Vorhies Christmas : Part 2

On Christmas Eve, after a nap I awoke to Nathan telling me our heater fan wasn't blowing out air, after the inital panic and a troubleshooting with an excellent hvac guy we went about our evening like, we had planned, THANK GOD! Complete with BoLings Chinese and driving around to see the lights in town. When we got home we set out Santa's cookies and egg nog and tucked the kids into bed. CHRISTMAS MORNING!! Santa came and brought Avery a Lalaloopsy and Ethan a video game. Ethan's Rescue Bots Avery's Bunny Even Hudson got to open something! The AFTERMATH:

Santa & Christmas Cookies!

We went to Bass Pro Shop for our yearly Santa picture. This year the kids were really excited to put in their wish with him, since we had an Elf this year named Leo! Ethan was very concerned about touching the elves that were helping the with the pics, he didn't want them to lose their magic! He also wanted to make sure touching Santa was okay too, didn't want to mess up the whole gifts thing. I assured him all was fine! The picture turned out HILARIOUS! and I posted it on my social media sites with the caption, None of them are impressed! haha This is one I took, At least E is smiling! While we waited in line, Ethan practiced shooting with a bow. Sunday before Xmas Eve we cut out cookies while Mae-Mae was here! The kids loved it! Ethan loved cutting out the stars, they were his favorite. Pre-baked Now time to decorate!! (and nibble) Final Products! Avery's final product:

Vorhies Christmas: Part 1

We started off our Christmas celebrations on Saturday 12.22.12, Nate's folks came down from Iowa and stayed until Monday afternoon. We made sugar cookies, Nate and his dad went on a hunting trip Sunday afternoon while we decorated cookies and drank lots of coffee ;) Sunday evening the kids got to open their presents from Mae Mae and Papa! They had brought down this huge target box and told the kids not to touch it or look inside it all weekend. So, when it was time to open it, they were beyond excited! Mae-mae had moved all the gifts out of the box and hidden them under a blanket so, when they opened the box, it was empty. Avery let out a huge sigh and threw her arms down in exasperation! priceless!!

Here's the box!
Princess Castle!!!
Matching Princesses!
Legos! mae-mae and pa-pa putting the princess castle together! We LOVE YOU!

Christmas Season 2012

We sent out two different Christmas Cards this year. My cousin Craig and his wife Shelley are trying to build up their photography business so, they took some photos of us for xmas cards. We ended up using the family photo for family cards and then did a cutesy one of the kids for friends.


The kids were so proud of helping with the tree!

Final Product! I will leave you with my favorite outtake;

First Snow of Winter 2012!

We had our first snowstorm this year! yay! It melted two days later but, we took advantage while it lasted! Luckily I had gotten both kids snow gear early this year because we are planning a trip to Minnesota in February. For the sole fact of playing in REAL snow! Lots of it!! Having grown up in Minnesota and Nate in Colorado, we definitely love snow and love to play in it! Here's some pics..
It's sad you can still see the grass:(
Ethan cheesin' Avery trapsing through the snow!
We miss you Snow! Come Back!!

Thanksgiving Pics

Yes, Thanksgiving is SO a month ago! But, here I am blogging about it! We traveled to Omaha, NE to have dinner with Nathan's family. His Aunt Dee makes a great spread for Turkey Day and we had fun visiting with Nate's folks and Grandma V.

Here is Nate's Mom: Rosanne and Dad: Steve with Grandma: Veva and the kiddos

Ethan and I cuddling
Avery Cheesin'
we drove from there to visit one of Nate's college buddies, Andy. He also lives in Omaha and has twin boys! we never met them, so we dropped in and met his fiancee as well! Avery had fun playing with Cameron and Griffin! Then onto Iowa to stay with Nate's parents. We brought Hudson with so he could walk the fields with Nathan and his dad. Here they are all dressed up. I think he looks so handsome in his hunting gear ;-) Ethan just happened to be matching!

Updates and vow to blog more..

Hey All! I have had a handful (or two) of people wonder what is going on? What is the latest on my brain. I just checked out my blog and I guess I did leave people hanging, not on a very positive note either. I am happy to report I am in a much more positive place with it all and shouldn't be a debbie downer this post :-)

About 5 days after my last post (11/12) I made a "note" in my iPhone of all the blessings I had received so, that I might be more grateful. Here is the list..

