Shower of Love

Before I update you on Mom's status, let me say a special wow and thank you.  I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love so many of you have shown me since I posted about Mom's diagnosis last week.  Your texts, calls, emails, Facebook messages, etc. have covered me in love and support like a warm blanket, and so many of them have arrived at the exact minute I needed them most.  You are all very special to me, and please believe my sincerity when I say I am so thankful for each of you!

But now back to the news...
We did receive Mom's pathology report late last week.  First the positive:  the cancer was contained to her uterus, and her doctor was able to fully remove the cancer present.  Hallelujah, God is so good!  The news that was a little harder to swallow came in the form of his recommendation that she take 6 rounds of chemotherapy as well as some radiation.  This is strictly precautionary, and, as of now, Mom is planning to follow his recommendation.  We trust her oncologist completely and have total faith in his skill, training, experience, etc.  She will go back and see him around the first of May and, if healed enough from the hysterectomy, start her first round of chemo almost immediately, with one treatment every 3 weeks.  Please pray that her body will be strong enough to get started at that time, as well as that she will be able to withstand chemo with minimal side effects.
Now, as I mentioned in my last post, Mom doesn't seem to do anything the easy way--at least when it comes to her medical procedures!  This weekend was another prime example of that to add to our list.  When I got home Friday night, I noticed Mom's right ankle and lower leg were swollen, red around the ankle and warm to the touch.  She said she hadn't hurt it or twisted it or anything, but we elevated it and iced it Friday night, anyway.  I told her if it looked the same Saturday morning, we were going to need to go to the hospital.  When we woke up Saturday, it looked a little less swollen but not enough to wholly ease my mind.  So, we trekked it down to the ER, where, after several hours and several tests, they ruled out a blood clot (which is what I had feared) and diagnosed her with cellulitis, or a bacterial infection.  We were beyond thankful she doesn't have a blood clot, but we prayed her antibiotic would go to work quickly and effectively to reduce the infection.  Her doctor wanted to see her back in his office today, and, as he told us in the ER Saturday, he was 'not going to hesitate to put her in the hospital to receive antibiotics by IV' if he wasn't satisfied with her improvement.  I came home this afternoon to go to the doctor with her, and I am blessed to be able to say that, before I could even get to the office, he had seen her and dismissed her, very pleased with her improvement.  I am so thankful that we're at home watching American Idol now and not at the hospital getting IV antibiotics!  Again, God is SO good!
Please continue to keep those wonderful prayers coming as Mom continues to heal and prepare for chemo and radiation.  We are clinging to our faith tighter than ever before right now, and we are beyond thankful for your continued love and support.  Please pray specifically for me, as well, as I try to focus on my end-of-the-year responsibilities at work.  I've got lots to do to close out the school year and get these sweet (and, yes, a few not-so-sweet) seniors graduated, and I need to be able to clear my head of cancer and focus on them a little.  Can I ask y'all one other favor?  If you think of Mom over the next few weeks or months, will you drop a card in the mail to her?  She's gotten wonderful cards and notes from so many special people, and they both cheer and inspire her, as well as continue to remind her of how many people love and pray for her.  She goes back and reads those words when she's having a hard day, so those special words lift her up again and again.  I know how much it would mean to her... and how much it would mean to me, too.
Thanks again to all of you for your constant thoughts and outpouring of love; keep lifting us up, dear friends!
All my love,