tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332263592024-03-23T11:56:53.066-06:00If I Only Had A Brain...Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-77116649234646169482013-01-27T15:40:00.002-07:002013-01-27T15:45:24.998-07:00Skull-tastic! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17.990449905395508px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BEST.DOCTOR.VISIT.EVER!!! Went to my neurosurgeon's office on Thursday for a follow-up. Saw the Nurse Practitioner who told me "I have something to show you." As we enter the room, he hands me a skull and tells me it's my skull. He then removed the little piece that had been cut from the top of the skull (bone flap) and flipped it over to show me that my last name was engraved in it. WHOA! This is MY skull! They had an exact replica of my skull made to show their patients how a bone flap works. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! I immediately got really excited and told him that I wanted one, so guess who has a new personalized Halloween decoration now?!?!! He made me hide it in my purse, and as we were walking out of the room he told me not to make eye contact with anyone, LOL!!</span></span><br />
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Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-70144440276444931842012-07-04T14:04:00.003-06:002012-07-04T14:04:52.421-06:006 YearsThis post is a little late (by 15 days) but I celebrated my 6 year Tumorversary on Tuesday, June 19th. I wanted to do something meaningful this year to celebrate since my 5 year Tumorversary fell on Father's Day last year, so I thought I would cut my hair and donate it to Locks of Love. After my surgeries I made a promise with myself that I would cut and donate my hair to Locks of Love once it was long enough to do so. Well, come to find out I couldn't donate my hair because I have bleached highlights. I was really bummed because this was the only real meaningful thing I could think of doing to celebrate and I wasn't able to do it. My husband felt bad for me but is also glad that I still have my long hair. He LOVES my hair long. <div>
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Anyway, my family made the day a GREAT one for me. My girls surprised me in the morning with a cake they had made and decorated, balloons and the table set and decorated:</div>
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Each of the balloons had a message on them. Two of them said, "Brains!" and the other two said, "Happy 6 Year Tumorversary!"</div>
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Then there was this special one sitting at my spot on the kitchen table:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It says, "I will eat your brains!! From: Zombies"<br />I thought it was really cute cause I love playing Plants Vs. Zombies.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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And here's a close-up of the awesome decoration on my cake:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwvFVmbMKCkzV73iisWPiFG7gP8_XikBJ9Mz64qrDg6_8jedKcrqz9adAHIuWT3EzL39yNV0OknI40PEI8ETe6e0Fs62mjZYLyjf7uDIlTsBwbAIkxgw45KjE6z_qPh0Virru/s1600/IMG_0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwvFVmbMKCkzV73iisWPiFG7gP8_XikBJ9Mz64qrDg6_8jedKcrqz9adAHIuWT3EzL39yNV0OknI40PEI8ETe6e0Fs62mjZYLyjf7uDIlTsBwbAIkxgw45KjE6z_qPh0Virru/s320/IMG_0612.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pepsi can is cut in half, representing how much of my brain my surgeon removed during my craniotomy. The confetti inside the can represents my brain, and the 6 is for the obvious- representing 6 years of being cancer free. I love how creative and thoughtful my girls are!!! </td></tr>
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We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse as a family to celebrate:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">and after the kids were in bed, Dustin and I watched <a href="http://youtu.be/cUW60Qf1Bm8" target="_blank">"A Little Bit of Heaven"</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I couldn't have had a better day. I am so grateful for my incredible family, for the love that they have for me, and for the life that I have. I have been blessed in so many ways and feel very fortunate to be doing so well. I am also extremely grateful for my husband and the strength that he is to me and to our children. I'm not sure if I could be as strong as he is if he was the one with the cancer. The last 6 years have been good to us and I can only hope that the next 6+ years will be the same. </span></div>
