Tag: thankful

It’s a hot one!

It sure has been hot so far this summer! The rain hasn’t come as much as we would like. Thankfully we have gotten a bit of rain here at home in the past week or so.

This past weekend we took the grandboys tent camping for their first time. We tried fishing with our boat on Lake Ontario. We got a couple of small ones we put back and then I had a big salmon on and totally lost it. I let too much slack in the line.

On the boat

Funny how that can relate to life. As Christians we may slack off on reading God’s word or spending time with Him, or even spending time with fellow believers. Then, when hard times come we wonder why we feel alone or without hope. Rest assured, the Lord is there, waiting for us to turn back to Him, to spend time with Him. It makes a huge difference in how we navigate our day to day lives and also how we deal with difficult situations.

Back to our weekend- we also went swimming in the lake. The boys loved that. They would have stayed out all day in the beating down sun if we had let them. Brian and the boys walked the pier when they finally got out of the water. I love seeing the three of them, Grandpa and Grandsons, hanging out together.

We had a campfire both nights. Of course we had to make s’mores. The second night we threw a packet into the fire and it made it different colors.

Another thought comes to mind. We show our true colors when we are put through fire. When we know Jesus we can show His light even in the tough times, because we have this Hope that we received when we accepted the Lord as our Savior. No matter the fire we go through, we know that we are being refined and can look forward to one day with no more fire, just pure Glory.

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It sure was a nice weekend. There were some difficult times, but that can be expected. We definitely we go on another camping adventure again. ❤️

All packed up to go home

Blessings to you.

Tricia

Once again

Once again it has been a long time since I checked in. No excuse. I just haven’t. Don’t you dislike when people make excuses for things when there really isn’t one? Well, I’m not going to.

I trust everyone who reads this is doing well. It is summer here, and 85 degrees today. How’s the weather where you are? There is a tiny bit of a breeze, which if you stay out of the sun, makes the heat tolerable.

We went to Harris Hill with the grandboys yesterday. It was my husband’s work picnic. It was a lot of fun. One of the things we did is watch the glider planes take off. That was neat. The view from the top of Harris Hill is incredible. God’s creation sure is awesome!

Back track to May. Brian and I went salmon fishing up by Niagara Falls on Lake Ontario. We got some nice fish. This is the big one we got. It was 27 pounds! It took some effort to get it in the boat for sure. It was all about teamwork with the two of us.

The big king salmon

When you back track even further, I mentioned in January that I would be having another surgery. I did have that, and got the titanium rod put in. I went home that same night. That was a blessing! So grateful for God’s provision through everything.

My new hardware, bottom half

I won’t promise to write more often, but I will try. Thank you for reading!

Trip to NYC

I had my follow-up visit with my orthopedic oncology surgeon, Dr. Prince today. He is please with how everything is progressing since the latest surgery on March 4. The bone is growing in quite nicely. My next visit with him will be a telehealth visit at the end of July. I did get the “official letter” allowing me to return to bedside nursing. The news I wanted to hear! Praise God! I need to continue with PT, strengthening my right leg and working on increasing my range of motion.
Though I’m glad to return to my “regular job”, I’m grateful for the time I have spent in the office working on things for the unit. I think we were able to get some things situated we had wanted to do for a while and just didn’t have the time or resources.

The next visit to NYC will be July 12th. I will be returning to the MSK main campus for extensive bloodwork, X-rays, a whole body Pet Scan and a CT scan of my chest. Except for the leg X-rays, this is all to check for any recurring cancer in my body. It’s pretty much standard procedure. I’ll have an appointment with my medical oncologist at MSK and then at Guthrie shortly after. I’m claiming Psalm 145:18- “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” So no matter how things go, He’s got me. ❤️

Thank you for continuing to follow our journey. We appreciate so much your words of encouragement, thoughts, and prayers.
In the words of Paul, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:16-17‬

Morning sunrise

Almost home

We are headed back from the post-op visit. It has been raining most of the way, and a bit foggy. We have about an hour left in our journey, depending on the fog and such.

I have a couple of praises to share:
First- the ride down wasn’t bad and I was able to tolerate it with minimal discomfort.
Second- the appointment went well. The hardware and bone all look good. My lab work was all ok also.

I have to go back in two weeks to see how the length of my right leg compares to the left. It was difficult to tell today because I couldn’t stand in a good position between the leg being swollen and it being painful to keep it turned a certain way while doing the X-rays. I will also have these sutures removed. The other six incisions I have all have dissolvable sutures but unfortunately not these.

Oh yeh, another huge praise! I can take a shower! Woo! Up until now I’ve been doing a “bird” bath with a basin of water and washing my hair in the kitchen sink.

Right next to the MSK office is a restaurant. They haven’t been allowed to do indoor dining in NYC for over a year now. Well, this restaurant and many others have improvised so that they can be open even in bad weather. It’s pretty cool how they set it all up. Just wanted to share that. Pictures below.

