Post Op Update

Well, I'm finally getting around to updating you all on my condition and surgery experience -- thanks to good 'ol pain meds. First off, Cedars Sinai Hospital was amazing. I loved the staff, who proved to be my biggest advocates, helping me in more ways than I'd even ask for. Here are a few of my nurses. I wish I had a snapshot of my Drs. Bilchick, Washington, & Green. I knew I was I was in good hands.

What was expected to be a 4 hour surgery resulted in 7 hours. My blood counts were dangerously low and they couldn't even begin until I had had 6 transfusions: 4 units of red blood cells, 2 units of a clotting agent, and 1 unit of platelets. (each unit equals about 1 liter). When all was said and done, Dr. Bilchick had removed my gallbladder and 40% of my liver -- 11 tumors ranging in size of 0.2-5.0 cm. Most of the tumors were already dead or in the process of dying. We don't know for sure if I'm cancer free at this point, but Doc says he removed all that he could see, trying to be very aggressive. In fact, he wondered if he was too aggressive, given my blood counts. The day I was released (Apr. 20th) he admitted that he was scared he had done too much. My counts weren't back to normal, but I was improving faster than they expected.

I spent 3 days in ICU and 4 days on the 8th floor.



And here I am, 5 days at home post-op. Eric can't believe I'm posting these photos. Not a pretty sight. I've been pretty miserable. It seems that hot baths are my only reprieve from the pain for a short while. I was grateful for several hours of feeling good last night to attend the derby races. You can see from the photos that I'm still pretty swollen, though the edema has gone down considerably. My main focus now is to control the draining that continues to seep from my incision. I'm soaking through towels within no time at all. On that note, I'm grateful that Doc was able to use my same incision from my 1st surgery.



Thanks to Kim, Tiff, Mom & Eric for your visits that brightened my days in there. Thanks to all the young women leaders who continue to step up and keep the program running in my absence. Thanks to all those who have blessed our family with meals, love & support. I love you!!!

Pine Wood Derby

Kade and Eric spent a couple days working together on a pine wood derby car, and it appears their work paid off. Kaden's car (The Orange Crush) took 3rd place. We're looking forward to next Saturday when the top 5 placers from every troop will compete in a massive derby race at the Ronald Reagan Library. It's fun to see all the different types of cars people create.

Leyna is 3!

Now celebrating three fun-filled years with Leyna! Because she's obsessed with dogs, we made a trip to the good 'ol $3 theaters to watch "Hotel for Dogs." Cute movie. Saturday was spent at the Santa Barbara zoo with the family and Leyna's sweet friend, Chloe. Here's a glimpse of our day.

The Penguins were so loud! Must have been the males trying to get attention. :)

Happy Easter from the Stephens

Check out what we found in our Easter Egg Hunt! Four adorable children!
I wanted to get some pictures before the boys went off to Arizona (or Hairizona as Gavin says) this morning to spend the week with the Wilcock family. I hate our family being separated, especially when I'm lonely in the hospital, but the kids are going to have a blast with their cousins. And Kami and Leyna are expecting to have a great time with Grandma & Grandpa Stephen.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Leyna!

In lieu of Leyna's 3rd birthday, we took her to see "Hotel for Dogs" which was a perfect choice given her obsession with dogs of all kinds. On Saturday, we brought along Leyna's adorable friend, Chloe, to join us for a day at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Everyone seemed to love it, especially the "ant hill" playground where they had fun sliding down the hill again and again.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining...

This is an image Eric caught last night during his bike ride up Mulholland Dr. Aren't rainbows one of the coolest of God's creations?

Kami's Birthday

Today we're celebrating 7 years of Kambria's life! She's brought a great deal of laughter, fashion, style, and love to our family. Because Kami loves to be the center of attention and receiving gifts, I think it's appropriate to say that for her 7th birthday she was in 7th Heaven!

This wasn't supposed to be a birthday party year, but I told Kami she could invite a couple friends over to spend the night. Somehow that evolved into bowling, a movie, sleepover, a pinata, and swimming -- sounds like a party to me! We've had a great time!

CaptainS Underpants

I was laughing so hard when I saw what Gavin & Leyna were up to the other day. Definitely a kodak moment! (Yes, they are clean undies.)

Kami

Kami is so funny. This year isn't a birthday party year, but she was telling me when I put her to bed last night how she'll sleep in on Friday so that we can all wake her up and surprise her with balloons. She went on to explain how great it would be if there were signs up, too, that said, "Happy Birthday, Kami!" And today she wrote out her birthday menu of what she wants to eat at each meal (our family tradition). The girls knows what she wants. Makes my life easy most the time, so I suppose I shouldn't laugh too much.

Liver Surgery

Finally...we have a surgery date. It'll be Monday, April 13th at Cedars-Sinai in LA. We appreciate all the faith and prayers of so many. Keep it up! I know it's working! :) We'll certainly be praying for the doctor and his team to be able to remove all the cancer. I'm so looking forward to recovering from surgery, then getting through whatever chemo treatments my oncologists thinks I may need for precautionary measures. But I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and am running towards it!