Reconnecting With the Doctors!

Today was our first day back to appointments. We began at Lakeside Hospital this morning. Melissa had an ultrasound on her left breast. She felt a hard lump. The good news is that it was scar tissue from her previous fibroid cysts that were removed when she was 17 years old.

In the afternoon Melissa had blood work done at UNMC at Village Pointe. Her lab work was great!

Next was our appointment with Dr. Bierman, her oncologist. He felt her neck and underarm and said the lymphnodes are normal. He was pleased with all lab results too!

Dr. Maribeth, her oncologist nurse, hugged her and remarked how good she looks! Steve, Melissa, and I are thrilled. We feel so blessed! Melissa's next appointment is February 16, 2012. It will consist of lab work, a CT scan, and Dr. Bierman's appointment.

As we continue to pray for Melissa, we now add Aunt Sally! Sally is Steve's sister, Melissa's godmother. She was diagnosed this week with lung cancer, stage 4. The lung cancer has spread to her brain. Radiation treatments have already begun on her brain. Chemotherapy for the spot on her lung will begin November 30th. She, too, is going to UNMC for her treatments.

As the holidays approach, we thank God for the oncologists at UNMC, and for the prayers and support we receive from all of you!



Thank you!

Remission Celebration!

Time to Celebrate:)

Aimee, Matt, Melissa, Maggie, Steve

F.R.O.G.

Fully Rely On God

What a beautiful day! Thank you to all who came and and also to those who were not able to come but were with us in spirit! Your prayers and support these past 8 months have been overwhelming! Melissa was so excited to celebrate and wanted everyone to join in! Matt and Aimee were here for the weekend. Marc and Nancy(Steve's sister and husband) were here from Missouri! Lots of family, friends, neighbors, sorority sisters....everyone joined in the fun! Thank you so much!!!!

Melissa and Maggie with Ed's delicious cupcakes!

 

 Melissa's Kappa Kappa Gamma Girls supporting her with "Team Melissa" shirts.

The back of the shirt says "Remission Accomplished"!





 Friends!

A beautiful day to celebrate!

 

Melissa, Steve and I are participating in a 12 week support group for cancer survivors and their care givers. It is called "A Time to Heal"; a program that is provided through grant funding. It started 2 weeks ago and has been very informative and enjoyable.

Melissa is teaching kindergarten and enjoying her students. She has found an apartment and that she will move in to next month. Steve and I , her "roomies" will miss her. Yet we are happy for Melissa as she continues to get her life back to normal!

Melissa's new class!

Celebrating River City Round Up!

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. November 17th is our next appointment with Dr. Bierman. I will continue to update the blog.

Hugs to all of you! Life is Good! God is Great!!

Remission! Remission! Remission!

Lab work---Great!

PET scan-- Great!

CT scan----Great!

Pulmonary test--Great!

REMISSION---PRICELESS!!!!

Dr. Bierman said, "All scans look marvelous! Not one abnormal test!" Wow! I have been crying ever since! Her next appointment will be November 17th with Dr. Bierman. She will have lab work but no scans at that time.

Melissa is so excited....even her hair is growing! It is coming in wavy, just as it did when she was a little girl.

This is definitely a time for prayers of thanksgiving! We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support these past 7 months. Again...more tears of joy!

We are planning a remission party, Saturday, September 24th. It will be an Open House from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at our home. It will be very casual. Please come and celebrate with us!

REMISSION is the magical word!  We are truly blessed!

Anxiously Awaiting August 24th!

We met with Dr. Imbrock, the surgeon this past Tuesday. He examined the incision from the port removal surgery and all is healing nicely! Melissa continues to look forward to having all of this behind her!

 Melissa enjoyed her last week of summer by socializing with friends, shopping, and working out. Melissa has also been busy getting her kindergarten room ready.  As she was working at school one day this week, she ran into a kindergarten student from last year. The student hugged Melissa and said "Miss Maher you have real hair now, it's growing!". Melissa was so excited with the student's comment she hugged her once more!

