Ovaries are clear....NO CANCER

I got a very important phone call today from my Ob/Gyn's office...the pathology from my ovaries is clear.  Praise God!  I did not think that they had cancer, but I don't ever take a "cancer free" report for granted. 

I head back to school tomorrow.  I am so thankful for such a quick recovery from this LAST SURGERY!

I will try and update the blog every month or so, but I am hoping to report everyday life stuff.

Please be praying for a few bills get reconciled.  Both are insurance errors and I am hopeful that they will be resolved quickly.  As I have tracked our Premara medical insurance, our families medical bills in the past year have exceeded $200,000.  WOW!!  I couldn't be more thankful for medical insurance.

We are heading down to Phoenix for a warm and sunny Christmas.  We have so much to be thankful for.  Much love to you all.

Love, Rachelle

AMAZING day of healing

I really can't believe how good I feel.  I am not sure if he really did surgery..HAHA!!

The day has been so easy and I feel very normal with no pain at all.  I am taking pain medication, but have great mobility and no restrictions. 

As we were waiting in the pre-op this morning I was pretty nervous and Curt reminded me that God is with me every step of this journey.  I was really scared that this last surgery would not go well...but thankfully I was wrong...the easiest recovery EVER!

Curt has been an amazing support to me today and EVERYDAY!  I am blessed beyond anything I could imagine. 

We also got the most delicious dinner from my friend Andrea...blessing after blessing.

Thank you for your continued prayers...they mean so much to me.  I love you guys!!

Ovaries are GONE!

All went great this morning during my surgery.  I'm feeling fantastic and resting comfortably at home.  Thank you for your prayers... God is so faithful to walk with us every step of our life.  I will update again soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family!!

I have so much to be thankful for this year...the 1st on my list is being a cancer SURVIVOR!! I truly could not have done it without all your love and support.

Curt's surgery on his little toe went well yesterday.  I will have my ovaries removed next Thursday, Dec. 5th.  It is a very short 30 minute procedure.  I will hopefully only be out a school for 1 1/2 weeks.

I love you all and am so thankful for each of you. 

Love, Rachelle

Surgery is a go for Dec. 5th

Hello friends,
WHEW...nothing like hitting the running...back to work and all 3 boys started high school basketball.  Plus we had a weekend full of family fun with Rebecca, Makayla and Kyle.  Such a blessing to be together.(but I am not sure my head is above or below water...bobbing I think) 

Curt is having toe surgery on Wednesday...please keep him in your prayers.  The Mulders just can't get enough medical care this year!!

I met a new Ob/Gyn this week.  I really loved her and will have her as my continuing care doctor. She is my age and super sweet.  Dr. Z will do my surgery on Dec 5th, but I will not doing continued care with him, as I would rather have a woman.

Another big appointment this week was getting fitted for new bras and silicone inserts.  It has been a very comfortable transition and I feel very "normal."  I am so thankful that God has given me such peace about my decision not to do reconstruction...I could not be happier with that decision...it feels right for me.

I also started doing some running/walking this week...I really have loved it.  I am considering a crazy idea for the Spring..I will keep you posted.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving...we have so much to be thankful for.  I am thankful for each of you.

Much love my friends,
Rachelle

First day of school blessings

What a treat to start my day back at school with these lovely flowers on my desk.  They are from the wonderful 1st grade team at school. 

I was a little nervous to go back to school, being that I was a total wreck when I left there in mid September, the day before my surgery. 

But I should have known that God would send just the right people to greet me with hugs, smiles and good wishes. 

My favorite moment of the day was when one of my older students appeared in my doorway for our reading group and couldn't wait to greet me, so she ran across the room to give me a big hug.  I really have the best job and work with such sweet kids.

Another wonderful thing I found today was the staff picture in my mailbox.  It was taken the day of my surgery.  It is hard to tell, but many of my dear colleagues are wearing pink to support me, even on picture day. 

Physical therapy is going really well...I started strength exercises today with 1 lb weights...hilarious!  I didn't even know they made weights that small.  But my PT and I were so proud of these small victories.(literally)

I hope that you all had a restful Veterans Day weekend and remembered the Veterans near and dear to your hearts.

Love, Rachelle

2nd opinion with the genetic counselor

Thank you for your continued prayers and for checking on my progress.

Today was an answered prayer for sure...just getting in to see the ONE genetic counselor in Spokane was such a blessing...she literally said that she has over 1,000 referrals waiting to make appointments.  There are 3 job openings for every genetic counseling graduate.

We have found getting a 2nd opinion to be extremely helpful for a few reasons.
1) Confirms what another doctor already said...they are in agreement
2) Adds new information to what you had previously learned
3) Just getting another perspective and opinion is so great

We met with the genetic counselor for over an hour.  Here were our big takeaways.
*I will have further genetic tests run for colon cancer risks and a few other less common breast cancer genes
*I have been referred to a GYN Oncologist in Spokane.  This woman is a surgeon and the most specialized doctor for cases like mine.(Praying for an appointment soon)
*My genetic variance truly falls in the "gray" area in so many ways.  What it really boils down to is how comfortable am I will the risk of doing surgery or not doing surgery.  Both have pros and cons.
*She advised us to keep our tentative date of surgery for Dec. 5 with Dr. Z, knowing that if we learn anything that changes our mind in the next month, we will cancel it.

I also met with my wonderful sub Katie who got me up to speed on my reading groups at school.  I head back on Tuesday.

Praise:
*Informative appointment today with the geneticist
*Wonderfully organized and wonderful sub
*Feeling good about my energy levels each day...seem to be back to relatively normal stamina

Prayers:
*Appointment scheduling with the GYN/Oncologist
*Clarity about whether to move forward with Dec. 5 surgery
*Transition back to school.

Love, Rachelle