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<br /></div>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-72760127163495014912012-06-13T15:14:00.003-06:002012-06-13T15:14:46.031-06:00<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;">"I was thinking today about our brain surgeon. He's a nice, normal guy. I can't imagine how it would be to wake up in the morning and go to work knowing that the life of a mother and the fate of her family hinges on the steadiness of his hands. What a heavy burden that must be, one I'm happy to not have. We have the utmost confidence in his abilities to do everything in his capacity to perform a successful operation. I know that beyond that, it is in God's hands. We feel at peace with whatever the outcome may be."</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;">A friend of mine posted a link to her sister-in-law's blog on Facebook today. Her sister-in-law recently found out that she has a brain tumor and is anticipating surgery. Her husband posted an update and said the above in his post. There is nothing but truth in his comment about brain surgeons. What a burden to have, yet they take it on. I am so very grateful to my surgeon and his strong desire to be aggressive with the removal of my tumor. I will be celebrating my 6 year Tumorversary in 1 week from today. I have been extremely blessed to have had these 6 years so far, tumor free, and I look forward to another 6+ years! </span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-45116222112279316272012-02-23T21:07:00.000-07:002012-02-23T21:07:24.558-07:00I'm Gonna Love You Through ItAs I was driving home tonight I heard this song on the radio for the first time and it really caught my attention. I wanted to know the name of the song and the artist so I used the Shazam app on my phone to get that info.<br />
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Anyway, the song is about cancer and <b>SO BEAUTIFULLY (</b>written and) sung by one of my favorite artists, Martina McBride. Just click on the title below and make sure you have a tissue handy. <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYNOXRifXKQ&feature=artistob&playnext=1&list=TLKofzcaHaY2g" target="_blank">I'm Gonna Love You Through It</a>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-32514820604551100982012-01-11T09:15:00.002-07:002012-01-11T09:17:08.644-07:00The truth about having a Brain Tumor<span style="font-family: inherit;">Someone who is part of the online brain tumor support group I belong to just sent this message to the group, and I want to share it here because there's no better way to describe what it's REALLY like to have a brain tumor:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I've noticed (acutely in recent years) that society's pity and </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1326298015_0" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">compassion</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> for an individual largely depends on the outward signs of their disease and condition. Oligo patients tend not to have external indicators of their disease, at least not until the end of their course. We generally don't talk strange (at least after SLP), we don't walk strange, we often appear perfectly healthy, our dominant chemotherapy regimen (Temodar) is quite mild, and a lot of us appear to be perfectly normal, healthy individuals. But we know what we face: the uncertainty of recurrence, the enormous anxiety before MRIs, certain subtle deficits not easily noticed by others, health insurance issues, the greatly diminished likelihood of enjoying retirement, etc. That is not insignificant suffering. And a lot of us are probably in worse of a condition as some people with obvious indicators of their condition who can nonetheless expect a healthy, long life (and no MRIs, which I have come to liken to death row probation hearings). We miss out on a lot of sympathy, compassion, and pity as a result. </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to add that we also fear not being around to see our children get married, or any grandchildren they might give us. Those are my worst fears. </span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-15021222893373923852011-06-29T14:05:00.000-06:002011-06-29T14:05:43.239-06:00Another MRIAnd another year of no recurring tumor!!<br />
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Father's Day this year (6/19/2011) was my 5 year "Tumorversary" which is really exciting- but getting the news that your MRI after those 5 years still shows no sign of recurring tumor makes it even more exciting.<br />
