As I suspected....

Monday was 4 weeks after my surgery. I got my blood tested on Monday, and got the results yesterday and my numbers have gone up from 1,904 to 2,600... which means I go in to get my first shot of Chemo today at 2:00pm.  I don't know a lot about how it's all going to go down.  But the plan is I will get a shot of Chemo every Wednesday until my numbers are down to zero and then for 2 weeks after that.  I am most happy to say that I don't have to travel 3 hours away each time to get it, I am able to do it all here.  At first they were telling me I would have to, but we got it worked out so I could do it here.  I still have to get my blood tested every week before my Chemo... so on Tuesdays I will be at the lab and on Wednesdays I will be at the hospital. 

The kind of Chemotherapy I will be receiving is called Methotrexate.  To my understanding it is fairly easy on the system compared to other types of Chemotherapy. This does not mean that I won't have any side effects from it, in fact I'm pretty sure that I will. Time will only tell how this will effect me. The doctor's keep assuring me that I should not lose my hair due to the lower dosage.  I would be a lot more nervous if I knew this was going to happen. But if I do, that just means that all of my sisters are going to have to shave their heads with me! 

Why are the levels going up?  How can it come back?
I read this on this site:
When the HCG levels drop then increase again it means that the molar pregnancy has grown from microscopic placental cells in the wall of the uterus to larger cells. These cells can act like a cancer, and metastasize (spread) to other organs, like the lungs, brain, bones, and vagina. Treatment for recurrent molar pregnancy, called gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, or GTN, in medical terms, usually consists of a chemotherapy medication called methotrexate. Fortunately, methotrexate is a pretty “easy” chemotherapy on the system, and can be given as an intramuscular shot.  
Patients can expect an almost 100% cure rate using chemotherapy.

The placental cells are hanging around and that is why my numbers are increasing.  Aren't I lucky?  Only about 20-30 percent of Molar Pregnancies turn into GTN and have to get chemo, and I get to be one of them! Craziness. 


I do wish that I did not have to have Chemo, but am glad that we are catching it now so it doesn't spread all over the place. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with understanding and compassionate people in my life.  I have felt so much support from my friends and family during all of this.  (I feel like a broken record... the end of my posts always end in a Thank-imony... but, deal with it!)  I will let you know how I feel and how it goes. 

Pagosa Springs

We took a little trip to Pagosa Springs, CO over the weekend.  We all had a blast. It was a gorgeous day in a beautiful place! It was nice to get away a little bit.

We also got to go to the Wildlife Park there and it was so neat to see the animals so close!
That poor Elk got in a fight with his water dish, and he was really mad that he couldn't get it off!

Just a quick update....

My blood test results came back and my hcg was measuring at 1,904.  My doctor is a little concerned at the fluctuation and that the numbers aren't decreasing faster.  If the numbers are still in the thousands for next Mondays blood test, than she will refer me to my Oncologist that is 3 hours away.  (which by the way I just looked up the definition and here it is...)
Oncology: the branch of medical science dealing with tumors, including the origin, development, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant neoplasms.
So that makes sense.   But, I am hoping that the extreme amount of blood flow I had was a boost to get out the rest of the tumor.  I am tired of having pregnant hormones without being pregnant! Thanks again for all the concern and prayers that have been sent this way, I have felt strength from that source.

Not quite out of the woods.

On Saturday evening around 5:00 pm, we all got back from a friends house and I started bleeding very badly.  I was passing clots and going through about 6 pads per hour. (actually, maybe this is TMI, but I ran out of pads and so I used Maiya's diapers... lol)  After my surgery my doctor had told me to call if I had any bleeding heavier than a heavy period.  I waited a couple hours, but it kept getting worse.  So after making a call to the Dr. we decided to go into the ER.  They checked my blood and found that my levels (which were at 2200 on Tuesday) had risen to 2400. Definitely not a good sign.

They also gave me an ultrasound to see if they could see that anything had grown back, but they couldn't see anything abnormal.   But, my bleeding had stopped, and my vitals were good, so they sent me home and told me to follow up with my Dr. on Monday.  Well, my Dr. isn't in today (or tomorrow) so I get to wait until Wednesday.  But I got my blood tested today, so they will be able to make sure that it is still up.

So anyways! Physically I really am feeling perfectly normal. Haven't had any bleeding since.  I am fully expecting to have to get a shot of chemo, I really would be surprised if I don't have to.  But I've known it was a possibility this whole time, so that doesn't actually scare me that much.  It's the bleeding that scares me, and that is gone for now.  (It does bother me that no one seems to have an explanation of why I bled so much... it could have been a clot that I was holding onto, but no one knows for sure.)  But mostly it's all just annoying... the waiting for answers, the poking and blood drawing, all of the Dr visits and lab visits.... it will be nice to maybe someday get some normalcy back in my life :)

I definitely need a vacation, but I have to wait for the answers before I can plan anything! But, as always I know the Lord is mindful of me and my family and will never cease to be amazed at all of the people who hold interest in our well-being.  I think people worry that I am hiding my true feelings or something, and yes, it hasn't exactly been  my first choice of how I would want to spend my time, but I have been promised through the Priesthood that I would feel peace throughout this entire process and I have felt nothing less.

