Guess Who's Home?!?! (:

This is day three post-op people, and Lee Lee came home today!!! How crazy is that?! Having BRAIN SURGERY and being discharged three days afterward. She is like Superwoman. No, she IS Superwoman (:

To keep the good news going, we were woken up this morning with the pathology report, and it turns out that the brain tumor is breast cancer metastasis to her head and not primary brain cancer. This is exciting because 1 We don't have to come up with another blog name & 2 more importantly, she will not need chemotherapy, just radiation. The tumor tested positive for progesterone and negative for estrogen, which is different than her original breast cancer (which tested negative for both) so that's throwing all of us for a loop, but we will figure it out next week when we go to the radiology app. There's also an appointment for her to get a PET scan next week which make sure that there are no more tumors in her body and that was the only one, fingers crossed.

I would like to send a big HUGE thank you to all of the visitors and texters and emailers and callers and all of you out there that take time out of your day to brighten ours. Words cannot describe how amazing it is to feel all the love and support being sent our way from you nice people all the way from California to Virginia. It feels like the world got dropped on our heads last week, and you guys are right here to help us pick it up and put it back together. That comfort that we're not alone in this shitty adventure, and that there are so many wonderful people out there to help us get through this makes it a whole lot less shitty. So, thank you thank you thank you thank you, and oh yeah, THANK YOU (:
-Lauren

Day 3!

Hello all you peeps! Meghan ( the wonderful author and creater of this blog) and my aunt Joy flew back to Virginia today, so now it's up to us! She set the bar high, but we're gonna try (: so here goes nothin'..
LeeLee has had a very productive day today, she went on two walks before 11:00! Afterwards, she met with her speech therapist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist. Her OT washed her hair, and it turns out that she is the daughter of a woman my mom worked with at Mesa until she passed away of Breast cancer 5 years ago, what a small world. Dr. Hemley, her neurosurgeon, came and visited today and she said that if my mom really wanted to, she could have even gone home today! How crazy is that, having brain surgery and two days later having the option of going home. She is doing so good (: Tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day as far as brain swelling goes so she wanted to stay in the hospital just in case, but with her nobody really knows! She is doing great and surprising all of us on a daily basis. We should get the pathology report back tomorrow and then we'll know if the tumor is a primary brain tumor or if it is a breast cancer metastasis, and fingers crossed it's breast cancer because otherwise we'd have to come up with another name for the blog! :) I'll keep you all posted!

Night number 2...

LeeLee is settling in to her new "temporary" home for the night. She is in the room at the end of the hall and has a beautiful view of the mountains outside of her room. She has had a busy day of therapy, visitors, MRI, and moving rooms. She is still doing FANTASTICALLY. doctor never came up to discuss the results of the MRI which the nurses say is probably a good sign. The nurse said that if the doctor saw something concerning that she would have came up to let LeeLee know. Lauren will be staying with her mama tonight so she will be well taken care of! This will probably be my last post since I will be leaving in the morning :(. BUT, don't fret, the coloradians will take the reigns and keep ALL of us updated. I'm so pleasantly shocked with how well LeeLee is doing. It's absolutely amazing to witness her grace and strength through all of this! Ok, I'm leaving so LeeLee can get her beauty sleep...we'll continue to keep you updated.

Watch out world...

She's up and walking at 10:30. Slow, small steps but she is very steady and very determined. She even asked the doctors, "so, do you want me to show you that I can walk without holding your hand?" and the doctor said "no babe, we'll take the training wheels off tomorrow." I'm sure he was liking holding such a pretty girl's hand :) So, she is doing very very well! Her cath is out now and they say she will be going to the regular neurological floor around 2 o'clock...YAY! We'll probably post again when she gets moved to the other floor, until then, she'll just SIT pretty in her chair. Visits from PT and OT are going to occupy her time for a little while but I'll keep you posted!

Oh What A Night

Oh what a night, late September and we're feeling right! Throughout the night LeeLee has been saying less and less her head hurts! As of 6:15 she says she isn't in pain or nauseated. she has had a bath, been to CT scan brushed her teeth and now waiting to get the catheter out. sometime later today she will go for a MRI. At various times during the night she has been asking stuff like "did somebody call (fill in the blank) and we assure her we called or text everyone we could. still a few to get in touch with today, but that's typical LeeLee making her list and checking it twice and would be horrified if we find we missed one single person. She looks like Herself, for those that can't imagine. There is one bandage small on the right side of her head half inch or so back from her hairline so she has been shaved a small area there to put in the drainage tube called a ventriculostomy. Her hairstyle probably isn't what she would normally do but is curling on her pillow. Her surgical bandage is running parallel to her spine and on the back of her neck so not really even visible. An icepack laying around her neck for muscle pain and a small grenade size clear drain coming out of her surgical site. No swollen eyes, face, hands, etc. She really does look just like LeeLee.

