More good news... MILESTONE

I went to the radiologist for a couple of tests on Friday.

1. Mammogram: the technician couldn't find my lumps and had to refer to old mammogram to find the spot(s). Using the old (pre chemo) mammogram she did some high resolution, up- close shots in the appropriate places and still couldn't find anything.
2. Ultrasound of Breast: technician went over and over my breast looking and couldn't find the lumps, she found what she thought were the clips (put in to help locate the lumps during my biopsy) but wasn't sure. Dr. Leonard came in (he's the head breast guy - did my biopsy) and had a little trouble but found both clips.

Yay! Yippee! WhooHoo! I still have to have surgery BUT it will be MUCH less invasive.

Both surgeons agree to January 12 as the big day. UTMB operating rooms and hospital should be open by then. Mum is coming back to Galveston to take care of me! I can't thank her enough.

Thank you to all of you who sent prayers, good wishes and energies my way. That, and the chemotherapy, did more than could have been expected or wished for.

Thanks also to those of you who have been posting responses on this blog - I love 'em. They have really helped to make me feel connected, heard, and cared for. So many of you that I love have been here for me. Ain't the web great?!

I know I'm not done with this health issue/adventure. But a big milestone has been passed. I think of it like this: I beat the cancer and now all that is left is the cleanup (surgery, radiation, reconstruction) after the messy fight.

Good news? We'll see.

Went to the breast surgeon on Tuesday and she was only able to find the lump because she knew where it had been! This means I may (Note the use of the word MAY) be able to have a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy instead of a FULL MASTECTOMY!!!!! Dr. Silva scheduled me for some tests Friday morning to verify, so we'll see...
She also pulled in her husband who is a cardiologist and he will check on the status of my blood clots before the surgery. The big operation is scheduled for January 12.
Dr. Aristea says she can do my hysterectomy laperoscopicly, and now that I MIGHT be able to have a lumpectomy - looks like I'm going to get a easier time of it.
In school/work news: Central, my school, is almost certainly not reopening next year. Things are up in the air...

Good News from a Friend

Hi,

I just wanted to let everyone who might know her, Mauri Howell's (McLaughlin) had surgery in Dallas just before Thanksgiving for Stage I Breast Cancer. The surgery went well and the pathology report was excellent. No lymph node involvement and complete resection of the tumor. Her mother just returned to El Paso to meet with her Medical Oncologist to see if she will need radiation therapy. Selena and I were really, really happy for Mauri and her family. We will keep her in our thoughts and prayers that her recovery is uneventful.

I also have updated Selena's introduction to her blog. Her diagnosis is not Stage IIb or class iib as stated originally in the blog. It is Stage IIIa. Selena doesn't really care what the stage is, she says she's gonna beat it no matter what stage it is. Good girl!

Chris

Selena's School

Hi, So I am sorry for the confusion. Selena is back teaching but her school had to be combined with the other middle school in the city, Weiss. This year they had 'integrated' the schools again and so Weiss, the all White middle school, became 5th and 6th grade and Central Middle School, the Black and Hispanic Middle School (really for lack of a better term the ghetto school) became the 7th and 8th grade school. Central actually used to be the Black High School years ago. It has VERY strong ties to the Black community.

They bused kids to opposite sides of the island when school started. There was a big stink about it last year but the federal and state governments mandated it. When Hurricane IKE came along and flooded Selena's Central Middle School they put all the middle school kids together at Weiss. It has been crowded but it has worked OK. It is a little strange to see little 5th graders in school with the huge 8th graders.

Selena and I went up to Central on Friday and got some of her stuff out of her classroom. She did not stay in the school very long because the mold in the school is unbelievable. They did not clean the school out properly when it was first flooded and it smells worse than it did two weeks after the storm. I went in the school to get her cell phone right after the was opened and was it was not really that bad. Now there is mold growing all over the place and it smells terrible. Selena's room has been spared any type of damage but the halls and stairwells are terrible. The work in her room tired Selena out and she was only able to work a half day on Friday. I think she did really well and I am really proud of her. She worked four and half days after being off of chemo only one week.

Let's hope she can work all of this week. The GISD plan is to lay off 150 teachers because so many children did not return after the storm. I really hope she does not have to start looking for a new job. She will have her job until May or June I think if she is laid off. It will just be a pain to look for work again especially work that is so close to home. I hate for her to have to drive off the island because I fully expect gas prices to go up again soon. Gas isn't going to stay at $1.40 for too long.

Let it snow....

Here is a snowman someone made here in Galveston on Wednesday, December 10. It's not supposed to snow on a tropical island!

Selena has been doing really well. She has taught all week. Tomorrow is Friday, so it looks like she has made it through an entire week. We went to see Selena's OB/GYN Oncologist on Wednesday and it looks like the next phase in here treatment, surgery will be January 12. It will be the mastectomy and hysterectomy/oophrectomy (removal of ovaries). Recovery time is at least two weeks but the doctor said it could be as long as six weeks. Let's pray for the shorter time. She has already be out of work for a long time and they are starting to talk about layoffs at Galveston Independent School District where she teaches. They are also talking about not opening her school this year at all and possibly not even next year because of excessive mold and low attendance. This article was just in the GALVESTON DAILY NEWS today.

The roofers started working on our house today. Hurricane IKE tore up our roof completely so it will be nice to have the roof replaced and not have to worry about it leaking into the house every time it rains. The downside is that the heater is not working because they took they chimney off of the furnace for the night and covered that section of the roof with a tarp so we can't use the heater. It would build up too much carbon monoxide in the house. Our furnace won't even run without the chimney ventilating to the outside. That's a good safety feature. It is COLD inside the house tonight. Last time I checked it is 54 degrees inside the house. I have an oil space radiator next to Selena in the bedroom to keep her warm and she has several blankets. I hope she doesn't get sick from this.

School Days!

Selena started teaching today! Yep. That's right. She got home yesterday and is back at work today. This is her first day of teaching since three days before the storm September 10 and that was just a half day. TODAY she made it through the entire day!!! This is her first full day of teaching since last school year. She was really tired when she came home but she was in really good spirits. The kids were really happy to see her and she was really happy to see them. She heard rumors that Central Middle School will not open back up this school year at all. We will have to wait and see. Let's hope and pray that is not true.

She's Home!!!

Selena wore a mask all the way from Tampa, FL to Houston, TX to keep from catching anything in the airport or on the plane. She also gets pretty tired walking long distances because of the chemo so she had a skycap wheel her around. Doesn't she look cute!

Selena is back home now!!! I picked her up at Houston, Hobby Airport a little after 5pm today. She had a good flight. She had an aisle seat and no one sat next to her in the middle seat. Selena thinks it's because she looked scary with her mask on. Whatever it was, it made for a comfortable flight that was almost completely full. It is great to have her home. I worked all day to make sure that the house was in as good a shape as it could be considering it is still in demolition/construction mode.