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And because my 5 year Tumorversary landed on Father's Day this year, I thought it would be even better to celebrate on my 6 year Tumorversary because it will be the exact day that I had my surgery. Looking forward to it!Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-10166016901292033792011-05-22T23:20:00.000-06:002011-05-22T23:20:09.877-06:00Before and After<div style="text-align: center;">My mom just emailed me these pictures. Brought back a lot of memories.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is me on Father's Day, 2006, getting my hair cut off in preparation for my surgery the next day. I asked my friend Wendy to give me a haircut that matched Dustin's, so she did. We went to lunch at MiRanchito with my family (parents and siblings included) right after. It was really weird to have such short hair! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDnDk9WtweeVHxo2DEdmYonaSK_oTG94YfopjsS573ms6vzGOCLSbTaoFijCpIMVHsvLFkRldeEiulITNQdmQzuMpMR78zOmQNpLMu7xioHg_oeQrV51jAUE5OT7LYofOBSTF/s1600/Jeanie+Pre+Brain+Surgery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDnDk9WtweeVHxo2DEdmYonaSK_oTG94YfopjsS573ms6vzGOCLSbTaoFijCpIMVHsvLFkRldeEiulITNQdmQzuMpMR78zOmQNpLMu7xioHg_oeQrV51jAUE5OT7LYofOBSTF/s320/Jeanie+Pre+Brain+Surgery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">And this is what I looked like right after my surgery. I have never seen either of these pictures until tonight, and forgot that I had a black eye (and swollen face). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV0g-y7aRIm4lYvRIEslAypsEutTWImAs5xD8L5KKtlv75KkLDx9AAFEYVz824ZEmauybnPiV-4BxFpLQDHGxEVbfrGE-J_xL2CoKkFL2mLB9SjqyUdpHj23vi-3DxLzIdqNgq/s1600/Jeanie+Post+Brain+Surgery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV0g-y7aRIm4lYvRIEslAypsEutTWImAs5xD8L5KKtlv75KkLDx9AAFEYVz824ZEmauybnPiV-4BxFpLQDHGxEVbfrGE-J_xL2CoKkFL2mLB9SjqyUdpHj23vi-3DxLzIdqNgq/s320/Jeanie+Post+Brain+Surgery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I look so sad! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm glad my mom took these pictures. It's crazy to think I went through all of this and here I am today, with hair past the middle of my back and doing well. I'm very grateful for all of it! </div>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-81570464323179059782011-02-25T22:42:00.000-07:002011-02-25T22:42:49.869-07:00Since Tina asked....When I went in for the testing on my memory, I actually did really well and the guy gave me tips and ideas on what I can do to help my memory, but didn't have any concern about anything. And not to brag, but he told me I did better on the tests than most people do, and that I'm smarter than I probably realize. News like that always makes your day, right? So we'll just forget all of my moments when I have a brain fart and remember that I'm really smart and never do or say things that would show or prove otherwise. ;DJeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-14454869459349954922010-06-24T11:47:00.002-06:002010-06-24T12:39:35.186-06:00The Women's Dressing Room<div align="center">My 4 year "Tumorversary" was Saturday (the 19th). I had my yearly MRI yesterday at the new facility they built behind UVRMC. The registration & sign-in process is much faster and there isn't a long wait before you're taken back for your imaging. The dressing rooms though are different. </div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 297px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 298px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486407690630428066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiH5TGYrOnenAdk4RQuIg6CiFNhnGE8o0dUb1C16hAPaBHA7yXqhyphenhyphennk_ksSJSBadpq_GN_k0K-nTeQ9XleLs5EuN1sC7UyRtU0NIY73j12gEvQRA8FqihcjjQGLK58RJzbntwb/s320/Women's+Dressing+Room.png" /><br /><div align="center">The facility at the hospital where you had to go before they built this new one had single rooms with a locking door and a few lockers inside for your clothes. The new facility has Men's and Women's dressing rooms. These doors don't lock but inside are 2 area's with lockers and a curtain for "privacy". Well, until you have an elderly lady needing some imaging done and her sweet husband stays by her side, even in the dressing room, not realizing you are behind one of those curtains, <strong>changing</strong>, and opens it. That sweet husband must not have seen the signs outside the room labeling it as the Women's Dressing room. I was glad I at least had my garments on so I was covered. The poor man was probably really embarrassed but didn't leave the dressing room until his wife did. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Anyway, my MRI was followed with an appointment with the nurse practitioner at my surgeon's office and everything still looks good with no changes! As more time passes I worry more about my MRI results so it's a great relief to hear there are no changes. I have noticed though that my short term memory is getting worse (I forgot about my son chipping his tooth and I was with him when it happened) so I'll be seeing a neuro-psychologist who can do some testing to see how bad my memory is and give me some tips on how to help my memory. That's scheduled for July 16 so I'll post about it afterwards.