Bump in the Road

Double date at The Cheesecake Factory

Dinner at Olive Garden

My daddy and me at Olive Garden

Smiley me after mom helped me tint and shape my eyebrows

Sexy cross-eyed Shelsi

Hello Lovely People!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Unfortunately this update isn’t going to have good news like we had hoped to give. I still have hope and faith that we will get through this bump in the road like we have done throughout this entire year. I know it is thanks to all of your love and prayers and the power of priesthood blessings. I really appreciate all of your faith and support that you have given to my family and me. I got admitted to the hospital last Tuesday like I always do. I was hoping to leave Saturday like I was able to last round but my white blood cell count was too low. I thought for sure I’d be leaving Sunday. Nope. I cried when they told me they were making me stay another night. They wanted me to wait until my regular doctor could see me and decide if I could go home Monday. I was so frustrated. I just wanted to go home with my husband and sleep in my own bed. I was feeling a little better later so I told Eric he could go home so he could work in the morning since he would be taking Thursday and Friday off for the holiday. Monday morning came and a new doctor came in and told me my white count was up from 1.7 to 1.9 but that I still had to wait to see my doctor because that still might not be high enough. Around 3 I broke into tears again because my doctor had still not been by and I wanted so badly to go home. All day I kept asking my nurse if she had any idea when my doctor would be coming by. She didn’t. I even called my doctors nurse but she was at the hospital getting a cast put on her broken arm. Finally around 4:30 my doc came in along with my neurosurgeon who performed my craniotomy, another doctor, and a couple nurses. I thought to myself, this can’t be good. Usually it’s just my doctor and maybe his nurse who come see me. He asked me if I had any idea what was going on with my last MRI scan. I told him I hadn’t been able to find out anything about it since I had been at the hospital. They told me that they saw a small spot of tumor in my brain again about the size of a marble. I was in shock. The methotrexate that I was being given just wasn’t strong enough to kill remaining cancer cells so the darn little things started to grow into an ugly mass again. I was trying so hard not to fall apart in front of everyone. It was hard to hold back the tears but I didn’t let them fall down my cheeks. Not then, anyways. They told me that most likely the next step will be radiation and a stem cell transplant with intense chemotherapy, even more intense than what I have already gotten. They weren’t sure when everything would begin, but they knew that they wanted it to be soon. When they left the room I closed my door and balled like a baby. I called my husband, sobbing, then my dad, sobbing, then my mom, sobbing, etc. My sweet husband took the news so well. His voice and words stayed positive and upbeat. I was grateful for that. My dad came to pick me up from the hospital. We had a nice ride home together. Tuesday my mom came to visit and help me out. We had some fun girly time shaping (she had to rip off my wax strip cuz I just couldn't pull myself to do it. Ouch!!) and tinting our eyebrows and laughing hysterically at really silly scary pictures of me. The Monday before I went back to the hospital my dad and his fiancé Gretchen took Eric and I out for our anniversary. We went to Olive Garden and had a very nice time. The Friday before that we double dated with a young couple whom we have known for a while. We went to Cheesecake Factory. It was really good! Well, that is the latest news. I am doing very well and look forward to the near future when I can finally say I battled cancer and won!

I love you all!!

Shelsi

Before and After Brain Surgery

How 'bout Another Round?!

My sister came with halloween decorations to hang up in my hospital room! Her boys came with her dressed as a spiderman ninja and a ninja. They looked so cute! My sister was dressed as Marilyn Monroe. She looked beautiful! My husband brought the red roses and white daisies to the hospital when we hadn't seen each other for a few days. He's so sweet! My mom also had those pretty yellow flowers delivered to my hospital room! Thanks mom! The other pictures are of Kira, Andrew, Tony, Jamin, Mom, and Eric and I when we went to Universal City Walk to see Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D. It was way fun! When we got home from the hospital during the fires this is what it looked like looking across the street from us. The fires were the opposite direction so I think that is just from the wind blowing the smoke around. It looked crazy! Anyways, I have to be at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning on Tuesday for some scans to show that I am in remission. That will be exciting! Then Wednesday is round 6 of chemo. Then home again Saturday or Sunday. I met a really sweet and inspiring girl around my age who found my website on the web. She had cancer as well and went through chemo and surgery and is now in remission. She is also LDS (Mormon) What a small world! Eric and I went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with some friends. We had a nice time! We are really looking forward to sharing that piece we got to go tonight. Peanut Butter cups, caramel, and butterfinger baked right into it. Yummy! Well, I'm gonna go for now but I'll try to write again soon!

YES! AN UPDATE FROM SHELSI!!

I know, I know. I am the worst blogger ever! I don't update for months and I don't post any new fun pictures. I'm a bore! Well, at least everyone else has fun stuff to talk about and keep us entertained, right? I will give you my little excuse, though, so excuse it if you will. Boy was it exciting when I finished radiation. It was such a breeze! My doctor said, "alright, it's time to start gaining your weight back and get back to your normal life. Rebuild your strength and put this cancer stuff behind you!" I believe that was the end of July. So, that's what I did. For some reason, though, there was something in the back of my mind that said, sorry, but you aren't out of the woods yet. Towards the end of August I started getting sharp pains in my neck and up my head along with the dry heaves. My mom had a co-worker that had a bunch of tumors in her head that were caught too late and she died. Well, dying really isn't my thing quite yet so I called my nurse, thanks to my mom and my sister pushing me to. When I called, she was very concerned and had me come in right away so that I could get a brain scan. After I got it, I went home. The next morning I was woken by a call that told me they had seen something on the scan. So, back I went to the hospital. SCARY!! They did surgery right away to remove it. I've never gone under the knife before so it was weird breathing and then all of a sudden it being done and slowly coming to. My head looked so huge with the bandage and I looked all swollen and bruised like I'd been hit by a bus. I felt like that too! What fun! Do you ever watch Everybody Loves Raymond? I love that show. After my surgery, Brad Garrett who played Robert was there visiting his dad who was having surgery, too. My fam ran into him and told him I would love a visit! So in my room he walked and introduced himself. He is very nice! He asked for my address so him and Ray could send me something. When I returned from the hospital there was already a package. He included a hard back book of Everybody Loves Raymond that all the cast had signed before the series ended, a signed head-shot of him, a personal note to me, and a couple of dvd's. How cool is that! Anyways, back to the cancer thing. So I started more chemo right away. I am done with my second treatment. Each time I get chemo I have to stay in the hospital 3-5 days. Then I go home for like 9 and come back. I'll be doing this till like right before Christmas. That will be an awesome Christmas present. Being done with chemo, again! There is talk of possible radiation. Let's just pray that whatever is best will be what is done for me. I guess there is just one more thing I want to say. I really hate decadron! It is a steroid that I am fortunately almost off of. It helps the swelling in my brain but does not help the swelling of my face. So, for the past while I have looked like a cabbage patch doll and little miss piggy! My eyes look all little and beady! I'm really getting tired of it! Decadron also changes moods so one minute I'm happy and the next I'm all depressed. Not fun stuff I tell you. Not fun stuff! Anyways, that was me complaining to you. Sorry. I feel better now! Well, that was my novel for you for the day, or week, or who knows with me. Thanks for reading! You all rock!