Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

Aubrie loves being a big sister and loves to pose with Brynnley for pictures.

Aubrie was able to play indoor soccer this fall at the Herriman Rec Center. It was so funny to watch 3 and 4 year olds run around...Aubrie was quite aggressive and would run almost the entire hour long game, but would have to stop occasionally to give us a wave and smile.

For Halloween Aubrie was a witch as well as a baby zombie. Aunt Shannon went trick or treating with Aubs and was a Zombie hunter and decided to make up Aubs as her baby zombie...she would even rawr at people.

Little Brinners was a cute little owl and stayed warm with Mom at home on Halloween.

Fall fun at Cornbellys

This year we I was able to find a great discount on a season pass to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point. We have had fun visiting, playing with the Minions, playing in the corn pit and sliding on all the slides.

Riding the train through the cornstalks.

Family pictures at Snowbird

 Aubrie is 3 years old and Brynnley is 4 months old.

Hair loss and chemo

I don't even know where to start when it comes to starting my experience with Ovarian Cancer. I will start with the hardest part for me...my hair loss. I started to loose my hair by the handfuls 11 days after my first round of chemo. I had been dreading this day but still cannot believe how much hair was falling out...it was devastating to touch my hair and I avoided washing my hair because as soon as I would comb it, I would loose a lot more. I was having a difficult time watching long pieces just fall to the ground and decided to have Amber cut it shorter for me. I had it cut into an a line bob 13 days after I started chemo.
 Right before getting my hair cut. (I had already lost about 2/3 of it)

New hair cut....too bad it only lasted 3 days before I lost it almost completely. I would have never dared to cut it this short and figured it would be fun to have it this short.

At Huntsman getting chemo round 2.

I had Jeff take a picture of one time of washing my hair to see how much came out at one time. I had hair EVERYWHERE! The floors and my clothes and car were covered in it. I always asked Jeff to clean up my hair because if I saw it I would just cry.

This is what my hair looks on Oct 8th, halfway through chemo. I am still shocked that I have as much as I do as I expected to shave it after the 2nd round. If I can avoid shaving my head I would like to because I really dread having the pixie hair cut style. My bald head hurts quite a bit and burns when I lightly touch my strands of hair and sometimes hurts and itches so much that I can't even wear a hat.

I had bought a few wigs because I knew the day would come when I get tired of wearing hats all the time and I couldn't wear a hat to church or work. Before I lost my hair, I bought a long wig that is pretty close to my length, style and thickness. This wig cost me $500 because it is one you can use styling tools on. After I cut my hair short I realized how fun it was to have short hair and decided to get a short wig. In order to get the color and cut I wanted I had to order a longer wig and get it cut. I have enjoyed wearing the short wig and get many compliments on it. I am still nervous to wash the wigs for fear of ruining them.

I am so sad that all my pretty hair is gone and frequently get jealous at people at the store with beautiful long hair. This has been such a trial for me as I have been known for my pretty hair my entire life. I have learned that even if your hair is falling out and you can see your bald head that life goes on and hair is just hair and will grow back. 



Halfway done with Chemotherapy

After my surgery on July 15th, I was to follow up with Dr. Anna Beck at Huntsman to set up my plan for chemotherapy. I had no idea what this process would consist of and was nervous to find out the protocol, especially since my cancer staging was a lot worse than originally thought. Dr. Karen Zempolich my Cancer surgeon encouraged me to do the Intraperitoneal chemo through an abdominal port I had place on my right below my ribcage. She had found along with research that those who do this type of chemo have a 10-15% increase in life expectancy. What nobody told me is that most woman can't complete all 6 rounds of chemo with this type due to the aggressiveness and how sick it makes you. Since I was young for this type of cancer I was encouraged to push through the IP chemotherapy.

I met with Dr. Beck and was given the protocol for my IP chemo. I went into the appointment thinking I would only get chemo one time a week, but was very surprised to find out the protocol is 12 straight days being at the hospital! My chemo schedule was as follows:
Day 1: Taxol in my chest port
Day 2:  Cisplatin in my abdominal port
Day 3 and 4: IV fluids to keep me hydrated
Day 8: Taxol in my abdominal port
Day 9: Nulasta shot and hydration
Day 10-12: a day for hydration
Get a week off and then start on the next round

I had to have my upper port placed and had another surgery with Dr. Jane Poretta a few days before starting chemo. This placement hurt so bad, I had trouble sleeping on the right side and still do from the discomfort.

Chemo started on August 3rd for round one. The first day wasn't so bad but the IP chemo I had the second day is awful!  I have to go to Huntsman because I lay on a bed and have to rotate every 15 minutes to wash the entire abdomen. This took about 7 hours for this process because they start with accessing both ports, then I get blood work done (takes an hour to get results back) in order to see if I can tolerate receiving chemo, then get pre-meds which are medications to avoid having a reaction to the chemo, and then fluids and finally get the chemo medication. I leave looking and feeling pregnant due to 1 large bag of fluid and 1 large bag of chemo they place in my abdomen. I didn't feel great that day but didn't know that the chemo hits me a few days later and I ended up in the Acute Care at Huntsman (Emergency room for cancer patients) the next day. I was so nauseated and out of it I couldn't even lift my head and had to be pushed in a wheelchair by my Mom. After this appointment we were prescribed 3 different nausea medications and was instructed to rotate these meds every 4 hours. The following days I received IV fluids as I wasn't eating and was very sick. We also keep me pretty drugged up with nausea meds that all I remember is laying on the couch but couldn't do anything. On Day 8 I received another IP chemo and was very sick afterwards and only eating slurpees. Day 9 I had my Nulasta shot which grandma had warned me about. I was ok right after the shot but towards the evening and for the rest of the week my back, knees, and ankles hurt so bad it felt like sharp aches almost like the worst growing pains you've ever had. There were even a few nights my legs would collapse and Jeff had to help me up. I also had to use the shower chair frequently because I didn't even have the energy or strength to stand up in the shower.

We repeated this protocol again for the second round and had more hair loss again. The second round was still very tough but a little better as we had medication to help with pain and nausea.

After the 2nd round I had a 10-15 pound weight gain and went to the ER and found excess fluid in my abdomen. Dr. Beck said that my body isn't working well anymore and is having a difficult time getting the fluid out of my body. I was given a diuretic that seemed to help after a few days. Dr. Beck encouraged me to take a break from the IP chemo and just do IV chemo for 3 weeks.

Round 3 went much much better and gave me a well needed break from the nausea. I still had a few days that I have been sick but not near as bad.

I have made it halfway through my 6 rounds of chemo but not with the help of my family, husband, kids, and church as well as all the kind and encouraging words from friends on facebook and gofundme.

Happy 3rd birthday Aubrie!

This little munchkin celebrated her 3rd birthday and chose to have a princess party and grandma even brought her her very own cake.

At 3 years old Aubrie:
- loves cartoons, especially Paw Patrol, Sofia the First and Doc Mcstuffins
- loves to watch movies like Shrek, Incredibles and princess movies
- loves to play games on her tablet
- has lots of spunk and attitude
- still is attached to her binkie
- is slowly working on potty training
- loves to play in the water and her turtle sandbox
- favorite foods are noodles, rice, and pizza, and corn just like her parents
- is a good eater with fruits and veggies
- learned to ride her bike she got for Easter and can ride it around the block
- likes playing barbies, dolls, kitchen, princess figurines, dress up and going to the park
-loves drinking milk

Getting her cast off at Primary Childrens on September 23rd.