Prayer for a friend

Hello all! Since you were such great prayer warriors for me, I am writing this to ask for prayers for a friend of mine from high school. She is a breast cancer survivor (a very aggressive inflammatory breast cancer), is younger than me and is a wife and mother. Her name is Inga. She is an incredible woman who has complete and utter faith that God has already healed her. She has peace about her circumstance that comes from only God. She just recently found out that the cancer has returned in her L3 vertebra. She is seeing a Dr. Ricardo Alvarez at MD Anderson in Houston. She is asking for prayers for wisdom for both her and her doctor about what treatment they should pursue. Please pray for her and her family for peace and joy and she and her doctor for wisdom as they discuss treatment protocols.

Thank you my friends! Have a very wonderful, healthy and blessed 2010!!!

6 Month MRI

I thought I should let you all know that I had a 6 month MRI done on Sunday and the neurosurgeon said it looks stable...i.e. the same as the one in July which was good. He jokingly said, "see if you can find some more brain cells".

That news was a great Christmas present!!! God's blessings to you all!

JULY MRI

On Monday I had what should be my final of the every 3 month MRIs. After this one I should be able to wait 6 months for the next one. I looked at it myself and thought it looked good, no concerning spots. I talked to the neurosurgeon's office and he said it looked marvelous!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! A month from that MRI will be August 13, my 2 year anniversary from the surgery day! What a 2 years it's been! Please continue to pray...I've developed some other health issues due to the medication I've been on and am trying to get off. Thank you all for your continued support.

Love,

Laura

April MRI

I just got a call from one of the nurses at the neurosurgeon's office with the message, "he was able to review your images (MRI) and he said everything looks FANTASTIC!" Praise God!! Most likely I will have another MRI in July and since August will be my 2 year cancer free anniversary(!!!!!!!!!!!), hopefully I can start having the MRIs every 6 months. We shall see what the oncologist says. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Sorry that I am late in updating this, but I spoke with the neurosurgeon on Monday and he said the MRI looks awesome!!! They will continue to do an MRI every 3 months until it has been 2 years post-surgery, then hopefully we can wait 6 months until the next one. Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

Next MRI

I know it's been a long time since the last post for those of you that still check the blog regularly, but in this case no news is good news.  I have been doing well, working lots and tolerating it well.  I was off all meds for a couple of weeks, but I chose to go back on a very low dose of the anti-seizure medicine because I was feeling a little too stimulated at work with the lights and all the talking.  I will wean off again soon and see how it goes.  The oncologist seems to think that the dose I'm taking couldn't be doing much, so why bother.  He wants to continue to do MRIs every 3 months for the first 2 years, so I have another a week from tomorrow.  The next MRI is scheduled for Jan 11 at 9am...please pray for continued improvement on the scan and absolutely no sign of a recurring tumor!  Also pray that I can get off all medicine and feel good without it.

Happy New Year to all and I hope everyone's Christmas was spent making good memories with loved ones.  We were able to be with the Tinning side on Thanksgiving...both of my sisters and all the nieces and nephews...it was a blessing to be together!  We ventured (through snowstorms) to Kansas the week before Christmas to be with the Griffeth side of the family.  We were home in Michigan for Christmas, as I was on call.  We cooked our first turkey and had a simple dinner at home.  It was nice and relaxing after being in the Chicago airport on Christmas Eve for 5+ hours hoping to make it home!

God's blessings in 2009 and I will let you know the good news of the upcoming MRI soon!

Trip to Kansas City

I'm on my way to Kansas City today for a baby shower for a friend from high school. I will get to see lots of old girlfriends from high school and some college friends as well. I am very excited, but a little nervous/anxious to travel alone. Please pray for my safe travels and for no seizures or feelings like I might have a seizure. I was able to go off of the anti-seizure med for a couple of weeks, but started feeling too stimulated and had to go back on it...just a low dose for now. I am definitely healing...feeling better and more energy all the time. Would like to get off all of these meds for good! Please pray for that. I'm sure I will have pictures when I return on Sunday from my trip, so stay posted.

