![A Bedazzled [kind of] Life](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FlzDB9Cjy84/UySxicm1ftI/AAAAAAAAFF4/ir-7GpkXWM8/s1600/BLANK.png)
Special guest post by Melissa...
Our pregnancy was planned. We did
all the “right things’. We earned our
degrees, bought our home, threw ourselves into our careers, and traveled as
much as possible. With sacrifice and
hard work, we made it. And I can honestly
say now that our family is exactly where we want to be. It
may look easy. It surely was not. And we know the truth.
I am a nurse in a pediatric intensive care unit, so having children for
me was a very scary thing. When everyone
else wanted to know the sex, I just wanted to know that there were 4 chambers
in the heart.
I loved being pregnant. There was
just something surreal about housing another human. I was terrified until the anatomy scan. Sometimes I guess ignorance is bliss. Knowing too much has been scary, but also
really helpful. Anyhow, at 20 weeks
everything checked out. There was no
“it’s a boy” or “it’s a girl”. It was
even more exciting. “Here’s the right
ventricular outflow track, and the left.
The heart is on the correct side of the body. Kidneys, yes there are two. And there is skin over the spine. Etc.”
Now we could go order the nursery furniture and feel the baby kick and
plan our lives without a car in the world.
Until week 22 when Chris had to have surgery to remove a nodule in his
neck that we noticed. And then came week
26 when the ENT guy had us in his office and said cancer. WTF.
Excuse me? This was not in my
Type A plan.
For 15 days all we knew was lymphoma.
We didn’t know which type, there are more then 30. I was happily pregnant and on the ground
sobbing. I wrote down everything we did
those 2 weeks. Lame things like ‘went to
Lowe’s” since I was so scared that every time could be the last time.
Thankfully we learned the diagnosis had a 95 % cure rate. Awesome.
We were so thankful for chemo.
“Cancer lite” as Chris began to call it to make it seem like no big
deal, to help keep his pregnant emotional mess of a wife together.
He never needed the chemo. We
asked for another pathologist to review our slides. I mean the first were read by the best guy in
PA, at The University of Penn, but for shits and giggles, let’s just get
another opinion.
We now go to The National Institute of Health every few months . As it turns out, the Epstein Barr Virus, you
know the one that causes mono, can appear as a form of lymphoma on slides. Which means NO CANCER! Apparently it never was. Whew, what a relief and also a fright since
we don’t know what to expect next. So,
now the NIH closely monitors him with blood work and CT scans and PET scans to
be certain that it is just EBV and not Lymphoma as originally thought.
At each follow up, we are in Bethesda a day and a half. Our appointment begins at 7 am and ends
finally at 3 pm where we hope to hear, everything is fine, see you in a few
months. The waiting in the middle of the
day is the worst. We sit in the
cafeteria and Chris generally is quiet or focus’ on not being there (to say he
hates hospitals in an understatement).
And I sit in the cafeteria typically fighting back tears because I think
he thinks we will get bad news and that’s why he’s quiet.
Needless to say, lymphoma or not, I love this man. And need him every day. Our daughter does too. We have be so fortunate to now have the team
at The National Institute of Health on his case. I have decided to make it my mission to raise
money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for all of those people that have
not had our luck, and also for us just in case.
So back to how I began. We had the good fortune of having the rug pulled out from under us. And what it has done has brought us closer
together, and has also made us 100 % confident in the lifestyle that we have
chosen.
Our daughter is now 16 months.
And a complete delight. I will
run a half marathon in November to raise awareness and funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and to challenge myself and honor my husband. Please make a donation if you are able. Or complete a fundraiser in our honor.
Since I will run 13 miles, I leave you with this, which is only fitting
given our dreams…13 travel tips with a child <13 months and my 13 reasons to
run.
When traveling with a child:
1. Always rent a house or a suite. A baby in one room with you and the tv and
the phone is not a good time. Vrbo.com
is good site
2. If flying, choose flights
that do not interfere with bedtime
3. Inside the airport take the baby in the
ergo (you can walk through security with baby undisturbed, unlike the stroller)
and also take 2 bags ( 1 bag for under seat and 1 for over…toys, diapers,
wipes, snacks, a shirt for you, and outfit for baby)
4. At the curbside, check
EVERYTHING else
5. If flying out of Philadelphia, use Winner Car Service,
trust me…it’s basically a valet service so you cannot fuss with car seats and
such at drop off or even better at pick up
6. Don’t forget to pack the sound
machine
7. Consider rentals for baby gear where you are going (in Venice, FL
we rented a Jumparoo for 2 bucks a day)
8. The Graco Travel Pack 'N Play is
lightweight
9. Have diapers shipped to your location or pack in car seat
travel bag if you are taking a car seat (again check at curbside)
10. Locate
hospitals and grocery stores before you go and take Benadryl and Tylenol in
your carry on
11. Have fun
12. Don’t overplan, be flexible, stick with your
child’s home routine as much as possible and you will thank yourself in the
end
13. Bring a sitter, overlap vaca with friends, invite grandma, etc…after
all it is vacation and parents could surely use a dinner alone
My reasons to run include: awareness promotion, self challenge, research
money, self energy, weight loss, pride, an example for our daughter, strength
physical and emotional, focus, dedication to the run and my husband, fun in a
group, a new hobby, and a stress reliever.
Ways to donate:
