New York Love

We love you sooooo very much. Sending you lots of HUGS and KISSES. Can't wait to see you.

no wasting time

Today was day two since Shirlene had her first chemotherapy treatment. She is doing great. She seems to have two paces. Either extremely energetic and anxious or passed out exhausted. She has been waiting patiently to get up to Midway to find some home decor for her house and decided today was the day. We were completely shocked that she would have the energy to go but she had her mind made up and said she definately felt up to it. I also think she is growing slightly tired of her house since she's spent so much time in it this past month. I know she also did it for me knowing I wanted to get there before I had to head back home tomorrow. So for those reasons and with Shirlene feeling up to it we made it there this afternoon and all found fun, unique decor for our homes. We ended up having a late lunch and enjoyed the car ride home sleeping, except for Shannon who had to drive of course.

My girls and I have had a great time being here with Shirlene and Mike and Shannon's family. We are going to miss being so close but know we'll be back up soon. Shirlene, you're amazing! Thank you for the great example you've always been and continue to be to us. We love you.

For Olivia

This is a special post for Olivia, Grandma loves you and she is in no pain and is doing great. This picture was taken after her 1st chemo treatment today.

Chemo begins

Noon tomorrow will be my first chemotherapy. For those of you in the know the drugs I'll be given are Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin. I looked them up on the internet to see all the fun I'm in for and if you're interested you'll find them on www.chemocare.com/bio Mike, Shannon and I went to a chemo class last week and I chose Mondays as my treatment day so that I'll be feeling good by the weekend. Treatments will be every 21 days with December 7th being the last one. Each treatment will last about 4 hours. We were told in class that the first few days can be rough, but by day 4 or 5 I should be feeling pretty good, and if I don't have too many side effects I could even do a little traveling on the second or third week (NYC here I come!) Dr. Litton said he has a patient who goes skiing after therapy, and other patients who are positive he is trying to kill them. He said, "I'm not saying this isn't real......for them", but he suspects I'll be somewhere in between although I'd like to think I'll be up for skiing! Dr. Allred was able to remove my drains on Monday and Dr. Anderson gave me thumbs up to start using my arms on Wednesday so I've been in heaven these last few days as I can finally shower, dress, and do my own hair. It was also great to be able to go to church for the first time in weeks today. The priests in my ward have been bringing the sacarament to my home and while I have considered this a wonderful blessing there is nothing like fellowshipping with the saints, and feeling the spirit there. The Lord has blessed me abundantly with loving, caring family, friends, neighbors, and ward members whom I love dearly. I can't say I'm grateful to have breast cancer, but I am grateful to have my eyes opened to the tender mercies of the the Lord because of it. Once again, thanks for your love and support. It's been great to see so many of you, and I look forward to more visits.

Thanks to Dawn and Kristen for posting pictures (I have no idea how to do it). The girls had such a fun time while they were all in Utah. I had to pass on the activities until Wednesday when Dawn and I took Zoe and Tatym to Liberty Park.

Wigging Out!

I think I'm a really good sport to let the girls post these pictures!!! We did have a blast shopping for my wig after a fun birthday lunch at Zin's for Kristen. The girls talked me into going for the one with highlights so when I'm not sporting the shinny cranium this will be my new look. I went for an EKG and more blood tests today, then visited with the surgeon's nurse to see if I could have the last two drains removed (I promise that is NOT my stomach) but unfortunately they will continue to be my very close friends for a few more days. It has been absolutely fabulous having family here. Chris and his family are on their way home, but Brandon and Dawn joined us last weekend and they'll be here for awhile. I've loved watching all the granddaughters laugh and play and dance and have good times together. Kristen and Dawn have been so sweet and helpful. I don't know many daughters-in-law who would help their fat, old mother-in-law the way they have, but it's been good for Shan to have a break. It has really lifted my spirits to have so much family around and I know it is a sweet tender mercy from the Lord. I've had a couple of surprise visits from Arizona friends as well - what a treat! I love having visitors. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers. I could not do this without your help.

Good News

After a week of holding our breath, we let out a sigh of relief today after meeting with the Oncologist. The good news is...the cancer has not spread beyond the lymph nodes, and the pathology on the lymph node dissection showed only 2 of 6 nodes were malignant. Yeah!! Chemotherapy will begin on July 28th and treatments will continue every three weeks until mid December. After Christmas, Radiation will begin everyday for 5 weeks. After that, hormone and biologic therapy will continue for 5 years. My mom is feeling extrememly grateful and very blessed at this time. She's a little tired and worn out, but continues to strengthen all of us with her positive attitude and her unwavering faith. She has a long road to recovery ahead of her, but I am convinced that she will beat this and come out of it stronger than ever!

These pictures are out of order, some from Cali., from the 4th and at Grandmas house.

July 4th & 5th

Chris, Kristen, Livy, Ivy, Chloe, and Lily arrived early in the morning on the 4th and were up and ready for the annual Pepperwood parade which started at 8:00 am. Mike took lots of pictures so I felt like I had a good view of the show. Kathie Horman (grandma to Chris' girls) made a fabulous Genie float which she pulled with her golf cart and the girls looked great riding on it dressed in genie costumes. Lily was riding on the back of the float facing backwards and ate more candy than she threw so she got a little sick by the end of the parade. In her lispy words " Gwamma, it'th not gweat sthlidding off a float!" Emrey and Sofey rode in grandpa Johnson's decorated Argo and he treated them to several 360's along the route. Abbey and her motorcycle were decked out in red, white and blue but the entourage moved way too slow for her! Haley was in heaven as the only horsewoman. Rusty (her horse) looked great with his new shoes and bright red halter. All in all everyone had a great time and it was a perfect way to start the weekend celebrations. Everyone came to the house after the parade and we loved being together for the day. We left all the girls home in the afternoon and enjoyed a two hour lunch at Kneaders on the patio. Because of daylight savings fireworks start after 9:00pm so Mike and I watched them from our bedroom window. Today was another fun filled day for everyone starting out with golfing for the guys and them the adults savoring a fabulous lunch at Zupa's (Kristen's favorite place).
It has been such a blessing to feel the healing powers of the Savior as I'm gaining strength daily and healing from the surgery. I'm confident that I'll be able to start treatment on schedule and grateful to everyone for all their help and loving care. I'm pretty spoiled by my family. We have truly been grateful for the delicious meals and fabulous treats that our friends have been bringing to us. You will never know how much it means to us and what blessing it is to come home after a long day at the hospital and have a beautiful meal ready to eat. I need to send thank you notes, but I want those of you who have sent flowers to know that my home looks (and smells) beautiful and happy because of the wonderful bouquets. I have never seen such unique and georgeous flowers!! Thanks to: Bonnie, Vicki, & Betty; Kiewit "family"; WW Clyde; Jeff & Connie; Steve, Angie & Owen; Julie & Danny, Dick & Tony, Bill & Cal; and neighbors who helped plant 4 flats in my yard! And tons of love and thanks to Scott and Cyndee for the gifts and visits.
I have loved visiting with those of you who have come to my home and hope you feel welcome at any time. Thanks again for your love and prayers.
Love,
Shirlene

My Nurses

Abbey and Sofey deserve a medal of honor for nursing today. Shannon needed to go to Cosco for us today and I assured her that I'd be just fine so she left Abbey and Sofey in charge. Unfortunately the medications I'm on sort of caught up with me and it was pretty wild for about half an hour with my two little nurses scurrying around and taking extra good care of me. After they got everything cleaned up they puffed up my bed pillows and got me back in bed, turned on a movie and then crawled in bed with me until Shannon got home. Pretty remarkable for a 6 and 9 year old!!! I'm feeling great tonight and look forward to hearing all about the the 4th festivities. What a blessing to live in this great country. Have a wonderful 4th and weekend!!! I love you all.

The Day After......

