The BIG Cancer scare!

"For I know the plans I have for you," Declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." These were the words that kept running through my head this past Friday as I sat in the waiting room with my husband at The Breast Center in downtown Charlotte. You see about three weeks ago I found a lump in my right breast. To be honest I didn't know exactly what to fell for, I just knew that something didn't feel right to me. I immediately told my husband, Jeremy. I think he was more concerned at the time, then I was. He said "Dallas, I really think you should make an appointment" At first I kind of blew this off, and then I finally took his advice and called my OBGYN for an appointment. My appointment was set for 2:30 that same day. I went in and was patiently waiting for the doctor to arrive. I was thinking to myself, oh she will probably just say it is nothing and then I will be on my way. No worries right? Wrong! Much to my surprise after doing the breast exam, she did say that there was definitley something there and that it was hard to the touch, so she thought it best to make a referral to the Breast Center downtown. They would then perform a breast ultrasound. She did reassure me that is very rare that a 29 year old would be diagnosed with breast cancer, but to rule anything out, she thought it best to make the referral. She said it would most likey be a fibrocystic cyst. After speaking with her, and even though she tried to reassure me that it was probably nothing, that is when all the worrying began to sit in. What if I did  have the BIG C word? How much was my life about to change? I had so many negative thoughts running through my head.
After making the appointment, which was set for the following Friday, I immediately went outside and called my husband. I tried my best to sound calm. I did not want him to think I was worried. After speaking with him, I sat in my car and started to pray. I asked God to be with me and no matter what the outcome, for him to work in my life. I calmed myself down, turned on the radio and tried to think of a million other things, but that. It seemed to help for a little while. I decided not to tell anyone about my appointment. I thought there was no sense in getting everyone worked up, especially if it tunred out to be nothing. This was something Jeremy and I would keep to ourselves.
I went back to work that Monday and decided I better tell my Office Manager, Nikki, I needed Friday off for a doctor's appointment. I did make the decision to go ahead and tell her, that way there would be no issues with me having the day off. I was trying my best not to cry, but I let all the worrying get the best of me. I am so glad to have an Office Manager who is a Christian. We talked for a little while, and she assured me there would be no problems with me having the day off. I told her I just wanted to get it done and over with, so I could stop worrying so much. As the week went by I tried to think positive thoughts, but being human all these questions started popping into my head. I mostly thought about my son James. What if they did say I had breast cancer? How much would this effect my life? Panic began to sit in and I started to feel the all the effects of worrying so much. I had knots in my shoulders the size of mangos! Jeremy told me over and over again not to stress, but again I had way too much on my mind. What if I died? What would my husband do? I starting thinking of all the things I would miss out on. I went in James room and clung to him like it was the last day of my life. Poor child probably thinks I am crazy. I just couldn't help myself. I was letting all these negative thoughts consume me. That is when I realized that our God is a great God and he would be there for me and my family no matter what. It was time to put this in his hands and stop letting all this worry build up. It was doing nothing to help me and only making matters worse. Again I immediatley thought about the bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Thank you God for reminding me of your awesome and wonderful love. It is an unfailing love and I praise him for that!
Friday, the BIG day was here. Jeremy took the day off work, so he could come with me. I can't tell you what that meant to me. My appointment was set for 1:00, but we had to be there by 12:45. We got there, parked in the parking deck and made our way into the dotor's office. I signed in and then the waiting game began. The nurse came in and called the first patient back. Her husband stayed behind in the waiting room. (I tought this was a little strange, but let it slide). The next nurse came out and called my name and another ladies name. Again her husband stayed in the waiting room. I got up, made my way to the door and asked if Jeremy could come with me. That is when the nurse told me "No, I am sorry, but he can't" That is when I thought I was going to have a panic attack right there in the middle of the doctor's office. I still don't understand why he couldn't come with me. I then went from one waiting room to another. I could tell the lady beside me had been there before. We sat in silence for what seemed like for forever. I wanted to cry, but I reassured myself that God was right there with me, even if Jeremy couldn't be. The Ultrasound Tech came in and called "Mrs. Welch". I stood up and made my way down the hall way. We went into the room where the ultrasound was to be performed. We went though a series of questions. I think she could tell I was nervous, b/c she was trying her best to make me laugh. She said "okay, I am going to leave the room now, so you can get undressed" She said "Please get undressed from the WAIST UP" "Let me reemphasize from the WAIST UP" I got a little chuckled and said "well I did plan on leaving my pants on" She said "I would be surpirsed at some of the stuff she has seen." She went out and I put the gown on that they gave me. She came back in and began the ultraound. I heard a little Humm...which got me thinking again. She then said "let me run and get the radiologist" She assured me that this was procedure. The door opened five minutes later and the radiologist came in and introducd himself. He then got started on the ultraound again. I decided I would be brave and look up at the screen. That is when I heard the best words ever..."well it does not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. It appears to be a fatty nodule." I cannot even begin to tell you how releaved I felt from that point. I could finally put my mind at ease. I immediatley said "Thank You Lord, Thank You" The Ultrasound tech left and got Jeremy. I met him out in the hallway with a big smile on my face. I could tell that he was releaved too. We walked to the car, got in and we both said again "Thank You Lord" On the drive home I thought about all the woman who were there with me that day. I thought about all the women who weren't so lucky to get good news, like I did. This has been a real eye opener for me, and I cannot tell you how much this "scare" has impacted my life. I praise God for the good news and I ask that his blessings be upon those that were diagnosed that day. I want to ask and urge all ladies reading this to please do your monthly breast exams. No matter what age you are, you never know what tomorrow may bring. I also ask that you remember the above verse. That is God's promise to us and no matter what happens in life, we can trust that he has something wonderful for us in the end. Thank you God for your unfailing love!  