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">***</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Not sure if anyone reads this blog anymore so if you do- THANK YOU! I know it's not updated very often but I appreciate that you care enough to know what's going on that you'll read it when it is. :D</div>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-353692708723150282009-07-15T14:10:00.002-06:002009-07-15T14:30:12.668-06:001 Year Since My Last MRIAnd everything still looks good and is stable! I was a little nervous this time to find out the results of my MRI so hearing that was great. I will see my surgeon again in 6 months but my next MRI won't be for another year- as long as I don't have any symptoms or concerns.<br /><br /><br />I have to mention that UVRMC has built a new facility for their radiology out-patient services. It's huge. I had never been there before and ended up going into the wrong parking lot trying to find it. When I did find it and went inside I had no clue where I was going or what to do so I had to ask the receptionist for help. They have touch-screen computers to start off the check-in process. You have to type in your name, select your birth month and what you are being seen for. Then you take a buzzer (like what you would get at a restaurant when waiting to be seated) and you have to type in what number is on the buzzer. When the buzzer vibrates you go to the # that comes up on it that corresponds with one of the check-in booths to finish the process. It was pretty high-tech in my opinion! And fast, too, so it obviously works. It was nice to go in and be done quickly withouth having to wait a long time for my MRI.Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-82503941711012665852009-06-19T21:22:00.007-06:002009-06-20T01:57:03.190-06:003 Year Tumorversary<div align="center">Today is my 3rd "tumorversary", which means that 3 years ago today was the day my brain tumor was removed. I was able to "celebrate" my day by going to the burial service of Caden Aleksander Schultz who is my nephew. My sister, Tina, carried him for 17 weeks before finding out that he had died at about 14 weeks. He was born on June 18 at 3:40am. He was 5 inches long and weighed 1.6oz. He was very tiny! He didn't survive because he had a lot of fluid in his head. My mom and I were able to be in the hopital with Tina and her husband when she delivered the baby. It was definately an emotional night, and a long, emotional week. Rest in peace little Caden Aleksander, your family loves you!</div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAhj_fr6VL4uVpoNqMDeejLZfvBnXxVNnC9sq4rGeNGDIJYkf3Cb1YJMXfC2x08cK9LW2ecdAq0-MrSaEMkM2DpRVESEND3BrdXFDx52_N7XpuXtSJi64ta1pFcAstz4cREBI/s1600-h/Caden's+Burial+Family1+June+19+2009+014.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 313px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349314418054124914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAhj_fr6VL4uVpoNqMDeejLZfvBnXxVNnC9sq4rGeNGDIJYkf3Cb1YJMXfC2x08cK9LW2ecdAq0-MrSaEMkM2DpRVESEND3BrdXFDx52_N7XpuXtSJi64ta1pFcAstz4cREBI/s320/Caden's+Burial+Family1+June+19+2009+014.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSctCGBJuXSboaJYyJPI1qZZbuom58pDGh9_eUuzsRKX6sUlVNN_BlZALrTSz0wndJJxrthKsU_CeUyW2KvslmzUEDYMZKoC0k3uU-ABMnF0idBKT7gUWHfV8XjLk1w3Y_7h0/s1600-h/Caden's+Burial+Caden+June+19+2009+016.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 316px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349314413878510978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSctCGBJuXSboaJYyJPI1qZZbuom58pDGh9_eUuzsRKX6sUlVNN_BlZALrTSz0wndJJxrthKsU_CeUyW2KvslmzUEDYMZKoC0k3uU-ABMnF0idBKT7gUWHfV8XjLk1w3Y_7h0/s320/Caden's+Burial+Caden+June+19+2009+016.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpk938TGruqQFp-1dnpE7STRvn8dLT14hL3mKSYaPW70ufjBUfK-SZSnixdnxeyuT69ao3wfLILSUJdVuw2Be1WKvqhrJuBDriOjFauIhuMae4no-HPYadDeh9BC2MnznoKVJ/s1600-h/Caden's+Burial+Balloons+1+June+19+2009+002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349314411950162658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpk938TGruqQFp-1dnpE7STRvn8dLT14hL3mKSYaPW70ufjBUfK-SZSnixdnxeyuT69ao3wfLILSUJdVuw2Be1WKvqhrJuBDriOjFauIhuMae4no-HPYadDeh9BC2MnznoKVJ/s320/Caden's+Burial+Balloons+1+June+19+2009+002.jpg" /></a>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-437903543058331712009-06-04T22:12:00.003-06:002009-06-04T23:01:00.452-06:00Adversity In Our Lives<span style="font-family:georgia;">The other night I realized that I haven't blogged what I did on Sunday. Just to give everyone something to read, I'm going to start from the beginning which is almost 3 weeks ago...