Christian Grey, Mom's birthday and baby visits

A quick recap of the past week through iPhone photos...

I had to jump on the bandwagon and see what all the hype was about with Mr. Christian Grey. I have a few opinion on this book... But the bottom line is I can't put it down so I guess that's all that matters. Going to buy the second one this weekend. Hooked. 

Our for Mexican for Mom's Birthday last week. The first night Aus went out post surgery. So happy to be with mama on her Birthday!! Abi was with us, too! 

14 layer cake....ridiculous!! 

Frannie, Kevin and little Claudia came to visit last week. We had so much fun with them! 

I love this pic...I am ridiculously happy and Claudia is like "ummm, who is this crazy?" 

Gwennie getting her baby fix. :)

Totally milking this  whole "sick" thing. haha. 

Look at that mischievous face! 

Finally got new cushions and pillows for the front porch. PB had their summer stuff on sale!! 

Lots of news!! Austin is doing fabulous!

SO much has been going on this past week since we've been at home. Austin continues to do well and he is doing just as expected with the recovery process. I honestly can't believe how well he is doing and how quickly he is recovering. His pain is pretty minimal now and he is able to do a lot on his feet. He even makes frequent shopping trips to the mall with me. :)  We went back for his 2 week follow up appointment yesterday and all was well. They removed his staples, checked him out and told us everything looked great from a surgical stand point. They did draw some labs so we will know those in a few days. I am anxious to see what his labs look like now that he is tumor free!! We have plans to meet with two different doctors next Tuesday. First we are meeting with a radiation oncologist to discuss possible radiation therapy and then we are meeting with a medical oncologist to discuss the need for chemo. We don't know if Austin will do radiation or chemo or both. We will meet with them, hear their recommendations, then all the doctors will talk and develop a plan for Austin. I'm guessing he will do one of the two types of treatment, if not both. And honestly it kind of makes us feel better to do something just in case there is still cancer in  his body. They keep telling us "as far as we know" it hasn't spread and is all contained but still, things don't show up on a scan until they are big so it is possible there are still cancer cells present. These are all things we will talk with the oncologist about next week and I will update y'all once we know the plan. Austin is very encouraged and doesn't feel scared of either treatment option. So that makes me feel strong and encouraged too!

Ready to get these bad boys out!! All 67 of them! 

He might actually start back to work next week for a few days, or a few half days at least.

My mom has been here with us for a few weeks but last Sunday she had to head back to Chicago. We have had so much family at our house and it's been sooo nice. Today, (Wednesday) was actually my first day back to work. I was totally dreading it, mostly just leaving Austin at home and getting back to the grind of real life. Through all this craziness it has been really nice to have so much time hanging with Aus and being together. I do value that time so much! I was telling my dad I was dreading work a bit and getting back to normal every day life stuff and he said something so simple to me, "just be glad you can go back." As in, just be glad Austin's situation is good enough that we can go back to work...that we can get back to the grind of things with laundry, chores and grocery shopping. Be glad we can focus on our careers and continue to live this life we love so much.  It really made me think about all I am so glad for. We are so blessed. I am glad Austin is doing so well and we are able to truck on with life and get back to somewhat "normal" soon. I am so glad this is our reality. There were many long and sad days in the Green house not long ago wondering...wondering what was going to happen...wondering where we were going to be and if our life would ever come back to us. Our prayers were answered and I know God is in control of our lives. Each day I feel closer to Him and a greater understanding of why this happened to us. 

Sometimes Austin and I talk and it's like God just said "here. you have cancer. see how this feels. But wait a minute. I'm going to fix it, and cure it, and make you healthy again." It's like we just had a little taste of how devastating our lives could of turned. If this wasn't a sign for Got to show us he is here then I don't know what is. 

