Author: Triann Benson

Today is the first day I have been alone with Daniel for any length of time and I am tired! Pain wise I am doing fine – I don’t need to pick him up and he has been such a good kid. I’m just used to being able to rest anytime I want to! =) It is nice to feel a little more independent, but that is a little intimidating at the same time!
It is a cool, windy, rainy day here and I love it! Reminds me of ‘home’.
A friend of mine helped me pick EM up from school today. Eric has tomorrow off, so that works perfectly. Grandma Jody and Grandpa Dennis will be back Wednesday and that will take care of the rest of the week – perfect!

We have had – overall- a good week. A couple of really long days at the hospital and a couple of days to play as a family. I am exhausted!! We are packing up and getting ready to head back to Dallas. We need to swing by the hospital one more time and pick up my stack of prescriptions. The short summary is that I will be starting a chemotherapy specific to adrenal cancer (actually the only option currently available) called Mitotane. Because it attacks both the unhealthy adrenal cells and the healthy adrenal cells, I will also need to be on steroids to counteract the damage to the adrenal gland I do have. I will have blood work done monthly to monitor different levels in my system and will be returning to Houston in February for another series of CT Scans and to follow up with the doctor again.
The primary side effects are fatigue, nausea, and general GI upset. There is a long list of yucky things that are possible – my specific concern lies in the neurological issues that may arise – that would be a specific prayer request – that I can avoid those problems! (Eric’s blog has more medical detail if you want to check it out – emsdaddy.blogspot.com)

My pain from surgery is SO much better. I am getting around fairly well also. It will still be a couple of weeks before I can be caring for the kids on my own, but it is encouraging to see how much progress I have made in the last week!

Thank you again to all of you who have been praying for us, who gave support in our trip down here (Marriott points and donations), treats for the kids and us, and help with our medical expenses. All of it it SO appreciated and an amazing blessing. It has reduced our stress in this situation beyond anything measurable. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Triann

Sometimes in life we have concerns and fears that are unreasonable, other times they are completely valid. Yesterday one of my great concerns was validated. Probably, in the scheme of things, it’s not that big of deal, but I would like to avoid that kind of experience if at all possible. Lucky for me I have a chance to repeat it Wednesday!
When I went in to deliver Emily via c-section (almost 7 years ago) part of the surgery prep was to swab me down with Iodine. I had informed them that my Dad is horribly allergic to Iodine (as in anaphylactic shock) and that I had concerns. But they chose to go with the Iodine anyway. After having a large portion of my body covered in blistering hives, I can now state that I am truly allergic to Iodine. Thus far, I haven’t had to compromise on the Iodine issue. I simply state that we will not go there. Yesterday that all changed. The doctor convinced me that IV Iodine and topical Iodine are not the same thing and that he would REALLY like me to try for the CT contrast. The big deal is that they need to know if there are any other ‘hot spots’ of cancer cells and the CT with contrast is the best way to check. Being very motivated to have as much information as possible so we can beat this thing, I said OK. They gave me a little bit of Benedryl in my IV prior to the test to guard against a reaction – ha! It is fortunate that they took that precaution, but it did not allow me to go through the procedure unscathed. When they started my contrast my throat immediately tightened. I was trying to stay calm, reassuring myself that, yes, I could still breathe. And swallow – kind of. When they came to check on me I alerted them to the fact that not all was right and they commented on how red I appeared. When I got up from the scanning table they had me check the mirror to see if I felt I was a different color than when I came in. YES! Bright red head to toe and swallowing was getting more difficult – not easier. After ‘observing’ me for another 20 minutes or so and forcing insane amounts of water down my throat, they called the doctor to order more Benedryl. Finally, my throat relaxed enough that I was somewhat OK with going ‘home’! We didn’t get back to the hotel until after midnight – making it a more than 12 hour – relatively exciting – day. I am supposed to have another CT scan with contrast today, but we have to reschedule it for Wednesday so that I can go through ‘pre-treatment’ with steroids to avoid, hopefully, a similar reaction on the next scan. Yikes!

Overall yesterday was a good experience and I am glad we are down here with doctors that are informed and caring. I could do without the extra excitement though!
Since I have today ‘off’ now, we are going to go and enjoy the day with the kids – perhaps at the zoo. I could use a fun distraction – and some more pictures for scrapbooking!

