Crocodile-DONE-dee!!!

Yep! You read that right! My first treatment was a success!

Gert has shrunk to about half the original size and she's no longer causing pain. The doc said .....cue the bright lights and choir..... for now I'm done with treatments!!! That is, unless my pain comes back or it starts to swell again. Which may never happen, but there is a slight chance since we did not actually REMOVE the tumor. I asked him if we could "get ahead" of the symptoms- like earn extra credit if we went ahead did a few more treatments- but he explained that regardless if I have it done 1 or 50 times there's no way to prevent it from coming back, if it ever decides to. He said my biggest risk of it growing again is when we decide to get pregnant. Apparently she's reactive to hormones (surprise, surprise). He told me if it starts to bother me again, all I have to do is email his nurse and she'll get me set up for another injection. My last words to him as I was walking out the door were "Well, I really do like you...but I hope I never have to see you again!"

There's no doubt Gertie has tested my patience and taken me on quite a ride over the last several years. And there have been moments when having faith and staying positive was the hardest thing to do. But now, not only have I gotten answers and a diagnosis...I am free from the pain and swelling. And even if it does come back, there is peace in knowing there's something I can do about it! Thankful is truly an understatement. God is so good!

Hit the road sister!

Hi friends! My procedure went really well today and we are already back home! I'm not in a lot of pain, just really sore, and very swollen. Gertie just had to be large and in charge one last time! But the doctor says its normal. I'm not sure how long the swelling will take to go down...but thankfully I'm a certified hoarder of scarves so I should be good for at least a week or two :)

He said he was able to fill the entire mass with the sclerosis solution...which he wasn't sure he would be able to do on the first time, so that was GREAT NEWS to hear! The more he's able to fill the tumor with the solution, the faster it will get in there and start shutting down all of the blood flow. It will take about 4 weeks to see the final results of the treatment. I have to take it very easy for the next month. He doesn't want me doing anything that might increase the blood flow in that area and hinder it from scarring, sticking together, and shrinking. So that means no running, no elliptical, no weight lifting, no kick boxing, basically no NUTHIN. But if no exercise is what it takes to get Gertie the heck outta here- its worth it!!! Too bad working, cleaning the house, and laundry isn't on that list......

I'll be seeing the doc in about 4-6 weeks for a post procedure appointment. That's where we'll asses the results and see if I need a second treatment. 

Thank you so much for all the prayers. I know the Lord is hearing them and answering. So many things have already gone better than I ever imagined. The peace I felt yesterday is even stronger today. I have no fears or worries this time. The anxiety I had the first 2 surgeries was almost unbearable. So I'm very thankful to feel the way I do today. John 14:27 says, "I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." I feel like I should tattoo that scripture on my forehead right now! Its so true, yet so easy to forget!

Well....thanks again to all of you keeping me in your thoughts and prayers...I'll be keeping you posted!

Hello and Goodbye

I decided to write this blog to keep everyone in the loop about my latest medical "adventure" with Gertrude. If you're not sure who Gertie is...let me introduce you to the pain in my neck (no pun intended) benign tumor that I've been dealing with for 8 years. (I will post my MRI image soon.)

When I was 18, I was in a minor fender bender that left me with a stiff and achy neck. That was the first time I noticed something was wrong. I felt a small squishy lump about the size of a grape deep inside my neck. I went to the doctor and they assured me it was just an inflamed muscle caused from the wreck. They told me to keep an eye on it and let them know if anything changed. Well months went by and the "muscle" never went away and actually started to get bigger. 

 So this is where my  journey begins...

 I went to several doctors and was told many different things about what this mysterious lump on the back of my neck might be. The opinions ranged from calcified hair follicle to lymphoma. When I was 21, I decided I couldn't live with the unknown any longer and my doctor agreed that surgery was the best option to remove whatever this was that was slowly getting bigger. Much to my dismay, the surgery was unsuccessful in removal of the lump. And to top it off, the nerve connecting my shoulder to my neck got messed with during the operation and I was unable to lift my arm above my shoulder line for about 6months.  After I made the full recovery from an unsuccessful surgery- we discovered that not only was it still there but it was about twice the size. 

 Fast forward about 8 months and I found myself in a different doctors  office once again discussing the possibility of another surgery. The doctor seemed confident that he could remove this thing with no problem at all. So we went ahead and agreed to the 2nd surgery. This one went a little better than the first- but not much better. The nerve did not get damaged and he was able to remove a small part of the lump which he later described as a "vascular looking tumor full of blood and veins" (sorry to those of you who are faint at heart) Well, to make a long story short...removing only part of this type of tumor is as successful as not removing it at all. In fact, we've now learned that trauma can actually make these things grow. But I'm getting ahead of myself....Anyways, I bet you can guess what happened after I recovered from that surgery.... YEP!!! It came back. EVEN BIGGER. 

 Fast forward again to this January. I was busy training for my marathon and constantly being bothered by this stupid tumor on the back of my neck. When I would get hot, or lay down to sleep at night, it would throb and just feel so uncomfortable. But as I'm sure most of you can imagine, multiple doctors and 2 surgeries later, the thought of going through it all over again sounded like the worst idea ever. But thanks to some major harassment from a good friend of mine (loving harassment of course)...ahem, Heath.  I agreed to seeing the last doctor again to get a referral into a medical school or teaching hospital somewhere else. Since January we've had the pleasure of meeting two INCREDIBLE doctors at Vanderbilt in Nashville. One is an ENT who specializes in the removal of head and neck tumors and the other is an Interventional Radiologist. They have officially diagnosed Gertie as a "venolymphatic malformation". And although they say it will likely never turn into cancer, it will continue to grow. We have also learned that there is another treatment option besides another surgery! HALLELUJAH! It's called Sclerotherapy. How it works is they will inject a solution into the tumor which will cause the walls and blood vessels to stick together, causing it to shrink and sink beneath the surface. It's likely it will take more than one treatment but the success rate is very high. After 2 horrible experiences with surgery and knowing it will not go away on its own and will continue to get bigger (Shes already the size of a small peach. Oh yes, you read that right...we've grown from a grape to a peach. I just hope to get her taken care of before she grows to the size of a watermelon!) Anyways, I have decided to give this injection therapy a shot at getting rid of Gertie once and for all!

 So fast forward one more time to today, June 14th. We are on our way to Vanderbilt for my first treatment. My emotions are all over the place. I'm excited, nervous, scared, hopeful...just about anything you can imagine...I think I've felt it today. But even with all those emotions going on the one I feel the most is peace. I KNOW with every ounce of my being that the Lord has my back in all this. Although this has been a long, long road and I do hope it's coming to an end soon...looking back I am thankful for the obstacles I've had to face. It has forced me to rely solely on Him...and put my faith in His promise that He knows the plans He has for me. 

 So.......here's to saying "GOODBYE GERTRUDE" one last time! :)