Blessings received

Texts
Phone Calls
Prayers
Gas Money from family in KC
Monetary gifts from family in KC
Monetary gift from ANONYMOUS
Job at Target (though short lived)
Mother in law- helped me reactivate my 31 consultant status
Commission from 31 sales
Opportunity to sell 31 at my MOPS Holiday Mart


As I said those were a snapshot in time of all the blessings poured out from above, from LOVE. The monetary gifts were soo important at the time because I was going to various doctor appts several times a week. Not to mention the gift of friends who watched one or both kids so I didn't have to drag them with. My husbands flexible job that allowed him to work from home and/or use PTO to fill in. I mean, I counted at one point and just in the month of October I had 20 copays- that's $400! So, I was mainly focusing and freaking out about the financial side of things when this list was written.

The following day, 11/13 I got a phone call from my Opthamologist. She was concerned because at my follow up appt I had told them my Neurologist said I had psuedo tumor cerebri and had to lose 100 lbs ASAP! My optho disagreed with this diagnosis and wanted a second opinion. Since the only way you can actually diagnose pseudo tumor is by doing a spinal tap! yowch! She called my Neuro office and they got me in the following day 11/14. I had two Neuro P.A's look at me and examine and pour over my scans. They ended up dropping the diagnosis and taking me off the glaucoma medicine! Hallelujah! They BOTH said if they hadn't known my history and why I was in the office they would not see anything. They were going to request an eye MRI but, said if my Optho rejected it they would not press it.. I have never heard back on scheduling that MRI. : )

So, that brings us to now.. I am currently taking Cabergoline twice a week, when I remember.. eek.. and to be honest, I DREAD it. It completely wipes me out for about 1-2 days following my dose. So, in a given week I have 2 normal days to get stuff done. It sucks! This is also the reason why I wasn't able to continue working at Target. I loved it there but, physically standing for 5-8 hour shifts combined with my medicine affects was unbearable. Coupled with the children being unhappy on my departure.. I decided the best thing for the family and MYSELF was to quit..That's another thing I have had to do is really listen to my body and take care of myself . I know before this it would be so easy to curse myself for being a whimp and trudge on, but now I KNOW the difference between feeling down and feeling like I need a break, its all a journey!...Overall I have heard from close friends that my demeanor is more cheerful so, I guess that is a positive too!

I go back for check-ups every 3 months for bloodwork with my endocrinologist and opthomologist and neuro. Although, I am in need of a new neurologist. I am not to impressed with my experience thus far.. I did request to push my MRI's to every 6 months instead of every 3. Since I despise being enclosed! My first bloodwork check is Feb 21. So, I will update more then.

I do want to use this blog more to post fun family stuff too so, I hope to be doing more of that in the new year! Thanks for all your prayers! I believe they really worked!!

Treatment Plan

I went to my endocrinologist today for a follow up on some bloodwork. Since he had no records because he's in a different hospital system. He said my prolactin is still elevated but my other hormones look fine, including my cortisol.

Then he told me he thinks my tumor is non-active. Meaning its not secreting anything and I have what's know as Stalk Syndrome. Basically the channel your hormones run back and forth on are being blocked by this tumor. Which is causing the prolactin levels to rise and the dopamine levels to plummet. It's good that none of my other hormones are wacky. I'm kinda confused by this news but, he said with this medicine I am going to take if the tumor was secreting it would shrink it. But he doesn't think that's the case.

So, I will be taking a pill 2x's a week to get my hormones back in balance and this will be long term.. As in Year to 3 years.. With 3 month check ins and bloodwork and MRI's to monitor
it all.

The medicine may be expensive he warned and if you know how stressed about $$ I've been. Well, it tipped me over the scale of stress. Coupled with
This new blessing of a job coming up.. I have nothing to wear to it and everyone wants or needs money. It's getting overwhelming. Trying to trust God but, it's hard when your spending hundreds of dollars on medical stuff and the emotional side of this whole thing is just crushing. One thing I hadn't shared is that I have to choose to have any more kids or treat my tumor. So basically this f'ing tumor is taking that choice from me! It's hard for me.. I try to be grateful for the two I have and so on but, I am angry about it stealing something from me. I also have to lose 100 lbs! On my own, it's just too much and my eye thing with my glaucoma medicine is just awful I should stop writing.. Getting more depressed. I am going to my third interview at Target and see how much this medicine is. :-(( I know there's good in here but it's just so much.. Bear with me while I process. Thanks!

