This was Christmas Day 2020. Josh and the boys are down in the grass area visiting me. I could only have one visitor a day due to COVID protocols. 

The Diagnosis

On 19 December 2020 I was rushed into emergency surgery. The surgeons at BAMC said my colon was extremely swollen and I was in danger of it bursting. This was just the beginning!

I woke up from surgery with a 10 inch incision down my abdomen and two ostomy bags. (Pictures 2 months after surgery)

This is every day life for me since 19 December. I spent 10 days in the hospital over the Christmas holiday. Half of that time was in ICU. My daughter spent the day with me and I got to watch the boys on FaceTime open their presents. I was sad, I cried a lot that day, but I was also grateful. Grateful that I got to spend the day with my daughter, grateful that Josh and the boys had a good Christmas and grateful that I have a loving family and friends by my side. The surgeons at BAMC did not hesitate, if they would have I may not have seen Christmas at all.

So the news! I knew I had cancer but it wasn't confirmed what type of cancer until surgery. The gynecology oncologist, Dr. Phippen came to visit me the day after surgery while I was in ICU and confirmed I had Ovarian Cancer, Stage 3C, High-Grade Serous Carcinoma, which means the cancer had spread to other areas in my abdomen. Three of 9 Lymph Nodes biopsied were malignant.