Our next step is Wednesday, August 24th. Melissa will be at UNMC early that morning. It will be a whole day affair consumed with lab work, scans, and appointments. We are hoping and praying for all tests to be negative so we hear the magical words "Melissa is in remission". We will let you know the results once we have met with the doctors. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Chemo is Done! Port is Out! Scans to Come!

This morning was port removal surgery! It was quick.... done with a local numbing shot! Melissa was awake and alert during the procedure. She enjoyed visiting with Dr. Imbrock, the surgeon. Next week, we meet again with him for the follow-up appointment.

Melissa is now resting on the couch. Her left arm and shoulder will be out of commission for a few days.

Since chemo has ended and graduate classes are completed, Melissa has been busy getting ready for the new school year! We have been decorating the classroom, printing nametags, organizing her daily schedule, and making numerous trips to the "dollar bin" at Target!

We will let you know how next week's appointment goes. Please continue with your caring thoughts and prayers. August 24th is the scheduled day for all the tests and scans to be done.

We are blessed to have all of you in our life! Thank You!

Graduate School Completed!

Melissa completed 2 major goals this summer; all 12 chemo treatments are completed and so are all courses to earn her master's degree. Quite an accomplishment for her as she continues on this journey!

We all went to Indianapolis this past weekend to help Matt and Aimee move into their first home.

Aimee and Matt in front of their new home!

Aimee's parents, Ed and Lynne Helbig from Pittsburgh, also came to help. We worked hard, laughed, and even had a nice dinner out!

Steve, Ed and Matt working hard!

Aimee and Melissa assembling a table!

The Maher family

The Helbig family

Matt and Aimee surprised Melissa with balloons, crepe paper streamers, and signs to celebrate her masters. Ed and Lynne brought her 2 beautiful plants from Pittsburgh. It was a thoughtful, unexpected party...complete with a Dairy Queen cake!

 Sklyar helping Aimee with the decorations!

A celebration cake for: Masters completed, chemo completed, Steve, Aimee, Matt's birthdays, and a thank you for helping them move into their home!

A toast to family time well spent together!

We have the port removal surgery scheduled for Thursday, August 4th. One more item for Melissa to check off her list of "Things To Do"!  Steve's and my list remain the same....prayers and thank-yous to all of you for your continuous prayers and support.

Cancer Be Gong!

 

Ready.. Set..

Go!...

 "Cancer Be Gong!"

Chemo treatment #12 is done! All of her treatments are now completed! We are so excited! Her positive attitude has been exemplary during her journey with Hodgkin's Lymphoma these past six months.

Melissa's blood work was good. White counts continue to be low but Dr. Bierman was okay with that. He said she looks great!

Steve had prepared a list of 15 questions for Dr. Bierman. When do we schedule the port removal surgery? He told us we could schedule it anytime. August 24th is the day for all  her tests and scans. If the port is removed before that day, the blood work will be done through her arm. As Melissa says, "No big deal! Let's schedule the port removal surgery before the school year starts!"

Another question asked, "What are the chances that Hodgkin's Lymphoma will return after treatment?" Chances are less than 50%. Melissa will periodically have scans during the next five years to check for Hodgkin's and also monitor her heart and lungs.

Blood counts should return to normal during the next few weeks.
Gradually Melissa will begin to physically feel better and stronger.
Her hair should begin to grow over the next few months.

Before our trip to UNMC, Melissa's friend, Shelby, stopped by to give her a book, Crazy Sexy Cancer Surviviors. It is a book of healing, hope, and inspirational messages. It is written with much humor, too. We shared it with Dr. Bierman.

Melissa's friend, Katie, made a special trip to the Med. Center during her lunch hour from work. She was there to hug and cheer with all of us during this final treatment.

Laura also came to visit, support, hug, and cheer Melissa during her last chemo treatment.

All of us were teary eyed as Melissa rang the gong!

 Katie and Melissa practicing her swing!

 Katie, Melissa, and Laura

Laura and Melissa in their purple!

Never, Never, Never will we stop cheering, praying, and thanking God, family, and friends for the continuous support for Melissa!

The video of Melissa hitting the gong! Enjoy!

We made it to the finish line!

I will continue to blog as our journey has not ended. Hugs to all of you!