I had another surgeon's appointment today with Dr Fortin. She is the wonderful gifted surgeon who performed my reconstruction surgery. I have been returning to London every second week for follow-up due to a couple of areas which are taking time to heal. In my opinion, a very long time to heal.
While things were progressing at a faster rate since the sea-sorb packing was being used, I was delighting to hear Dr. Fortin state that she was very pleased and that I would not have to return for month. Yes, it would be ONE MONTH instead of two weeks before the next visit. I almost leapt off the examination table. But it was the final words she said that made my heart leap. By the time I should see her next, I should be healed over! Now those were the words I was longing to hear!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A New Word From My Sponsor
Since just before my diagnosis, two years ago, there was a common thread to the Scripture passages that I was reading - STRENGTH. If you are unaware of this, feel free to peruse through the blog entries and you may find my references to how God touched my weak heart during the past years. This morning things have changed.
I was brought to tears as I was reading the passage suggested from my 365-day reading plan. The words were from Ezekiel 37:1-14 and here is why my heart was moved. This passage is about a vision that God gives to Ezekiel while at a valley full of dry bones. God says to Ezekiel to speak to the bones and tell them to listen to the word of the Lord. God is going to bring the bones together, cover them with muscle and flesh and then breathe life in them. Wow, what a sight that must have been to see the numerous bones rearranging, standing up, and coming back to life! While this vision is truly remarkable, it was the final verses of the passage that struck me. There was one word, a theme, that has been recurred over the past few weeks in other passages, but today I have just finally got the word from my Sponsor.
Today the common thread has changed. The one word that I have been reading about is no longer one of strength it has been changed to HOPE. Just like the bones had become old and dry - all hope is gone (verse 11), I have felt that in deep ways. His strength has carried me through it all. Today, I know and feel in my heart that "God has put His Spirit in me... Then you will know that I am the Lord. You will see that I have done everything just as I promised." (verse13) I just love it, but Him most of all. In Him, lies the hope!
I was brought to tears as I was reading the passage suggested from my 365-day reading plan. The words were from Ezekiel 37:1-14 and here is why my heart was moved. This passage is about a vision that God gives to Ezekiel while at a valley full of dry bones. God says to Ezekiel to speak to the bones and tell them to listen to the word of the Lord. God is going to bring the bones together, cover them with muscle and flesh and then breathe life in them. Wow, what a sight that must have been to see the numerous bones rearranging, standing up, and coming back to life! While this vision is truly remarkable, it was the final verses of the passage that struck me. There was one word, a theme, that has been recurred over the past few weeks in other passages, but today I have just finally got the word from my Sponsor.
Today the common thread has changed. The one word that I have been reading about is no longer one of strength it has been changed to HOPE. Just like the bones had become old and dry - all hope is gone (verse 11), I have felt that in deep ways. His strength has carried me through it all. Today, I know and feel in my heart that "God has put His Spirit in me... Then you will know that I am the Lord. You will see that I have done everything just as I promised." (verse13) I just love it, but Him most of all. In Him, lies the hope!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Housework is not overrated!
I have a whole new appreciation for the willing hands.
Over the past weeks, and a few more weeks to come, I have been limited to what I am able to do around the house. The "no lifting" rule is becoming more and more difficult to adhere to as my recovery progresses. While it is nice to be told that I should leave the heavier household chores, each day as the pain subsides slightly, I think that I should be that much closer to returning to picking up around the home. All I need to do is fold a couple of towels or match a few pair of socks to realize why I need to listen to the doctor's orders.
Much thanks to the willing hands who have entered our home to clean up the Tamming mess and wash a few loads of laundry. For each one, I am truly grateful.
Over the past weeks, and a few more weeks to come, I have been limited to what I am able to do around the house. The "no lifting" rule is becoming more and more difficult to adhere to as my recovery progresses. While it is nice to be told that I should leave the heavier household chores, each day as the pain subsides slightly, I think that I should be that much closer to returning to picking up around the home. All I need to do is fold a couple of towels or match a few pair of socks to realize why I need to listen to the doctor's orders.
Much thanks to the willing hands who have entered our home to clean up the Tamming mess and wash a few loads of laundry. For each one, I am truly grateful.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
It Is Just Worth It!
What do you do when a family has been struck by tragedy? This word "tragedy" falls too short in describing the reality of the situation. Even more so, words are often not enough to express the thoughts one would like to express. Sometimes words come out wrong. Sometimes words are heard different than the speaker intended. Sometimes there just are not the "right" words. When it comes right down to it, there is often only one thing to do - extend your arms and embrace.
This week I found myself in this situation. Standing across from each other, little words were expressed, while the eyes did most of the "real" talking. The encounter ended with an embrace. The hardest part for me was that there was a caution both from the giver and the receiver. Both were too aware of the physical pain I was experiencing from the reconstruction surgery. For that one brief moment, all I could think and say was "sometimes the pain is just worth the hug!"