It's all in my head, literally

It's been a while since I updated. I went to my Neuro last week and did some field sobriety tests -- as I am familiar with them.. (Walking a straight line, touching your nose etc) turns out that she thinks based on my papilledema diagnosis that I have what is called Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. This is confusing to some, so let me break it down.. Basically, my brain has a lot of pressure surrounding it which is causing my optic nerves to swell and that in turn causes headaches. Pseudo Tumor just means I am having tumor related symptoms with my eyes without a tumor. This is NOT related to my actual tumor on my pituitary gland.

This PTC is common in obese women of my childbearing age. So, in that sense it's related to my Pit Tumor ( which makes it hard to lose weight) I was advised to lose A LOT of weight to help lower the pressure in my head. For now I am on glaucoma medicine which is essentially a diuretic. It does help but, makes me very absentminded and forgetful.. It's frustrating for me. I talked to my nurse and she said it is a side effect although not the most common one to have.. Go figure! :)

My eye doc did a vision test and then said to stay on the meds and maybe even increase the dosage since I'm on the smallest dose. Apparently my GP wasn't comfortable prescribing this medicine for me so he gave me a low dose. I will do a follow up with them both in January and made need a spinal tap to check how high the pressure is. That freaks me out!!

So, this week I have one appt with my endocrinologist on Wed and hopefully with my current blood work he will be ready with a plan of action for shrinking this tumor (and my body) :-)

Thanks for keeping up with me! It's great to know people care! <3

Specialists because I'm special

I have a couple updates.. Thursday I went in to my Endocrinologist expecting some finality and a script for some meds to get this tumor docile. For something so small it sure it wreaking havoc on my body! Well, I should know by now to not expect anything-- that is a key to happiness.. Since my general physician and the rest of my team are all at College Park they can see and share labs, reports etc.. Well, this doc is at a specialty center at Shawnee Mission so he had no access to ANY of my info. He had a fax of my basic info but no bloodwork results etc.. Luckily, I carry my MRI report in my purse now all the time in case someone needs to see it. So he was able to make a copy of that but, needs to get some bloodwork done so he can see what all my hormones are doing. He also mentioned being concerned with my Adrenal gland which regulates and pumps Cortisol. So I have to take a pill the night before I go get blood drawn and fast for 8 hours. That appt is set up for Tuesday 30th @ 9:15am. Then I will go back to see him on Nov 7 for results and possibly more tests, but lets hope not!

Monday I meet with my Neurologist about my papilledema aka eye issue.. I have no idea what to expect there. All three doc so far think its unrelated to the tumor.. Who knows?

Tuesday I go back to the Ophthalmologist to do a field vision test. It check for any loss of vision as well as glaucoma and other tumors.. I will probably need someone to come with me since I suspect I will be dilated..

One more thing, my tumor is causing my body to have another period 8 days after my regular cycle ended. If it doesn't clear up by Monday I need to go back in to see Dr.W

That's all for now! I'm a mess, haven't had time to process much just moving from one thing to the next.. Trying to stay brave for the kids and keep busy. I have moments of the ugly cry when I'm alone.. Which is rare.. But I do love any messages people send me! It keeps me going strong. Love you all!

Stay in the now

I had a good day trying to stay focused on what's right in front of me. For instance my beautiful daughter who wants to show me her birthday cake for me ( magnets from the fridge) she serenades the birthday song to me complete with blowing out candles and "eating the cake together" then she says something that reminds me of my Oma who passed away around the time she was entering the world.. Your not full yet, you need to eat more, let me get you some! :-) precious moments I usually don't inhale and immerse myself in this stuff cause I'm too busy, too late and too tired. I even meditated this morning and it felt amazing. I am starting to really hear the voice within telling me things.. Some call it the Holy Spirit, some your instinct or conscious.. I just call it my intuitiveness- tapped in to something greater guiding me along..

