Merry Christmas

I saw this and it helped me get through our first Christmas without my sweet husband.


"Merry Christmas From Heaven... "I love you all dearly, now don't shed a tear, I'm spending my Christmas with Jesus this year."


I love you babe. 
We miss you!

Surgery

We went to the hospital about 7:00am on Wednesday.  Got checked in.  No one else was in the waiting room.  They took us back, just after a few minutes.  I got to put on the paper vacuum gown that regulates your temperature.  A little weird,  but it was nice to control it myself.  Hospitals are always so cold.  Soon two anesthesiologists came in, then three nurses, all asking me my name and DOB and my surgery history, etc.  Including me and my mom, there were seven people all in that tiny little room.  It took two tries to get a good IV going.  OK, that first one was painful!!  Not sure what happened, but there was a big bulge on my wrist.  Once that was done, we were just waiting on my surgeon.  He came a few minutes later and then I was being wheeled to the OR.  The nurses are always so sweet.   Got on the operating table and said a little goodbye to the rocks on my chest.  The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery.  The surgery took about two hours to take the expanders out and the silicone implants in.  No drains yay!!

This time around  recovery went much better.  I didn't feel so lightheaded and nauseous.  I could get up and walk slowly to the bathroom.  After just about an hour or so, we were headed to the hotel to rest.  I was able to lie down on my back and even on my side a little.  Such a difference from the first surgery.  The next morning I had a post-op appointment with my surgeon.  He took the bandages off and checked the incision sites.  "Looks good...come back in three weeks." 

I slept and rested for the first couple of days.  I started to feel queasy and lightheaded and actually still do.  But, I am not in pain and don't need to take the pain medication anymore.  The nausea patch they gave me makes my eyes very blurry.  Even as I am typing this, I can't see it very clearly.  Just trusting spellcheck and my typing skills at this point. 

I will continue to take it easy and no exercising for three weeks, when the stitches come out.  I feel very blessed that everything went so smoothly.  I appreciate all of your love and prayers.  I have felt them and know that your prayers helped me! Thank you!!

MYTHBUSTERS

Roman has seen every episode of Mythbusters at least five times.  So when I saw that Mythbusters would be in Eugene, I knew Roman would love tickets for his birthday.  So Saturday we went to the Hult Center in Eugene to see Jamie and Adam.  It was so fun!  We had a wonderful time.  Thanks to Ariela and the kids for meeting us and having dinner.  It was great to see you!!  Here are a few shots from the show......

 

"This was the best birthday EVER"............Roman

"It was amazing!  I will never forget it.".................Meg

 

Meg is 16

 

Meg's Favorite Things:

Doctor Who

Once Upon a Time

Phantom of the Opera

Les Miserables

Blue

French

Red Velvet cake

Italian food

Sushi

Listening to music

Dances

Drawing

Painting

Learning to drive

Hanging out with friends

Mutual

Service projects

Laughing

Playing Minecraft with Roman

Seminary

Boots and scarves

Rain

Photography

Beta fish-Napoleon

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEG!!

 

Roman is 11

Roman's favorite things:

Minecraft

Pokémon

Chess

Video games

Listening to audiobooks

Studio C

Rootbeer floats

Vanilla icecream

Science

Doing wheelies in his wheelchair

Playing with his friends

Laughing with Meg

Testing mom on her Pokémon knowledge

Scouts

Skyping with his cousins

Mythbusters

Eating grandma's doughnuts

Listening to music

Jumping on the trampoline

Wearing bowties and suspenders

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROMAN!!

 

Silicone vs. Saline

I have the next surgery date set for December 16th.  This surgery is to take out the expanders and to put in the implants.  My homework is to research and decide what sort of implant to use, silicone or saline?  Any thoughts?
  I also wanted to put a few pictures with me using the Coz "E" pillow that my mom made for me.  I am sure I will be using it again after this next surgery.  She made two of these for me, I used this blue one ALL the time!  I slept with it, sat with it and just snuggled with it.  It gives a lot of chest protection, it works great!  The other one she made is a bit smaller and skinnier, I used that one in the car to protect my chest from the seatbelt.  It is still in the car now and someone is always using it. 

             These are MUST HAVES if you or someone you know is going to have a mastectomy. 

My favorite way to use it.  Ahhh..I just might sleep with it tonight.

You can also use it this way.

Life with Roman

I tried to walk into his bedroom and was caught with a surprise.  I got all tangled up in string.  The second picture is Roman's reaction.

