Easter Hunt With Cousin Trevor

Here are some pics from the girls Easter Egg hunt on Saturday. They had a great time. Carina told the Easter Bunny to "go away". She clearly didn't understand he had candy.

A Few Less Tubes

Today the I.V. fluids were discontinued and I am now allowed to use the bathroom like a normal person. I have been up for two walks and feel more steady today. The nurse has me wearing a sling on my left arm during walks because of the lymph node removal. This helps to prevent fluid build-up in the arm and also encourages sympathy from others. She also suggested I try wearing a patch over one eye.

Dr. Walker and Dr. Whitfield (plastic surgeon) were both here today. I will be going home on Monday. Hopefully the Easter Bunny knows where to find me.

Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Sandy

Update from Froedert

Sandy and Matt are dictating this, Amy is typing it in (what a team we are).

Here's what we know:
After talking to Dr. Walker post surgery, he indicated there was a small focus of cancer cells in one of the two sentinel nodes on the left side. The nurse described it as microscopic. As a precaution they removed the first fat pad of lymph nodes (not the entire strand). While he is confident that radiation treatment will not be necessary, we are awaiting the results of the pathology which are due in next week.

It took some time to figure out, but the pain is now under control. Sandy was able to get out of bed and take a long walk down a short hall trailing poles of I.V.'s and various other bags along with her. Other than that, Sandy is doing remarkably well.

That's all for now, we will check in again tomorrow.

On To Recovery!

Sandy is out of surgery and everything went very well. She should be moved to her room early this evening. I will keep you posted on her status, but knowing Sandy she will have a personal message out here for you in the next few days (if not hours).

Update...

Hello Everyone,
This is Sandy's friend Amy. I know you are all anxiously awaiting an update. I just spoke to Matt and the first part of the surgery is done. I am going to leave the medical details for Sandy to share if she so chooses, but Dr. Walker felt that things went well and he does not think that radiation will be necessary. The plastic surgeon has begun his part which will take several hours. Matt will be calling me again late this afternoon when the surgeries are complete. I promise to update you as soon as I hear something. I know all this waiting is quite painful for everyone. Thank you for all your love and support. It really means a lot to Sandy!

Pelzek Family Fun Day

We decided that it would be a good idea to do something fun with the kids this morning. Here is a picure from the Discovery World museum. The best part is the aquarium - there are areas where you are walking on glass and the fish are swimming under you. Olivia and I both decided it made us a little bit nervous.

Everything is on for tomorrow as scheduled. As part of the pre-op folder they give you a marker and tell you to clearly write "yes" on the breast that is to be operated on. This makes me thing there may have been some mix-ups in the past. Anyway, I'm thinking of also marking "yes" on some other areas I'd like improved and see what happens. A little eye and face lift would be nice. Then again, I saw them doing that on the Discovery Health channel and it was disgusting.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. There is nothing that makes me feel better than to think of all my wonderful friends and family!! Actually, that is sometimes what makes me cry more than anything - but that doesn't mean you should stop!

Talk to you soon!!

Love,
Sandy

Thanks, Nate.

My brother went to a Breast Cancer Awareness event on campus (MSOE) last Friday. He got a t-shirt for me that has a fantastic quote on it from Eleanor Roosevelt. "You gain strengh, courage and confidence by every experence in which you really stop to look fear in the face." With only two more days to go until the surgery I would say I'm definately at the "fear in the face" part. It's hard to understand how you can feel fear and at the same time be angry and ready to even the score.

I'm not a big fan of the unknown, but there aren't many choices here.

I've had a lot of requests for news/updates about the surgery on Thursday. My very most wonderful friend Amy has agreed to post some updates as she hears from Matt during and after the surgery.

I'll do at least one more post before the surgery. Sorry Beth, no before pictures - I've got co-workers reading this too!!

Love,
Sandy