Updates in the Life of a Busy Kat

Wow, hard to believe that its been 2 weeks since my surgery and it's been a slow recovery. I have an appointment today to follow up with my OB to see how things are progressing. What can I say some days are better than others and then there are those days where you quite literally feel like you've been hit by a steam engine.

Now that Spring Break is officially over for us and it's back to the final weeks of school there is so much coming up. I am hoping,(fingers crossed), that I can get to Border's Books in Rancho Cucamonga at Victoria Gardens to meet one of my favorite authors for a book signing. It's Joyce Meyers and I've got a couple of books I would be honored to have her personalize just for me as well as have my picture taken. For blogging reasons of course! It's expected to rain today so that always makes me happy.

We have my nephew here with us for another week, while my brother is flying to New York to see the season opener game between the Yankees and the Angels. You definitely don't see that every day. So it's been our pleasure to really work in both of their lives in different ways over these past three weeks.

On a side note, I am thrilled that Phil Mickelson won the Master's championship in golf and dedicated the entire game to his wife Amy who has been battling breast cancer this past year. You just don't see great guys who love their wives so publicly like this man. Both Steve and I were crying. Love that man! Phil and Amy, we are praying that she will beat this and be on the road to recovery in no time.

The Kat is Back!

Well kinda of any way. I've been pre-posting a lot of book reviews, CD and DVD's in my blogging absence and while trying to recover. So many of you were thinking I was up and about already back to blogging. Mentally I am but physically not quite there yet.

Steve was super great when I begged asked him to update my blog while he was waiting. I had a chance today to review all your wonderful comments and well wishes and have to say Thank you even though it seems so soft. I want to scream it from the heavens. It's funny when you have those missing hours of your life where you don't know what is going on and then to look back at Steve's blog and see WOW that is where all the time went.

Here's an update:

I went into surgery feeling tired of not sleeping well the night before, not due to anxiety but because I was afraid we'd over sleep or the alarm wasn't set that I'd miss my surgery. So every so often I would wake up and ask poor Steve what time it was. Turns out it was almost every hour on the hour til we had to get up.

I went with absolutely no anxiety or stress that whole morning. No real worries at all. I kept praying that every time I would feel it come, that God would whisk it away.

We got to the hospital at 5am and I was taken in to PreOp at 5:30am. They run through all your paperwork, have you get in your hospital gown, cover your head and feet with these wonderful blue paper things and go to the restroom one final time. I was then given some warm comfy blankets and the remote to the TV if I wanted to view it while I waited. At 7:15am, my doctor arrived and asked how breakfast was, and I responded that my pain meds at 12am were wonderful!

He said he was waiting for my anesthesiologist to arrive and we should be ready in about 10 minutes. I got to meet my OR nurse Bonnie who was super nice. At 7:30am my anesthesiologist arrived and had me sign a consent form and told me I would be given all my drugs in the OR!

So they wheeled me down the hall, I said good bye to Steve and asked him to journal my time, (what a blogger huh?) and they wheeled me just a few doors down into a icy cold blue OR. WOW TV really doesn't do these rooms justice. They are like 5 times the size you see on TV in real life.

Everyone said Hi and told me I needed to get on the OR table. I joked and said this would be my first Olympic Event, the OR table jump, and then said, Now I understand why you get the heated blankets, its super cold in here.

They covered me up and my anesthesiologist said, now come the drugs, and I said just make sure I don't remember anything and feel no pain. I don't remember anything until I woke up in the Recovery Room feeling like I was cut in half and I could hardly talk. I had an oxygen mask over my face and was trying to wake up and speak loud enough for the nurse to hear me say PAIN! It was the only thought I could get out of my head. I was shaking uncontrollably and she said she was going to give me something to make that stop.

I just kept saying Pain, and she said, she wouldn't be able to give me anything else for 10 minutes so I had to be patient. She said they were trying to get me out of the Recovery Area and up to my room so I could feel much better.

Shortly after that, I remember them bringing me into my room (private thanks Jesus) and asking if I could move to the other bed, I told them No, so they moved me onto the regular bed and took away my other sheets and gave me more warm blankets.

