Same Ol'Story

Well, today was not much different. Court was able to sit up and eat at the dinner table for lunch. She upgraded from chicken broth to chicken noodle soup (organic, of course). She got some limeade ice that seemed to be a success. And can now watch TV with the sound off for awhile until she gets nauseous.
The drainage tubes are still an issue for both of us. I try to put on a brave face but it just grosses me out! I really think when those come out, she will improve tremendously. I've left 3 messages with nurses to call me back about changing her pain medicine. The pain is not the issue... it's the nausea. We lowered the dosage from 15ml to 5ml and that seems to help for now.
Cant' wait to see the docs this week and get some more positive news. This is the tough part so all the prayers for patience, peace, rest, you name it is welcome!

thanks,
Matt & Court

So this is Blogging...

Finally, I understand how to do this blog thing. Court was eating and a little talkative, by today's standards, and showed me how it was done. So here is a brief update:
Friday: Showed up to patient check-in at 5:00am. Court had been sick (cough, sore throat etc) and the surgeon prescribed an antibiotic. Since she didn't eat that morning and took the antibiotic on an empty stomach, like they recommended, she got sick and threw up. Needless to say I know what the inside of the girls bathroom on the 5th floor looks like, and we finally got checked in and on our way to or-prep. They wheeled her in about 7:15. We got word the surgery started at 8:30. And the waiting game started... 8.5 hours later... the surgeon finally came out. Everything worked out as planned. All three nodes (the third was a surprise found thursday that put a change in plans) were taken out.
Saturday: After enjoying the plush amenities of the MD guest rooms, we were ready to get out. Neither one of us slept at all through the night. The follow up with docs that morning were great. Everyone was so pleased on how she was doing. Usually someone with this kind of surgery could stay 5-6 night, we learned. At 11am, they came in and said we could leave as soon as we talk to the nutritionist. She must have been very busy because she didn't come around till 4pm. She walks in, tells us what we already know, and hands me a business card and says call if you have questions... thanks lady. In the mean time I had to learn how to 'strip the drainage tubes' that are still in Court's neck. One on the left, one on the right. I have to do this in front of the nurse to prove I can take care of it at home. Finally get to the condo at around 6:30pm.
Sunday: She does not like the pain meds at all!! She feels like she's swimming and is getting nauseous. We are going through chicken broth like crazy and she is drinking a lot of water. This low/no fat diet should not be a problem for her. I'm getting better dealing with the drainage tubes. The key is to do it 30 minutes after she's had her pain medicine.

For the rest of the week, we hope to get these tubes out by tuesday or wednesday. She has appointments with the surgery team wednesday. And with her endocrinology team thursday. We'd love to be home by friday but that all depends on if she feels like flying. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. I will try to give you updates as I can.

-Matt

Update

Well, we have quite a few updates. We meant to update yesterday, but had a much longer day than expected. Yesterday, when we woke up I wasn't feeling great, when we headed out the door at noon to go to my appointment I was feeling worse and then when my appointments were finally over at 4:30 pm I had the beginnings of a cold...body aches & a sore throat. By the minute I started feeling worse, but fortunately my surgeon prescribed tamaflu and augmentin so two hours later after my sweet husband fought traffic and waited at Walgreens I was able to take the medicine. Did I mention Walgreens is 2 blocks from the condo, houston traffic is a mess! Anyways, I woke up this morning feeling better which is good because we were at the hospital from 7:45am-3:00pm.

So for actual updates:

First, we found out yesterday that my surgery is actually tomorrow at 7:30 am. We will get to the hospital at 5:30 am check in, get prepped, etc. The surgeon said this will pretty much be an all day surgery, because he wants it to be my last (we do too!) and will therefore be very meticulous. Also, because there is "disease" on both sides of my neck he will be near my coroded artery and voice box, so it will be a very detailed surgery.

Secondly, we were told today that I will have a follow up with my endocrinologist next Thursday and I'll have my adrenal tube taken out either Monday or Tuesday so we will be staying in Houston at least until next Thursday.