Nurse just left after removing the catheter so the plan now will be up to bedside commode while in ICU and later woohoo....undergarments. A typical LeeLee crack when the nurse offered to find some hospital underwear that was probably not so fun but definitely serve the purpose, LeeLee laughs and says "funderwear, no I brought mine and I will just wait for now".

I wish each of you could be here to see how great she looks, but until then, we will certainly share on this blog what we can. Until later

First nite post op

We arrived back after dinner and short break to find LeeLee awake, very alert, chatting and doing so well I would dance if movement didn't make her dizzy and nauseated! She admits she doesn't remember the time immediately post op, but of course that is totally expected. Erin and Joy are spending tonite in the ICU with her, but she is doing so well it's probably more for us than LeeLee! Vital signs are on target. Morphine and Zofran are maintaining some pain and neasea control and she is able to sleep reasonably well. Her RN mentioned a bit ago that some of the tubes (not all) will be coming out at six in the AM. Per Dr orders and that she will be getting out of bed to sit in a chair tomorrow.....all great normal strides post op, but seem even more heroic following brain surgery to remove brain cancer. Now we have to wait to find out what kind of cancer (or confirm if it's breast cancer metastasis) by weeks end. Thanks to all for the comments, thoughts, hugs, and prayers we have been blessed with today! LeeLee has so many wonderful, giving, and selfless friends, many of which were here today either in person or spirit.

She's blinking, squeezing fingers, and wiggling her toes. She is also talking some. She is still in recovery and will be heading to the ICU in about an hour. Praise GOD that she made it through surgery. We all know she has a long road ahead of her but so far, she is doing GREAT!

Surgery is over!!!

Our messenger guy just came out and said surgery was over. He requested that a couple of people go back into the consult room so the doctors could let them know how the surgery went. Lauren, Erin, Joy, and Clarence (lee lee's long-time friend) went back. I will update as soon as I know something.

Is that an update for us??

With every creek of the neurological wing door, we all turn in hopes of an update. We finally got one at 1:00. Unfortunately, all he could tell us was that they were still in surgery and she was still doing well. It's now 2:05, so she's been going through all of this for 5 hours and 40 minutes...she's a tough cookie! Keep the prayers coming if you can :)

Still waiting...

Ok so i'm a little behind on updating her progress thus far. At 8:45 one of the nurses came out and said they began surgery at 8:25. Then, at 10:17, they came back out and said they were starting "step 2". They said she was doing great (like any of us expect her to do any less - after all she is SUPER WOMAN)! Can't wait till they get that ugly MONSTER out of her! Shouldn't be too much longer now...

fingers crossed...

So, there are alot of us sitting here at Saint Mary's Hospital while our LeeLee is preparing for surgery (gowns, markers, MRIs, the whole sha-bang).  LeeLee woke up this morning from her 3-hour night of sleep in very good spirits.  She is so strong, and such an inspiration to all of us.  Although she was fluttering around getting ready for BRAIN SURGERY, she was still able to put curlers in her hair and make-up on your face.  She is going to be the most beautiful woman these surgeons have ever seen ;) 
The Nurse said they were hoping to start the surgery at 7:30 am and be finished by 12:45 pm.  HOWEVER, it is now 7:36 am and we just got a report that she is back there talking to the anesthesiologist.  So, looks like we are a little behind schedule.  We just watched a beautiful sunrise over Mount Garfield through the waiting room windows and what a beautiful reminder that we aren't in control of ANY of this. 
As, I was writing this, we just got word that we could come back one more time.  She is prepped and ready and is already getting sleepy (with the help of some medicine).  The surgeon told us she would keep us updated throughout the surgery so now we are all just waiting for the next word.  We will all breathe a little easier when she comes out of surgery so prayers are welcome.  One of us will try to keep everyone updated through this blog.  We love you so much LeeLee and will be so happy when this is all just a distant memory!

night before surgery...

After a tasty, FILLING dinner at red lobster including crab legs, shrimp, chicken fingers & french fries (guess who), shrimp, raw oysters, and more shrimp, LeeLee and some of her people are sitting at her house packing for the week at the hospital, watching tv, and taking a math test.  Although everyone is pretty anxious for 6:30 am, there is also a sense of "come-on 6:30 am, we're ready to start kicking this THING'S butt!" 
We are creating this blog to keep all of LeeLee's loved ones updated with her day-to-day progress as we enter this unwanted journey.  Once she has recovered from surgery, she will most-likely take this over to keep us informed through her own words.  I'm speaking for everyone when I say THANK YOU for all of you all's support through this.  It's so nice to have so many people who are truly there for you when you need them!  Please feel free to leave fun LeeLee stories and/or words of encouragment!  Remember...no drama ;)