At that point my room nurse came in and hooked up my IV and pain meds so I could administer them as I needed every 10 minutes (thanks Jesus). They told me where I was and what to do if I needed anything.

I didn't realize I would receive a catheter to help me in this process and was the first question I asked was when that could go. I was told tomorrow morning. Nice!

At that point my brother came in, and set down some flowers he brought and asked how I was feeling. I told him not well, in a lot of pain, and that I had made it! When he saw my pain meds he joked if he could have some too! I told him, I was going to be selfish and not share.

Steve then joined us at that point where I learned all the details of what I had missed. That the doctor did find that my uterus was movable and therefore should be easy to take out, but later found out that is was really infected and disintegrating on the back side which no one could have seen. Not only that but the left ovary was covered with a cyst and completely encased with endometrial tissue that is bound itself to anything and everything it could including my colon and bladder. It was at this point during surgery that he was asked by the attending doctor and nurses if he was going to open me up for the typical hysterectomy and he said No he wanted to go slow and try it this way first.

It turned out it took much longer but he was able to complete this surgery laproscopicly which meant no stitches and I was just derma bonded with glue in three places on my abdomen. I do have stitches on the inside where I had my uterus removed but other than they he felt I should keep my right ovary since in time when menopause came it would take care of any other issues with the possibility of cysts or tissue on that ovary. It was fine except for a small cyst. (Thanks Jesus again!)

I spent the next 23 hours recovering with some great nurses and a wonderful hospital that catered to all my needs. At 12:30pm I was wheeled out of the hospital and headed home on a drive I knew would really test my ability to endure.

It was the roughness of the roads in the mini-van I had chosen to rent thinking it would offer me a much smoother ride, but it didn't. I was able to recline back because my waist was still bent with my legs having to sit up so high on these seats. They were too high.

Not only that after riding in these types of rough roads and freeways out here,( let me tell you that Obama and our governor are not spending the money on repairing out here in California), for almost 2 hours I felt every bump and rough spot in my stomach like an over inflated water balloon.

On top of that, my bladder was so full from the catheter that I had to go to the bathroom so bad I think my eyes were bulging from my head. I seriously could not get home fast enough. That is where Steve got the brunt of what I was feeling. I mean did he seriously know how much pain I was in, despite tears pouring down my face and sobbing. I could not get out of the van fast enough and could not pull myself out of the van because we were parked on an incline on the driveway so gravity was pulling me to the seat and I wanted OUT!

Once I got to the bathroom and upstairs in bed, and completely loaded up on pain meds, I was much better. I think I even apologized to Steve but honestly he really had no idea how much pain I was in, and he moved even slowly to accommodate my needs to get in bed.

Ah but after 2 full days of being home, I am better in some areas and not so much in others. I still feel like I could rip open my tears in my stomach just by getting in and out of bed. That is still my biggest challenge. Showers take their toll on me too and wear me out. No one likes going to bed with wet hair. So I have to at least dry it.

So now that you have all got my side of things, I need to say thanks! Thanks to all those wonderful prayers that kept me covered in God's protection and comfort because I was never afraid of anything. I am thankful I got my private room, great nurses, pain meds on request, and a short time in the hospital as well as laproscopic surgery even though it really tested my doctor.

I even joked when he came to see me, and he asked if my hubby had told me how difficult this surgery was, my comment to him was, "Didn't you say you like challenges?" The look on his face was priceless because you could see that this was more difficult than anything he ever wanted to experience. I just chalk that up to my prayer with my doctor prior to surgery. Even though he said it would be OK, I asked if we could pray anyway. We did, and God answered. Yes, without a doubt, God does answer each and every prayer!

One last piece of news is my book giveaway winners for book pack one and two are:

Anne Phamilyblog won book pack number 1
Alleluiabelle at Humble As I Go won book pack number 2.

Congratulations to all my wonderful winners and may God receive all the glory from all of this. Praise God to the Highest! Hallelujah!

Off To Surgery!

I wanted to take this time to say good bye to all of you until I get home from my surgery. I have received so many emails and prayers today that have really made my day and made me less anxious. I'm sorry I haven't had to chance to stop by today and read your blogs or leave comments as I'm trying to get everything ready for tomorrow's surgery. Trust me, I promise to be back!