<br /><br />Seminary graduation was on May 24th so the young women's president and I went to support our young women and young men who were graduating. While we were eating refreshments when it was over, the 2nd counselor in our Stake Presidency (who is a cousin of mine) asked me if he could talk to me for a minute. So, not thinking anything bad would come of that (haha), I agreed to let him talk to me. I wasn't nervous until he led me into a room and closed the door so that he could talk to me in private. Yikes. He then said to me, "I have the priveledge of asking you ... (I was really nervous at this point).... to speak at Stake Conference?"<br /><br />Are you kidding?! Why me?<br /><br />Then he told me that they wanted me to speak on how God is there for us through trials and adversity in our lives. I have no experience with that, right? ;) Monday morning I saw the 1st Counselor in our Stake Presidency and in trying to get out of this I asked him if maybe they asked the wrong person. He told me that when they talked about it as a Stake Presidency, my name was the first one mentioned and "it made sense". Didn't sound like I was going to get out of it so I started preparing that day.<br /><br />So, I want to share part of my talk here because as I was researching my topic I found some great things. Here it is:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Elder Wirthlin, in his talk “Come What May and Love it” asks, “How can we love days that are filled with sorrow?” He then tells us, “We can’t—at least not in the moment. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.”<br /><br />Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.<br /></span><a name="29"></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.<br /><br />The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.<br /><br />President Eyring said,"The Lord will rescue His faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle."<br /><br />Living the gospel does not mean that we will never have adversity. Instead it means that we will be prepared to face and endure adversity more confidently.<br /><br />Elder Pino said, “Often we do not know what we can endure until after a trial of our faith. We are also taught by the Lord that we will never be tested beyond that which we can endure.”<br /><br />Elder Maxwell has told us; “Life is designed to give us experiences that will test our faith, and if we endure them well, having faith in Christ, the blessings and growth we will receive is incredulous!”<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><strong>**(Doctrine & Covenants 121:7-8:) “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high."** </strong></span></span><br /><br />I have never had a favorite scripture until reading the above scripture while researching for my talk. I am very grateful for the opportunity that I had to be able to share what I found, along with my own experience with being faced with brain cancer. I really was blessed in SO many ways that I never could complain about the trial my family was dealing with.<br /><br />For those of you reading this, I hope that<strong> instead of asking, "Why me?"</strong> when you are faced with adversity, you will <strong>accept the trial as an invitation to grow and qualify for eternal life, and gladly say, “Why NOT me?”. </strong>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-40191401238329645632009-04-11T17:35:00.005-06:002009-04-16T22:08:25.501-06:00New Guinness World Record made!This email just came to my inbox from the online Brain Tumor support group I am part of. Have to post it to my blog because a new world record was made in the name of Brain Tumor awareness! Make sure you click on the link to see a short video of all of the candles that were lit. SO exciting. :) - Jeanie<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~<br />Last night Miles For Hope along with its many supports broke the Guinness world record for the largest candlelight vigil! All in the name of brain tumor awareness.<br /><br />The OLD record was 1000 and although it was close, at one point I thought we fell just short, we broke it with 1049 candles lit! It was truly an amazing event. Bob and I along with Dr Liau and her family, our very own Drew, and other guests were in the balcony of the suite and overlooked the stadium, it was moving to overlook the sea of candles lit, all in hopes of finding a cure for brain tumors!<br /><br />We want to thank everyone who attended and supported us to make this event possible! We also wanted to thank Kris for bringing the hidden under our hats display, as always it was moving and well received.<br /><br /><br />Barb<br />Join us in our efforts <a href="http://www.milesforhope.