 The third picture is right before his 30-mile bike ride that he went on with the scouts.  We found out about it about one week prior.  So we tried to ride as much as we could to try and train him for it.  He was gone from 9:30 to 4:30 last Saturday.  He had an amazing time and even learned a few things about evergreens and cattails along the way.  He said he learned that he could do things that were really hard and that he could run faster than someone riding a bike (not too sure about that last one).  They stopped for a break along the way and he said he laid down on the pavement and he was so tired, it actually was comfortable.  Those boys worked hard and had a wonderful time.  Thank you to a wonderful scout leader who seems to know exactly what 10-11 year old boys love to do!

TOFW and TOFG

Meg and I went up to Portland for the Time Out for Women and Time Out for Girls conference.  Unfortunately, I started getting sick the day before we left, so I wasn't feeling great.  But, we still had a wonderful time with our friends and family that were there.  We were able to stay in a hotel close to the convention center, and they had a shuttle, so we didn't even have to walk in the rain.  At the convention center, the girls were upstairs in the ballroom and all the women were downstairs.  We had a great time.

We met John Bytheway! 

 



Saw some friends from our ward, while waiting in line to get autographs from GENTRI.

 

And of course, a picture with the singing trio GENTRI.  

 

It was so fun to be there with Meg.  It was also really fun to see her "fan-girl" side come out. 

Oh, how I love this girl of mine!!  

Veteran's Day Parade

We enjoyed watching the parade this morning.  Roman and his troop walked the 3-mile loop.

Things are busy, busy around here.  It seems that we are always running someone somewhere.  Meg has gone to Eugene tonight for a BE SMART devotional.  Friday we are going up to Portland for the Time Out for Women and the Time Out for Girls conference.  It is going to be awesome.  It is Meg's first time going, so I am so excited for her to have such a wonderful experience.  Another highlight is that John Bytheway is one of the speakers.  We have a lot of his talks on CDs and we are excited to get to see him, hear him and feel of the spirit in the room when he speaks.  Since it is sort of a "girls weekend" Roman will be having a sleepover at a friend's house.  Fun times all around for everyone. 

Yachats

We spent Friday and Saturday on the beach in Yachats, near Florence.  It was a beautiful weekend, hardly any wind at all.  It was so nice to see Dean and Kathie.  We really enjoyed spending some time with them.  Friday we searched tide pools, enjoyed the view of the ocean, ate dinner, watched a movie and the kids enjoyed the pool and hot tub.  Saturday morning we saw the Devil's Churn, Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head lighthouse.  After Dean and Kathie had to head to Scott's for the night, we decided to go to Sea Lion Caves.  We were a bit disappointed that there weren't any in the cave, but we did see some out in the water.  We also saw a whale!!  Well, to be honest we saw his back and the spray of water coming up.  But, I had not ever seen that before, so it was pretty cool.  Then we went to the beach and had our lunch.  The beach was gorgeous.  We had so much fun running around on the sand and drawing with our sticks.  There is something about the beach that is so rejuvenating and calming.  It was something that we definitely needed.  It was a great weekend!

                                                                Exploring the beach

                                                     A beautiful, stormy, rough ocean

                                                         So nice to see so many ferns!

                                                                At Devil's Churn

                                                       These trees are beautiful and creepy.

                                                       Roman having fun with the waves.

                                                          We love you grandma and grandpa!

Halloween

We love Halloween!  We went to our church trunk-r-treat, Meg helped run the "Fishing Pond" game for the little kids and Roman was busy wheeling around with his friends.  Afterwards, we took Roman and a friend for some real trick-r-treating in a neighborhood.  The boys had so much fun, they got spooked by a few houses, got loads of candy, and after about an hour were so tired of carrying their big bags of candy that they were passing up houses just to get to the car.  It was hilarious.  Meg and I walked the neighborhood with them and we were both wearing shoes that weren't that comfortable.  Meg actually ditched her shoes and just walked barefoot.  But, thankfully the rain held off until we were on our way home.  It was a great night.

                                           Wow--time flies by--Roman is an old man already

                                                                Meg-Tinkerbell

My two favorite people....my whole world

We are getting through this and not only that, we are living life with a smile.  I am so thankful to have my children.  They are everything to me and have helped me so much. Together, we can do anything! 

Families are forever and EVER

Another dear and precious member of our family is gone.  He was a wonderful man, so kind and always willing to do anything for anyone.  I am so thankful for forever families. I can now picture two Myler brothers in Heaven smiling, carefree and watching over their families.  Kent, you will truly be missed.  We love you!

