Weight Watchers Update

I missed my WW meeting last Monday night because we were in Pennsylvania. So when I went to weigh in tonight it had been 2 weeks since I had last weighed in. My last weigh in was a huge loss (4 lbs) and tonight I basically gained all of that weight back (3.4 lb gain!). I am not surprised at all by this though. While we were "on the road" for Sierra's arrival and Marge's surgery, I was not at all good with my eating - and of course, I didn't exercise one bit! So.....I'm back on track starting NOW.....going to eat better foods, going to eat less than I have been eating lately and definitely going to work out at the gym at least 3 times this week! We'll see what the scale says next week at this time.......

Is there Cancer?

That is the question we are asking about Keith's mom, Marge. Keith talked to her yesterday after she had been to see her oncologist. They gave her results from a blood test that she had done a week ago (before her recent surgery). Unfortunately, the news was not good. Or at least it doesn't sound good!

Her blood level count that can show if cancer is present was up! It was 23 a month ago and now it is 31. What does that mean? Well, we are not really sure to be honest. The doctor has told her in the past that this rise in her blood level count could mean that there is cancer somewhere in her body or it could mean nothing - just a residual count from the colon cancer she had removed last year.

So...what now? Well the doctor has scheduled her to have a full body scan and a mammogram done on April 28th & 29th. I was under the impression that they had ruled out breast cancer (because that is what Marge told us), but apparently since they have ordered her to have a mammogram, that is not necessarily the case.

She has been told that she will receive the results of the tests on May 5th. To me, that seems like a long time to wait to find out if she has cancer or not, but I guess the doctors know what they are doing. At least, we hope!

Keith has been very matter-of-fact about all of this in the past, but yesterday he admitted that he is scared and worried about his mom and what all of this might mean. I am trying to be supportive without sounding "preachy". And, we can both only hope that it's a false alarm and that there really isn't any major medical problem.

I ask you all for continued prayers for both Marge and Keith. We are praying for God's mercy and grace through all of this and hoping that good news will be forthcoming soon!

We are home

We are back in sunny VA. We drove back yesterday - left Marge's house around 4pm and got to our house around 9:30pm. We made a stop in Winchester, VA to get some dinner and all in all it was an uneventful ride home.

Marge was released from the hospital around noon yesterday. She was sent home with a few instructions such as no heavy lifting, don't get her bandages wet, eat a full liquid diet for a few days (that means things like pudding, soup, oatmeal, etc.) She was also given a prescription for pain killers (which she didn't want us to get filled because she said that she was going to need it but when Keith talked to her this morning she thanked him for getting it because she ended up using it last night when she felt some pain).

We were debating whether or not we should stay over one more night just to make sure she was ok, but then we decided to leave. We really weren't doing anything for her and we thought maybe she would "relax" a little and rest more if we were gone. She and Keith sometimes butt heads because he is trying to help her and she is resisting the help. I felt like maybe it would be better if we left since she was insistent that she didn't need our help.

Like I said, Keith talked to her this morning and she seems to be doing ok. She did have some pain last night so she took the pain meds and she said that she slept good for the most part. I know she was probably just happy to be home and in her own bed (I know Keith and I were thankful for that after spending 3 nights separated - me on the couch and him on the floor!)

Marge has a follow-up appointment tomorrow morning with her oncologist to get the results of a blood test that she had last Friday. Hopefully he will tell her that her "cancer blood levels" have gone down and are not continuing to go up. We are unsure what the next step is if the levels are still going up, but I am sure that more tests will be involved.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sierra/Karen update

Karen and Sierra are doing great! They left the hospital yesterday and are enjoying time at home. Click here - Karen's blog - to see updated pictures and keep up with the happenings at the Miller household.

Thank you for all of your continued well-wishes. I know Karen and Brian appreciate it.

Good News!

Marge is out of surgery and doing well. We are in her room right now and she is awake and feeling pretty good. She is having some pain in her abdomen area, where they cut her for the surgery. She is on pain medicine and can click a button when she wants the medicine administer (every 15 minutes at the most). She is also very thirsty and has dry mouth, as she hasn't been able to drink anything since yesterday at noon. We have asked the nurse to bring something to wet her lips and hopefully she will get that soon.

The surgeon told Keith that the procedure went well. They repaired the hernia and she now has some mesh in her abdomen to keep her intestines from protruding through her muscle wall. It sounds weird but apparently that is the standard procedure. Thankfully, they did not find a tumor or spot any cancer in the area that they repaired.

We are not sure if she will go home tomorrow or will need to stay longer. The doctor told Keith we will have to wait and see how she does. I am guessing they will want to monitor her pain and see how she responds to food and drink. Right now it looks like we will stay here until Wednesday, but like the doctor said, we will know more tomorrow.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. I will post more tomorrow when we see how she is progressing.

On the Road Again.....

Keith and I are packing up to head out again. This time we are headed north to Western PA to be with him mom while she is having surgery tomorrow. The surgery is to repair a hernia that she has had for a few months now. That procedure alone is not necessarily a risky one, but the doctors have told her that there might be a chance that she has a tumor "hidden" near the spot of the hernia.

The reason that they think this is because her "cancer blood level" has been elevated the past two times she has gone in to have it checked. The doctors are not sure if the elevated levels are just a residual effect of her colon cancer from last May or if it is a sign of new cancer.

They did a colonoscopy last month and determined that there was no cancer in her colon. Thank God! But, now they are unsure if it is somewhere else in her body or not.

Keith and I are leaving today to head up there. She has to report to the hospital at 11am tomorrow and thankfully she lives right down the street from the hospital. This way, Keith and I can walk back and forth between the hospital and her apartment. We'll be staying there until Tuesday definitely and possibly Wednesday depending on the outcome of the surgery.

She has a friend that lives in her building that has offered to help her out after the surgery - which is nice. But, she is not one to take help from many people, so we will have to see what the doctor says about her post-surgery care. At this point, we don't even know how long she will be in the hospital after the surgery. She might be released on Tuesday or if may be longer. Obviously, we will know more tomorrow when the procedure is done.

Please keep Marge in your prayers. She has been through a lot medically over the past year but she seems to be doing well for the most part. I will post an update when I know more (thankfully the hospital has wireless internet access so we can use our computers while we are there).

Great news!

Today was a great day for Baby Sierra and her parents! She was taken off of the oxygen last night and today Karen was able to breastfeed her. She is now staying in the room with Karen too. Hopefully they will both be leaving the hospital and heading home tomorrow. We are very happy that everything is going well for them! We thank God for all that he has done in the creation of Sierra and her safe delivery into this world.

Keith and I are hopefully going to get to see her in person sometime in the next few weeks. Until then, here are two pictures (isn't she just adorable!):