Random Thoughts That Make Me Laugh

So my bestie and I are always having these random thoughts of when we were younger and all the crazy things that have happened in our lives. You see for those who don't know, Amy and have been bestfriends or bestgirls, as we like to say, for as long as I can remember. There wasn't a weekend when we weren't at each other house. Anyhoo...today, like I do pretty much everyday, I was checking out my facebook page, when al these random and CrAzY thoughts and memories starting popping into my head. I recalled the time Amy and I decided to play "Floss Basketball". And yes, this is exactly what it sounds like...only our mouths were the hoop. We literally un-wound a box of floss, watted it into a ball and played "Floss Basketball". We were both doing pretty good, until Amy took a shot and I began to instantly choke. I literally had to flip my head upside down to keep this big ball of nasty peppermint floss from going down my throat! Can you imagine explaining that one to the doctor? Well, you see sir, my friend and I had this bright idea to play what we call "Floss Basketball"....how dumb were we. Ohh the things you will do when you are bored and a teenager!
"Floss Basketball" who would have ever thunk it? LOL...Good times!
After recalling "Floss Basketball", I also recalled a trip that we all took to Carowinds. When I say "we" I mean, Amy's older sister, Stacy, her boyfriend, Mickey at the time, Amy, and of course little ole me. Back in the day Carowinds was the BOMB...it was the place to be and we were definitley in on all the action...we had our season passes and everything. We were all geared up and ready to hit the park. We were walking to the entrance, and then all of the sudden, out of the middle of no where, IT HAPPENED. A bird literally took a crap in Stacy's hair! I will never forget the look on all our faces! This would be something Stacy would never live down. I know we all have our embarrsaing moments...but seriously a bird deciding to use your head, as it's own personal bathroom. Now that's just funny! We didn't let this ruin our day though...we were determined to catch ThunderRoad, bird dootie and all! I feel sorry for the people riding behind her...they might have caught a taste of that bird dootie in their mouths! Haha! I can see it now!
I have SO many more stories that I could tell, but that would literally take me days...maybe next time, but until then, I will be thinking of more random thoughts that make me laugh!