We were talking to Melissa (one of Dr. Clary's residents who helped with Aus' surgery) yesterday and telling her about things we read on the Internet about FHCC. She told us, "yea. there really aren't many cases like yours." Most of the time when FHCC is finally found it is very advanced and metastasized (spread) all over the body. Most people with this diagnosis (FHCC - liver cancer) are very  young and have a very poor prognosis. It just makes me ask God WHY? Why did you save Austin and give him this amazing prognosis when normally that's not the case for these patients? Why are so we blessed? I am overwhelmed. I am humble. I continue to be consumed by the power of God and his control over our lives.

Super Easy DIY Stripped Curtains

We've been quite crafty here in the Green house lately. This was project #2 my mama and I decided to tackle this week and it was a huge success. Pinterest inspired, of course. I couldn't be happier with the final result and they were SO easy. You must try!! 

What you will need:

2 white curtain panels (I got mine from Target, they were cotton/polyester blend but kind of have a thicker canvas feel)

1 gallon of paint - I started with a quart and ended up going back for another quart

small roller sponge (I never used that larger roller sponge pictured)

painters tape - get 2" the wider the tape the better

drop cloth for painting 

tape measure

pencil

yard stick/ruler 

iron/ironing board (optional) 

Total Cost: roughly $75

We ironed the curtains before we measured them and I highly suggest you do this. It really helped while we were tugging the fabric trying to make the measurements exact.  Plus, wrinkled curtains look messy. :)

Find a big area to measure and paint. We set up shop in the garage and then moved the curtains out to the driveway so they would dry in the sun quickly. These curtains were 95" but after the grommet inseam they measured about 90 inches. We made it easy and did (10) 9 inch stripes. We used a yardstick and measured 9 inches down and penciled a little dot, and then another 9 inches down and penciled another dot and so on. We did that on both the left and right side. Then, we sat across from each other and lined the tape up on the two dots. I read some blogs who penciled a line across the curtain before they taped but we didn't do that. I didn't want to draw a line across the curtains in case we messed up, plus this method worked great for us. We checked ourselves with a ruler to make sure the widths were fairly even. We eyeballed it and it worked just fine. 

Figure out the order you're going to do the stripes. We started with a painted stripe, so then we taped accordingly. Remember when you're measuring and taping the white stripes will appear smaller. You're taping above and below the lines of the painted stripes. 

We did two coats of paint. You could really see through the curtains on the first layer of paint so it was totally necessary to do a second coat. This might depend on what type of paint you use and the material of the curtains. Also, we took the tape off while it was still wet and it gave us really clean lines. Whew! 

The final product! 

I just love them! Y'all go ahead and try them and share them with me! 

A little pinterest project!

I will be back with updates on Aus soon but today I have a quick little post about these books my Mom and I just made. We saw these on pinterest but I think ours turned out way cuter! They are books of all our wedding cards! We just made cute little covers to jazz them up a bit. We ended up making 3 separate books with our wedding cards, engagement cards and then a book with cards from all my bridal showers/parties.They were so easy to make and I just love them! The silver rings are from my Michales (or any craft store) and then we just hole punched the cards and strung them together. 

This purple book has all the cards people sent us after we got engaged. I made it kind of beach themed since that's where Aus proposed. OKI = Oak Island...where Aus popped the question! 

I just love how they turned out! And so much cooler than sitting in a box!! 

HOME!!!

Thursday night Dr. Clary came in Thursday night for his usual visit and to talk with us about the day. He then gave us the best surprise ever! "Well, instead of going home tomorrow...what do you think about going home tonight?" YES PLEASE! Austin had a great day and we knew we were ready to go home. "What was the point in spending one more night?", he said. Exactly. Oh I love that man even more! 

Overall, I was very impressed with our hospital stay. Austin had great nurses, great doctors and great all around care. It felt good being back at Duke, especially right next to my old ICU. It very much felt like home to me. 2200 will always be home! I feel very very blessed. Very blessed to have so many people looking out for Austin and making sure his every need was met.

