On Sunday we celebrated two years of having little Strawberry in our lives!
Her birth seems so long ago! She arrived in quite a tumultuous time in our lives as a family. Stu had just been diagnosed with skin cancer two months before her birth. In May of 2013 we learned that he had melanoma, and required surgery twice. They took so much skin from his arm they had to bend it back a bit and put a cast on, which made it hard to help out and hold the baby when she arrived! Lots of meetings with a dermatologist, surgeon and oncologist followed.
After his second surgery, the surgeon told us that the depth of the spot indicated there may be a chance it had moved into his lymphatic system, so a biopsy of several lymph nodes. which included injecting radioactive dye, which was quite painful, and full body scan. The cancer was present in one of them, so a right radical auxiliary dissection was ordered for him, which removed all of the lymph nodes from his ribs to his neck, including his arm. Thankfully this surgery was scheduled right when Stu's parents had come to visit so we had extra help, as Strawberry was only a few weeks old, and it required an overnight stay in the city, and I was still recovering from a cesarean section. He had to wear a drainage tube for a couple of weeks to get rid of fluid buildup, which was awkward and became infected after a while.
So, although it was a frightening and uncertain time for us, we put our trust in God to carry us through yet another trial, because we know, whatever happens, He hold us in His hand. We were blessed with helping hands in our community as we were both recovering. There's always a chance of it returning, but our dermatologist sees us every four months to check his spots and watch for any changes, and every year he needs a full body PET scan. He also needs to be careful lifting heavy things with his right arm, and watch for swelling, as it could lead to lymphedema.
So, yes, this is not only a post about Strawberry's birthday, but also a little about what was going on in our lives as well during her arrival! Because whenever I think about when she was born, I can't help but think of that entire summer our lives were turned upside down again. I've always meant to write the story, I just haven't yet!
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| Loves to swing! |
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| Loves to read! |
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| Loves playing with her big brother, and inseperable from her pink bunny. |
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| Loves to dance |
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| It was too hot to bake a cake for her birthday, so we had ice cream! |
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| All three kiddies |
Dear Strawberry, you're a bright light in our lives. You are an intelligent, goofy-but-mostly-serious, snuggly, and sometimes quite demanding little girl, and we love you so much! Keep singing your little ditties and dancing your crazy dances! And we don't mind that you save your smiles and giggles for us (and one close friend!)
