A year to remember...

    As usual, I haven't updated for a really long time! So so so much has happened within the past year that I haven't had a lot of time on my hands! I figured that I should write on here just to bring things up to date. It's always nice to look back at my posts and remember exactly what was going on when I wrote them. So, here goes...
      We had our little guy, Kylen, just over a year and a half ago. He has been such a blessing to us! Being a mom is one of the hardest and rewarding things that anyone could ever experience. Each day that I get to spend with my little person is better than the last. He is getting so big now and he is talking so much! Each day he says a new word or even uses phrases that he has heard me say. Haha! Aaron and Kylen's relationship is adorable! He is definitely a Daddy's boy! At least when it comes to play time! When its time to eat or sleep he prefers his mama. :). Nonetheless, we are so happy!

 

Kylen's Newborn Pics

                                                     
                                                    Kylen ages 4-6 Months

                                                                  
                                                                  Kylen at age 1

     Shortly after I had kylen I began to notice some weird numb sensations in my legs and also had frequent black outs along with head aches every day. For the first while I assumed that these symptoms, which I had also experienced during my pregnancy, were attributed to the hormonal changes my body was going through. But as time went on they only continued to get worse and more frequent.
    In February 2012 we bought our first official home! With a new baby and it still being so cold outside, moving was not a fun or easy task. On top of all that, I was on a strict diet and exercise plan that consumed all of my free time preparing meals and such. All of these things combined with my not-so-good symptoms made this an extremely stressful time in my life.
      By the time that Kylen was 8 months old I was blacking out 70 + times a day. These weren't the type of black outs where I would actually pass out but more just the hazy blackouts that only last for a few seconds. Like the ones you get when you stand up too fast - everything starts to go hazy until it goes black and then slowly comes back. I'm sure everyone has experienced it at some point. To top off all these weird symptoms, I was also always extremely tired from lack of sleep. Whenever I would lay down I felt like all the blood was rushing to my head as if I were hanging upside down.
      

     
       I decided at the end of July that I was going to do something about it. First I went to the eye doctor. Everything that I had read online suggested that this would be a good first step to diagnosing a problem with the symptoms I was having. Unfortunately and fortunately, my eyes were great! Perfect vision! But this got me no where.
       My next step was to visit my regular doc and take things from there. On Monday July 30, 2012, I made a visit to my doctor and told her everything that I had been experiencing. She seemed concerned and scheduled me to have an MRI the following day. At that time Aaron was in Mississippi and wouldn't be home for at least two more weeks so I was fortune to have my parents, and in-laws close by along with my sister visiting from out of state who were all willing to watch my baby. The next day, Tuesday July 31, I went in for my MRI. Within minutes of arriving home I received a call from my doctor. She urgently informed me that the imaging specialist had found a tumor in my brain and that they were sending me to a Neurologist ASAP....
      I didn't know how to respond in that moment. I didn't know what to think! The only thing that I could think to say was,"Ok." Her immediate response to my obvious shock was, (in a calm but stern voice) "No, it's not ok. This is something that we need to take seriously!". Everything else in those moments is a blur to me. I didn't have very much information other than the fact that I had a brain tumor which had been causing me so much agony for the past few months and that I should anticipate a call from the Neurologist's office no later than the next day.
      As soon as Aaron heard the news he was on his way home! Him and my brother-in-law, Ryan, had driven to Mississippi and had to drive back to Utah together. As the day went on for me, everything really began to sink in. I kept looking at my beautiful baby boy and holding back tears at the thought of what horrible possibilities there could be regarding my condition. Luckily, my whole family was at my house within minutes of receiving the news. My mom stayed with me that night so that I wouldn't  be alone. And of course the Neurologist didn't call until the next day.
      Wednesday August 1, 2012. That morning my mom ran back to her house to get some of her things together. I had some time alone with my baby and I held him closer than usual. I had some precious moments there in my home, just me and my baby, and although he won't ever remember those moments will forever be saved in a special place in my heart.
     At around 2:00 PM I received the call I had been waiting for. The secretary on the line seemed frantic as she asked me if I was Cherise. Immediately my heart started beating faster. I knew there was something wrong! She informed me that they were sending me to Dr. Randy Jensen at the U of U hospital who could take care of me immediately. They had already called the hospital and they were expecting me in the emergency room and I had to leave right then. She tried to give me a quick explanation and I fumbly wrote down some of the key words to describe my urgent condition. "Hydrocephalus", "severely swollen ventricles". Those were the two things that she emphasized.
     About half way through my conversation my sister and her two boys came into my house. She knew there was something wrong by my frantic behavior. We hurried and got my baby's things together and jumped in her car to head to Salt Lake. My parents, sister and Parent-in- Laws rushed to meet us at the hospital. In the twenty minutes it took to get to the hospital I called Aaron and told him how much I loved him! ....