We leave at 3:30am tomorrow morning and my surgery for a hysterectomy is scheduled for 7:15am. I have asked Steve to update my blog as soon as he hears from the doctor so watch for an update from him sometime around 12 noon tomorrow I would guess if not sooner.

He is taking his laptop with him so he has promised to update when he can. I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers and warm thoughts during this whole duration and God was gracious in allowing me to talk to Loren from The Magoos News today and I got the opportunity to pray with Lisa Shaw from Sharing Life with Lisa. Thank you ladies it was well worth my day just to get the chance to do this!

Let me tell you both of them had me in tears but happy ones to be assured. I feel nothing but love from my family and friends in the blogging world as well as the ones nearest me. I am looking forward to awaking tomorrow with no pain and to be at home recovering on Friday.

Until I am back up and blogging again, I have preset my blog for some DVD's, CD's and books I have read so you can see some amazing stuff that is coming soon for Easter! I love you all and I place my whole life, my soul, my spirit, my will and my heart in God's hands! Let His will be done in all of this! My trust and focus remain with God!

The Countdown Begins... and Some Winners Are

I just wanted to let you all know that I passed stage 3 of 5 in my road to surgery and so the hard part remains, the surgery and recovery. I took all my tests yesterday and was there for about 2 1/2 hours.

I had to have 4 vials of blood drawn, a urine test, EKG and Chest XRay completed and sign all my paperwork, so I basically just show up on Thursday morning and I am ready to go. No delays.

I already have my prescription for post op pain meds and making sure that is filled prior to me coming home. So I leave here at 3:30am on Thursday morning to make it to the hospital by 5am for post op stuff. My surgery is set for 7:15am and the doctor told me it should only take about 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours to complete.

Then I sit in recovery for a couple hours before they take me to my room. If things go as planned I will be heading home after a brief overnight stay and should be home by Friday afternoon. I explained I do better recovering at home than by being in a hospital so when he feels comfortable discharging me, I am out of there.

The good thing is that my meds are being administered by hand pump which means I control my pain medication instead of having to wait for a nurse to come around. Steve will be with me and should update my blog when he knows anything. Please continue to your prayers for the following:

• Rest the night prior to surgery

• Surgery starts on time

• Surgery goes smoothly with no complications to prevent it from not being completed laproscopicly

• I can get to a room to recover quickly

• I don't get sick from any of the medications

• I can get a private room.

• I can leave first thing Friday morning and be pain free with no complications from surgery!

Thank you in advance for all your heartfelt prayers, words of encouragement, support and well wishes. I hope to be talking to you all soon.



Now for the winners of the Heart of My Heart Book Giveaway and the three lucky winners chosen at random by Steve are:

Beth at At His Feet

Sara at Splashin Glory

Christy Rose at The Secret Life of An American Wife and Mom

Ladies, please forward me your mailing addresses and remember No P.O. Boxes or out of the country addresses except for Canada!

There is still a chance to win one of two giveaway book sets and that drawing will end on Saturday March 27th. I will also be launching another great book giveaway later today so watch for this one. It's another don't want to miss! Remember if you don't enter, you can't win!

The Latest Winner is...

Good Tuesday Morning to everyone in the blogging community!

I hope this post as you stop by finds all of you enjoying the pre-spring days that are coming your ways. The signs of Spring are beginning to show with blossoms on the trees around our neighborhood and flowers just waiting to burst forth to show us the colors God has in mind for us this year. I also wanted to remind all of you about my poll on the top right I would love to get your input on if you could take a moment.

We are living with mild temperatures today, topped off with brilliant, blue, cloudless skies. I am a little more than a week out from my surgery scheduled next week and at this point looking forward to it. I've been in such pain this week, taking about 2 pain pills every 4-6 hours and hopefully dealing with the last cycle, which is why the pain is so severe. It definitely has not been fun. I've have been getting absolutely zero sleep as I get up every hour on the hour.

Not only that, we had a mild 4.0 earthquake last night at 4am. All I knew was that it occurred between 3am and 4:30am because I was awake during those hours. It was spooky enough to shake the bed but in light of all the recent earthquakes you just never know if this is the "Big One"!

