A week of Hell in the year from Hell and all is well
For one of the healthiest girls I know, she sure does spend a lot of time at the hospital. Fresh off of a New Year’s spinal fusion and still in recovery, we find out two days before we go on our 4th of July vacation that Barb had an invasive form of breast cancer. That was a rough couple of days. After being cancer free for 13 years, we really thought that the cancer had been beat. Surgery was the only option. The prep and lead up to the surgery was a very difficult time. We circled the wagons with friends and family. Good times and good vibes and God’s grace.
A week ago today Barb went into the hospital for a double mastectomy and a TRAM flap breast reconstruction. At 10am last Thursday Barb went under for a 5 hour procedure. Two surgical teams, one for the double mastectomy, one for breast reconstruction, worked on Barb. Barb spent that night and the next in the Critical care unit, having 24/7 one-to-one nurse care the entire time. On Saturday they moved Barb up to the 6th floor where she stayed until Monday night.
Home Monday night and able to sleep in her own bed. Still with some drainage tubes and home care, but home none-the-less. Snug in her bed, with Lulu. Of course there is still a lot of recovery and treatments ahead but the hardest/scariest part is behind us. The prayers, happy thoughts and good vibes work better than anyone can know. Our “friendship circle” is tight.
Shout out to the nurses that helped Barb during her stay. Solidad and Mila in CCU, you are the best! Gina and Lisa up on 6W, you are great! Holly in pre-op? You rock! These ladies made Barb so comfortable and were always there for her. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Hey. we have a friend, Babita, who is going through chemo right now. Girl, We are thinking of you and praying for you. Just know that you are showing us the way and you are our inspiration!
The best of times….. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were in town for the Soul2Soul tour. We saw this concert when they were in town last year. 
Staci got hooked so when they extended the tour and added a couple of shows in California at the tail end of the tour, Staci joined the Faith Hill fan club so she could get premium seats for the show in Sacramento. She asked if we wanted her to get us tickets for the San Jose show. Even though we had seen them just 12 short month ago, they are so good that we decided it was worth it to see them again. Kelly and Kate came along. A family outing! YEA!
Spent a great day on the coast yesterday. Barb’s Auntie Irene is visiting from Florida so we decided to take a Sunday drive out to Pescadero to get some artichoke bread and enjoy some beach time. We were even lucky enough to have Kate and Kelly, and a couple of Kelly’s friends come along. Took a nice drive out highway 84 to the coast. While the girls stopped at the beach to get us a spot, we went into Pescadero and bought the last 4 loaves of bread. This small store is somewhat famous for its home baked bread. The “garlic/artichoke” being our favorite. The loaves were just out of the oven and still warm when we bought them!
A few hours on the beach was great. Our little picnic lunch was perfect. Got some sun, walked the beach, and took some pictures and just enjoyed everyone’s company. After that we drove up the coast to Moss Beach Distillery where we had an appitizer and enjoyed the views from the outside deck. A beautiful day on the coast.