Smallest park in the world

We took a little trip up to Portland to see Sally, who was there for a book conference.  It was GREAT to see her.  The kids swam in the pool and we got a chance to visit.  How did I get so lucky to have such a wonderful family?  On the way home we took a small detour to find a hidden gem.
YEP, this is what Guiness Book of World Records calls the "smallest park in the world"....at least we think it is.  Not sure what the definition of a park is, but hey, it was an adventure finding it in downtown Portland.  We may or may not have been illegally parked for just a few minutes while we ran the 1 1/2 blocks to get a photo. 

 

Rachelle---what can I say, but thank you a million times over.  You are an amazing sister and friend, I love you!!

Tumor Board

Tuesday morning the Tumor Board met with a team of doctors and discussed me and my diagnosis.  Both of my surgeons were there, along with radiologists, radiation docs, and a few others.  I got a call Wednesday morning from Dr. Schauer, my original surgeon.  He told me they were all happy with the treatment plan and felt that radiation was NOT necessary at this time.  YAY!  Also, I could stop taking the estrogen-blocker medicine that I have been on for the past three years.  This medicine is very bad on your bones, (I now have osteopenia), so to not have to take it is DOUBLE YAY!!  It obviously wasn't working at preventing the cancer from coming back.  So why take it??!?!

I am still going in every Monday to Dr. Christiansen to get 60cc of fluid on each side.  I think maybe one more fill up and that will be done.  Once the "desired size" is reached, I wait for a few months to do the implant surgery.  These expanders are very hard and tight.  They are stretching the skin and the muscles underneath.   Right now it feels like I have two rocks on my chest.   Kyle said it best..."it could be worse, it could feel like a porcupine on your chest."  ha ha ha ha---Yes, I believe that would be worse!!  I love you Kyle, you always make me laugh. 

I am still either jogging or walking everyday.  For the first few days after my fill-up, it is too painful to jog, so I walk.  But after that, I get back to jogging. 

Love to you all. 

Tragedy in our small town

5-week post mastectomy morning jog.....sort of

This was about right, but let me just say....it felt painful, but GREAT to be moving and to be ALIVE!

TOP TEN

Kristen's Top 10 Mastectomy Must Haves!

10. Lanyard with large safety pin to hold drains up and out of the way when "showering". (it's not a real shower until all the drains have been removed)

9.  Snacks.  Giant, cold, crispy, green grapes, Ritz crackers, pretzels and Graham crackers.  (all the medications have to be taken with food and food was the last thing you want...couldn't get enough of those grapes though.)

8.  Hydro-Flask (with straw lid) Ice cold water, water, water!

                        

7.  "Nurses Station".  It was so helpful to have a table close for all the medications, med tracking sheet, drain cups, drain tracking sheet, hand sanitizer, chapstick, lotion and more.  It was especially good the first week or two when you were up at 2am giving meds.  (Also helps to have 24/7 nurse to go along with that station.)

6.  Drain Pouch, Belly Band, Belly Band Holster, Tummy Tube....whater you want to call it, it was awesome.  It kept the drains and the long drain tubes contained and camoflauged.  Thanks mom for whipping those up!

You couldn't even tell that Kristen was packing 2 'grenade' drains her first Sunday back to church. 

5. Tank Top!  Stretchy, padded top, tank top. Kristen has been living in these babies 24/7 since her surgery. (Not being able to lift your arms makes changing your top tricky so you can't have sleeves and the padding offers a little protection from all the tight huggers)

4.  Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.....Enough said.  =)

3.  Soft under arm pillows.  These were especially nice week one and two.  Used them every day until the drains were removed. Thank you Trina for making these. They were awesome!

2.  The Coz'E' pillow.  This thing has been priceless! Thanks mom! (we are going to try to market these babies.)  Kristen has 2 of these pillows.  One for home and one for the car.  She pretty much had one of these in her hands ALL the time for the first 3 weeks.  The car Coz'E' is a little smaller and is used in the car to help protect her chest from the seatbelt.  It also allowed her to sleep more comfortably going to and from all the appointments in Eugene. I have to say I'm a little jealous of her Coz'E'.  (need to post a picture of how she uses it.)

   
1.  Recliner, Recliner, Recliner.  Even now, 1 month after surgery Kristen still sleeps in the recliner.  She's tried a few times to sleep in bed but can't get comfortable.  To go along with your recliner you need a  super soft blanket. It helps make long hours of laying in a chair more enjoyable.

