Trach Free!

Earlier this week was a huge milestone in the continued recovery for Ali, after 936 days she had her trach removed!  It was a truly amazing moment to witness.  She has and continues to defy so many odds, she is a true miracle!  We have been so blessed by a great medical team to help take care of her, and great family and friends to help take care of us.  Thank you all so much!

Selena had her second chemo treatment this week and so far she is doing great.  She has not had any major sickness, although two days after each treatment she has felt sore and very tired.  She is a trooper!  This past Thursday her hair started to fall out so she made the decision to go ahead and shave it all off.  She looks great bald!    

Selena has handled everything cancer has put in front of her with such grace.  The courage she displays is inspiring!  I am so grateful to have two ladies in my life that are so strong and resilient!    

Take care,
Shawn

Selena's Surgery Update

Hello everyone,

I would like to first say thank you for all your support, thoughts and prayers.  It has meant so much!  Selena's road to recovery will be so much smoother knowing there are so many people that care!

Thursday was in fact a very long day!  She was taken to the O.R. at 10 a.m. and I was finally able to see her in post op at midnight.  Overall everything went well and the surgeons feel confidant about the surgery.  It was a very busy procedure, she had five areas operated on.  Needless to say she is very sore and now a few days later is just starting to regain some of her strength.  This afternoon we are going to go for a walk down the hall.  She has made great progress though, she is off IV meds and is eating on her own!  Everyday she shows signs of improvement and in a few days we will bring her home.  Obviously she has been through a lot, mentally and now physically.  She truly has set the standard of what courage, strength, love and faith mean!

Thank you all again for all of your support.  It has been overwhelming and has helped us to keep moving forward!

Take care,
Shawn

This is officially the longest we have been home and without major hospitalizations! Ever since Ali came home in March 2009 - we have been home for 20 months! WooHoo! It is amazing to see how much Ali has grown and thrived while at home...this really is a healing place.

Since the last update earlier this year...Ali has been completely off the vent 24/7 for the last 4 months, is walking with the assistance of orthotics and a walker, vocalizing more (I love hearing her laugh...and of course her favorite is 'dadada'!), pulls herself up and climbs onto the kitchen chair to sit with us at the table, is sleeping in a big girl bed (we converted her crib into a toddler day bed), and is eating! - she likes to try just about everything we eat - her favorites are Cheerios, mandarin oranges, pasta with sauce, pretzels, and she drinks water form a sippy cup.  She recently ate an entire scheduled feed by mouth!   Ali is in PreK class at school this year. She has so much fun at school and all the kids love to be around her and “help” her. We are so amazed with Ali's progress.

Gavin celebrated his 3rd Birthday this past Saturday. I can't believe he is 3 years old already...where did the time go? Gavin is really into Thomas the Train and Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movie.  Gavin really enjoys playing with his cousins and trying to be a ruff and tough boy!  He has shown a big interest in wanting to help with Ali and most of the time he is gentle with her, but when he is not he will go up and give her a hug and say “sorry sissy, I love you”.

We are very blessed and grateful to have two amazing children!  

Shawn and I celebrated our 7 year Wedding Anniversary with a 6 day cruise to the Western Caribbean! Shawn surprised me on Mother's Day with the tickets for the cruise that departed on our anniversary. This was my first cruise and Shawn spoiled me!  

I have uploaded about 20 new albums of pictures from this year! Click here to see what we've been doing!

On a final note, I wanted to share some information about me.  In early October I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  To put it mildly this has been quite a shock for us, but we have been through difficult times in the past and we will handle whatever may come from this.  There has been a seemingly endless amount of tests and doctor appointments but I feel that we have put together a great team with a great plan for my surgery.  I am preparing to have a bilateral mastectomy followed by reconstruction surgery on December 2nd at the Cleveland Clinic.  This is a complicated procedure and I will be in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days followed by a 6 week recovery at home.  I will keep everyone updated and Shawn will post a blog update a few days after my surgery.  

I hope everyone is doing well and have a Happy Thanksgiving, we all have so much to be thankful for!