Things that make me smile....

Taking the last clean spoon this morning and, because we are both too lazy to wash one, watching G eat his cereal with a giant serving spoon. 

My sons new obsession with Little Mermaid.  It is quite the pleasant switch from Spider-man and Transformers. 

My daughter's growing vocabulary and how she nods 'yes' with her whole body.

Our beautiful new home ( I know I haven't posted pictures yet, I seem to only remember when it is a mess, and I don't feel like cleaning it.) ....( and I can't figure out how to blot out the house number yet.)  But, we feel so blessed to have such a well taken care of home.

Seeing Jermaine Sellers from American Idol  "Rocks his Onesie."

The nice, sunny weather we've been having.

On a lighter note!

Thanks for all of my wonderful friends and followers.  It was nice to read all of your well wishes and comments on my last post.  I had 34 people who love me on that last post!  So nice :)

I am doing good.  My headaches have gotten better and I feel pretty close to normal.  I have been so spoiled with all of the meals that people have made for us.  I am actually going to have to make dinner all by myself tonight!  I wonder how much it costs for a personal chef.  Speaking of food, it is so nice to be able to eat a meal and not have to worry about it coming back up. I still feel a little nauseous every once in a while, but nothing like it was before... and I have medicine to help with that.

Last week the kids went over to a friends house while I was recovering, and they have a pet hamster.  Quincey calls him, "squirrel".  So here are some cute pics of my sweet kiddos.  I sure love them.  

 

 

Opposition in all things

It has been an event filled month for us here! I just got back from the hospital yesterday and I've been getting a lot of questions. So, I wanted to record this so that I could remember all of the details, and to answer questions.

I found out I was pregnant around Quincey's birthday.  Around the same time that we moved into our new house, I started having EXTREME morning sickness.  I was nauseous 24 hours a day and throwing up around 6-10 times a day. I also was aware that my belly was growing abnormally fast.  We were suspecting twins. We were worried though because I was having some spotting.

On friday morning (Feb. 19th). I woke up in a pool of blood.  I called my practitioner and she suggested I go in to the office to get my blood drawn to make sure that my hormone levels were decreasing.  That night I was still throwing up and feeling nauseous and I started passing huge blood clots.  I called my midwife on Saturday morning because I was still throwing up.  She got my blood test back and said my hcg hormone was abnormally high and so I had to go and get my blood tested again on Saturday.  They were suspecting either that I had been pregnant with twins and lost one of them or a molar pregnancy. 

On Sunday morning she called and said that my test came back and my hormone levels had gone up 75 % in just one day so they were pretty sure it was a molar pregnancy.  So, I packed my bag and went into the ER.  I got an ultrasound which confirmed that there was no fetal tissue and that it was a complete molar pregnancy.  If you aren't sure what that is you can read about it here.  But basically, there was a defect with the fertilized egg and  it produces the placental tissue which forms a tumor full of grape like clusters inside the uterus. 

The treatment is a D&C, but my doctor said that I was high risk for complications in the surgery for 2 reasons one because my hormone levels were so high (a normal pregnancy would have been around 100,000 or 200,000 and my levels were 1,570,000) and two because my uterus was so large (it was the size of a 4 month pregnancy).  She was afraid that they wouldn't be able to stop the bleeding and they weren't as equipped to handle that at the hospital here.  So, I got to go on a 40 minute airplane ride and was transferred to a hospital that is a 3 hour drive away.  Geren drove and met me there. My surgery was on Monday.  It went well.  She removed a liter of blood and material.  They didn't give me a transfusion but I am really low on blood, so I am taking 9 iron pills a day to try and build my blood supply back up, which takes about 3 months. 

Geren got the pathology results back today and it is cancer-free.... so that is good.  I'm told that the most important part of this disease is the follow up because it can come back and it can spread.  If it does come back I will have to get Chemotherapy.  So, I have to get my blood tested monthly for the next year to make sure the pregnancy hormone stays at 0.  Which is also why I can't get pregnant for at least a year. 

So that should be about it!!!  We are sad about everything that has happened but so thankful that the surgery went well and that things seem to be on the way up.  I am excited to not feel nauseous anymore.  I still feel pretty weak from all of the blood loss and I've been having really bad headaches.  I missed my kids and was really excited to see them again. They were excited to see us again too.  I also feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who have stepped in and helped us.  I am thankful for all of the prayers.  I know that the Lord is mindful of our family and have felt His presence throughout this whole experience.