Wetsuit

OK, I think I finally came up with a good description of how my skin feels.  It feels like I am wearing a wetsuit top.  Tight, a little heavy, and I don't have much sensation of my skin.  Going to both surgeons today.  I will get the sutures out and get more fluid put in.  It has been so nice to see and talk to so many friends.  Thank you all for your love and support.  Don't worry....we've got this!

 



Getting better everyday

Well it has been three weeks since surgery.  How do I put those weeks into words?  The first week I pretty much could not lift my arms up or away from my body very far.  Any movement was done slowly.  The pain medication makes me feel less pain, but more tired and groggy in my head.  So, I really did not want to take it if I didn't have to.  But, the first week, medication was a must.   Looking back on that first week now, it is funny on how much I really don't remember the details.  I do remember those who came to see me, but I probably could not tell you what we talked about.  Meg also got some new clothes those first few days after my surgery.  Now when I see her in something new, I ask her where she got it and she says, "remember mom....."  Ummmm nope... I don't really remember. 

 I have had a team of help all around me.  Mom takes care of all the meals and dishes, making sure everyone is fed, in addition to hundreds of other things she does daily.  Dad is busy canning grape juice, fixing boards in the deck, watering and many other duties.  Rachelle is my 24-hour on call nurse.  She gets me all my medication, tells me when its time to rest, washed my hair, emptied my drains, drives me to all my appointments, makes more appointments, runs the kids to their activities and basically does everything for me that I need help with.  It has been AWESOME to have her here.  She cheers me up when I am feeling down and I would not have wanted to do this without her.

I go once a week to the plastic surgeon to get more fluid into the expanders.  It is a weird sensation, but takes just a few minutes.  I can't feel the needle go into the port, but I do get a metallic taste in my mouth as he is putting the saline in.  The following two days my skin feels quite tight and tender.  Gentle hugs are all I can give right now.  I am able to lift my arms higher each day and reposition without too much difficulty.  Getting better everyday!  Next milestone...driving.

What is Usual?

We made an unscheduled trip to Eugene to see the doctor yesterday.  Don't worry, Kristen is fine.  She has been experiencing some new discomfort and had unusual swelling under her arms so we wanted to get it checked out.  Dr. Christiansen was great to work her into the schedule and was able to determine that all was ok and that it was normal amount of swelling and that it wasn't interfering with the spacers.  He also decided to add 60cc of saline to each spacer as well as remove approximately 20cc of fluid from behind the spacer on the right side and sent her on her way.  Kristen is taking it all like a champ!  We'll go back Monday to get stitches removed and possibly more saline. She also has an appointment with her other Surgeon on Monday.

Happy Birthday Babe...WE MISS YOU

BEST SHOWER EVER!!!

So, I realized last night I was a little behind on updates so here we go.... 

    Kristen is doing better and better each day.  She no longer takes the heavy pain medication and is down to Tylenol or Ibuprofen once or twice a day, usually in the evening. She's able to be up and doing things during the day but no heavy or moderate lifting and no raising her arms above shoulder height.  Her stamina is improving but still needs to rest periodically throughout the day.
   We went to her doctors appointment on Thursday.  Everything is going well.  He removed the last 2 drains and gave her the green light to shower.....but not until the next day so the holes where the drains came out could heal a little bit. Kristen might have been the first one in the shower Friday morning and when she came out said "that was the BEST shower EVER!"  I believe it! Not showering for 2 weeks would be tough.   Now that the drains are out they can start filling the spacers with saline in order to stretch the skin enough to put implants in.  I think they put in approximately 140cc at the time of surgery and added 60cc on each side at the last appointment and will continue adding over the next few months. There is a port at the top of each spacer where they insert the fluid with a BIG syringe.  Kris says she can't feel it, which is great because it is a BIG needle.
    The recliner is still doing it's job.  Kristen tried sleeping on a bed but isn't able to lift her chest up in order to get out of bed.  Once laying flat or even propped up with pillows she can't sit up without assistance so in order to be a little more independent she prefers the recliner.  She can get in and out of it without help.   I know she looks forward to the day when she can actually lay down, sleep on her side and then actually get out of bed without help.
    School started on Tuesday for Meg and Roman thus for Kristen as well.  =)
    Meg is in 10th grade and Roman is in 5th grade.  Meg also started Seminary and seems to love it.  She's in a class with alot of people she knew when they lived here before as well as making new friends.  Meg has her drivers permit and loves to "go driving".  I love spending that time with her.  She had a big day Saturday.  Started at 7:30am with a Ward Temple trip in Medford and ended with a Stake Barn Dance.  She had a blast doing both. Meg loves going to the Temple to do baptisms and loves to dance.
    Roman is working on his Webelo.  He is working on his fire building skills, planned for and prepared 2 dinners over the fire for all of us this week as well as doing part of the Fitness badge. (It's not called that anymore but I can't remember what it is now.)   Ranelle was here and was so great to help him with all of this.  Roman had a friend over yesterday for a sleepover.   They had fun playing in the river, trying to catch fish as they swam by with no luck but they did catch a frog. They also had fun with wheelchair races and pokeman.
   Kristen tried driving yesterday! That's BIG progress.....but decided she's not ready yet because she can't lift her arms high enough to turn the steering wheel.  I guess I get to keep my chauffeur job for a little longer.