Again, thank you all for keeping us in prayer. We sure do appreciate it. 💛

Surgery Update

So here’s the surgery update-
Surgery is at 4:20pm tomorrow. I have to be at the hospital by 2:30pm. Brian is able to hang out with me in PACU until I get wheeled into the OR. At that time he will have to leave the hospital. He’ll get updates by someone in the OR and also after I come out. Surgery will probably be 4/6 hours. Brian can’t come to the recovery area. Once I’m in my room then he will visit on Friday during visiting hours that are from 9am-noon.

Surgery is going to be different than planned. If some of you have seen me walking you may notice I walk with a limp. Well, apparently, after the scans and X-rays it’s become clear that my right leg is still about 1.5 cm (0.591 inches) shorter than the left. Two options were presented- live with it and get a lift put in my right shoe or have my leg lengthened a bit more. We took the second option. We will be taking “Whirly” home with us again when I leave the hospital. Some of you may remember seeing him in previous posts over a year ago. He will be in use until my follow-up appointment on the 24th.
This means that I am going to have to have another surgery to remove the lengthening rod and other rod that will be in place. You see, my bone hasn’t totally regenerated in two different areas- by the knee and up on the top outer part of my leg. The lengthening rod will be up top. The hope is that after about a year or two the bone will all be grown in and everything can be totally removed.
To say I’m disappointed would probably be an understatement. I cried in the office. I’m frustrated. I really thought this would be the final surgery. But, trying to stay on the positive side, I’ll not have a shorter leg. And, I’m grateful and blessed that I still have a leg. No sense in dwelling on it.

Well, that’s probably long enough for one post. More to follow after surgery I’m sure.

Still clinging to His Word-

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:1-2‬ ‭

Two years ago

Two years ago today at this time I was just out of surgery to have a large tumor (osteosarcoma) removed from my femur. In place of the bone I had rods put in that would separate and allow new bone to grow. The surgery was at least ten hours long. The tumor was removed by Dr. Boland and then Dr. Prince put in the hardware. I’ll never forget the waiting. The surgery was delayed because the OR had to be used for an emergent case. I met my dear friend Maria in the middle of the night when I finally got to the room that we shared. She had also just had surgery to remove a tumor in her arm.

I’ve had the hardware replaced twice since that first surgery. Now I am waiting to have another surgery to remove all of the hardware I have in and replace it with a titanium rod. The surgery was supposed to be next week but got pushed back, so hopefully will be in about a month. Here are some pictures from that time and now.

We appreciate you all and how you have prayed us through this and been there to support us. 💛

This verse just really resonates with me throughout all of this. I’m so grateful for the Lord and His mighty hand.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

  • The tumor
  • Dr. Boland’s initials before surgery
  • After surgery
  • Most recent
  • The bone is grown in
  • The crack in this hardware

November 30, 2020

Another busy but nice day! I hung with the boys and the hounds today. Everyone was very well behaved. I puréed pumpkin to freeze for later use, played UNO, and Rayne went with in the car to take the grandboys home. Then I came home and made a nice low carb dinner and we celebrated the first Monday of Advent with items generously supplied by our pastoral team. It includes lighting a candle, listening to a song, and reading a scripture passage.
Now the dogs are all sacked out and we are relaxing before bed.

Whirly

One year ago today I used “Whirly” for the last time. Wow. I never thought that day would come, and now it has been a year!
I’m so thankful that part is over!
Next step ~ Surgery in January and lots of physical therapy with my new titanium rod. Dr. Prince said he will possibly be doing a quadricepsplasty in the operating room when he takes out all the present hardware, and before replacing it with a single titanium rod. I need to get more info exactly about what that is. I have done some research and there are different ways it can be done I think. Here’s one article that describes it a little bit. Sounds sort of scary. 😳
http://www.orthopaper.com/archives/2019/vol5issue4/PartH/5-3-189-661.pdf
If anyone has information about quadricepsplasty please feel free to share with me.

We appreciate your continued prayers through the rest of this process. And the continued prayers that God’s will be done in our lives, no matter the outcome. His plan is bigger than we can ever imagine. We are giving thanks to Him in this season and always. 💛

Blessings,
Tricia

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:8-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • Whirly
  • The tumor that was removed
  • Most recent X-ray 💛
  • Me out hunting today 😬

Another year mark

One year ago today I had the emergent surgery to fix the hardware in my leg that had broken. Wow. Time sure has flown. In between then and now I developed a crack in the hardware. Thankfully I’ve been able to manage with it and keep moving. I’ve been told I probably won’t ever run again. I guess we will see. At this point I am so grateful to still have my leg and be cancer free.
I’m also grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers that you all continue on my behalf. You’ll never know how much it all means to me and Brian.
Blessings to you.
Tricia

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Headed home

We are headed home after the appointment with Dr. Nacev, medical oncologist. He is a very nice guy. Definitely personable.

The CT scan was good. The spot in my lung is still there and hasn’t changed. Praise God! Dr. Nacev called it more than likely scar tissue from who knows what. My next chest CT will be in January. Dr. Nacev will coordinate it to be at the same time as the CT on my leg.

We actually shouldn’t be going back to NYC until January. It’ll be virtual appointments and labwork/x-rays at RPH. We said “Merry Christmas” to everyone at the office because we won’t see them before that. Lol

Thank you to all for holding us up in prayer. You are a blessing. We appreciate you. 💛