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February 2, 2012 by Julie Moon
Wow! This is the most surreal feeling I can imagine right now. I actually did it. The doctors said it went great. I’m sleeping well despite my awesome nurse checking in on me. The hospital is beautiful and my room is large. I do miss my babies and the Mister. I called my big girl around 8:30and had my best friend wake her up. It was good for both of us. I am so grateful my mom is here. I am so grateful I am so healthy that this makes it such an easier procedure. I have gotten sooooo many compliments on my beautiful quilt my friends made me. Life is good. My heart is full.
My surgery took 12 hours. Can you believe that? I am sore. Morphine And Valium to the rescue.
Category The Journey | Tags: big girl,blessings,BRCA,breast cancer,charleston,family,friends,medicine,pain,recovery,Sleep,Surgery | No Comments
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February 1, 2012 by Julie Moon
This is the place I will leave my risk of breast cancer. This is East Cooper Medical Center…a beautiful facility. We have met nothing but nice and helpful people. I was there twice today and it will become my new home through the weekend. I am so grateful that I was able to afford to travel here with my mom. I am so grateful for Dr. Craigie and Dr. Kline and Dr. Baron who will perform my surgeries. It will be mind blowing, life altering and life saving. I am so grateful that I do not have cancer and I get to tackle this as a healthy 34 year old woman. I am so grateful that the BRCA test was conclusive and I was able to confidently move foward with this step. I am so grateful for each and every person who is at home feeding, hugging, nurturing, driving, dressing, bathing, teaching, snuggling, and taking care of my dear sweet children.
I feel the prayers and positive energy of my friends. I am envisioning the candles that will be lit for me tomorrow. I pray for peace for my friends and family while I’m under. My wish is that tomorrow not only changes my own life but that it changes many people’s lives. I hope it inspires a woman to get her mammograms or research her genetics. I hope it encourages a husband to be completely supportive of radical preventative measures his wife may want to take for her health. I hope that it challenges more people to participate in the 3day and other events that support breast cancer research. We need more research. We need to find a cure.
Goodbye to the breasts I know and have loved…the breasts that have nourished my three children and have been loved by my husband. I am looking forward to meeting my new breasts…the ones that will carry me into my old age. I suppose if you want to be technical I have known those breasts all along since they will come from my back side. 🙂
Category The Journey | Tags: 3day,blessings,BRCA,breast cancer,charleston,plastic surgeon,surgeon,travel | No Comments
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January 31, 2012 by Julie Moon
It was a beautiful day driving here to Charleston today. Sun shining down on us and clear skies…easy sailing. Baby girl has been sick for several days and today she was really happy and perky and feeling so much better. That was exactly what my soul needed. I was so worried about her. My mom and I went out to dinner tonight and these were my two fortunes. I thought they were pretty awesome. I think the hardest part about this whole experience is that it is a bit of a surprise…I don’t know exactly what to expect on Wednesday. I don’t know what it feels like to be in a hospital not giving birth. I haven’t ever been intubated. I haven’t ever had surgery (minus removing a couple wisdom teeth..hah). I certainly haven’t ever spent 5 days in a hospital. I’m definitely unsure of how my body will react to all the drugs. How quickly will I recover? Will it hurt lots? some? beyond belief? less than I could imagine? I don’t feel anxious but I feel calm, serene…I am peaceful but quiet.
I did get a call from the breast surgeon’s office today and they decided that based on my MRI from last week that they would like to do a sentinel lymph node biopsy on my left side during surgery on Wednesday. Just another little bump in the road but another thing that will give us more information and help me have a healthier future.
Category The Journey | Tags: baby girl,biopsy,charleston,plans,travel | No Comments
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January 30, 2012 by Julie Moon
I cannot begin to express the support I have received this week in preparation for my trip. Last night we had an amazing circle of friends that showered me with love, encouragment, prayers and gifts. First of all if you are a mother you know how hard it is to get out of your house in the evening. The fact that so many of my friends were able to be there was just awesome! Not to mention one of my beloved friends suprised me by driving in all the way from Nashville, TN. I was truly suprised and I do love a good surprise. We had all my favorite foods and drinks and the room was so full of love and cheer. We circled up and friends prayed for me, my healing, my family, my emotions and everything in between. My friends suprised me with an envelope of cash to help while we are out of town and my mom and I are feeding ourselves on the road….or whatever else we need it for! They gave me seven wrapped gifts for me to leave for my children…three small gifts in each bag so that my children have something fun to look forward to while I am gone and they know that I love them and I’m still thinking about them. 8, 6 and 3 still is very young to remember that your mom is coming home soon and time just still can slip into that “forever” feeling for them. Many of my friends sent one very talented friend pieces of fabric and she created the most amazingly beautiful quilt for me. I will literally be wrapped in their love while I am healing. It was an amazing night as sisters!
Another friend has created an intricate meal plan for my family while I am gone. That was one thing I really felt worried about and she has done an A+ job managing it. My family will be well fed and taken care of while I am away. That same friend and a few others put together a HUGE basket of snacks for my mom and I while we are gone. Such a blessing!!
And of course my best friend and my sister are prepared to fully take over and fill in for me…ready to step in at a moment’s notice to take care of everything else at my house.
THIS is the village you want to live in. THIS is the village I live in and I am Grateful. Moved. Inspired. Strong. Humbled. Blessed.
Category The Journey | Tags: blessings,charleston,family,food,friends,quilt | No Comments
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January 25, 2012 by Julie Moon
I am keeping myself really occupied making plans. I have a full weekend planned and then it all settles in. I wonder when I’ll get the nerve to pack my bag. I think I’m ready. All my labs came back today and I have the all clear. I still have to find myself a pair of slippers…ha!