Here is Aus after he got dressed waiting to peace out of 2329!     

Outta here! 

Finally back at home with his animals. No place like home. 

Molly girl is so glad he's home! 

So far so good since we've been home. I feel like Austin can really rest and heal now that we are home. We still have lots of family in and out and love visits from our friends. Aus is in great spirits and focusing on his recovery. His pain is really well controlled and I am most thankful tonight for that! Thank you GOD for taking such good care of us! 

Wednesday...Post-Op Day 5

Another big day for us. Today was  much better than yesterday. Thank goodness.  Aus had a very productive day and it seems his ileus is improving and his bowels are beginning to wake up. (FYI...this is all super common after surgery, especially a major surgery like Austin's.) 


Dr. Clary came in today and talked to us for a long time. He told everything was looking good and anticipated Aus could go home on Friday. He will eat regular food tomorrow (Thursday) and if all goes well with that then he should go home Friday. We are both SO ready to be home and in our bed...with our sweet puppy and kitty!!  

How good does he look today?

He walked today without any lines or tubes connected and used a regular walker! wahoo! He is getting stronger by the day. 

He is so dang cute!

I left the hospital for a bit today and had lunch with my family. How stylish is my Grandmother?? Love my Gammo! 

A little part of his room. Lots of sweetness on that wall! (This is my view every night as I type this blog. I have my recliner chair butted up to Aus' bed. We put the bed railing down and it's allllmost like we're sleeping together. I can cuddle on his arm. :) )

He is on a full liquid diet now and had some "real" food today, broccoli and cheese soup from Panera Bread and two kinds of ice cream! Hopefully tomorrow he will eat a regular diet. Here he is eating a snickers ice cream bar. :) 

Dr. Clary also came in with the results of the pathology today. We have been awaiting this news all week. He confirmed that Austin's tumor was in fact malignant liver cancer. Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FHCC) to be exact. This type of liver cancer is extremely rare...less than 200 cases reported each year. Can you imagine... to be 1 in 200 in this entire world? It's hard to wrap our heads around it. This type of cancer typically effects young people with normal healthy livers. Because this cancer is so rare there isn't a lot of research and data on how to treat it. BUT. BUT we got some really good news. The pathology report also revealed that the tumor had clean, negative margins. Meaning that there was no microscopic evidence of cancer left in Austin. The edges of the tumor had normal liver tissue around it, which would imply only normal liver tissue was left in Aus' body. This was the news we were hoping for and God answered our prayers yet again! Dr. Clary said we would meet with a medical oncologist to discuss the need for Chemo or not. To my understanding, it sounds like all the cancer is out of Austin's body but a round or two of Chemo might be done just to make sure all the cancerous cells were killed/removed. We will discuss this in about 2 weeks during an outpatient appointment. I'm obviously hoping he doesn't have to go through that, but if it's an extra preventative measure to make sure all the cells are killed then bring it on!

Austin is so brave and he is a fighter. He is going to fight this cancer and he is going to be a part of the 40% cure rate. I just feel so blessed that this cancer has not spread and that we are in the situation we are in right now. It could be so much worse. This cancer is OUT of his body. God is being so faithful to us. 

I just love him so much. I am so glad God chose me to be his wife. In sickness and in health. We will walk this long road together. I love you, Aus. 

Tuesday...Post-Op Day 4

Whew! The days are really flying by. It's crazy it is already Tuesday. They took out his foley catheter today and he has already peed since it was removed so that is great news. (He had an issue last time they tried to take it out and ended up having to put it back in so I am glad it looks like that won't be happening this time.) He is having kind of a crummy day. Just doesn't feel well, isn't as awake and talkative as he has been. When one of the doc's came by a little bit ago we were telling him about how his day was and that he felt kind of crummy. I also told him Aus' tummy seemed a little more distended to me today and he agreed so they ordered a KUB (X-ray of his abdomen) to look for any air or swelling of his stomach. 

