Christmas Miracle

Christmas came early this year for our family as my mom received another clear brain MRI this month. She has now passed the 2 year mark since her diagnosis of a stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor in her left frontal lobe. It has also been 1 year since she was given the okay to stop all treatment because she was doing so well. I am unable to put into words what a true miracle my mom is and how the power of a positive attitude and prayer can truly save a life.

For a recap...my mom was given a 7 month time stamp on her life by the neurosurgeon who performed her brain surgery to remove her tumor. She was even recommended to not pursue any treatment because it wouldn't prolong her life. Our family demanded a second opinion and immediately sought care from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. We were amazingly referred back to an oncologist right here in Bellingham because they had the best technology in the area to treat brain tumors. Here we were given a sliver of hope that there were options for treatment. My mom was given that tiny bit of hope and ran with it. She immediately started a month of brain radiation where she had to combat her fear of clausterphobia, lost almost half her hair and dealt with radiation burns to her scalp. She then underwent 14 months of chemotherapy and participated in a clinical trial with Avastin IV therapy.

After 5 MRI scans of her brain her oncologist could see no further growth of her tumor and decided it was best to give her body a break from all the chemicals that had been pumped into her body to fight off the cancer. I feel like we held our breath through the next 3 months for her first MRI after stopping treatment and when it came back clear we were so relieved. With each scan since then we feel a little less apprehensive and are even more amazed at the true miracle God has given our family. It may not be a gift of a true CURE but its the gift of TIME. Time for us with our mom and time for her to enjoy life, her kids and now her grandkids as we welcomed my first child into the family on November 17th. From our family to yours Merry Christmas and thank God all of our everyday miracles.

 Nana with her grandson Tristan James Ortiz

Healthy & happy

Hello friends, family and fellow bloggers. Sorry we haven't posted in a while but I wanted to give everyone an update on how my mom and the rest of the Smith family is doing. It has been 10 months now since my mom was given the okay to take a break from her cancer treatment and she has had 3 clear brain MRI's since then! She continues to feel wonderful and she is back to her full high level of energy.

Her oncologist is extremely pleased with how she has battled her brain cancer and has even mentioned the "cured" word. We continue to take nothing for granted and appreciate everyday that she feels great and gets to enjoy time with her family.

This picture was taken on August 27th, my wedding day, which was a day I will never forget having her there by my side. She was such a special part of our celebration and is now anticipating the next big event...the arrival of her first grandchild, due on Thanksgiving Day. Sending all our love your way and more updates to follow soon!

It's About Time...For A Break!

As of today my mom has been through 14 months of treatment: 30 days of brain radiation, 14 rounds of chemotherapy, 28 Avastin treatments, 5 MRI's and too many doctor's visits to count. Her scar on her head has healed, her hair was gone and has now grown back thick and curly. After after all that she has faced it's about time my mom gets a BREAK!! And she's finally going to get a one because her oncologists all agree that she is doing well enough to take a break from her treatments. Today we celebrated her last dose of Avastin in the clinical trial she was participating in.  

So what are the plans now? Well first of her MRI scans have been pushed up to every 2 months just to keep a closer eye on her. Of course she is going to continue to see her naturopath and acupuncturist and eating a very organic diet. But her body gets a much needed break from all the drugs. We are continuing to research possible treatment options for the future and are holding onto hope for a cure someday!

My parents have also been up to their own plans. The first which includes 2 week trip to Maui in March! It has been way too long since they've taken a vacation together just the two of them. They more than deserve to kick back on the beach and just enjoy themselves.

The idea of my mom being off of treatment is a little hard to wrap my mind around because she started her therapies almost immediately after being diagnosed in December of 2009. We are all wondering how she will do off of therapy? But at the same time we are so thrilled for her because she has worked so hard to fight this cancer off and now gets to enjoy a break. There is always fear in the unknown and I guess that’s how cancer works, it leaves a lingering unknown. Mostly though it keeps us on our toes, keeps us aware of every breath we take and keeps us in awe of all the blessings in our lives. So for now we are going to all keep calm and carry on. Way to go Mom! Kick your feet up and relax for a while :)

Home For Christmas

This post is a little late but is too important to our family to not share…

After 6 months of counting down, on December 17th Skye arrived home from Afghanistan for 2 weeks of R & R. His daughter Kayleigh and mom Michelle flew in the night before from Georgia and California for his homecoming. It took almost 4 days for him to make the long flight home and time seemed to stand still for all of us waiting at SeaTac for his plane to land. 

Love this picture of Kayleigh pressed up against the airport window watching her Daddy's plane taxi in

Waiting patiently at the gate for him 

My sister Taryn took this video for us to capture the first moment we saw him getting off the plane. I will never forget watching Kayleigh run into her Daddy's arms. Those first few moments were so precious and indescribable!

I had been envisioning this day since the day he left 6 months ago and when it finally came it was so intense, emotional, amazing and all about our family being together again!

We were so lucky that his R & R dates brought him home for Christmas. Of course everyday is difficult for him to be away from us but Christmas would have been by far the hardest day. Skye's parents and daughter spent the holidays up in Washington and it was our first holiday all together as a family.

We spent 3 days up in Whistler and it snowed almost 2 feet while we were there. Kayleigh spent a lot of time out in the snow playing and sledding with her Daddy. The village was absolutely beautiful covered with fresh snow...a true winter wonderland!

Skye and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve putting the finishing touches on the last of Kayleigh's gifts. Christmas becomes so much more special when you have a child in your life to share it with.

We were so excited to finally be together to get some wedding planning done. Amazingly the weather cooperated for us to take our engagement pictures with Kayleigh. Dan Deward and his lovely wife Tracey from Hatch Photography spent the day with us at Semiahmoo and up at Mt Baker. The snow was falling ever so gently during our session up at the mountain and Dan captured our day perfectly. The pictures turned out more amazing than I could have ever could have imagined. 

I still have no idea how all the military families do it. I can't believe I am so close to being a military wife. I definitely do not even come close to understanding what lies behind all heartache and trials we experience, but I think I have at least a teensy bit of a clue. I am awed by out nation's military families. They are heroes. All of them.

I am grateful there are brave and honorable men and women in this country who are willing to sacrifice so much for us. I am thankful for the families of those soldiers who support and love them even though it breaks them down in so many ways to do so. God bless them all. And I am honored to soon call one of those brave men my husband.  

The 2 weeks came and went so fast and all of a sudden it was time to say goodbye again. For the next 6 months again our relationship will consist of carepackages, emails, Skype dates when possible and constantly static-y phone calls. As hard as it was to let him go again I am so grateful that this is the last goodbye we will ever have to go through because when he gets back in June he is getting out of military. We appreciate all of you that are continuing to pray for Skye and the entire 170th MP Company. I choose to avoid the news these days but as many of you know things continue to be extremely dangerous in Afghanistan. Please pray for their continued strength and for a safe return home to their families this summer.