I have a hard time not crying even as I write this.

    We shared a moment that I will never forget. I honesty didn't know if I was ever going to be able to say those words to him again or what was going to happen when I got to the hospital.

    Once I arrived at the hospital, my family was already there. Apparently they were as frantic as I was because they beat me there even though I had a head start. Once I got into the ER they took me back for another MRI on their more extensive machine. I was diagnosed with a Brain Tumor in the center of my brain which was blocking off the opening on my ventricles where my spinal fluid regulates from my spine to my brain (Hydrocephalus). Therefore my brain was drowning in fluid and suffocating. My ventricles were swelled to triple their size and I needed to have immediate surgery the following morning
     Now I knew exactly what was going on and had a plan to fix the problem. They used to use a shunt to fix Hydrocephalus but now they have a new procedure called an Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV). To explain this the easy way, this is where they go in and create a new hole for the fluid to regulate itself. Since my tumor is located in such a sensitive area, they weren't going to attempt to biopsy it until we knew it was totally necessary.
                                                      
                                                             

                                    
                                          An example of the ETV Procedure

      Aaron caught a flight in New Mexico and had our brother-in-law drive the car the rest of the way home so that he could get back faster. He made it back by that evening and I nearly cried when he walked in the room! I was so filled with love and was so happy to see him! Him, Kylen and I spent some time together with our families until everyone had to go home for the night. My parents took Kylen home and stayed with him so that Aaron could stay with me at the hospital.

                                              Our eyes are swollen from crying

        
                                    Those stickers on my forehead help create
                                  a map for the doc during surgery

                                                  Enjoying every second!

      August 2, 2012- I went in for surgery at 8 AM. When I woke up afterwards I was in in my room in the ICU. I had a tube coming out of my head that connected to a machine just behind my bed. Luckily, my doctor was generous and avoided shaving a lot of my hair. A strip about two fingers wide on the middle right side of my scalp where the cut had been made was all that needed to be shaved. As shallow as this was, I was so grateful! In the next few weeks I had so much love in my heart for so many reasons. I thought of the amazing and talented team of doctors who are able to perform such amazing procedures! And my wonderful husband and family who helped me with my long recovery each step of the way! I could go on and on about the kindness that was given to me! I just felt so GRATEFUL for every kind thing that anyone had ever done for me!

 

     For a month a could not pick my baby up. This was so hard for me to watch others take care of my precious baby and me not be able to help! My sweet mom stayed at my home for the first two weeks to help while I was recovering. During that time I had to be under constant supervision. My medication made me so dizzy and at times I was too weak to walk without help. This whole experience was the most humbling thing I have ever gone through and has made me so grateful to have my physical independence back.
    It's been almost a year since then and I have fully recovered from the surgery. It was a total success! My scar is easy to hide since I can cover it with my hair and if I didn't tell you, you would never know it was there. As for my tumor, it IS still there. We continue to monitor to make sure it hasn't grown. I still get head aches but not nearly as bad as I did before. The dizziness comes and goes but has improved significantly. My short term memory isn't as sharp as it once was, but it is still better than my husbands... ;). But the main thing that I can take from this whole experience is just to not take things for granted. I still don't know what the future holds or if my tumor will cause more issues to come but I try to not to dwell on it. I just hug my baby a little tighter and appreciate my husband and wonderful friends and family so much more! I focus on doing things that I enjoy and try not to sweat the small things. I'm just THANKFUL!

     I have really been focusing on my makeup artistry business which has really taken off in the last few months! I recently have had to raise my prices due to how busy I have become! My time is just to valuable now, especially with Aaron being gone so often with work. My baby comes first and I want to be sure to spend as much time with him as possible!
   

    Aaron graduated from BYU this last month and I couldn't be more proud! He is such a hard worker and I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who is more determined and motivated then he is! He decided that he wasn't going to walk for graduation so I put together a little surprise graduation party for him with our families! He totally didn't see it coming!!! We ate at Wingers (One of Aarons Favs) and I ordered these delicious cupcakes from One Sweet Slice. I made these little chocolate graduation caps to top off each cupcake and my parents picked up some balloons in BYU colors. It was great to have both our families there to show support and appreciation for the amazing person he is!

In my extra time, I have recently started gardening- which I never thought would happen! So far its been hard work but I can see the results right away which I LOVE! I know it doesn't look like much but it is a work in progress...

 

I guess this sums things up pretty good for the next little while. Hopefully I wont wait another year before I write on here again! Until then, have a wonderful day- each and every day!!!