They just came in to tell us Aus does have a small ileus, which is basically a bowel obstruction. They aren't too concerned, just reiterating the importance of him walking around trying to get his bowels to move. They will probably start him on more aggressive laxatives tomorrow. His stomach wasn't swollen, so no NG tube...whew! 

Aus this morning. Not really feeling it. :( 

Leila sent Aus these pretty flowers and balloons today. They are so bright and fun! We sat them up near his TV so he can look at them. :)

A few of Aus' favorite toys these days. Back scratcher, stress ball, and his incentive spirometer (helps him take deep breathes and expand his lungs). 

I was talking to one of the Doc's that I know personally, Sabino, for a long while today. (He was in surgery with Aus, working with Dr. Clary.) We talked about Aus' surgery some more and how well everything went. He confirmed again that to the naked eye they removed all of the tumor. There maybe a few microscopic cells that will need treatment but we won't know that answer until the pathology comes back. It felt good to hear that again, I sure hope that thing is out of here! 


We are having a slumber party in Aus' room tonight! I was needing some extra TLC from my mama so she is staying with us, too. We fit two of these big recliner chairs in his room and we are having fun! 


Hope we have another good day tomorrow. Can't believe tomorrow is already Wednesday...

Monday...Post-Op Day 3

Well, we had another good day today. Aus was up and walking around the halls again, eating more jello and drinking lots of juice. His favorites are red jello, cranberry juice and chicken broth. They told him this afternoon he could drink coffee so he is super pumped about that! They plan to advance his diet tomorrow and hopefully he will get some food with a little more substance. ;) 

Dr. Clary came in today for the first time since the operation and had a great report. He said he was very pleased with how things were progressing and that Austin may go home as soon as Thursday. wahoo! He said Austin's liver function was improving and right on track. (There is/was a chance that Aus' liver wouldn't function correctly since such a huge part was taken out...but it seems that isn't a issue so far so that is great news!) They were also toying around with giving Austin blood today since his levels dropped a bit but opted to hold out since Aus wasn't symptomatic with the low counts. They did give him a dose of lasix (a diuretic) to remove some of the extra fluid Aus had on board. He responded well and peed 3 liters! Whoa! 

Bobby brought Aus a few lotto tickets today...we were hoping we may scratch off a big winner to pay all the medical bills. We won $10...ha! 

Love looking at that sweet face! This is after they removed his central line (big IV in his neck) wahoo! 1 more thing out of his body! 

This was definitely the highlight of our day today! Well my day, haha...poor Aus can't eat any yet. Coconut chocolate covered oranges and strawberries and milk chocolate and white chocolate swirled covered bananas.YES PLEASE.

Today we had several visitors, our parents, of course, and a few friends. A few of Austin's friends from Danville are coming to visit tomorrow so he is looking forward to that.  

Sunday...Post-Op Day 2

We are really making progress!! Austin got out of bed again today and even walked around the nursing unit! He did really well. His blood counts are a bit low so when he gets up he feels pretty dizzy and weak. He made it a whole lap around the unit though. They started him on clear liquids today too and he has had jello, cranberry juice, beef broth and an orange popsicle! He says he really wants to eat more and feels hungry. This is a good sign! A lot of his labs are already back to normal (they were way out of wack pre-surgery because of this tumor) so that is very encouraging! 


We have had so much support from our family and friends this weekend. I am beyond thankful for them. Austin really enjoys all the visitors and company during the day. Even if he falls asleep mid sentence while talking to them. :) 

First bite of food...

Ready to roll! 

So happy. So blessed. So emotional tonight. So happy he is going to be healthy again. I have never felt peace like I do right now. We have obviously been through a lot but tonight it is all starting to make sense. When the nights are quiet, and it's just the two of us, I start to understand. This is God's plan for us, and I see what a wonderful plan it is. 

I love you my sweet angel!