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.milesforhope.org/</a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />w/o Bob Mixed Oligoastrocytoma Grade III<br />dx 5/16/04 Oligo II Right Occipital<br />MRI 6/13/05 showed growth 70% resection 9/12/05 Dr Liau UCLA<br />MRI 11/12/07 showed growth, now growing into Temporal & Parital Lobes<br />Started Temodar 5/23 protocol on 1/11/08 - 4 cycles completed<br />MRI 5/13/08 Showed 4.3 ccm reduction!<br />Complete resection 5/15/08<br />Pathology showed tumor now Mixed Oligoastrocytoma Grade III<br />Qualified for Brain Tumor Vaccine Trial with Dr Liau at UCLA<br />Starting trial approx 6/9/08<br /><br />Doing:<br />-Kytril for nausea<br />-Organic Juicing Daily<br />-White Tea<br />-Focusing on Super Foods<br />-Exercise<br />-Plenty of rest<br /><br />m/o Christopher dx 5/14/05 Cavernous Hemangeoma Left Cerebellum<br />Complete resection Dr Frazee UCLA 9/9/05<br /></span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.com/visit/bobchris" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-size:78%;">www.caringbridge.com/visit/bobchris</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mav-inc.com/Vig/V2-Flash.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.mav-inc.com/Vig/V2-Flash.html</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#990000;">"Be kinder than necessary,<br />for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."</span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-80030976228785422362009-01-13T10:15:00.003-07:002009-01-13T10:35:09.345-07:001 year nowI went in for my 6 months check-up with my surgeon and because he was busy with another patient, I saw the nurse practitioner. I told the NP everything from the last visit I had and about going a year between my MRI's and I got it. YAY! So my next MRI will be this summer. I am VERY grateful for how well I have been doing and that I am able to have that year between my MRI's now. I hope it stays that way until I am extremely old ;). I haven't posted any pics of me for a long time so here's one that is somewhat recent. <div> </div><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290832231815038114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXwBkld3bt5BGc7qxGpOQg3OZX2biQu90ecKHJ06jZGV8SN2d8KUylrLPeZohgAZKoXxy_3q64geSPY__s33_CdAzKc0YA-nnRWdI19XcnMJLCAEAT1EP2yDkoielPdKm6N5B/s320/IMG_1863.JPG" border="0" /> </div>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-88137715448563609392008-08-01T14:38:00.000-06:002008-08-01T14:44:58.597-06:00My last MRI & visit with my surgeon<span style="font-family:Arial;">I actually saw my surgeon (Dr. Gardner) for my normal check-up appointment in June. I hadn't had an MRI because he told me last December that if I was still doing well when he saw me that we would start going a year between MRI's as long as I was comfortable with it and wasn't having any problems. So when I saw him in June he asked me to remind him what type of tumor I had. So I did, and he explained that since it was an anaplastic tumor and a higher grade he wanted me to get an MRI done. He doesn't want to risk getting "behind it" and would rather see that everything really is great. So I had the MRI and 2 weeks later saw him again. Yep, everything still looks great. I'm so glad I paid him $25 to know :) Haha.... </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">So I will see him again in January of 2009. No MRI scheduled at this point because he said the same thing again about having me go a year between MRI's as long as I'm still doing well when I see him again. I wonder if it will really happen? </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Until next time.....</span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-70589211827736258512008-01-03T20:18:00.001-07:002011-09-23T11:37:50.733-06:00A very late update<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">I didn't realize that I haven't posted my most recent update from the MRI I had the day before Thanksgiving. I saw my surgeon on Dec. 11. My MRI shows a small cyst in the area where he removed the tumor and my brain but he wasn't concerned. It also showed that my brain is starting to fill in the hole which I think is cool! He said that everything looks great and he doesn't want to see me until June... which means that it'll be 6 months before I see him again! He also said that if I am still doing great in June then he'll put me out a year before my next MRI (so the end of November 2008 I'll have my next one). I'm happy that things are going so well and hope they will stay going well :)</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #99ffff;"><br /><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">PS- I'm also doing a lot better with the breakdowns I was having. I haven't had one in a while (YAY!)