MRI Results

I know some of you still check the blog and are wondering what the results were of the MRI. It looked GREAT!! All CLEAR, no sign of recurrent tumor growth. Praise God for my continued healing! Sorry for those who have been waiting on the edge of their seats! I forget that people still check this. As far as the next step, I'm not sure. I will continue to have follow-up MRIs...just not sure if the next one will be in 3 months or 6 months. I am very close to being off the anti-zeizure medication, and that is very exciting! I am feeling much mor like myself these days and getting more energy back each day. Thanks for your prayers!

Next MRI

To all of you friends and prayer warriors...my next MRI is scheduled for October 6 at 10am. Please keep me in your prayers in the upcoming week and especially on that day...for a clean MRI and for peace of mind as I approach the scan. God is good and I know I am healed, but it is still a little nerve racking. I am still weaning off of the seizure medicine and doing well...just another month or two to go, probably. Life is otherwise uneventful...working lots, which is good. Getting off of the medicine has my energy increasing, so I am trying to exercise more and get back into pre-tumor shape....or better!

Thank you to all of you that have gone on this journey with me. I can't tell you how much your prayers have been felt and appreciated over the last year!

God bless...He is good!

Laura

One year anniversary!!!

Well, it was a year ago today that I had surgery to remove the tumor. Can you believe it's been a year?! Chad had a surprise party for me to celebrate last Friday...it was a total surprise as I was clueless. Today, my sister and nephews from Rochester drove in to surprise me for my one year anniversary and to surprise my dad who is in the hospital recovering from back surgery. Please pray for his healing. His surgery was last Tuesday and he is in acute rehab in Metro Health Hospital. Please pray for his back to heal quickly and for no more pain! Thank you for your continued prayers. I will have another MRI in October and one of these times I think they will spread them out to every 6 months instead of every 3. Thank you all for sticking with me through this and for continuing to be my prayer warriors. Love,

Laura

MRI Results

Well, as you all know, I had another MRI last night. Fortunately my doctor was on call today and got it read for me. They said it is all clear and looks no different from the previous scan! Praise God! Please praise God with me for my healing!! Doing well otherwise...working 5-7 days/week and missing my naps a little, but doing well. Thank you all for your prayers!

Next MRI

I will get on and post later this weekend with news and pics from our trip to Kansas for Chad's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. My next MRI is scheduled for July 3 at 7:30pm. Please pray for my peace of mind and solid faith to not be fearful or worried about this scan. I will have to arrive for it by 7pm and will probably not be done until 8:30. Thank you all in advance for your prayers. I feel so blessed to have so many friends and people I don't even know praying for me. Once again, I will let you know when I know.

Marriage Retreat

Thank you all for your prayers...the shingles are gone and for the most part the headaches too! The headaches came with the shingles I believe, as it's kind of like fighting off any virus...run down, achy, headaches, fever, etc. I feel much better since they've cleared. I was very blessed to have noticed them on day 1 or 2 so I could get on an antiviral and steroids right away. The meds kept them from really spreading and from getting too yucky or painful. I am now left with just a little patch of dry skin and discoloration on my face. No biggie.

Chad and I were able to go away for the weekend up to Silver Lake for a marriage retreat. It was nice to spend some time away together. This was the first since the surgery and long overdue. We had time to focus on God and each other, away from the stressors of everydayness. Our friends Pastor Bill and Sandy Bennett have a marriage retreat, a men's retreat, and a ladies' retreat every year at their camp AO-WA-KIYA. You can visit them online to learn more about it. They are wonderful and if I were a kid, I'd be there for sure...and when we have kids, you better believe they'll be there.

Feeling much better since the shingles have resolved. Getting a little more energy back, but still pretty tired. Please pray for continued healing...I'm not back to my 100% pre-surgery self yet, but everyone says I look better and better all the time. Thank you for the prayers and support.

