so much has happened....

I haven't posted on my blog for a long time, but I have been very busy.

School has been really good lately. I'm feeling more comfortable and getting more and more into a ruitine. I'm looking forward to next semester because I may not have to share my classroom AND I only will have one class of Art 1 instead of 2. Less freshmen is always a good thing!! :)

About a month ago, my mom told me that she had been feeling strange lately. We were sitting at the kitchen table. I was eating some chocolate chip cookies. She told me her symptoms. She said she had been feeling kinda bloated. She said that she hadn't been able to eat much. Normally, my mom would be all about some chocolate chip cookies. She didn't even take a bite. We had eaten steaks for dinner. She didn't finish hers. This was very unusual behavior.

She told me that she had been losing weight...but she felt like she had gained! She had been feeling tired and actually having some back and pelvic pain! I was concerned, but honestly, I thought that it might just be that she was going through menopause. I don't know much about that topic. I think she thought the same but she decided to make an appointment with her gynocologist. The soonest appointment she could get was for Dec. 1st.

I absolutely LOVE Dr. Oz and I record it on my DVR everyday. I always have at least 7 episodes saved on my DVR. So, I don't usually watch it on the day that it airs. However...on Veteran's Day...for some reason... I did. The first 15 minutes was about the early signs of ovarian cancer. I tried to find the video online, but couldn't. However, here is a video from the lady doctor that was the guest on the show that day...




Here is a link to Doctor Oz's website on the topic. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/ovarian-cancer-secret-killer

After I watched this show.... I was scared! My mom had ALL of these!! As soon as I watched it.. I called her.

Heres about how our convo went....
Me: "Did you watch....." (she didn't even let me finish!)
Mom: "YES!.... I taped it because I thought that it was going to be about Alzhiemer's.
Me: "I'm scared!"
Mom: "I have ALL of those symptoms, but I have an appointment. Its going to be ok, but it is weird how compelled I felt to watch the show today." (Mom never watches Dr. Oz)

So, that was on a Wednesday. Mom decided to talk to her Pastor about it that night at church. He encouraged her to make a trip to her general practice doctor to see what was going on. So, she did.

The next week, she went to her doctor. They took some blood and told her that they needed her to have a CT scan. She did this on Wednesday the 18th. They told her that she had a mass in her pelvic area that was between the size of a grapefruit and an orange.

She was given some pain meds and told that she should just wait until her gyn. appointment. Cysts, etc. on the ovaries are very common and more than 90sih percent are benign. So, I guess they weren't very concerned.

So, thats what Mom did. Until the following day, Thursday the 19th..... she was at school in the afternoon, teaching about 60 6th graders. When she started having severe pain. She had to call someone in to watch her students. Her principal had to drive her home! But she DIDNT go to the hospital then. She went through the whole night, in pain, until the morning. She called my Aunt Jo, who is a nurse, and she (and my cousin Danielle, who is also a nurse) told her to go to her gyn. right now!

I was in my classroom, when my Dad walked in and said, "Your mom is in a lot of pain and I have to take her to the hospital." But, I decided to stay at school and just go to the hospital at the end of the day.

I called them a few times to check on them. They took her to her gyn. office (which is at Womens and Childrens) first and they did a sonagram. They admitted her immediately.

She called me during my last class of the day. She said, "Its a lot bigger than they thought and we're probably facing a little bit of a fight. They referred me to an oncologist." Then she asked me to bring her some chapstick and her pillow.

After school, I grabbed her stuff she wanted and headed right to the hospital.


She was in there from Friday through Wednesday. They took a ton of photos...CT scans, barium stuff, etc. On Tuesday she had a D&C. Then on Wednesday they sent her home. We asked Dr. Schiano what the mass was...and he said that he had no way of knowing until surgery. He told me that she would probably have the surgery some time in the first 2 weeks of Decemeber.

Since then shes been doing ok. She's still losing weight and her stomach is actually getting larger.

We are now just waiting on her doctor to call us back about the results of the D&C. We are looking forward (reluctantly) to the date of her surgery. We want that junk OUTTA THERE! The surgery is pretty rough. Dr. Schiano is supposed to be EXCELLENT though. He takes out pretty much everything and looks for cancer. Because of that, its very hard after the surgery. Mom will not be able to eat or drink for about 4 days.

