A Health Update of Sorts....

Well it's about time for an update on several things (stick with me if you're interested):

My dad: He just finished up his second treatment of Interleukin-2 for melanoma. It went well and now we wait for 3 weeks to find out if he's considered a responder to this treatment. We are praying for shrinkage of tumors of course. He's doing well, back at home and back in his routine, gaining strength every day. Immunotherapy is different from chemotherapy in that while it still makes you feel sick, it's generally only for the time you're doing the treatment and once the treatment is over which I believe is only for a week at a time, your body quickly gets back to "normal". It also doesn't work right away so that's why he has to wait to see if it's going to do the job. But right now we are thankful that my dad is happy and healthy for the most part!

Thanks so much for all your prayers for him-keep them coming!!

Bennett: Bennett lost a little weight when I took him in for his monthly RSV shot so the pediatrician wanted me to "fatten" him up ( I think it was close to a pound). I've done my best but don't want to go too far with this. I honestly think it's due to the switch from bottles to sippy cups (he wasn't always finishing his sippy and wasn't thrilled with the transition). But in less than a week, after adding healthy fats and pediasure, he's back up to where he was. I don't want to get in the habit of "fattening" Bennett up though just because he's small compared to typically developing kids. Besides everyone that sees him thinks he's chunky and well proportioned. In other words: I'm on top of the issue and I think it's under control;)

I've also added a private OT to work with his private Speech therapist-{don't ask how many therapists we see now}. She worked with Bennett Friday and I really liked her, she's young but really knows her stuff! We're hoping she can help him with his self-feeding issues along with the other people working with him on this! Plus she had great tips for me to work on with him for fine motor skills. It's going to be a long process I think but enough of that.

Me: So before the holidays I think I mentioned I had been to a new dermatologist and moles were removed. I feel like I'm always at the dermatologist these days-seriously, every 2 weeks due to mole removals, more needing to come out, then stitches, {waiting to hear the pathology results-the worst part}, then stitch removal. Long story short: 2 came back as atypical and the other 2 came back as benign but unfortunately I will have 4 ugly scars to show for it;(. However, I am very thankful and relieved they were just that and nothing more.

Anyways, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm a little "hyper" when it comes to my skin, moles, etc. So a friend of mine gave me the number to a dermatologist that specializes in early detection of melanoma (he's located at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the NJ branch) and thought it may ease my mind a bit. So I finally had my appointment (remember, I did years of damage in the tanning bed, laying out, no sun block, tons of moles, plus my family history, so to me it was necessary to do this) and I finally feel like I can breathe! He put my mind at ease, telling me that yes, I am at higher risk then others due to multiple factors but that I am doing everything I can possibly do to either prevent it or detect it at a very early stage. He also said I can choose to live in fear and feel I'm doomed or do what I can to prevent it and live my life. He was very understanding of the situation with my dad, the strong family history, thus my worrying about my own skin.

Of course the best part is that he didn't see anything that needed to be removed. And according to his PA, he knows what needs to come off. He was an awesome doctor and I'm so glad I will now be followed by a "melanoma expert". I will also be doing photo imaging on my moles which is a big reason I went there. They will take close ups of my skin all over my body and then have these to compare 6 months from now and so on down the road. This has helped save lives due to the fact that doctors have a better handle on what your moles look like and can detect early changes or new, suspicious moles (early detection is key with melanoma). I have tons of small moles/freckles on my back and there is no way I can see them all and see if they are changing for that matter. Trust me, I've tried;)

Anyways, hopefully that's the end of that for me. It's been a long 2 months or so of trying my hardest not to worry so I'm glad this has had a good outcome.

So that's what has been going on as far as health issues in our family. Harper happens to have a stomach bug right now;( but hoping it passes quickly without getting to the rest of us!

Hoping 2011 is a healthy one for all!!