Finally, the ultrasound tech found a third nodule today so I will need radiation after surgery. So in about 5-7 weeks we will return for radiation therapy. Basically, I will take a dose of radiation on the first day, the next day I will have a whole body scan to see how well it worked and depending on those results they may give me a second dose. The unfortunate thing is that I can't be around anyone after I take the radiation because it could affect their thyroid, so Matt and I will have to stay in different places.

So that is our update for the last couple of days, Matt will be updating you after my surgery tomorrow evening.

So far everything has been great, the condo has been a huge blessing because it is so close to MD (about 1 mile) it is very relaxing and extremely comfortably. It is wonderful because every person that stays here leaves soap, food, basically anything you need behind and so you have pretty much anything one could ever need on a trip. MD is incredible, the doctors and staff are so friendly and caring.

We continue to be grateful for your prayers & love!

Itinerary

Sunday, February 13th: Depart at noon, my little sister and nephew will pick us up at the airport.
Monday, February 14th: My mom arrives
Tuesday, February 15th: Hopefully will include plenty of distractions
Wednesday, February 16th: Meeting with my surgeon, Dr. Sturgis
Thursday, February 17th: Matt's parents arrive & the day of surgery!
8:00 AM: Blood work
9:00 AM: Biopsy
Noon: Meeting with my endocrinologist, Dr. Sherman
12:30: Check in to Anesthesia Assessment Center
12:45: Anesthesia Assessment

AND then I will have surgery.

I am a bit apprehensive about the process of surgery, like most people I don't enjoy needles or anesthesia. At the same time I just want to remain grateful for the blessing of being treated at such an incredible hospital........................

.............as well as all of the sweet prayers, cards, words of encouragement and kind gifts our family and friends have blessed us with. We are not surprised by the love and kindness they have shown us, but we are in awe and overwhelmed...there aren't words to describe how we feel. Thank you!

I want to share with you a prayer from my sweet friend Kelly. I hope you will remember us through the next couple of weeks and pray this prayer with us. Thank you and we love you!

Father, I lift Courtney up to You and ask that You carry her in Your loving arms through this entire season of her life. I pray that the Holy Spirit reminds her to keep her eyes on Jesus, lay all of her cares, fears and concerns on Your alter. Your burden is easy and you do not mean for her to carry this alone.

I command all fear, stress, anxiety & trauma to go from her in the powerful name of Jesus-Jesus conquered all of that on the cross & Courtney will accept none of it!
I bless her with supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding. May the joy of the Lord be her strength. I bless her with a strong physical body that is prepared to recover quickly from this & I claim that by the stripes of Jesus she is healed!

I bless her with doctors that are led by the Holy Spirit, that they would be filled with Your knowledge & revelation as they care for her.
Holy Spirit, please go before her to clear the way of any obstacles or dangers, make the path straight and easy.

I ask angels that minister to the heirs of salvation be sen to guard and protect her - no weapon formed against her will prosper! Cancer, my God is great and we command, in Jesus' name that this mountain be moved! All cancer cells are cursed at the very root and must go!

I command healing to all parts of Courtney's body affected, any damaged tissue or organs will be restored, in Jesus' name!

Father, pour out your love upon her - let her feel Your arms around her - let her know in a very real way that You've got this, she is the apple of Your eye and You are protecting her with Your mighty, outstretched arm. I speak peace and love to Matt and all her family and friends - let them see You glorified in Courtney. I love You & praise You! In Jesus' name -AMEN!!!

MD Anderson Update

We found out a few weeks ago that my date for surgery is February 17th. Praise God! I have an appointment with my endocrinologist on February 16th, but we are actually flying to Houston a couple of days early to spend time with my sister. Another praise is that we found out through a friend at the church about a ministry called traveling light ministry that was founded by a couple out of Enid to provide a comfortable place to stay for patients at MD with no costs! That's right it is actually free. The wife, Jaymie went to MD 4 years ago hoping to be diagnosed with whatever was attacking her body, well after 6 long months of hopping from hotel to hotel the doctors finally were able to diagnose her with stage 4 Lymphoma. She is currently cancer free, thank the Lord. Out of their experience they felt led to found this ministry and what a blessing it has been and will be to so many! You can see pics of the condo at travelinglightministry.com. Luckily, the days seem to be flying by as we await surgery. Besides being even more tired than usual not much has changed since I was diagnosed, but we are still looking forward to surgery so that we can move forward.

