Answered Prayers...

Yesterday Frank got a call from Nuclear Medicine at MD Anderson and they asked if I could come in today for some more testing. After talking with my Endocrinologist they decided to rescan me and see if they could change the dates at all. So today, my sister, Kelly drove me downtown and I went in and did more testing. I went in and got the Geiger counter pointed at my neck and down my body to measure the amount of radioactivity left in my body. He took my reading and then let me go back out to the waiting area with my sister to wait for them to input the numbers into a computer program that spits out the dates of my restrictions.

So they called us back in and when we walked into the hall there were multiple doctors waiting for us. They took us into a room and showed us both where to sit. Then they circled around us and handed me the paper. I looked at it and saw the dates and said, "So it didn't change." You see I wasn't really expecting it to change. I figured they were just appeasing my doctor and doing a rescan but thought no way would it change much. Well to my surprise the same Nuclear Physicist that did my scans last week said, "Yes they did, NO more restrictions. You are fine to do anything. Nothing is off limits." I was in shock. I kept asking, "So I can go home and snuggle my kids right now? I can hug them? I can be with my son all day on his birthday? No more six minutes?? My two year old..... no rules for her? I can't hurt anyone?" And they kept answering with the same answer, "No more restrictions." I asked, "How could it be so off??" He answered, "We are shocked as well. You can thank prayers, God, or whoever you believe gets rid of radioactive iodine from ones body so quickly." He said, "The isolation is over, and you are done and free to do WHATEVER you want." One of the lady doctors was tearing up, and they said they all wanted to be there and witness breaking the news to me as they knew it was going to be a GREAT day for me. And indeed it was.

As we got into my sisters car, Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin was playing on KSBJ. I just immediately started bawling again. And so did my sister. Especially when it said, "I've been set free." I know it has a different meaning...but for me today it had a double meaning. And then the next song was Light Up the Sky and I have been singing that song this entire journey. My sister had actually sent it to me after I found the lump. So we were both sharing a moment with more tears.

Frank was at Gavin's school with my brother Cord for lunch for his birthday. They were handing out cookies. I called Frank and asked him to ask G if he wanted to get out of school early, but told him NOT to tell him I was on my way home so I could surprise him. Of course G wanted to leave early. I actually got home a few minutes before they did. I ran out of my sisters car to see Hadley and as I was almost to the door I heard from the park screams of "Mommy!" I wish you could have seen her darting across the park with a huge pink tutu on as I started running towards her crying. She ran into my arms like a little movie and I just picked her up, cried and hugged her and told her I could snuggle again and I was home to stay.

Then G came home and he seemed shocked to see me. He gave me a hug but you could tell he was a little uncertain of things as Frank had just explained the night before that when I come home there would be certain rules. They would have to stay a few feet away from me. But after a few minutes he realized quickly that things had changed as I couldn't stop loving all over him.

We then went to Ellie's school and I ran in and as I got to her classroom door she spotted me, before I could say anything she yelled out, "Mommy I missed you" and started crying. We hugged and I told her I was home and I was bringing her home early so we could spend the day together. Ahhh....Happy Day. We spent the afternoon playing babies, showing me new tricks our dog Tippy has learned, and playing at the park. I am exhausted. But it was such a great day and I can NOT wait to spend the ENTIRE day with my little man tomorrow as he celebrates his seventh birthday.

I just found out today that some of you fasted for me last week. I have no doubt that you girls, and all the prayers of the people around me who have shown me such love these last few weeks is what changed my isolation time. So Thank you. To say I am beyond blessed and feel beyond loved would be an understatement. Thank you just doesn't even seem like enough for everything so many of you have done and the love you have poured into my family.

So I get to be home. HOME!! I got to put my kids to sleep tonight. And snuggle and say prayers with each of them. I am not sure if I am done with this journey yet. But in the meantime I am going to enjoy each and every day. Try not to worry about the "what if's." And pray that I will keep this outlook for the rest of my life. I go back for a check up on November 29th and then blood work that will show how well this last treatment worked on December 8th. Praying for a clean bill of health for Christmas!!

HOME. There is NO PLACE like HOME!!