Hello everyone! I'm loving this blog thing....I feel connected to everyone and what a blessing that is. It's been a long day, but a really good one. I was released from the hospital to go directly to the oncologist and it was great to meet with him and learn more about this disease and how we will proceed. There are so many factors to consider when treating breast cancer and we now have all but a couple of pieces to complete the puzzle. Chemo will not start any sooner than the 21st as my body needs to heal from the surgery. The chemo will go for 18 weeks, so I should be done by Christmas! After that I'll do radiation therapy for five weeks. Biologic therapy will continue for another eight months with hormone therapy taking five years. Mike and I feel very confident with Dr. Litton and we're really impressed with the Huntsman Cancer center. It is quite the facility with all kinds of free classes for patients and their family and friends. It's only about a 20 minute drive from my home which makes it even better.
Thank you for your love and support...I feel it and it does make a difference. I'm so grateful for each one of you and hope to be able to see as many of you as possible over the next few months. Chris and Kristen and the girls are coming up tomorrow and it will be sooo good to see them. Dawn and Brandon will come up around the 12th and Taylor and Susie hope to visit later on this summer as Taylor just started his Pediatric Dental residency in NY. I am feeling good, and have not had to take any pain meds since yesterday. I'm going to do everything I can to let my body heal over the next couple of weeks and hope that Mike and Shannon will have a little reprieve as well. If you want to write a comment just click on "comment" at the bottom of the post and it will guide you. I love hearing from you. My love to all.

Successful Surgery

The surgery went very well today and both surgeons were very positive and hopeful about things. My mom feels good and is in great spirits. Everyone who knows her, knows of her great strength and determination. She will meet with the Oncologist tomorrow and is looking forward to moving on with her treatment. She wanted me to let everyone know that she has faith in her doctors and faith that the Lord is aware of her and of her needs. Thanks to all who have sent flowers, emails, offered food and kept my mom in your prayers--your love and support is a constant blessing.

The journey begins...

Dear Family and Friends,
In less than eight hours I will begin my journey to recovery of breast cancer. As most of you know I was diagnosed just one week ago and already we have been blessed with great miracles and tender mercies from the Lord. I know He is near and will continue to bless me and my family, and we thank you for your contined love and prayers. In the morning I'll undergo surgery for a bilateral modified radical mastectomy with removal of lymph nodes from under my left arm. Dr's Erik Anderson and Bryce Allred will perform the surgery at the new Intermountain Medical Center, and on Wednesday I'll meet with the oncologist, Dr. Litton at the same facility. I'm told I'll probably start Chemo immediately although I have no idea what the schedule and time frame will be, but I'm sure I'll know soon enough. When I'm finished with chemo I will undergo radiation and then reconstruction so I guess I'll have to bow out of the upcoming ward welfare assignment! I planned to go wig shopping today, but opted to soak up the sun for a couple of hours with Shan and the girls at Lifetime, so I'm hoping for a few good days to check out the hair scene before week two of chemo.
Thanks to my wonderful ward family and friends who joined in fasting and prayer yesterday-a miracle was granted. I was struggling with the previously planned procedure to operate on the left side only. My good friend and neighbor, Dr. John Nichols came over Sunday night and offered some very good advice. I was prepared to call Dr. Anderson this morning to discuss my concerns, but to my surprise he called me and said he'd been thinking about my upcoming surgery and felt we needed to remove both sides, but we would have to postpone for a week due to the fact it would now require more O.R. time and a plastic surgeon. He expressed his concern about postponing chemo for another week, but felt there was no alternative. I thanked him and hung up the phone. Within minutes he called back to inform me that he had lined up the plastic surgeon and extended the OR time and we were back on track. Thank you, friends and family; fasting and prayer works!
It is impossible to put into words the love and appreciation I feel for my wonderful, faithful, practically perfect husband, children, and grandchildren. Sweet memories of our recent family vacation will sustain me over the next weeks and months, and I can hardly wait to hug you and be with you again. You are the reason I will beat this.

My love to all-
Shirlene

(Mom wrote this June 30th @ 10:00 pm)