Sunday, December 23, 2007

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you all have a very memorable Christmas! I hope your travels are safe, and Santa brings you lots of goodies, hehe. My Christmas wish may come true! I heard from Dr. Foster ( the surgeon from Creighton) last Friday. He looked over my most recent scans and consulted with another one of his partners. They agreed that they want to do a procedure to atleast take a look inside of me and possible do a major surgery to remove cancer, do the intraperitoneal chemo flush, whatever they can do depending on what they find inside me. So it could be a small procedure if they find too much they may not be able to do much of anything. If there is stuff they think they can remove to benefit me, they will do that and it will turn into a much more invasive surgery and more recovery time! I have to finish up some chemo for another month and a half and then I will have to take a month off of chemo before I can have the surgery. So it probably won't be until late February/early March. But this is what i have been hoping for. My biggest fear though is that they will get in there and not be able to do anything because the cancer is too invasive and not removable. But I will atleast know for sure at that point and not be unsure if the scans are showing accurately what is in there. So Yaa!!!

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I have a few more errands to run then it is time to get ready for Mass and off to the Lake we go to celebrate Christmas with my family! We celebrated today with the extended family and a bit last night with Doug's family. Let the festivities continue! I am so excited though to see the kids open there gifts tomorrow night then get in our pajamas and snuggle in, then wake up christmas morning to open santa's gifts and play all day in our PJ's! Ahhhh, it is going to be the best Christmas ever!!!!

Oh, someone asked about Ella's potty training alittle while ago! She is doing great, she isn't in underwear yet, but she is going more and more on the potty. At her new daycare, they ask frequently if anyone needs to go, and she is the first one to chime in and go. She had kind of forgotten about it for awhile but now she is back into going potty on the big girl potty both 1 and 2. So it is going well, we are so proud of her!

Well, I wanted to wish you all a very merry christmas, or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas! I will say a prayer tomorrow for all of my new found blog friends and family. I will thank God for bringing you all into my life to help me through this challenging time. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas to all... and to all a Good Night!!!! Shawndra

21 comments:

Paulette said...

Hey Shawndra,
May God richly bless you this Christmas, I pray you have an wesome Christmas!! I will continue to pray for great results with the scans the Dr's do. God is in control.
Thanks for the update I check on you everyday !!
You are not alone, I am here.
Blessings

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May all of your wishes and dreams come true. A friend of Jan V.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, Shawndra! It's wonderful that you are looking forward to 2008 with hope and joy and that your persistence and advocacy as a patient have paid off.

You, too, will be remembered in my prayers as a true blessing. Your approach to life and your faith were a gift to me this year; I discovered your blog during a difficult time in my life. Your blog family only reflects the light and love you shine on others.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine.

jg

Anonymous said...

DEAR SHAWNDRA
DOUG, ELLA AND EXTENDED FAMILY

WE WISH YOU THE BEST AND MOST FUN CHRISTMAS.

LAUGHT, SMILE, HUG AND KISS.

WE'VE ALREADY HAD OURS TONIGHT, SINCE MARCUS WILL BE ON CALL AND WE HAVE COMPANY.

ALL ARE SLEEPING.

I WILL CONTINUE WITH MY PRAYERS SO YOUR WISHES, AND ALL OURS, REGARDING YOU, WILL COME TRUE. WE'LL SEE YOU SMILING TO YOUR BABY AND HUSBAND, TO YOUR MOM AND DAD, AND YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL WILL GET EVEN CLOSER TO ALL OF YOU SO TO MAKE THIS FAMILY WISHES COME TRUE.

LOVE YOU ALL,

ROSWITA

Anonymous said...

Hi Shawndra,

I was so happy to read this entry, and hear the good news of the potential surgery! I know this is what you have been hoping and praying for, and I will pray that it is the answer we've all hoped for you to find.

You know that you are in my thoughts, and I hope you and Doug and Ella and all of your family have the merriest Christmas! I am so thankful to have found your blog, and although we've never met, I do consider you my friend, and pray for you daily.

Enjoy the holidays. Wishing you much love and happiness.

Prayers to you, my friend.

Michelle

Anonymous said...

I too am SO excited about the holidays! Mass this eve. then festivities and a movie (a tradition for us). Then tomorrow is the fun part.....watching the kids with their gifts! It is such a magical time of year. We are thankful for so many things, I hope that the magic of this season continues for you throughout the year and you are able to say "I DID IT". Have a wonderful time at the lake and tell everyone Merry Christmas. Maybe you will get to watch some snowfall while you are out there. Peace & Love

Anonymous said...

A Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you and your family! I am praying the new year brings the miracle you are praying for!
Enjoy the lake and family time~
Deb

Anonymous said...

Shawndra: Merry Christmas to you and your family. That is great news from the Doctor. What a wonderful Christmas gift. Enjoy the holidays.

Kellie in Ohio

Anonymous said...