Chocolate, Xanex & GOD

I decided to title this post Chocolate, Xanex & God is because they are things that I have used the past few weeks. I've faced a lot of possible diagnosis' and had more appointments and copays in the last few weeks than I would care to have had in the next few years! But amidst all this I have heard God telling to rely on Him. For Strength and comfort and for the amazing people in my life who have held my hand through this.. whether by calling, texting or face booking.. They have all reached my heart and softened it at the exact moment It could have gone another way!

This week we traveled to Red Oak, IA where my parents- in- law live to just spend some time. Nathan's mother and I went to this women's night at her church. They fed us and gave away door prizes, which Mom won one because of her "secret fold"!!:-) then they had a lady speaking on finding Joy in the everyday moments of life. She read a book called one thousand moments - I think? And she decided to test out this joy theory in her family. So she hid 500 pennies all over her house and when the kids came home that day they didn't notice even ONE! She has five kids!!! So the next day she told them to go around the house and find as many pennies as they could. The trick was- you had to yell out "thank you God for-----. Every time they found one. She said it was amazing the joy it brought them and now they never look at pennies the same way! All that said I had been thinking about that and how true it is, we tend to focus on and give more attention to the negative.. I do anyways! Because that's what I am familiar with I guess. I was driving to my biopsy appointment yesterday Nd I was nervous!! No idea what to expect. One of my best friends always listens to KLove radio. I will be honest here and say I don't even have it programmed in my station favs.. But I thought maybe I should flip to it and see if they have anything encouraging to give me.. I had been praying on the way and this song came on by Josh Wilson- never heard of him! I was just shocked yet, not really by the message and how perfect it was for my moment and circumstances.

Fast forward-- I get examined by my General Surgeon and he decides that I can wait on the biopsy as he thinks its related to the tumor and probably won't find anything unusual. How awesome! Yes I was annoyed I had to pay 20 to be told what I already had been saying to my GP. But, I am going to look at the positive! No surgery so far!!

I am on one medicine for my "inter cranial pressure" that makes me very forgetful and absentminded about weird simple things.. I go in Thursday to see my Endocrinologist about treatment for my tumor. Next Tuesday I have a vision field test to check for vision loss, glaucoma or other tumors.. Hopefully it's all related to the one and I can just take some meds.. Best case! I guess prayers needed now that my dr is smart about how to treat me and that I take well to this treatment. I hear some of the meds can make you feel pretty awful! My copays are adding up and I haven't even gotten a dr. Bill yet or know how much this med is but, one of my MOPS friends made a suggestion about doing a fundraiser to help us with all these medical expenses. Not sure when or how but it would be amazing. So that's the news for now... Praying for God to provide for us financially as well as emotionally! Love ya all!!!

One down, three to go!

I went in to see the ENT today about the new mass found on my MRI. He numbed my nose and ran a scope into it to check it out. He said its my Adenoids that are enlarged! Which is not too serious and he doesn't recommend removing them unless they obstruct my breathing.. Which they aren't. So, Finally some good news!! He said to check that off my list of scares :-)

So here are the things I have coming up: Monday morning I go in to get my Right Breast biopsied. They found a band of fibrous tissue and since my boobs are so large they can't see it as well as they would like. I tried to get out of it cause I thought it seemed unnecessary but Dr.Wright was adamant about it, so I succumbed.

Next Thursday I meet my endocrinologist to go over my treatment plan for my Pituitary Tumor.

And finally I will meet with my Neurologist in Nov to figure out the missing piece to the puzzle of my eyes. I also got a phone call today from the ophthalmologist requesting a field Test, which is used to detect tumors or glaucoma.

I will post as I get answers thanks for all the prayers, calls, texts and support!

Love!

MRI Results

You know its never good when you go into the doctor for results on ONE possible adenoma and they start the sentence saying, So we found a couple things... huh?! plural? Exsqueeze me? Baking Powder?

Yes, 2 things!! A. I have a micoadenoma on my Pituitary Gland. It is less than a cm big and I am scheduled to see an endocrinologist for treatment/ further testing next Thursday.

B. They noticed a mass that turned up on my MRI. It is larger than my tumor and it is yet another tumor!
So, this is pushed my PIT tumor to the backburner and now I am focusing on this lovely tumor. It is known in medical lingo as Nasopharyngeal Mass. If you google Nasopharyngeal every result comes up with carcinoma or cancer..

