Some Unexpected News

   So it's been a little while since my last blog posts from my original blog, Britsky's Battle, http://www.britskysbattle.blogspot.com/, so I thought it would be very therapeutic this time around to write some more about this next journey we are about to undertake.
    On May 13, 2009, I was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia), to mine and Joe's disbelief. We had only been married for 5 months and our whole world had been rocked. We were given some of the best doctors up at LDS Hospital who provided us with incredible care and worked so hard to get me into remission. After about a month of hospital stay, we were able to go home and to come up to the hospital as needed for treatment. We were surrounded by family and friends who offered the best support and were so willing to help us out with transportation and moral support.
    After 2 years of treatment, on June 28, 2011, I was deemed "Cancer-free" and was given the joyous news that I wouldn't be needing any more chemo. I was a free woman!! We were also given the go ahead to start a family, well after waiting for a year to let my body rest, so we were ecstatic. I was able to be "normal" again and to experience life without feeling tied down to the hospital. Joe and I celebrated!! We ran off to Disneyland!
    I went back to work at Heartland Elementary and eventually found my way back to Seagull Book (just can't stay away :) ). I proceeded to finish up my Bachelors degree at Utah Valley University and we also got the surprise of our life........ We were pregnant!!

 

    We were beside ourselves with joy! We didn't know if we were going to be able to have a baby after all of my chemos. He truly was a MIRACLE! I had a beautiful pregnancy! I loved every moment of it and feeling this little life in me was miraculous.



    So this little man ended up being my little life saver. At my 6 week check-up, I had a ultrasound to make sure my birth control placed correctly and the sonographer spotted something on my right ovary. We assumed at first that it was a cyst so they had me wait for a month to see if it would resolve itself. In the meantime, I had gone to my 2 year check-up at LDS Hospital and everything was looking good. I was a little anemic so they wanted to me to get a CBC (blood count) in about 2 weeks to see if my anemia would resolve itself as well. I didn't tell them about the mass at the time because my gynecologist wasn't too worried about it.   

    At my second ultrasound, a month later, the "cyst" had turned into a 7 cm mass. I could tell that the sonographer and my doctor were pretty concerned. He sent me to a specialist to see what he could make of it. During this time, I started getting immense pain down the right side of my body. It was more than likely due to mass pressing on my nerves. I was a mess. I went to my family doctor to see if he could help me out and he sent me to get an x-ray....... No help but thanks for the meds, doc. My OB/GYN got back to me during this time to set me up with a specialist . The specialist sent my to get a CT scan to see what he could see. Also during this time, my LDS Hospital doctors were trying to get ahold of me because they are seeing all of the testing going on. Plus they got a look at my new CBC counts.

    The same day the specialist broke the news to me that my Leukemia had more than likely  returned, my LDS Hospital doctors were calling me to come in to do some more testing. They wanted to do a bone marrow biopsy to see if the Leukemia was building up in my marrow again.

    Bad news..... it was. On Monday, July 22 we learned that my ALL was back and that I would be coming up to the hospital for some time. We were rocked. I was beside myself. What about my baby? What about my husband? Our new house? The bills? How are we going to tell our families? And why did this have to happen again?

    I know that Joe and I need to go through this for a reason. Right now we don't understand why, but I know that we will be okay. I am so grateful that we both have our sweet son that will give us some motivation to work hard. Grayson has been such an incredible blessing in our lives and I know that his timing in joining our family was divinely inspired. He is my motivation to stay as healthy and strong as I can so that I can continue to care for him. I am so grateful for our supportive friends and families who have immediately stepped in to help us. I know that the Lord is mindful of us and He has already given us so many tender mercies these last few days, which I will get into more later. But now, it is time for me to go to bed. :)