My pre-op tests are scheduled for next week Tuesday and my surgery is scheduled for next week Thursday at 7:15am on March 25th. I should only need one day to recovery and they should be releasing me on Friday if things go according to plan. That is, if they can do it all laproscopically, then it should only be an overnight stay.

If they have to change plans and do the hysterectomy the old fashioned way, I'll be there a week. Please continue to pray for me and my fears about surgery. They are really helping because I haven't really thought about the surgery much and when I do, I take those those captive and lay them at Jesus' feet. I remind the enemy these are not from God, and since I am His child, these are not for me.

So without further hesitation the winner of the Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue and Raven's Ladder books are...

Mari from My Little Corner of the World.

Congratulations Mari! If you can email me with your mailing information, I'll get those right on out to you! I will be posting another wonderful book giveaway coming to you later today and also one for tomorrow which trust me, no one will want to miss out on!

Kat's Medical Update!!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know what happened today after the ultrasound. It appears as if my uterus is clear of anything that was there before, no fibroids which is super great news.

I did have a small cyst on my right ovary which didn't seem to concern the doctor at all. They did notice a mass next to my left ovary and they didn't tell me any particulars like if it's attached to the ovary, part of it, if this is what is causing all the pain or what it might be. It completely has baffled the ultrasound tech.

The doctor was nice enough to come in at the time I showed up for my appointment and instead of making me wait a week for the results, he excused himself as we were leaving while asking us to wait a few minutes, then came back and said he'd like to see us.

You can only imagine where my imagination was going right? He brought us back and said he didn't want us to have to make another trip back and felt that he should proceed with surgery to remove it all since most of it has been causing my life to be less than great thus far. He said that he will deal with the mass when he gets in there and will go from there.

So my dear friends, I did explain all my surgery anxiety to him, personally I've always been terrified of surgery feeling that I will be one of those 1 in a million statistics and die from what should have been a normal surgery. I got it from my father as a child growing up so it's difficult to just push aside.

He said he is completely confident and that this hospital is rated number 3 in the nation. I guess I should feel comfortable right? Yes, and No, I'm still dealing with all those "what if thoughts" that keep popping up and making me miserable and doubting, but then I pray as bring those thoughts captive and lay them as Jesus' feet. I've asked Him to remove this anxiety and instead let me have peace.

I just have to remove myself from the equation and completely trust in Him and hope for it all to work out in the end. I have surgery scheduled for March 25 at 7:15am and I go in for all my lab work ups on the 23rd at 11am. Please continue to lift me up and ask God to remove those fears which I know do not come from Him and give me the peace that He so richly speaks of that surpasses all understanding.

By the way, Steve told me he isn't letting me out of the surgery. No matter what. So there you have it just like I heard it and from here on out, we pray! See what they should do is schedule surgery the same day for chickens like me. :)

And the Winners Are...

I had the wonderful opportunity this week to be able to host some great giveaways and had my lovely children pick the winners. So without further adieu...

For the winner of the 2 book pack, Secrets and Beneath a Southern Sky, that Caitlyn, my oldest had the pleasure of choosing is....

Mich at Mich! Congratulations Mich! I know you will love both of these books and the mini vacations you will find yourself on with both. In addition I am tossing in a couple of extra surprises! Please email me with where you would like these shipped!

For the 5 lucky winners of the Free Minute Rice Ready to Serve Coupons that my youngest, Kailee, had the most fun picking out, and the winners are...

Thena at Patiently Waiting
Carol at Joy In Journey...Carol I know you are moving in March so where can I send it here in the states for you?
Parsley at Seasons of My Mind
Susan D at This Day
Amy at Filled With Praise

Congratulations to all the wonderful winners. Ladies, if you can please email me with your snail mail addresses, I can get these off to you. You have until the end of March to use them. Be sure to stay with me, as I am doing some great things here in a couple of weeks and the giveaways are going to be more and bigger!

I am on my way to my OB GYN today for my ultra sound at 11am PST so please keep me in your prayers! I could use it as I have a tendency to get super nervous. Let us hope this will provide the answers to what has been going on. Last night my doctor Alan called me and actually asked how I was doing? He wanted to let me know some good things about my recent labs that my CA-125 results which determine cancer is normal. He assured me it didn't rule out a malignancy but it does provide him some good news that it may not be cancerous.

