Remembering to breathe

BEWARE!!! This posting contains a picture of Dan's surgery incision that's not for those with weak stomachs!!!


In case you haven't heard, Dan's surgery went well! They replaced the broken screws and made sure that the plate was in good shape. The doctors also wanted to make sure that Dan's leg is as strong as possible so they put another smaller plate on the front of his femur where it is having trouble incorporating. This is also where they put some of Dan's hip bone hoping that it will trick Dan's femur into thinking that the donor bone is part of his own body. It's really incredible. So my husband is now completely bionic.

The surgery went great and these next few months will be very important in determining if it was a success.... I'm sure it will be.

Besides some pesky fevers the recovery also went well. Dan had to go home on oxygen because every time he starts to go to sleep his oxygen saturation would drop drastically. Most people hang out around 95%, but anything above 90% is okay. When Dan starts to fall asleep it drops below 70% so we have our old friend the oxygen tank to help. I have now themed this whole week our official "remember to breathe" week. I was constantly reminding Dan to breathe with big deep breaths. And at the same time he was reminding me to breathe as I am a constant worrier (thank you, mother).

I think there is a lot of wisdom in that phrase. It would be good for all of us to step back and just breathe once in a while. Sometimes life feels like it's just happening all around me and I'm not really taking part. So I am going to remember to breathe and feel truly present.

Anyway, that was a weird tangent. At the end of the day Dan is in remission with one more surgery under his belt. We are so incredibly blessed. Sometimes I think that one of these days we are going to just max out on blessings. We are constantly asking for more and more miracles and they keep coming our way. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father doesn't require us to earn our blessings. All He asks is that we try our best, but our best efforts don't have to equal the amount of blessings. That's just amazing to me. We are so loved.

Well, I thought I would post some pictures for your viewing enjoyment... or at least my posting enjoyment :)

Paul and Dan

This is what Dan's hip looks like... ouch!

The zoo was a blast. We did this a couple weeks ago. Dan has been promising me forever to go the zoo and we finally went!

I thought this was a cute picture of Dan surrounded by Lauren and nieces and nephews getting a look at his iPod touch... Dan loves audiences

Smiles

A day full of these....




With just a little of this ...

Well, Daniel's scans came back all clear yesterday! That means he has officially been in remission for four months! We have all witnessed a miracle. We continue to be so blessed.
The spots in his lungs that they saw three months ago have actually shrunk!! This means that they probably weren't even cancer, just scar tissue that was left over from the surgery that took out all the cancer. Wonderful wonderful wonderful!!! We are so extremely happy.

Some small bad news came. Some of the hardware in Dan's leg has broke. Two screws have broken and our Dr wants to operate. When he said that, I was thinking we would plan the surgery for sometime next month... but the doctor wants to do it next week!! The news hit us like a truck. Normally you can prepare for a major surgery like this, but we literally have no time to prepare. I guess it's good though: a week of worrying instead of months. So August 5th is the big day. He will have a surgery to repair the hardware in his leg. Dr Randall will also take a piece of his hip bone and fuse it to the donor bone in hopes that Dan's femur will better incorporate the donor bone and strengthen his leg. The doctor says this surgery has about a 60% success rate. We're crossing our fingers that this is the final piece in the puzzle and Dan can fully recover.

So all in all, it was great news. Dan's cancer free... all the rest is just maintenance. I know that there is someone looking out for us. Our path is being guided by a loving Heavenly Father. Thanks for your prayers. I KNOW that the pleadings on our behalf are a big reason why Dan is in remission. Now we are praying for a safe and successul surgery next week.

Lots of smiles... LOTS of them.

Aloha...

Aloha in this case sadly means goodbye to the most beautiful place I've ever been!!! I miss Hawaii!

Sorry it has taken so long to get some pictures going (....Emily!) But here are some for your viewing enjoyment, although they don't do the place justice!!

Dan and I had never been to Kauai so when we were there LeeAnn (Joy and Kristen's mom) was a great tour guide. We saw all of Kauai in those two days we were there. Our time on Oahu was very relaxing, so it was nice to stay busy touring on Kauai while we were there.

This is us in Kauai, this picture is overlooking a big coffee plantation. I swear it's not a green screen.

