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| It was a sweet day...... |
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| Riley Girl turns "8" on September 11th |
Our little 9 - 1 - 1 girl, Riley, celebrated her 911 birthday with family and friends at The Discovery Science Place in Tyler. Riley was so happy and looked as beautiful as ever!! Her big blue eyes were sparkling!!
What a fun day!!
Then, Thursday morning, September 16th...........moving foward........back to East Texas Medical Center for the next phase of cancer treatment.........a double mastectomy.
Leslie responded very well to the chemotherapy and the pathology reports following surgery showed no cancerous cells remaining in the breast tissue removed. The lymph nodes showed a couple spots that were flagged as non-invasive cells. We are told that these cells should be wiped out through the 4 to 6 weeks of radiation that will come later.
Tomorrow, October 17th, Les will continue moving forward to the next phase of the treatment process……complete hysterectomy. This is a very necessary part of the process, as the type cancer Les has…….feeds off the hormones.
Following this surgery, Les will again be unable to lift anything for 4 to 6 weeks……..which is very difficult with a 15-month-old baby girl. However, she has found ways to cope with most every aspect in creative ways…………Leslie has taught little Avery to grab each of her mama’s pointer fingers (one in each hand), then put her little foot on the edge of the sofa or chair and then pull herself and step up into her mama’s lap. Avery with now grab Leslie’s hands and pull them down to her little body and while doing so, already has that little foot hiked up on the edge of the furniture……….Avery loves this new trick!!
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| Avery Jane Herlocker (Sarah Jane was her grandmother) |
Avery can still climb up, however, Les will not be able to lift her into the high chair OR tuck her into her baby bed……….thankfully, we have been blessed with absolutely wonderful friends and family members all jumping in to help in whatever way is needed……….in addition to Stacy Morgan and Debra Heddin, now we’ve added Kelli Elmore, Vicki Forgey and Darla Dossett. Thank you all sooo much! I know there are probably others that I’ve overlooked……if so, my apologies!
Vicki Forgy, Eloise Mitchell, Betty Heddin, Debra Heddin, Kandis Hall……all dropped off delicious food. Shane & Kelli Elmore even brought a full meal of home grown, home canned food…….AND chicken. Do they raise chickens too?
And then there is Kennedy Elmore….who not only came to visit with Riley, but also brought a hand-crafted bracelet for Avery………..such a sweet little girl!
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| Amanda Burk |
A special thank you to my dear niece, Amanda Burk! Amanda flew from her home in Denver , Colorado to spend a week in Mineola caring for her cousin and dear friend (like a sister). It was a comfort to know Amanda was there with Les helping with the girls, cooking healthy stuff, chopping up fruits and veggies for Avery to taste test…..and assisting with those cumbersome drain tubes!!
She even taught Avery some sign language while she was here. Now, when feeding Avery, she bumps her two little fists together as her way of saying "more please".....so cute!
Mandy…….it was great having you here!! Love and hugs to you and your sweet family in Denver
Soooo, tomorrow morning we travel back to ETMC’s Olympic Center for 11:45 surgery. Les will stay overnight and then recuperate at home with no lifting for 4 to 6 weeks. Please remember her and her doctors in your prayers. I’m sure there will also be a pathology report from this procedure as well………and we are praying for a positive report.
Tomorrow’s surgery will be another major hurdle! Leslie said the mastectomy was actually easier than the chemo. She added, “Mom, I can understand removing some part of your body that is affected by disease, but it’s hard to grasp pumping “poisons” into your veins to kill off something…….” Good point.......this whole "trip" is hard to understand!!
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| Alexa's FB Post |
Wow......next time you hear somebody sharing something about somebody they know who is battling cancer of any kind, just stop and listen, patiently..............and if your family hasn't been touched by cancer, then send up an immediate prayer of thanks........and silently acknowledge that it is so much worse than you can imagine.............it really it.
By the way..............Alexa added a FaceBook post from her job at Tru Tan in Tyler..........brought tears to my eyes.......Alexa is a sweetheart.......Thanks Tru Tan & Alexa LeBeau for your support and for promoting awareness.
As always, Leslie has an awesome attitude!! So, since I’m a “list maker”…….here’s how I follow the sequence of events/treatments….
- diagnosis
- surgery to put in port for treatment
- chemo…….so far the worst of it all!!
- mastectomy & beginning reconstructive surgery
- hysterectomy
- radiation
- finish herceptin
- cosmetic surgery to complete implants
- surgery to remove port
I might add here as number ten……..perhaps a CELEBRATION!! It’s a possibility, but you know, we seem to be celebrating as we move through this process. We are celebrating Leslie’s strength & courage, celebrating Leslie’s wonderful family, celebrating the outpouring of prayers from all over, celebrating how our God continues to take this awful disease and turn it around for the good.
Love to all reading this blog……..please continue sending up precious prayers.
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| "Sisterly Love" |