Thank you all for your prayers.
Triann

We have never been a big Halloween family. I love that my kids have no idea that they are ‘supposed’ to go and Trick or Treat. Yes, they do enjoy getting dressed up, and would certainly never refuse candy, but if we didn’t do it, it wouldn’t be missed.
That being said, I think Eric will try to take them to a couple of neighbors we know and we will take the cute pictures – you can NEVER have too many of those! (says the scrapbooker Mom) Our house is decorated for fall (thanks to a couple of wonderful friends) and we can continue with this decor for the remainder of November – yea!
As much as I am trying to stay away from sugar (a Whole Foods trip is planned to find SOMETHING to satisfy my sweet tooth) I am certain I will not make it through fall without a loaf of my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread! Yum-O! A few years ago I tried to make a ‘healthy’ version of this recipe – let’s just say that you can’t replace every ingredient with a healthier substitution and come out with something that tastes as good – or is even edible! Maybe just a slice – or two – of the real thing. =)

Is it too early to be tired of being tired? I think yes.
But I promised a recap of events, so here it is.
September 30th – Eric and I were planning on celebrating our 13 years of marriage, but it ended up as a family event in the ER instead. I had been having severe pain in my right side and it was getting tough to breathe. After lab work at the doctor’s office and an ultrasound that afternoon, the Dr called and said for me to head to the ER. That can’t be good, can it? Nope.
I had both kids in tow and called and requested Eric take an early departure from work to meet me at the hospital. Earlier that day, while waiting for the doctor to come in and see me, I recollected an incident that may have contributed to my current pain. Sunday afternoon the kids and I were playing in their room when I laid down on my back and closed my eyes for a second – never a safe choice with 2 small children. My youngest, a very active two year-old, took that opportunity to pounce on me – right below the rib cage. Fast forward to Tuesday in the exam room contemplating the events and realizing that I really hadn’t felt right since then. Loss of appetite, pain, etc. Hmmm…
After the MRI in the emergency room, plus more lab work, they finally came in to tell us what they had found. I was hoping it was a simple gall bladder issue – I don’t really need one of those, right? But what the doctor told us, I could never have been prepared for. They had discovered a very large tumor on my adrenal gland and I would need to stay in the hospital until it was taken care of. One of the blessings was the ‘pouncing event’ from Sunday. Across the board the doctors felt that when my son jumped on me it caused the tumor to hemorrhage (bleed inside the tumor – as was found on the scans) which increased the size of the tumor enough for me to take notice -therefore getting this thing out of me when they did!
I kept telling myself that I couldn’t freak out until it was removed and analyzed – which was nearly 2 weeks later. Then they did come back with news worthy of freaking out. I am, for the most part, OK. I worry most about my kids and how much I want to be around to see them grow up. I believe that even with the diagnosis of Adrenal Cancer, that is still possible. With God, ALL things are possible. A friend of mine recently shared her interpretation of the events this month – Cancer was not God’s will for my life – and we found it in time for the entire tumor to be removed and to deal with it now. Not later. Now. More Hope. More time.

My posts won’t be in chronological order for awhile, but I still feel like I need to get some of my ‘God Moments’ out there even if they aren’t in order =)
I’m not sure if it was day 1 or day 3 in the hospital, but I spent most of the afternoon craving homemade chocolate chip cookies. Probably for their comfort food factor!
Having been in Dallas such a short time, there wasn’t anyone I could call and make that request of. So I just kept hoping for the impossible.
Right around 5pm one of the ladies from my Bible Study (we had only been meeting for about 3 weeks) came by to see me. Wow, a visitor! And with her she had HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Made fresh that morning and she listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit (my interpretation) and grabbed some off the cookie sheet and tied them with a sweet little ribbon and delivered them to my hospital room! Straight from God in my opinion. It was just what I needed. Not just the solution to my sweet tooth dilemma, but the reassurance that God is with me. He cares about EVERY detail. Even chocolate chip cookies! He is in the details. If He can deliver me fresh Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies via angels here on earth, He can handle the rest as well =) Faith is a gift. Faith is a blessing. Faith is what gets me through each day.

I am moving my carebridges posts over to blogspot…
patience while I transition =)
Today is a good day so far. I am trying to hang out with the family in Eric’s recliner. Eric made a great breakfast and we are enjoying a lazy day in Jammies. Daniel and I have been up since before 6. I hope that means we get to take an early nap!

Our helpers this week have been amazing. Each new crew brings something different to the table. All wonderful things that are perfect in their timing.

We are tentatively scheduled for MD Anderson on November 3rd. We will be down there for at least a week. As much as I hate to pull Em out of school, I think it will be best for the family to go together. The kiddos have enough trauma this past month, having both Eric and I gone might be their undoing.

I am looking forward to having a treatment plan in place and getting an education on what diet recommendations are. I am trying to eliminate sugar for the time being, but am finding that to be nearly impossible.

Will keep you posted…
Triann

Life is full of surprises…unfortunately, they are not always welcome surprises. I am home from the hospital -finally – and starting to feel a little more like myself again. Eventually I will write a summary of events that led me to this place, but it may take a few days for me to post it. I thank all of you for your prayers and support. Apparently, this journey has just begun. Is it possible to be on several journeys at one time? Or are our paths lined up next to each other and we are alone on our own path, with our family members’ paths side by side holding each other up? I will have to contemplate that some more…