How wonderful is that? I mean a doctor that doesn't literally make house calls but then again he did call me at home. Doesn't that qualify and how many doctors actually take the time to call you to see how you are doing? Not the nursing staff or someone in the office, but the actually doctor.

Steve had to revive me pretty quick to take the call after I passed out when he told me it was the doctor. Even he was impressed. Isn't God amazing? He also wanted to know when I was doing my ultrasound because those tests were missing and when I told him I would be there tomorrow, he assured me that even though he had a couple of surgeries scheduled, he would make the time to review them and call me back when he had time.

Praising God and doing a happy dance. Again congratulations winners and I'll update as I get the results! Until then, keep the prayers coming!

Third Time is a Charm!

Ever have one of those days or weeks even where it seems like everything is going by at lightning speed?

Well this has been one of those weeks for me. I thought I would take this moment to update you all on what is going on besides all my book reviews. Thank you sincerely for all of you that stop by and take the time to read those reviews. I haven't yet come across one that I really don't care for.

Doctor's Update: Here is what we know so far, I love my new doctor even though I have to drive almost 2 hours to see him and that is with no traffic. I have to time my doctor's visits well to avoid that whenever possible as traffic on Southern California's freeways is not fun at all. Thankfully God has blessed me with amazing patience to deal with it no matter how bad it gets. Let's just hope I always keep enough pain meds with me at all times.

So doctor number three is a keeper! Here is why! After 12 years of dealing with what I call nightmare monthly cycles, and most of my other OB GYN's over the years tell me are quite normal as you age, Doctor Alan does not.

Finally can I get an AMEN to that alone? A doctor who doesn't believe that a woman should have to tote around more monthly protection than most retail stores carry, and doesn't think you should have to spend those times of your month, curled up in a fetal position and sometimes wish for death to come quickly, while inhaling as many pain meds is medically safe? You mean there is a light out there for me? For women everywhere?

Honestly I wanted to hug this man when he said that to me, but I restrained myself quite well. I smiled from ear to ear when he said that is no quality of life for anyone. AMEN!

So after hearing him tell me about himself, his medical history and what he thinks of the information I provided him, we've come to a couple of conclusions. I am dealing with 3 different issues:

1. The mass on my left ovary. Since no doctor thus far has been able to tell me what is going on, and through countless tests, Xrays, ultrasounds, and CT scans, there still is no definite answer as to what it is, just what is might be.

2. The pain. Not sure if this is something attributed to the mass on my left ovary, the fibroid tumors in my uterus, or what he calls stretching or twisting of this mass to the point where it causes me severe, eyes tearing up, pain.

3. Fibroids in my uterus. These depending on where they are growing can cause me to carry around that utility supply of monthly woman's products with me wherever I go just in case.

As you can see the quality of life that Dr. Alan is talking about is broken down into three areas. Now he said most of the time in his dealings with women, he usually only deals with one, but I am dealing with all three at the same time.

So here is how he would like to proceed and I have agreed.

1. We are getting blood work complete to look for cancers and tumor markers. - Completed the same day and on Friday, I received word that everything is in the normal range aside from being anemic. Taking iron supplements for that.

2. Since my monthly visitor was due to show up this week right on schedule, I had to delay the latest ultrasound tests to Friday, February 26. He wants to get an updated look on what is going on before he makes any other decisions.

3. Based on the findings of the ultrasound, more than likely because I am dealing with a multitude of symptoms and except for the pain since November, I have dealt with all the other things for over 11 years now, a hysterectomy is looking like our best option. There are so lesser evasive options but since I've been struggling with all of this except the extreme pain for over 11 years, I would like to have some of my life back.

My opinion on it all: I love this doctor and based on his recommendations and the quality of my life for the last 11 years, I say it's time to carve this pumpkin before Halloween and call it done.

Here is how you can help me specifically with prayer:

Please, please continue to pray that all the findings of the ultrasound on February 26th will lead them to some solid answers regarding what is causing all this tremendous pain.