More importantly, we want to lift up our dear friends in prayer whose sweet baby went to Heaven today. I do not try to or care to understand this cancer, but our hearts are so heavy for this family and their loss. We can't fathom such a loss, but also know it is not for us to understand and that we probably never will. Instead, we praise God for the gift of his sweet life, that we know His comfort and peace will be sufficient and hope that we can be some sort of comfort for them.

Thank you for reading. Love the cartwrights

Our journey...

Well, considering our last post was quite a while ago I have some catching up to do. To get right to it, we found out that my thyroid cancer has returned. We realized this through a regular check up with my thyroid doctor (endocrinologist) in November. This news was difficult, mostly because it was not in "our" plans. Our plans included starting a family, becoming debt free and more. While we were busy planning we forgot that our plans may not be the same plans God has for us. The first week was tough, but through prayer by us and many others we have found peace and comfort in knowing God is sovereign. A friend shared with me a story of a pastor and his journey through a brain tumor. The pastor was interviewed and asked, knowing what you know now, what would you have told yourself before all of this happened. The pastor said he would have told himself, "He has prepared you." This is exactly how I feel. Looking back over the past year to see how God has orchestrated life, from my job at the church, to our desire for scripture and mentors to the people put in our lives. We are so grateful. A few weeks before I was diagnosed, God put a verse on my heart, that I would read, memorize and pray many times throughout the day. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 I know God used this verse to prepare me, to comfort me. God is so good and has already been so glorified through our situation. Our friends and family have come together to pray for us, encourage and provide for us. We are beyond grateful. There are no words to express how love and blessed we feel.

Today, we flew to MD Anderson in Houston for treatment...a blessing orchestrated by God through friends in Sunday School class. Tomorrow morning I will begin to go through a series of tests: blood work, cat scans of my chest and neck and a chest x-ray. After the tests we hope to have a plan for treatment. We are excited and ready!

We can't thank you all enough or think of enough that we can do to repay all of you that have loved, encouraged, provided and prayed for us. We will be praying for all of you.

For now we pray:

Heavenly Father, we praise your name and thank you for the opportunity to go to MD Anderson. We thank you for our church, its leaders, our small group, sunday school class, family and friends. We pray that you will use us through this journey and continue to bless us with peace and comfort knowing you are in control. We pray blessings over our friends and family. In your name we pray, Amen.

Where did the summer go!

The summer has flown by, it seems like we say this every year...but seriously, it has! Over the last month Matt and I have cracked down on our spending and have been completely devoted to our Dave Ramsey plan. It is not easy, but so exciting to think about the legacy we are starting for our family. We are gazelle intense! We have decided to sell our brand new Escape and are taking on a couple of extra jobs each as well as a roomate, our friend JP. JP will at least be a fun change:) Mostly we are excited for the journey and its outcome. We know this will be a humbling experience, but we have already seen God's provision. God is good ALL the time and all the time God is GOOD!

Becoming debt free requires a little creativity for dates which has been easy so far. We had a gift certificate to 1492 in Midtown which was a lot of fun, we had a great time at the OKC Museum of Art with free passes from Matt's sister Stacy and we won a Chili's Gift Card at Matt's Highschool Reunion which we used to eat out with friends.

That's right, it has been 10 years since Matt has graduated high school. His reunion was at Firelake Grand Casino and about 30 people came. It is always fun to think about what Matt was like in highschool and I was able to see some very interesting pics in a slideshow. We had a great time.

Finally, we inherited a dog that Matt's parents rescued. He is so sweet. He is a toy schnauzer and his name is Duke, Matt's dad named him after John Wayne:) I've never wanted an inside dog because they are smelly, germy and stink, but Duke is pretty sweet and cute.

Well that is our August in a nutshell:)