</span></span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-35518166020352961592007-12-04T13:35:00.000-07:002007-12-04T14:01:53.859-07:00Breakdowns<em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dustin went to Chicago for work at the beginning of October for 6 days. It was very hard on me to be alone with our kids for so long. I was exhausted and overwhelmed. After a few days I had a breakdown, and I had one every day after, until up to 2 days after Dustin got home. Since then, I keep having them. It's not that the kids are being horrible or doing things that normal kids don't do but it seems like things happen when they aren't convenient for me and my schedule so I stress out, yell and scream at them for these things and I hate it. I end up locking myself in my room for a time-out and try to think about what is going on and why. Well my surgeon asks at every check if anyone has noticed personality changes with me, so I was concerned. I called his office and they said that what was going on wouldn't be directly related to the tumor but wanted me to get an MRI to see if there are any changes. I had the MRI last Wednesday. I'll see my surgeon next week on Tuesday. I hope that there aren't any changes but want to know why suddenly I started having these episodes (besides the fact that I had almost no help or breaks from my kids for 6 days)???</span></em>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-78052488777325192282007-09-06T20:32:00.000-06:002011-09-23T11:39:00.024-06:00You look great!<em><span style="font-family: georgia;">I had an MRI in August for a normal check up and Dr. Gardner said, "Well, Jeanie, I think you look great!" I replied with, " I know, but how does my brain look?" Haha.... ;) </span></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Other than some white areas where my brain is reacting from the radiation therapy, my brain looks great. I will see Dr. Gardner again in December without having an MRI first to see how I am doing then we will schedule the MRI. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>My girls started gymnastics today and while I was there I was having a conversation with the lady next to me. I told her all about my brain cancer and my surgeries and everything and she told me I should write a book about my experience. While I appreciate everything that me and my family have been blessed with, I know there are others out there who are less fortunate. I Keep them in my thoughts and my prayers and because I have not experienced what they have, I couldn't say anything about my experience as a brain cancer survivor other than things could have been worse and they weren't so we are very grateful. </em><br />
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<em><span style="color: #ccffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></em>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-6692439943109869932007-06-03T16:23:00.001-06:002007-06-03T16:29:12.012-06:00Not Recent<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f7rk7e6v-BzUTWO4DTbp_2WD_bJjXy5FoGgIufV4ffvOd3vdWQZghuhNtbS8QH72RqXvliozUTHBl5xLDn_ipUAwLuof0Kkx_1zR_BGLt0tcB7esCklz_hKUf-r1lhd5alA9/s1600-h/pics+from+Jan-April+2007+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f7rk7e6v-BzUTWO4DTbp_2WD_bJjXy5FoGgIufV4ffvOd3vdWQZghuhNtbS8QH72RqXvliozUTHBl5xLDn_ipUAwLuof0Kkx_1zR_BGLt0tcB7esCklz_hKUf-r1lhd5alA9/s400/pics+from+Jan-April+2007+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071967864823844626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really like this color lately :)<br /><br />I intended on posting this picture a few months ago showing what I looked like and forgot about it! Anyway, my hair is longer today and my little scab you see in the picture (that started out as a BIG scab) is completely gone. I'll get another updated pic and post it another day.... or maybe today? We'll see. <br /></span></span></span></span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-13283172168515903552007-06-03T16:21:00.001-06:002007-06-03T16:22:16.607-06:00Eric won't need surgery<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well Eric finally had his tests done and they said that the cyst looks stable and he won't need surgery or anything at this point. What a relief!<br /></span></span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-89343044700484802732007-04-26T20:22:00.000-06:002011-09-23T12:36:04.784-06:002 in the same family?<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So my little brother who is 21 had an MRI that I knew nothing about until today. My mom called me, in tears, and asked if it ever ends. I was clueless until she proceeded to tell me that Eric has a 3 inch cyst on the back of his brain and needs to go get more testing done to find out if he'll need surgery or not. Wow what a slap in the face! I'm really sad about this. For those of you who don't know, Eric was adopted by my parents at the age of 11. He came to our family a year before that as a foster child. The poor little guy had been abused in so many ways some of them you would never even imagine! He has a huge heart and has always been so full of love. I've always admired him for it. If he hasn't been through enough already! It really just breaks my heart. Anyway, I needed to vent. Dustin isn't here this week due to a conference for work in Vegas and I won't see him until tomorrow night. Blah!