This is located in the same neigborhood as my Pit gland but, different area code. I am going to see an ENT tomorrow afternoon and from what I have read online. Seems like, the next steps for this bad boy are.. they will scope me through my nose, possible CT and biopsy. I am preparing myself for the worst possible outcome which is the "c" word. But, I did read it is easily treatable with chemo and radiation and much higher success rate in young women. But that is only if it is Malignant! So... I will find out more tomorrow.

Another fun thing I learned is my Optic Nerves are enlarged and I am now being squeezed in to see a neurologist. Meanwhile I am on a diuretic that should help ease the pressure on my eyes and headaches I have been having.

Add in the boob biopsy my GP is still adamant about and I have 4 issues and 4 different specialists I have to see. I went out and bought a notebook tonight so I could keep it all straight.

Will update more later. I am tired and need to just shut my brain off. Night!

R

MRI Experience

I had my first MRI last week and it was awful.. I mean, I survived and I'm still alive but, I had a major come to Jesus moment in that capsule.. I am already with Jesus but, we were re-enacting the Footprints poem! For Reals!! If you have never been, let me tell you about MY experience.. (please note: I do tend towards the dramatic side)

You go in there sans metal or bra in my case and there are two ladies, one who helps you..and one that is grumpy and sit behind the windowed wall.. Now that I think about it.. They stay behind the windowed wall while the machine is ON and I am on a table attracting magnets to me with no protection.. Weird. Anyways, so she asks if I have tattoos and I say yes, on my arm she says well it may heat up a bit.. WTH?.. Okaay? So I lay on a padded board after I put on my fancy hairnet and earplugs then she straps my head down with a belt and starts to pull this helmet down over my head which covers my whole head to about my shoulders. When this happens I abruptly say " Oh my God!" So she replies " Is that a good 'oh my god' or bad?" "Bad!bad!" I say.. Seriously?! So she asks if she should take it off? And of course immediately I say "yes! That would be great!" well obviously that is not an actual option because she tells me it is needed to take the images of my brain so I either need to buck up or reschedule and get some Valium before I come back. At this point I kinda knew it might be awful so I planned ahead and took a mild dose of anti anxiety medicine.. Obviously not helping so I took a deep breath like i was going to plunge into deep water, I summoned the strength of Jesus and okay, let's try it! I did not want to reschedule.. As I was anxious enough for results and answers and I wasn't gonna be the baby that walked out..

So they put the helmet on and gave me a button to push if I freaked out.. Then they rolled me into a tube and it covered me from my head to my waist. So I closed my eyes and breathed and prayed the whole time.. Meditate might be a better word but it helped!! I knew I could do this for 15-20 mins.. I did feel my tattoo heat up and I did get really thirsty.. Not sure if that's from the magnets or not but, it part of the story.. So, they rolled me out and scolded me on wiggling my feet then I asked if I could have a drink of water and she said no, you have to remain exactly as you are and gave me a shit to do the contrast images.. Of course I have the smallest most elusive veins.
They dug around my arms and let me mention I still had this iron man helmet on my head and I remember thinking.. This is my version of hell! I have had that thought one other time and it was on a canoe trip in the middle of a thunderstorm in a metal canoe and I was freezing and the canoe tipped and I got sucked into the current.. Yes, they are both hell like experiences for me!

I made it out of there with no button pressing and now I get to wait a week for results.. Argh! But I know that if I have this tumor I will have to go back in and do this again and again..

If you are one of the people who asked me how the MRI was and I answered Awful or horrible.. That is why! Not because my results were bad just cause I'm a claustrophobic lady!

Halloween Costumes 2012

My kids love Halloween, okay.. What kid doesn't? But Avery wants to see the "scary stuff" every time we go to Target! I'm pretty burnt out after how often we frequent Target.. So, they both have had their costumes picked out since this summer. Avery wanted to be "Rapunzel with the long hair" and Ethan wanted to be Mario. Well about two weeks ago I went over to my friend Alison's to help her pack and she was going to get rid of her sons too small Spider-Man costume. I took it home for Ethan since he likes to wear his costume from last year.. Bumblebee Transformer. I figured he would wear it around the house since his other one is ragged.. I've already busted out the sewing machine once on it! So.. When he saw the Spidey costume he was thrilled and declared that this was the costume he was gonna wear.. No more Mario!! Avery also changed her mind and was captivated by a witches broom and hat at target.. I couldn't pass it up since it was half the price of the Rapunzel costume! So here they are modeling their new choices!