I ask that you also pray for any reduction in the amount of pain I am currently dealing with in regards to my monthly visitor. Since the mystery pain arrived in November, it's twice as bad when this time of the month rolls around and requires me to take 8 to 12 Norco pain pills a day. NOT GOOD!

Please pray that Steve's job will work out according to what he needs and they are understanding with this situation. We've filled out Intermittent Family Leave paperwork to make sure his job stays secure, despite the fact they are not happy that he can't travel out of state right now, and there is no retaliation by his employers.

Please pray for peace over both of us as we've been under major spiritual attack for the last two weeks, our relationship, my health and our marriage are under constant bombardment from the enemy. The more we draw near to God, the more something else pops us like me coming down with Bronchitis just before my doctor's appointment. I went anyway despite being doped up on pain meds and cold medicines. As you can see the storm hasn't been easy.

Thank you my dear friends for all your cards, well wishes, emails, and phone calls. They have meant the world to me.

If you haven't had the opportunity to sign up for the book giveaway that I am scheduling for Friday, please click here for more information. Since this has received so many comments, I am going to give away two copies of the books so there will be two winners!

Hanging In There!

Wow it seems like its been so long since I have found the time to blog and complete a post, and then spend time commenting and reading everyone's blogs. So I thought I would take a moment and let you know what is up.

Last week Thursday was Kailee, our youngest daughter's birthday and she turned 11! Hard to imagine just how quickly they all grow up but they do. We woke her up that morning by spraying her with silly string. What a morning to remember after that was all cleaned up. We spent the morning at a local Farmer's Market since she has always wanted to go but had school. So we took the day off from work and school and visited the Farmer's Market. The kids had blast with negotiating some great deals on make-up and hair accessories as well as some jewelry! Most were only $1.00 each. WOW now that is what I call saving money.

After that Kailee wanted lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a walk around the outdoor mall at Victoria Gardens. Lunch was great, she had pizza with all her favorite toppings, bacon, sausage and pepperoni of course, topped off with a slice of strawberry cheesecake.

We had so much fun walking around the outdoor mall stuffing money into peoples expired parking meters and the smiles that the girls shared doing an act of random kindness or ARKing as we call it made their day.

We stopped at the Apple store where we looked at the newest Ipod's for Kailee's birthday present and since they have gotten so much thinner and smaller, we felt for the money that the Ipod Touch offered her the best of two worlds. A replacement for her Nintendo DS which broke and her outdated shuffle. The Ipod Touch does both, games, music and wireless internet. How can you go wrong for a $50.00 difference in price.

So after we left the mall, we headed back home for some cake and ice cream I had in the freezer just for her. She celebrated her birthday party on Saturday with her friends and had about 4 of them over for a sleep over and party.

To update you all on my medical progress, I have officially fired OB GYN number 2. After running out of pain meds while awaiting an ultra sound test scheduled for last Friday, she refused to refill my prescription until all the test results were in. Did you catch that? This doctor knows that I have been on pain meds for "PAIN" and refuses to fill my prescription until we complete all the tests which will go another three weeks, while I remain in pain. Her solution, "if it is really that bad, perhaps you should seek the Emergency Room visit?"

Huh? I have been to the ER where I have been discharged with pain meds to seek an OB GYN's care, why would I go back? Doesn't that seem redundant? Does she receive a kickback from the ER if she refers so many patients to them?

So needless to say both Steve and I fired her that night she called me. I phoned my sister and got the number of her OB GYN that is 2 hours from us since we only have about 5 here in the High Desert and I've exhausted 2 already. Not such great odds. I have an appointment with this doctor on Wednesday, February 10th, and we are praying for God's divine intervention and healing with this, our third choice and hopefully last doctor.

I have gotten my pain meds refilled by my primary doctor who was informed on what took place and was quite literally flowed by what I am going through just to find out answers. You know, a woman knows when something just isn't right in her body.

Today has been a difficult day with the pain but if this is my new life according to God's will, then I am fine with accepting that. Just waiting for that confirmation. Please keep me in prayer next week. I will share some pictures with all of you tomorrow from the party as well as Caitlyn's Winter Formal and Mascaraed Party.