</span></span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-36233401128349897412007-02-07T14:34:00.000-07:002011-09-23T12:38:35.984-06:00RecoveredWell I had my surgery on January 22 and got my plastic put in, lol..... I went home the night of the 23 and have been feeling really good! I was able to go to my dance class last night which was great. Hopefully this is the last of my surgeries!Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-35163206752690175092007-01-10T21:47:00.000-07:002007-01-10T21:48:21.413-07:00Surgery ScheduledI just wanted to note that my surgery is scheduled for Monday the 22nd of this month, so just over a week from now. Looking forward to it! :)Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-41395190520263618132006-12-22T16:40:00.000-07:002011-09-23T12:41:06.404-06:00Some bad news, and some GOOD news!<span style="font-family: verdana;"><em>First I need to mention that the infection I had was not a staph infection, it was an infection that's like having a zit on the inside of your head, which actually has turned out to be somewhat of a blessing- since I got an infection it was best that it was contained so it wouldn't have killed me (YIKES I hate to say that!) </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><em>ANYWAY...... </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><em>I just wanted to post that I found out today I don't have to wait 4 months before I can have my artificial bone flap put in. I will have a cat scan done on Jan. 5th so they can get the dimensions of the area and start making the flap. I think the surgery will be 1-2 weeks after that, but I'm not 100% sure on the exact day. I'll post again on that. We are very excited!</em></span>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226359.post-42368843617607534702006-12-02T20:34:00.001-07:002008-12-05T10:00:31.027-07:00Staff Infection- Another Surgery- 2 Weeks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qJj2XjVj-d2_Msx7e2kOCGFjqYQ6HB5jAMjr9C6iy-iZ7Wau3AuQZWg6MZnDxNp8haTJdkB1HsgftVcM5wpT7g5nBbYi17NvUve-pzW2vAh6yZaSwCdAiJ53JUlequOHgoSM/s1600-h/Bone+flap+out+.jpg"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5008441781267022306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qJj2XjVj-d2_Msx7e2kOCGFjqYQ6HB5jAMjr9C6iy-iZ7Wau3AuQZWg6MZnDxNp8haTJdkB1HsgftVcM5wpT7g5nBbYi17NvUve-pzW2vAh6yZaSwCdAiJ53JUlequOHgoSM/s400/Bone+flap+out+.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><br /> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>It's been a few weeks since I've posted. Almost 3 weeks ago on a Monday, a screw in my head where the bone flap is was bothering me. By the time Dustin got home from work, it was a little swollen and pink. I called my surgeon's office and went in the next morning (Tuesday). I got a CT scan done, and yep- it was a screw coming up. The CT scan also showed a collection of fluid under my bone flap, but we could see that the area had an infection because it was more red and swollen. I was put on an antibiotic and 800mg Ibuprofin and told to come back in Friday, unless it got worse. Well, by Wednesday night it was more swollen and hurt more so I went to the ER. They put me on an IV antibiotic and told me I had to see my surgeon again in the morning. Thursday morning I go in and end up needing another surgery to clean out the infection. I had surgery and thought that I would be going home Friday or Saturday. Boy was I wrong! I was in the Hospital for 2 weeks and a day. The infection was really slow growing so I was on 3 antibiotics through a picc line rotating 3-4 times during the day and night until the Infection Control Dr. (Igor Abolnik) knew what the infection was. It came back a staff infection, and something that would be like having a zit on the inside of your head. Don't ask me what that means really, I'm just telling you like Abolnik told me. So I'm finally home now, and down to 2 antibiotics. I still have the picc line and will be on the antibiotics for another month. OH- I forgot to mention that the infection was in my bone flap so they took that out also. I have a big dent in my head. Should I post a picture? It looks weird but I don't think it looks too gross or anything. Respond and let me know if you think it would be too gross or if I should post it.<br /><br />Well I need to get started on my Christmas cards.</div>Jeaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01953904160232645802noreply@blogger.com4