 That's all for now.  Have a great day all!!  
 
 

Fight Song

 Kristen, Meg and Romans Family Anthem 2015!

 

 

Cuddle Time

    Kristen had her Dr appointment on Friday.  I think I have the road between Sutherlin and Eugene memorized.  I'm getting better at missing the bumps.  It's been fun to spend that time with Kristen, especially since she's felt a little better. 
    Dr. Christiansen checked everything and all is well.  Kristen is still packing 2 grenades.  He didn't remove the last 2 as he mentioned that he might during the last visit.  It wasn't a huge surprise though.  They are each still draining between 50-70cc's per day.  He doesn't like to take them out until they are less than 30cc per day.  If removed too early fluid can build up behind the spacers and cause more trouble than it's worth.  He described the process of removing fluid manually through the port on each spacer and having to rearrange a spacer that has flipped and it didn't sound like a good time. In fact it seemed like something to avoid completely.  We have a pretty good system for containing the drains and emptying them is a cinch so no need to rush it. 
   Even though the majority of the trips to Eugene are spent sitting in the car they still wipe Kristen out.  As soon as we get home it's time to tuck her back in to her trusty recliner. 

 

The kids love to cuddle (gently, very gently) and spend time with mom and are especially mindful of her when she's not feeling good. They are always checking in on her and asking if she needs anything.   The recliner has been great and is big enough for the 3 of them to watch tv or talk.  It's been good for all of them!!  

2 Down 2 To Go!

Kristen had an appointment with the Plastic Surgeon yesterday.  He said everything looks really good. He reviewed the drain log....
 I think I forgot to mention that Kristen had 4 drains inserted at time of surgery.  She has 2 tubes running from under each armpit and at the bottom of each tube is a bulb that looks like and is about the size of a hand grenade and has to be emptied 2 or 3 times a day or as needed.  The average output has been 20-30cc on 2 and 10-15cc in the other 2.  We have to record the output each time they are emptied so Dr Christiansen can tell how much fluid is draining.   It's ironic that everyone calls them grenades because we did have one "explode"......well it didn't really explode but it did leak everywhere.  =)  Mom made a couple belly bands (pouch) that hold the drains and allows Kristen to walk without drains dangling.  It's GREAT!
  At yesterdays appointment they determined that 2 drains could be removed.  It was wild watching this process.  The Dr simply snipped one of the sutures that held the drain tubes in, had a nurse on one side and Dr on the other and at the same time pulled.  Voila...out came the drain tubes. The tube inside her body was about 6-8" long.  They said it would sting/hurt for a few minutes but Kristen said it didn't hurt.  Felt like pulling a long splinter out. 

Kristen has another appointment this Friday and might be able to get the last 2 drains removed depending on how much they are draining. 

 

New Wheels

Someone got a new set of wheels this week!!!    Roman has been searching and wishing for a wheel chair for some time but hasn't found one in his budget.  G'ma happened across one at a garage sale this weekend and couldn't resist buying it, and boy did she make a certain 10yo very happy! 

He's been riding his wheelchair everywhere possible. Up and down the drive way, around the back deck, lucky for him the deck has a nice ramp.  He muscles his way up the mound in the back yard and enjoys the rush coming down. "Going up is super hard but coming down is a blast". Uncle Rex  showed him how to do wheelies but I'm not sure he's ready for that yet.   I asked him if things looked different from that level and he said "they actually do".  Roman has been so sweet with Kristen, when she's feeling up to it and wants some fresh air he takes her for little walks in the wheelchair, showing her all the new things he's discovered.  Little chores/errands have become a bit more fun for him. He jumps in that chair as often as he can.  It's fun to watch!  BEST $5 g'ma could have spent.