Thoughts From a Hufflepuff

March 6th, 2019 - God has such perfect timing. On Ash Wednesday, I went to the hospital to have surgery for my port-a-cath placement. (A port-a-cath is a device placed under the skin on the left side of the chest. It is attached to a catheter that is threaded into a large vein - thanks Google) This is an ingenious invention that takes away the process of finding a good vein to inject medications through, so you get pricked less and when you do get pricked it always works. I hope whoever thought of this is enjoying a wonderful life because as I’m writing this (on April 3rd) I have been in treatment for a month and I have needed to use the port dozen times already. It’s where they draw my blood for labs to check my blood count and other special tests, and it is what they use to introduce the chemotherapies as well as the targeted immunotherapies. 

One thing about me is that I love water and one of the things you are NOT allowed to do before surgery is drink water up to 12 hours beforehand. My surgery was scheduled at noon which meant my being up for 4 hours and NOT being able to drink anything so naturally, the night before at 11:59PM I downed my entire 22oz water bottle.

The next day my brother, John,, brought my sister, Jenny, and I to the hospital at 8:30am. The check-in was fairly quick and I was brought to the back for labs/bloodwork and went to my room where 5-6 people told me “I’m going to ask you the same 20 questions that a handful of people are going to ask you right after I leave.” I appreciated that cause it was repetitive, but it was fine because everyone was so incredibly nice and friendly. By 10:00am they brought my siblings back to sit in the room with me while we waited for my surgery time of 12:30PM. 

Right before surgery, Jenny was able to lead us in prayer and that helped to calm me. Then they wheeled me down the hall, then sedated me and I honestly was only awake in the room for maybe... 1 minute before I was out. Prior to surgery, the doctor had said it would be a 30-45 minute procedure and I would stay for maybe an hour more to wear off the anesthesia. When I woke up, I was in the recovery room; apparently, it took a little over an hour and post-procedure I slept for another 1 1/2 hours to work through the anesthesia. Around 3:00pm they brought me to a visiting area where my siblings were able to join me and it took another hour of resting, taking some medications, and eating some water and crackers before they let me go.

March 4th, 2019 - This is my “People are so kind it makes my heart hurt with happiness” face. Thank you @mariashappysnailmail on Instagram for using your talents to light up people’s days :) I’m touched that you’d take the time to make this for me!!!! It’s beautiful and I love everything about it!

February 21, 2019 - I went to the hospital for tumor board where my dad, sisters, second mom (AKA Momma Daschbach) and I got to speak to and hear from the nurse navigator, head oncologist, and plastic surgeon. Much of it was information we already knew but explained more in depth and cohesively put together, which we all appreciated. Throughout the appointment, the specialists explained how and why chemo would be best as the first step of treatment due to the size (3.5cm), stage(2) and grade(2) of my tumor, followed by surgery. Over the next two weeks I'll be preparing for chemo and will start the the process the first week of March. It's getting real now that I know more of what's to come and it's been a lot to take in in a day but I'm keeping it together...for the most part :/ I'm bracing myself for the pain and keeping your intentions before me-it makes it easier knowing that I can unite my sufferings with Christ and offer them up for you. Thank you to everyone who has reached out and offered their time to help me in any way, it's always touching getting your messages! And as always, thank you for your love, support, and prayers! I'm praying for you. :) - sincerely, Jane

UPDATE : Hi everyone! Thank you again for your incredible generosity and your continued prayers and support! It's such a blessing to know I'm not alone on this journey and I have this beautiful family and community who are encouraging me! Over the weekend I applied for medicaid. Originally I had ruled this option out because I make too much but I didn't consider the fact that over the next few months my income is going to change because I'll be working less, and possibly not at all, for some time. With that in mind, I applied with the help of our wonderful friend who broke down the process and made the intimidating application understandable and go relatively smoothly. We got the notice the other day that I was enrolled but that they need further verification. I checked with the hospital and they don't have me in the system yet so at this point we're just waiting for my medicaid card to come in the mail, for my next pay stub to come in so that I can provide that, and hopefully we're in the safe zone. God is good, YOU ALL are amazing, and I'm praying for all of your intentions, those that you have shared and those that you hold in the silence of your hearts. God bless you! - sincerely, Jane 💕