Love,
Laura

Shingles

When we posted that I was doing much better and had turned a corner, I really had. I've been feeling crummy lately, especially the last several days and we now know why. I've had more headaches, burning sinus/facial pain, and been more tired. I have shingles on my face! And on the right side...the same side that the tumor was on. Argh. I have a very painful and itchy rash in my right nasolabial fold (where my upper lip meets my cheek). I caught it early and went to see someone so I got put on an antiviral med quickly, so hopefully that will keep it from spreading or getting much worse. I let the neurosurgeon know in case it was of concern because of the proximity of my brain (since the shingles is infecting a nerve that directly exits my brain). He put me on steroids in addition to the antiviral. Yuck...I don't like steroids, but whatever will get me well the fastest. Please pray that this resolves quickly. If it doesn't I will not be able to see babies or my pregnant women at clinic. I need this to heal! And I need these yucky headaches to go away.

I know God doesn't give me more than I can handle...I think we all know I can handle a lot by now. Enough already. Heal me Lord Jesus and make me whole and healthy. Please pray for my speedy recovery. Thank you,

Laura

Please pray

I have a prayer request...I've started getting more headaches lately...I think from the shifting and repositioning of my brain. The membranes that surround the brain are stretching and they have pain fibers, while the brain does not. I've had to take meds for my headaches the last several days which had been rare. Please pray for the headaches to go away and for me not to need any pain medicine...I don't want to have to live on Tylenol to function. Doing well otherwise. Good days and bad days like anyone, but definitely better overall...except for the return of the headaches. Thank you for your prayers. I continue to have faith that I am still in a healing process and am not back to my "new normal" yet...I was told to give that at least a year post surgery. I hope this finds you all well.

Laura

Not much to report

I haven't posted in awhile because there hasn't been much new to report. One thing I've realized is that after you've been diagnosed with cancer and become cancer free, boring can be good! I'm working more and back to fulltime at the hospital. I think I've really turned a corner and am feeling better and better all the time. I still get tired from time to time and take a nap, but don't people who haven't had a brain tumor removed less than a year ago? I also get occasional headaches from the shifting brain due to the shift into the space from the removal of the tumor. Prayer for those is much appreciated. Otherwise life is good and as my friend always ends her blog...God is faithful.

MRI Results

I promised I would let you know as soon as I heard anything. I just got a call from my neurosurgeon and he said absolutely NO RECURRENCE!!! He does see some post-radiation changes (scarring?) but no tumor! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Rejoice with me in this wonderful news and keep prayiing for complete healing. Love,
Laura

MRI scheduling mishap

So they told me the wrong day for my MRI...it's tomorrow April 8 at 10:15am. They told me today, so Chad and I showed up today and they were not very nice in telling us that it wasn't today..."well it can't be today....the MRI machine is in Kalamazoo today, so it can't be today..." As if I knew that. "God keep me calm and give me grace" So please keep praying today and tomorrow. I will let you know when I know results.

MRI time change

Please start to pray for me at 9:45, that's when I report for my MRI...the actual scan is scheduled for 10:15am on Monday April 7. I plan on this being my second perfectly clear one of many! Claim that it will be so with me. Pray for peace as I go and await the scan...pray for continued healing...I'm getting better daily and feeling better all the time. I still deal with medication side effects; who knows, maybe we'll try another seizure med switch. I will let you know how the MRI looks when I get the results. In the meantime, PRAY.

Pictures and MRI

I promised you a couple pictures from Dallas, so here they are: One of Chad and I and one of me with Taylor Hicks (American Idol winner 2 years ago). Enjoy

My next MRI has finally been scheduled, so please pray, pray, pray! As of right now, it will be Monday morning April 7 at 9:45am. I may have to reschedule it and if so, I will post again. Please pray for my peace during the surrounding time and of course for a perfectly clear report. Thank you all and I will let you know when I know the results.