Good Things To Come

“When you change the way you look at things…The things you look at change.”

I have been wondering how to become the best me and what to do with our unique situation in life. Through a lot of thought I’ve come to the conclusion to write this blog. My hope is that the words  I write help someone out there with something they may be going through.

In May of 2016 Nick was diagnosed with cancer. They had the surgery to remove the tumor and then we would find out what our treatment options would be. All of this was a whirlwind to us. After removing the tumor all of Nick’s blood levels went back to normal and we had three options.
1. Observation: This would mean we go in for blood draws, CT scans, and chest x-rays every other month.
2. Chemotherapy: A nice little brew called BEP for 6 weeks.
3. A surgery to remove lymphnodes and look for the cancer (no way we are doing that. Ouch!) 

Our oncologist talked through these different options with us. Through much prayer and talking with one another we decided that observation was the correct route for us. Our doctor was comfortable with that under the understanding that if anything changed we do 9 weeks of chemotherapy. So, the photo you see below has been our life for the past 8 months. 

We chose observation because we knew that the alternative was not as great 😉  And there are no regrets from that decision.

Recently Nick went in for his scheduled CT scans, Chest x-rays, and blood draws. Woot! This time something was a little bit different. One of his tumor markers had risen above normal. So, they redrew his blood just in case and in the meantime they began to get the approval for different medications and chemo from our insurance company.

The only thing we heard from the doctor was, “You will have to start chemo. I’m sorry.”

So, for those of you wondering when I’m going to get to the point here it is. Nick is starting chemotherapy. He will be going through a three cycle regimen for the next 9 weeks. We’ve cried, laughed, hugged, and frankly enjoyed our time together more. We know life is fragile. No, he isn’t going to die, but he is going to feel discouraged, sad, but also blessed for the type of cancer he has and for the doctors that have worked so hard to find treatment for this.

We have been asked if this makes us think we should’ve done the chemo last year. The answer is no. We have been able to buy a house, move into an INCREDIBLE ward, make even better friends, and learn new things that will help us through this part in life. All of this happened because we prayed and listened to what our Heavenly Father would have us do. Here is one of my favorite quotes:

So, my friends, you have been going through this journey with us. This will be where I keep updates on everything. Most importantly I want this blog to help uplift and inspire. I hope it does just that for you!

XOXO,
Hailey