This week I found myself in this situation. Standing across from each other, little words were expressed, while the eyes did most of the "real" talking. The encounter ended with an embrace. The hardest part for me was that there was a caution both from the giver and the receiver. Both were too aware of the physical pain I was experiencing from the reconstruction surgery. For that one brief moment, all I could think and say was "sometimes the pain is just worth the hug!"
Monday, April 26, 2010
Life Is So.... You Fill It In!
Sometimes life is so.....
There is a passage in the bible that truly sums up life, it is in Ecclesiastes 3:1 -8. Here are it is:
There is a passage in the bible that truly sums up life, it is in Ecclesiastes 3:1 -8. Here are it is:
Sometimes it is just hard when all those times are squeezed into the short time frame of only a day or two.There is a time for
everything,A season for every activity under
heaven.A time to be born and a time to
die.A time to plant and a time to
harvest.A time to kill and a time to
heal.A time to tear down and a time to
rebuild.A time to cry and a time to
laugh.A time to grieve and a time to
dance.A time to scatter stones and a
time to gather stones.A time to embrace and a time to
turn away.A time to tear and a time to
mend.A time to be quiet and a time to
speak up.A time to love and a time to
hate.A time for war and a time for
peace.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Up and Moving!
I am up and moving ever so slightly.
The first night home, I played a new version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." I was Goldilocks even though I truly don gray/brownish locks. However, I do have my own three dear little bears. While I did not try out different bowls of porridge, I did try out a number of chairs and especially the beds in order to be comfortable.
Being in a hospital bed has its advantages. It mechanical nature eases the movements in and out of the bed. Elevating the head of the bed makes it easier to sit up when your stomach muscles have been compromised. Lowering the height of the bed makes it easier to get into for short-legged creatures like myself. Finding the right "unmovable" bed at home is not so easy.
While I love our pillow top mattress, it is not good for the "vertically challenged" with limited rolling/sitting capacity. Sarah's two twin beds were the next option. The one bed is only one foot off the bed. While it addresses the "vertically challenged" issue, I may get down that low but my stomach muscles would not appreciate trying to get me up from that level. Sarah's other bed was the next option. I could sit on the edge of the mattress, lower on my side, flip up both legs and roll over on the back with a little effort and pain, but it was "just right."
True to the story, the littlest bear also lost out for a couple of days.
The first night home, I played a new version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." I was Goldilocks even though I truly don gray/brownish locks. However, I do have my own three dear little bears. While I did not try out different bowls of porridge, I did try out a number of chairs and especially the beds in order to be comfortable.
Being in a hospital bed has its advantages. It mechanical nature eases the movements in and out of the bed. Elevating the head of the bed makes it easier to sit up when your stomach muscles have been compromised. Lowering the height of the bed makes it easier to get into for short-legged creatures like myself. Finding the right "unmovable" bed at home is not so easy.
While I love our pillow top mattress, it is not good for the "vertically challenged" with limited rolling/sitting capacity. Sarah's two twin beds were the next option. The one bed is only one foot off the bed. While it addresses the "vertically challenged" issue, I may get down that low but my stomach muscles would not appreciate trying to get me up from that level. Sarah's other bed was the next option. I could sit on the edge of the mattress, lower on my side, flip up both legs and roll over on the back with a little effort and pain, but it was "just right."
True to the story, the littlest bear also lost out for a couple of days.
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Count UP!
Today marks the "one" week later after my tram flap breast reconstruction surgery.
I have been relatively quiet on the blog scene. I have had a lot to say in my head but not too sure that there was individuals who dared to read about my thoughts. But now I find myself in a position once again where I need to journal this part of my life once again. This is more for myself but I am trusting that at sometime God will be using these words to touch/open the heart of someone who He is desiring to reach. May these written words not only be a way for individuals to identify with the struggles in life but also be a way in which individuals understand that we are never alone - He is always present!
The hospital stay was interesting to say the very least. The first three nights, I was under the careful watch of the nurses every hour. Each hour, the nurses would take a peek to make sure that there the transplant was successful, that tissue was not dying. In order to monitor,the nurse would come with an ultrasound machine. The surgeon had placed a couple of stitches in strategic places in which the "pen" would need to be lined up at the just the right angle to hear the THUMP THUMP. Each hour, I could feel the nervousness of the expectation of hearing that rhythm of the beat - I was like an expectant mother once again. It is funny to think that I was still have my abdominal checked, they had just been repositioned.
My hospital room housed four beds in which two nurses monitored the progress of the surgical patients. The first night my neighbour had visitors throughout the night. The 24 hour nursing staff was coupled by 24 hour family care. It was through the night that I would hear continuous whispering of words. While there was times in which I did not understand the words uttered in the foreign tongue, I was sure that I knew where they had been written before. In my medically induced fog, I knew that I had heard or read these words in the scriptures. While there were moments, especially between 3 and 5, in which I desired complete peace and quiet, God was demonstrating a wonderful lesson. How blessed I was to be close enough to hear His words!