Category The Journey | Tags: charleston,plans,travel,waiting | No Comments
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January 2, 2012 by Julie Moon
January 2012…it’s go time! It’s the new year and that means the ball has dropped and it’s officially rolling. This week I get the kids back in school and I head out to Tennessee to do a little organizing work. Getting a client all settled into her new home in Nashville. I’m looking forward to some immersion in my work and also testing out the waters of me being gone and others taking care of my three little moons while I’m away. That is definitely the part of this journey that has me the most nervous. Next week is a big week. Monday and probably Wednesday too I have all my preop to get done. I have orders for bloodwork, metabolic profile, urinalysis, chest xray and EKG. I then have an MRI on Friday in Atlanta. I need all the prayers one can muster for all of these tests to come back perfect. I’m a little stressed about all the finances of this beginning. *deep cleansing breath* I think while I’m in Nashville I’m going to ask my friend if we can do a little yoga in the morning each day…hoping that I can add that to my daily routine this year and that it can center me the way it did when I was preparing for childbirth.
I don’t FEEL scared but every time I write about this stuff I start crying. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that I’m feeling. I feel a little detached from everything right now….my friendships, my relationship with God, the Mister. It’s funny the person I feel the most connected to right now is the big girl. She’s growing up so much right now and I think I’m really just enjoying her company so much…it’s uncomplicated and just so easy with her these days. I am going to REALLY miss her while I’m gone.
One month…
Category The Journey | Tags: big girl,breast cancer,charleston,expenses,family,fear,friends,God,insurance,mister | No Comments
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December 3, 2011 by Julie Moon
Category The Journey | Tags: breast cancer,charleston,decisions,God | No Comments
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November 29, 2011 by Julie Moon
The Mister and I traveled to Charleston, SC this weekend to meet with the plastic and breast surgeons. We left on Saturday and were able to have two days to ourselves…without children to reconnect and just enjoy each other before the appointment day. I am so grateful for my sister watching the kids Saturday and Sunday…a wonderful babysitter helping out on Sunday night and Monday morning and one of my best friends coming over Monday after school to keep the kiddos, clean up the house and get everyone to bed before we got home. What a network of great people I have supporting me on this journey. It was reassuring to see that I could be gone for 3 days and things still function as normal. I have to admit that I am probably more nervous about what is going to happen to my kiddos when I’m gone for 2 weeks than I am about the surgery itself…ah motherhood!
The Mister and I were able to eat at some great restaurants, check out some local shops and the market and visit Folly beach at Sunset. Did I mention we slept? Oh the bliss of no children in the house kind of sleep…no naps interrupted by squeals of disagreement over the wii or by a toddler banging her fist over your head because she is hungry. We slept well and we napped. It was glorious!
I feel peaceful. I feel content. I feel excited. I feel nervous. I feel happy. I feel sad. I feel grateful. I feel blessed. I feel spared. I feel sure. I feel crazy. I feel amazed.
No wonder I can’t sleep yet tonight.
February 1, 2012…a day that will change my life forever.
Category The Journey | Tags: breast cancer,charleston,decisions,family,fear,friends,mister,plastic surgeon,surgeon,travel,waiting | No Comments
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November 24, 2011 by Julie Moon
November has been amazing. I have been blessed beyond belief by my friends. I was able to have an extended visit with one of my besties here…she made arrangements to come without her husband or kids so that we could have just some special one on one time. I truly am grateful. There is nothing quite like hanging out with your good friend for several days straight! I also celebrated my 34th birthday. My friends took me out to a very special dinner and I have a mantle FULL of special birthday cards. This year the birthday cards were different. I really felt like every single one of my friends wrote something really relevant and important. I felt so moved by each and every card. It’s hard to explain exactly but I keep rereading the cards because they are so encouraging. Now it’s Thanksgiving eve and I get to spend time with my family. My parents came to spend the night tonight. The children and i prepared a few things. I chatted in my den, with my parents…listening to some jazz music in the background. I called my brother to schedule our skype date during lunch tomorrow. We will skype he and his wife in for our Thanksgiving meal to pretend that they aren’t in St. Louis but at the head of our table instead. (gosh I really miss them) And then on Saturday I leave for Charleston with my soulmate by my side as my steady companion and we start the planning. So much to be happy about and thankful for. I am blessed!
Category The Journey | Tags: birthday,charleston,family,friends,mister,travel | No Comments
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November 20, 2011 by Julie Moon
I feel the emotions starting to bubble up. Here’s the rambings of an emotional woman…hold on….
I am working lots right now…both of my jobs. Yes I have two jobs on top of being a mother and being married to a very busy entrepreneur. There is tons to do to get ready for Christmas. I’m trying to calmly and rationally knock things off the present list but I feel it hanging over my head. I worked all day today and I’m working most of the day tomorrow. I got upset tonight about the quality of some of my work and I just broke down. I was so mad at myself. I nearly chunked my camera into a brick wall. Thankfully one of my friends was there to listen to me and calmed me down a bit. I’m still pretty upset and disappointed. I know I will get it all figured out but I know I’m better than the work I’m producing. It’s Thanksgiving and I miss my brother. I’m not scared about next weekend meeting the doctors but I think I”m starting to get really emotional about it…like that deep dark emotion that you don’t really realize is in there but it TOTALLY affects you. My friend is out in San Diego at the 3day this weekend and posting pictures and it’s making me so emotional to see the event again. I can’t explain it to you all who haven’t been…I think there’s a Pavlovian reaction to seeing the 3day…just brings it out of me. I’m not out of control. I’m not angry. I just feel a storm brewing in my heart.
Category The Journey | Tags: breast cancer,charleston,family,fear,plastic surgeon,work | No Comments