If you have made it through reading this whole story, you have shown that you care. So, I want to ask that you pray for my mom. I'll be posting when we find out the date of the surgery. Also, pray for my dad. He needs some peace. He is realizing how much he depends on my mom for just about everything. Mom also needs to rest and let him take care of her. She is not used to that!

back to WMS today

I was so happy last night when I got a call early in the evening for my Mom's school!! I subbed for a 6th grade science teacher today. It was a great day. They had shortened classes because there was an assembly in the afternoon. There were 3 members of the Power Team there today, which was pretty interesting.

The day went very well...and again, I can't wait to go back. I am really loving middle school.

After school I was so sleepy! I took a short nap on the couch.

Then Jesse and I went for a long walk around Hurricane...bought us a Little Caesar's Pizza (I only ate 2.5 pieces)...and since then I've been relaxing around the house...doing a little cleaning and laundry.

I've been patiently waiting on a job offer for tomorrow, but I haven't got one...and now its after 10 so I guess I'll have to wait til tomorrow. I just pray that I get a good one!!!

as I get older...the weeks go by faster

This week flew by.



I subbed every day but Monday (due to the eye situation)



I already posted about Tuesday and subbing for the Band teacher at Buffalo. On Wednesday night I was waiting and waiting to get a call. At around 9:30 I was fairly sure that I wouldn't get a job (because they stop calling at 10pm)



But...at 9:45 the phone rang. It was a job offer for a PE teacher...He taught 2 Intro to the Majors classes which went by really well.



Then, during 4th Block he had a gym class. But...there was on hitch. They were having a Blood Drive that day...so the gym was full of tables, nurses, orange juice and raisins. So, they couldn't have Gym class in there. It was raining outside. So, I found the principal walking in the Commons Area. He said to have them sit on the tables in the Commons and have a "study hall" period. Ok.


This turned into a babysitting period of me watching them listen to their MP3 players. Which is no big deal.....if they could just behave.



One kid was really getting on my nerves. I had to say something to him 3 or 4 times. He kept screaming across the Commons, etc. Finally I had had it...and I told him to get his things and move to a table by himself. He immediately reacts defensively saying, "What?! I didn't do anything!!" and crap like that.



I told him to move again. He refused. Just then, the principal walked through the Commons again. I said, "Do you want me to get Mr. Donalson to have you move?" He said "Yeah!" Mr. Donalson looked at the kid and said, "My office NOW!"



So later I had to go to his office and talk to the kids mom. Mr. Donalson said that he "rung him out" hahaha...

That wasn't all the went wrong with the class either. There is a kid with MI in there and one second he was sitting there...I turned around...and then he was GONE! I was kinda freaking out, but luckily he came back about 20 minutes later.

Oh, and that wasn't all...a kid rubbed a handfull of crushed deodorant all down another boys face. It was all over the floor. By the end of that class I felt like pulling out all of my hair.

Luckily the rest of the week I spent at Winfield Middle School with my Mom. I subbed for the Spanish teacher. The kids were great, smart, well behaved, funny, and very friendly. I can't wait to come back! And of course it was nice to be so close to my Mom.

On Friday night after school I went to the Mall with my friend, Cassie! I left my house at 4:30 to meet her there at 5. As soon as I got on the Interstate at Hurricane I saw BRAKE LIGHTS! AhhhH! I was in traffic from Hurricane to Milton... It took me 1 hour and 35 minutes to get from my house to the Mall, which is less than 20 miles.

I had a good time hanging out with Cassie though... Didn't buy anything though. Well, except for a tube of hairball medicine for Kitsy from Complete Petmart. Cassie and I had dinner at Bob Evan's. I had their Country Spinach Salad and I swear it was huge. It was really good, but I bet it was a whole bag of Spinach. (hmmm, that explains a lot about my poo this afternoon.)

This morning I cooked pancakes for breakfast and then went to Elder Beerman and Walmart (where I saw Brian & Jessica)

I told my mom that I would make a dessert for tomorrow so I made a layered chocolate pie. It looks so good!! Its a shame that I had to lick 4 mixing bowls all by myself...hehehe!

now...its time for a shower! Goodnight!