Shawndra and Family, Have a wonderful time together this holiday and know that you are in our thoughts. You just never know sugar, that surgery might be the miracle you have been wanting. Like lots of people said before, no one knows for sure what the next day brings and what is in store for you. But I know, for you, there are many blessings to come. No one is more deserving that you and your family. Happy Holidays and we love you. Melodie Chrisman

Anonymous said...

Shawndra,

Merry Christmas!!! I know that is a huge relief to know that you have some answers coming to you in the near future. You will be in my prayers along with the surgeon that is willing to operate. I pray that God will guide his hands and work miracles through him.

Good luck with potty training!! She will be in panties before you know it and you will one day forget what it was like to change diapers :-)

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family. I think of you often and pray for you more. I hope you have the best of holidays!!! God Bless You!!

Anonymous said...

Shawndra,
Wishing you the Merriest Christmas yet, and the ABSOLUTE BEST in 2008!! You deserve it!
I will be sure to say a special prayer for you in church tonight!
God Bless you and your family!
Shelley

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas! You are such a great mom. I hope you have a fabulous celebration with all of your loved ones.
Meghan in RI

Anonymous said...

Shawndra-

Merry Christmas to you and your family! We hope your wishes come true! Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family! God Bless You!

The Mudge's

Anonymous said...

Shawndra,

What a blessing! Praise God! I pray that God has His will done. May He richly bless both you and your family.

Wishing you and your family a joyous Christmas and New Year.

Anonymous said...

MERRY CHRISTMAS BEAUCHAMPS AND TURNERS!

Anonymous said...

Shawndra
That is the best news!! I am so excited for you that I am smiling ear to ear...and I don't even "know" you, although I feel that i do since reading your blog for so long, tee hee! I pray that they will be able to remove the cancer during the surgery and that you have a very long time to be with your precious daughter.
On the potty training, that is great news! How old is Ella again? My son will be 2 in January and has NO clue or interest in the potty...all in due time I guess.
Merry Christmas!

Terraific said...

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas at the lake with your family. I am so happy for your good news and hope for the best results! I will pray that you can have a successful surgery and beat this cancer!! God Bless you and your family!

Terra

Unknown said...

Shawndra,
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I'll bet Ella enjoyed all the excitement. I'm sure it was lots of fun for all as you clearly have a close family who enjoys spending time together. I am very grateful that I have that as well. Christmas Eve is a new thing for us for the past couple of years though since I lost my Mom on Dec. 29th two years ago and we always spent it with her. So we just went out with our children to dinner (no time or energy to cook dinner since we got home from Vegas at 11 PM on the 23rd). It was quiet. But nice to be with my hubby and kids. Hubby's family lives in New Jersey and I'll save the story about my father for another day. So there's not a lot of options for filling the Christmas Eve void since my families individual families spend it with their immediate family and always have. But Christmas Day was very eventful. All 4 of my kids woke up here along with my daughters boyfriend (who plays for Mizzou and is in Dallas getting ready for the Cotton Bowl now). We had tons of presents to open and had breakfast together. Then we went to my Grandmother's house. It's my Mother's Mom who will be 85 in Feb. She cooked dinner and we all contributed. There were 23 of us there. We had a very good time. It ended kind of sad because several of us went to the cemetary at the end of the day to visit Mom's peaceful place. But I couldn't get through the day without somehow being close to the one who taught me all about how special Christmas is. We'll be back there on Sat. as it will be 2 yrs. since we lost her on that day (can't call it an anniversary as it sounds to celebratory). As I had mentioned before, she was only 59 and so full of life. And it just happened so fast that we all still really struggle with how and why this had to happen. So we keep her memory close.

I am so very glad to hear about the potential for surgery. I know how much you wanted this to be a possibility and I have prayed for this for you too. This brings newfound hope for you and for all of us who have grown to care about you. I've always said that I have a very good feeling about your situation. I can't put my finger on why it's so strong. But it's just there. I do understand your fears about what they will find and that is perfectly normal and to be expected. But knowing will bring you peace of mind. There's just something very scary about the unknown. And sometimes, good or bad, you'd really just rather know. But my prayers are for all good and I will have positive thoughts about the outcome flowing your way until that day arrives.

I hope you're doing well this week and that the holiday's didn't wear you out too much. I know that's a tall order as I'm sure exhaused. I had to work 10 hrs. today (I work 4-10's with Fri.-Sun. off) Yuck! But at least tomorrow is my last day of the week. I guess it's time to rest up for New Year's now. Although I haven't made any big plans yet. I hope you and Doug are planning something fun. Take care and God bless!
Leisa

Laura said...

Shawndra, that news is so exciting! I hope that everything goes as planned until then and that you can get some good news after the surgery. Thanks again for sharing your story online. You are ALWAYS an inspiration of living to me. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Anonymous said...

A Belated Merry Christmas! I'm sorry I have not been online since last week, so I am just now getting the good news - and it is the best gift I could have asked for too!!!
I was sorry to see Andrea's email about this week's chemo. I hope that you are resting well as I type. Hopefully, the remainder of this chemo will run more smoothly. I am anxious to hear more about the surgery and hope I can hear it from you live soon.
Take care of yourself. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas at the lake.

Love and Heating Pad Hugs, d