I have been relatively quiet on the blog scene. I have had a lot to say in my head but not too sure that there was individuals who dared to read about my thoughts. But now I find myself in a position once again where I need to journal this part of my life once again. This is more for myself but I am trusting that at sometime God will be using these words to touch/open the heart of someone who He is desiring to reach. May these written words not only be a way for individuals to identify with the struggles in life but also be a way in which individuals understand that we are never alone - He is always present!
The hospital stay was interesting to say the very least. The first three nights, I was under the careful watch of the nurses every hour. Each hour, the nurses would take a peek to make sure that there the transplant was successful, that tissue was not dying. In order to monitor,the nurse would come with an ultrasound machine. The surgeon had placed a couple of stitches in strategic places in which the "pen" would need to be lined up at the just the right angle to hear the THUMP THUMP. Each hour, I could feel the nervousness of the expectation of hearing that rhythm of the beat - I was like an expectant mother once again. It is funny to think that I was still have my abdominal checked, they had just been repositioned.
My hospital room housed four beds in which two nurses monitored the progress of the surgical patients. The first night my neighbour had visitors throughout the night. The 24 hour nursing staff was coupled by 24 hour family care. It was through the night that I would hear continuous whispering of words. While there was times in which I did not understand the words uttered in the foreign tongue, I was sure that I knew where they had been written before. In my medically induced fog, I knew that I had heard or read these words in the scriptures. While there were moments, especially between 3 and 5, in which I desired complete peace and quiet, God was demonstrating a wonderful lesson. How blessed I was to be close enough to hear His words!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Marked Up and Ready to GO!
Yesterday I met with Dr Amanda Fortin to get ready for the reconstruction surgery.
I am now doning lovely purple and black permanment markers mark showing where the surgery will take place.
Ready to go.....
I am now doning lovely purple and black permanment markers mark showing where the surgery will take place.
Ready to go.....
Monday, January 18, 2010
Time Passes On
While things may not seem to be too exciting in the Tamming household, time does keep plotting along. Stephen is in the thick of planning the new year - worship services, sermon series, and campaigns. The girls are doing well in school. Speeches are the focus of the homework time. Piano practice fills the air with some sweet melodies by the end of the week's practices. Swimming lessons on Monday, GEMS Tuesday, and figure skating on Wednesday and Saturday. I have come to enjoy the days in which all three are in school. I have found time to catch up with some of the neglected items - some housekeeping and organizing and just taking a few quiet moments just for myself.
This morning, it is such a time. I have straightened up the house, looked at my email, answered a few phone calls, not logged in to facebook for fear of wasting too much time, and read a blog update of a dear friend. It is with a few tears in my eyes that I know that while life and time do plot along, there are moments in which, you are just stopped short and have to try to catch your breath. I am reminded that while life is plotting along, for some, it seems that time just stops , feels like it has turned back, or it is VERY slowly ticking along. Once again, I was reminded of what I had been through, how I have been altered, and what will my life entail today. For those heavy on my heart, all I can do is talk to the One, who was, is, and always will be there, about it all and leave it with Him.
This week marks the one year anniversary of my last phrase of treatment. I remember how stressed I was in the fact that I would have to "move to London for the week" for the radiation treatments for a period of five weeks - an eternity in my books. It turned out not to be too bad in the end - it was an opportunity to have to walk out on my own - meet new people, bunk with a roommate, figure out who I was without the title or daily responsibilities of being a mother or wife, reflect on what I have done with my life and what God was doing with me at that moment. I remember walking out of the clinic on my last treatment day with a prayer that I would never return for more treatments. Some thing never change because I am still hoping on this day that that prayer will hold true.
One year later, while my daily routine makes the day pass by more easily, it is never too far from my thoughts how different the lives of others and mine had been before cancer. It is good to just stop and catch a breath and to turn the One who has granted that breath so that my time here can keep ticking along.
This morning, it is such a time. I have straightened up the house, looked at my email, answered a few phone calls, not logged in to facebook for fear of wasting too much time, and read a blog update of a dear friend. It is with a few tears in my eyes that I know that while life and time do plot along, there are moments in which, you are just stopped short and have to try to catch your breath. I am reminded that while life is plotting along, for some, it seems that time just stops , feels like it has turned back, or it is VERY slowly ticking along. Once again, I was reminded of what I had been through, how I have been altered, and what will my life entail today. For those heavy on my heart, all I can do is talk to the One, who was, is, and always will be there, about it all and leave it with Him.
This week marks the one year anniversary of my last phrase of treatment. I remember how stressed I was in the fact that I would have to "move to London for the week" for the radiation treatments for a period of five weeks - an eternity in my books. It turned out not to be too bad in the end - it was an opportunity to have to walk out on my own - meet new people, bunk with a roommate, figure out who I was without the title or daily responsibilities of being a mother or wife, reflect on what I have done with my life and what God was doing with me at that moment. I remember walking out of the clinic on my last treatment day with a prayer that I would never return for more treatments. Some thing never change because I am still hoping on this day that that prayer will hold true.
One year later, while my daily routine makes the day pass by more easily, it is never too far from my thoughts how different the lives of others and mine had been before cancer. It is good to just stop and catch a breath and to turn the One who has granted that breath so that my time here can keep ticking along.
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