They call this Hawaii's little Grand Canyon because of how big the canyon is. It's weird because it also has red sand like in the Southwest so it's not typically how you think Hawaii is supposed to look.

This is the sign for Queen's Bath. It is a warning that lists Queen's Bath drownings and says "unexpected large waves will knock you off the rocks and sweep you off to sea". So, why wouldn't we hike out and go see it?


More beautiful Kauai...

This is a cool church I found on North Shore in Oahu



Walking to Kipu falls. It was seriously in the jungle. I got about a million bug bites but it was totally worth jumping into the waterfall!! So fun!This is where we went gliding. It's an airplane with no engine. We got towed up by a real plane then the tow rope was released and we glided back down after a 10 minute glide. So fun!!! But look how sketchy the place is! It's seriously just a shack and we were supposed to trust this place. I was so scared, but it was totally worth it.

I HIGHLY recommend parasailing. It was probably my favorite part of the whole vacation
Thanks so much Monahans!! We miss you!!

Easter Pictures

It was a very fun Easter weekend! Lots and LOTS of plastic eggs! Thanks so much mom and dad! I just wanted to post a few pictures of my adorable nieces and nephews. Brag time!

The Long Road Behond Him

I was going to write a long post about how awesome I think he is, but I think this picture I took says it all...

I'm so proud of where he's been and more importantly, where he's going!

Thanks so much Liz for this fun camera! Emily and I took some pictures of our cousin Chelsea and her fiance with it. You can check them out at elmtreephotography.blogspot.com

Closure and Peace... Finally

Daniel and I have finally made peace with a place that has carried many bad feelings. Sixteen months ago on December 13, 2007 we sat in Utah Valley Imaging and heard the news that Dan has bone cancer. On that day our life seemed shattered, so naturally we cringe every time we pass the place. Today we decided to go close that chapter.

For a while now we have wanted to go back and thank the MRI technicians and receptionists for the way they took care of us that day. The whole day is a blur but I do remember dropping into Dan's lap and sobbing. Then, the technician came in and offered to talk us through the details and took so much time to calm some of our fears. He assured us that this was treatable and there was no reason not to have enough faith to fight. The receptionists came with tissues and gently rubbed my back. These were strangers when we walked in, but we left with lots of their love.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure why we haven't been back. I think we have maybe been a little bit scared. But today, I sat and looked at the exact seats we sat in when we found out. And guess what, when I looked, I felt such relief. It was a really neat feeling to come full circle. Dan and I both explained with watery eyes why we were staring at the waiting room. One of the technicians came from the back and greeted us with a hug. Surprisingly, she remembered us! She was so happy we came in and wanted to hear about everything. What a neat lady she is! It just shows the love that we feel from even "strangers" (I feel weird calling them that because it feels like more).

Anyway, I hope this wasn't too boring to read...
I guess it was just a lesson to me in facing my fears and how that can pay off. I have felt so peaceful the whole day.
And the people that work there have taught me that we can reach out to strangers and have an impact everywhere around us.

IT'S HERE!! The end of chemo!!!

I can hear angels singing in Heaven.... Dan is done with chemo!! Today was the last day of infusion and he is officially done! We are so happy!

Today the nurses all gathered around and sang us a song then gave us a beautiful quilt for completing chemo. I'm so proud of Dan! He has done so much these past 16 months to get to this point and we have been incredibly blessed. I can't even begin to name them all, but first and foremost on my mind is this miracle of remission. Stage 4 osteosarcoma is a scary and tough disease, but here we are, 16 months out and it is stable enough to stop chemotherapy. This is truly a blessing and we know the Lord has watched over us. There have been many days when Dan and I talk at the end of a day and are overwhelmed with all of the things that could be confused with being "coincidences"... but we know otherwise. The sheer number of them is proof that He is in charge and wanted Dan to get well.

As we all know, our prayers are sometimes answered through the acts of others. We have felt especially loved this week and appreciate the dinners, well wishes and prayers. It was fun to come home to this today...
It's a sign that says "Congratulations, We love you!" Thanks so much Paige, you're so sweet!

We'll wait for a little bit to start the real celebration. The effects of chemo have left my party animal down for the count. This is all the enthusiasm I could muster from him :) What a good sport.
More updates to come! I just wanted to briefly share some of our excitement! We love you all!