Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Mom

Mom had her appointment today at Emory. She said the doctor was very good, and she has confidence in him. He will do surgery next week to amputate her right index finger down to the second knuckle. At the same time, he will remove at least one lymph node under her arm and possibly one at the elbow. Tests will come back in a few weeks to let us know if the cancer has gotten to her lymph nodes.

She says she's at peace with things and took the first possible appointment for surgery. She also feels certain that her lymph nodes won't be affected. She's in good health other than a little high blood pressure. The area on her finger hurts occasionally, and I think she's looking forward to the end of that. If the tests indicate that the cancer is not in her lymph nodes, she'll only have to have check ups. The procedure will be done as out patient surgery, and we should be home right about dinner time. I told her we could start calling her Stubby instead of Cricket, and she thought that was pretty funny. We had a cat without a tail a long time ago, and that was his name.

I'm more worried than she is, but I'm grateful we have a next step. The stress of worrying what this appointment would lead to was a lot. Mom has such a positive outlook on the future, and her faith in God is powerful. She only cried a little bit last week when she told me she had melanoma. We're praying for the best possible outcome.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bad News

Yesterday, my mom told me she has melanoma. Doctors have been treating her for a fungal infection that started as a white spot under her index finger nail over 3 and half years ago. They gave her antibiotics and creams that did nothing to heal her finger. After several years of treatment by several doctors, a dermatologist in Blairsville, Georgia biopsied the finger. The first biopsy came back as a fungal infection, but the medication did nothing to clear up the infection. He performed a second biopsy but took more tissue. It came back positive for melanoma with traces of a fungal infection.

This is a rare form of melanoma, not caused by exposure to the sun. It's often misdiagnosed due to the location under the nail. The site was not pigmented, which made it more difficult to diagnose. The time between her getting the cancer and the diagnosis has been dangerously long. The melanoma is an intermediate thickness, and she may loose most of her finger. We're praying the cancer hasn't moved into her lymph nodes. She has an appointment next week with a specialist to determine next steps.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Preschool Graduate

Our little girl graduated from preschool last week. I can't believe time has passed so quickly and how much she has grown in 5 years. She is such a wonderful child! During the graduation ceremony, Anabelle was standing beside me. She spotted her sister and yelled, "Emma Rose! Hiiii!" Emma Rose returned the greeting by yelling out from the stage, "Hi, Anabelle!" They will be remembered on everyone's video of the event.

The picture on the left is Emma Rose marching in to the stage. The picture on the right is Emma Rose receiving her diploma from Ms. Britt.