Ethan's 5th Birthday Party..i'm a lil late posting oops

So, we had Ethan's 5th Birthday Party at Monkey Bizness here in Olathe. He decided he wanted to invite his whole class and pretty much every friend he had, so it worked out perfect that they allow up to 25 kids not including the birthday boy! The theme was Mario, of course. Mae-Mae and Papa came down from Iowa for the weekend and my great aunt, uncle, cousin and his wife were there too. My cousin Craig is starting a photography business so, he took some pictures for us! It was lots of fun! Now Avery can't stop talking about what she wants for her birthday party.. Oh boy!

Ethan is FIVE!

My oldest is FIVE. I cannot believe it. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that I was just pregnant with him, working at Sprint. Now I've been warped five years into the future! Ethan is such a clever boy. He has always wanted to know how things work (like his father) and he is such a sweetie. Loves animals and his little sister, Avery. He is such a protector and anytime anyone is sick he says "don't worry, I will take care of you" I thought it would be fun to look back on how he has changed over the last five years.



Newborn Ethan Oakley 8lbs 11oz 2/28/07


Ethan turns ONE!


Ethan is Two!


Ethan is Three!


Ethan is Four!


Ethan is FIVE!

Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!

It's been a while since I updated my blog or uploaded my camera for that matter. When I did, there was probably over a hundred photos of the puppies we fostered last month.

The most common question when I told people I was fostering puppies was:"Are you Crazy?!" followed up with "How did you get into that?" So, here are the answers..

If you know me, you know the answer to the first already, yes, slightly ;-)
I just have such a love for animals (I mean, show me a person who doesn't love a puppy and I will give you $10. Only $10 cause there are some WEIRD people out there..) I use to take in wayward people(that's another story), now its just adorable pets..

So, how I got into this. My good friend Toni has fostered several litters of puppies through a great animal gescue group in Kansas City called HALO. (Helping All Little Ones)I happened upon Facebook one evening and Toni had posted looking for help taking in this litter of four. She already had her hands full with another one and couldn't take it on herself. So, I thought to myself.."How hard could it be? They are just puppies and the kids would love it! It would give me something to do, maybe fix my baby fever, I'm so in!!"

Then, I had to text my husband. When he didn't respond I called him and his response? "I don't know...pause..are you asking me or telling me?" I decided the latter :-) If you know Nate, like I do, you know he will logically say no but once IN the situation he will love it! Boy was I right! So, I let Toni know I was IN! and she said.. "Are you sure? It's ALOT of work.. It's A LLOOOTTT of work."





Again my brain said "seriously, what's wrong with everyone? how hard can it be?! They are itty bitty puppies.. I got this!"

To give you the timeline: the facebook posting and messaging happened Friday night. I had the puppies mid-afternoon the next day. All four shih-tzus.

We got to name them, which was hard, like picking a baby's name! We got to play with them and ooh and ahh over them and of course clean up poop, bathe them DAILY and don't forget blow dry. By the time a week was up I was spent. I now knew that Toni was right. She was trying to send me a clue by repeating over and over.."it's a lot of work". I got it now.. Actually I got it the first day Nate went back to work. I was standing in the kitchen with four puppies, plus my own pup and two toddlers all whining or asking me for something. I thought my head was gonna explode. I did actually develop an eye twitch towards the end of the week. haha


But, the point is, It was so fun even though it was hella hard. I would do it again in a heartbeat! well, once the kids are older. I definitely got attached quickly and felt a loss when they left. But I did find out that all but one kept there names that we gave the. It makes me feel like they have a lil part of us with them still, Here are some highlight pics of their time with us. Enjoy!



This is Gus, the runt of the litter and Ethan's favorite

Tbis is Lola, who got adopted by a friend

Here is Ethan with Greta, the DIVA

Avery is holding Tebow

Hudson is playing with the girls

My sweet pup