Inspiration for the New Year!

2016…the start of a new year.

As I embark on this new blogging journey, I am reminded of some of the big moments of 2015.

The beginning of 2015 brought my husband and I great joy as we discovered we were expecting our first child!  Though I had more ultrasounds than normal, due to my medical history, we were so excited each and every time to have a chance to see our baby as it grew!  In June, we found out we were having a little girl!

The tone changed at the end of June, however, when I started having trouble breathing.  I had just chalked it up to pregnancy; it was my first and I didn’t know what was normal and what was not.  I was, however, prompted to call the doctor
and that’s when they found the tumors.

8 tumors in total – in various spots within my left pleural cavity (lining of the lung) with pneumonia that had built up behind them.  No wonder I was having trouble breathing!

After one week in the hospital, I came home on July 4.  We were to visit the doctor a few days later and confirm the diagnosis, then develop a plan of action.  These were aggressive tumors and we had no time to wait.  It was hard enough swallowing all of this again, but more difficult this time around because I was pregnant.

Our beautiful baby girl came into the world in September.  She was born 6 weeks early and – thank the Lord – is perfectly healthy in every way.  Parenthood has been an exhilarating ride thus far and we can’t wait for everything else that it will bring!

3 rounds of chemo while pregnant and 3 rounds post-delivery.  On December 11, I had my final treatment and got to ring the bell – a signal that my battle has ended and I am “on my way!”

Everyone has a story to tell – I am here to share mine with you.