed to have you all.
That being said, we continue to appreciate your desire to help. Food or gift cards to restaurants that do takeout would be very helpful and make life a little easier as everyone attempts to get back to a normal routine. Donations to Missy are also always extremely appreciated to help cover expenses while she is off work. Details of how that can be done are on the left sidebar of this blog or you can contact me (biogirl79 at gmail dot com) and I can help. As always, good thoughts and prayers are appreciated more than we can say. We are so thankful for all of you and your support during this time.
Many of you have asked if you can do anything to help once they get home. First we want to say thank you for all that has already been done for her and our family. Your donations, thoughts and prayers have made a huge difference during this time. Plane tickets, food baskets, money to cover bills, constant messages of support. These are things that have meant the world to all of us and the words Thank You just don't seem to feel like enough. You have all done so much already, the question of "what can we do?" is hard to answer. Not because we do not need things, but because we already feel so blessed to have you all.
That being said, we continue to appreciate your desire to help. Food or gift cards to restaurants that do takeout would be very helpful and make life a little easier as everyone attempts to get back to a normal routine. Donations to Missy are also always extremely appreciated to help cover expenses while she is off work. Details of how that can be done are on the left sidebar of this blog or you can contact me (biogirl79 at gmail dot com) and I can help. As always, good thoughts and prayers are appreciated more than we can say. We are so thankful for all of you and your support during this time.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday Update
Just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know that Missy got a lot of much needed rest last night. In the early evening she developed a bad headache, but they got that under control and she was able to feel better and rest well.
We found out that the MRI done after surgery showed that they were able to removed the 90-95% of the tumor that they were expecting. We are really happy with this result. They said today that her recovery was going great and that she would really just be staying there the next few days to keep the pain under control and to get her ready for the flight home. We can't wait to get her back here, but we know she is in awesome hands.
We found out that the MRI done after surgery showed that they were able to removed the 90-95% of the tumor that they were expecting. We are really happy with this result. They said today that her recovery was going great and that she would really just be staying there the next few days to keep the pain under control and to get her ready for the flight home. We can't wait to get her back here, but we know she is in awesome hands.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Recovering
Missy is doing amazingly well with her recovery. Boo and I headed back to Kentucky this afternoon, but we got to spend the morning with Missy and she is really doing great. Yesterday afternoon she moved out of the ICU and onto the regular floor and the transition has gone awesome. Last night she was up walking the halls and laughing and joking with me and Boo. It was a wonderful night. She still has ups and downs with the pain level, but the doctors and nurses seem to constantly be on top of keeping her comfortable and that is wonderful.
Missy, along with both of my parents, will stay at the NIH until the end of the week. As far as we know she will continue to stay in the hospital during their entire stay, and my parents will continue to stay in the family lodge there on the NIH campus. I cannot tell you how great it was to be right there with her and to have this housing provided for free. The entire NIH complex was amazing. Everyone was so kind and helpful. It is hard to be so far away from home, where we have the support of so many of you all, but the NIH has done all they can to create the feeling of home for these families who have all traveled so far. It truly is an amazing place that I hope with all of my heart that none of you ever have to visit. Still, we are so thankful that they are here for us, and all the other families during these difficult times. It is always better together.
Missy, along with both of my parents, will stay at the NIH until the end of the week. As far as we know she will continue to stay in the hospital during their entire stay, and my parents will continue to stay in the family lodge there on the NIH campus. I cannot tell you how great it was to be right there with her and to have this housing provided for free. The entire NIH complex was amazing. Everyone was so kind and helpful. It is hard to be so far away from home, where we have the support of so many of you all, but the NIH has done all they can to create the feeling of home for these families who have all traveled so far. It truly is an amazing place that I hope with all of my heart that none of you ever have to visit. Still, we are so thankful that they are here for us, and all the other families during these difficult times. It is always better together.
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