Back to Blogging

I planned on continuing this blog after we got back from Pittsburgh but unfortunately life has gotten in the way. Drew is now 9 weeks post surgery and life is hectic. Balancing taking care of Aubrey, Drew, myself, the house and working part time has been a bit of a challenge. I have learned a lot about my strength as a person over these past few years and have proved to myself over these past couple of months how strong I am. Sometimes it would be nice to just take a day off from life and feel sorry for myself and the situation we are in, but I don't. I'm not sure why I don't let myself but staying busy with Aubrey, my friends, family, daily activities, and work gets me through. People tell me all the time I am the strongest person they know and while I appreciate that I wish I didn't have to be and I wish my life was normal.

I have to say I am so lucky to have such an amazing support group. I have a wonderful family, wonderful daughter, and wonderful friends. I have wonderful friends from high school, college, and friends I met through Aubrey who are always there for me and I know I can reach out to them whenever I need them. I also have to give a shout out to two of the most amazing friends a person can have, Sara and Karen. They are always there for me not matter what and I don't know what I would do without them. I met them at a Nova Mommy and Me class when the girls were just 5 months old. Our daughters are the best of friends and they are like second mom's to Aubrey. They listen to me when I need to vent, they help give advice, they let me cry if I need to and they make me laugh. I am truly grateful for them and for all of my friends.

Back to Drew's recovery, it has been a bit of a battle but Drew is doing ok. 3 weeks ago he had an appt. with his oncologist who said Drew looked good but needed to gain at least 10 lbs before he could go through chemo again and he recommended that we meet with a GI doctor. Two weeks ago we saw Drew's GI dr. who was extremely helpful. Drew has had a hard time keeping food stay with him for a long enough period of time in order to gain weight. The dr. said his body is essentially "dumping" bc his stomach can't break down sugary fatty foods anymore so when he eats those things fluid is sent to his stomach to wash it out. That was exactly what was happening and the dr. recommended a high carb, starch diet which has worked really well. Drew had lost 40 lbs.since the surgery and we are happy to report in the past 2 weeks he has put on 4 lbs so that is a big achievement after all he has been through. Drew went back to work last week and was really doing well until this past weekend when his back started causing him pain. We went to the Dr. on Tues. and Drew will have a petscan on Friday to make sure everything is ok. Each day he has gotten a little better, today he has worked all day which is a good sign, hopefully he just has a pinched nerve or a pulled muscle. We are nervous for him to even have the test done at all but hopefully it will bring us peace of mind instead of bad news.

On another note, Aubrey is doing great. She will be 3 in couple of weeks and is having a gymnastics party which she is very excited about. She is also starting camp in July and preschool in the fall 3 mornings a week. I think she will love being in school and seems very excited to go to camp.

I hope to try and start blogging again, hopefully at least once a week. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers, it means a lot to us.