Cancer

My mommy was diagnosed with melanoma, a very serious skin cancer in early July and had surgery at MD Anderson to remove it.  It has been a rough past couple of months, but God works in amazing ways even through our darkest periods.  Our church, FBC Bryan, is in the middle of the 7 miracles of Jesus and asked for any stories from the congregation on miracles that we have seen in our own lives.  Here is the story she wrote to our church:

My story starts with and is much about my son as it is me.  Tate was born on January 31st of this year and is our first child.  You see, he was diagnosed with severe acid reflux when he was a month old.  Since that time, he has been in and out of doctor's offices with many trips to a pediatric gastrointerologist in Dallas.  All of this while I was trying to go back to work full time at the Athletic Department and my husband, Patrick, was out most of the time with work.  In June, he came down with the croup and RSV; we were seeing the doctor every day, had him on a nebulizer, and even made a trip to the emergency room due to his breathing difficulties.  During this time, my husband went to work for a start-up company and I discovered a spot on my leg.  We took him to the emergency room on a Sunday in July and I found out the following Tuesday morning from a phone call from my dermatologist that I had melanoma.  30 years old, healthy, with a sick 6 month old, and now I had cancer. 
My dermatologist was shocked that it came back melanoma, and she said that she was glad I noticed it and asked about it.  It looked nothing like melanoma usually does.  We were immediately sent to MD Anderson for consultation and treatment.  Word spread through my friends, family, both of our co-workers, neighbors, college groups, church members, daycare staff, students (I work with student-athletes at Texas A&M full time), and even poeple who did not know us surrounded us with prayer and support. I even had 3 people call me that had heard about me and wanted to share their cancer stories and pray for me.  My husband's cousin, who is a missionary at NYU, had every missionary on college campuses praying for us as well.   We felt so humbled by all the concern and prayers.  The Sunday before my appointment on that Tuesday, Brother David talked about the miracle of the Royal official's son and the faith that he had that his son would be healed.  Wow!  It seemed like he was talking directly to me and is what I needed to hear most at that time.  My parents came in to go with my husband and me to the first appointment, while my father-in-law and mother-in-law came in to watch Tate since he could not go to MD Anderson with us.  Many people who I had not seen in years or spoken to, such as my high school teachers and classmates, contacted me and told me their stories.  It turns out a lot more people have had melanoma than I knew and are doing well.
We met with Dr Ross, who everyone assured me was THE top melanoma surgeon, and he decided since the biopsy was so thin, to follow the protocol for a deep melanoma and also decided to do a sentinel lymph node biopsy.  I was very scared about the unknown and the upcoming surgery, but I wanted to get it done as soon as possible.  I had surgery on July 29th to remove the melanoma and the lymph node.  I was told that I would find out 7-10 days whether everything was gone or if I needed further treatment.  I also was told that I could not lift or pick up anything until I got my stitches out, which was 3 weeks from surgery.  This meant that I could not pick up or hold my sweet baby for 3 weeks, and taking care of him without daycare would be impossible for me.  During all this time, Tate was still out of daycare, so my parents and Patrick's parents took turns helping us out.  I got a call a week and a half after the surgery and was told the margins were all clear and my lymph node did not show any cancer in it at all (Praise God!!!)!!!  As I write this, I head back to MD Anderson tomorrow to get my stitches out and to be put on a follow up program. 
The miracles are many in my story, and they happened in ways that I never expected.  1. The first miracle was that the surgeon was able to remove all of it, with no additional treatment necessary at this point-this is the most obvious miracle.  2. Another miracle was that the day before I found out I had cancer, my boss approached me about going to part time to help me with Tate's ongoing health problems...little did we know this would be even more wonderful due to the news I was about to receive.  3. My students and former students supported and loved on me in droves and talked openly of God's healing power, faith, and how they were praying for me.   A few of them had never even given God much more than a passing thought.  I had so many text messages and phone calls from them throughout this whole process. 4. My neighbor has pancreatic cancer, and this gave me an opportunity to reach out to her and talk with her about the surgical process at MD Anderson to ease her mind, and she in return was able to relate and comfort me because she understood.  5. Our old Sunday school teachers and classmates (Nearly-Newlyweds) made us yummy food and helped to take the pressure off of us to feed my parents and in-laws while trying to recover and take care of a sick baby. 6. Tate's daycare at St Michael's sent both of us a get well card and assured us that his spot would be there no matter what and that anything they could do, they would. 7. The specialist says that Tate's constant sickness will be a distant memory after his first year of life and that even his colds will be easier for him to handle by that time.  Until then, we continue the nebulizer treatments and keep a close watch on him.  8. The biggest miracle of all came from a completely unexpected place.  My husband quit his job after 6 years as a Service Supervisor at BJ Services, an oil service company in Bryan, to pursue an opportunity to start up a company (Elite Chemicals) in this area, which meant more time home with us.  Many of them found out about our situation, including one supervisor trainee that Patrick had trained.  They were out in the field on a location about to do the job with this trainee supervising, and the trainee told everyone about what we were going through.  This trainee told my husband that they all stopped what they were doing and came together and prayed for us right then and there in the middle of that meeting.  He said many of them had tears in their eyes as well because despite all their differences, the petty disputes that happen in most work environments, and their beliefs, they came together as one group in the middle of the oil field to pray for one of their former co-workers and his family. He said that this act has changed many of them and that their relationships are completely different than they were before.  In the day and age where prayer and Jesus are points of contention in the workplace, it is absolutely amazing that this happened. I never knew that a baby and a spot on a leg, could change people's lives.   God is indeed amazing and He does have a purpose for everything, even if we do not understand it.  Going into this, I had faith that I would be healed and my son would be ok, but I did not know that by asking and believing that God could work a miracle, he would work many miracles in many people's lives just because of our story. 
Mark 11:22-23
22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.


Krista Thomson


Until next time,
The tot

dinner with Anaiah and the cousins :)

So, my mommy and I got to have dinner with Anaiah and my cousins, Whitney, Donny, Kevin, and Sande at Abuelos.  Kevin and Sande are Whitney's parents; Kevin is daddy's cousin (my second cousin), Whitney is daddy's second cousin (my third cousin), and Anaiah is my fourth cousin (some people have called us "kissing cousins" but no way, she's family!  I'm gonna be her protector as she gets older and chase all the boys away that aren't worthy of dating her...don't worry Donny, I got your back :)).  Yes, it gets kinda confusing sometimes, but it is neat to have a big family.   It was Kevin and Sande's first time to meet me and I was excited; they both held me and told me how wonderful I was!  Things were going great until I touched my hand on mommy's hot plate and screamed like you wouldn't believe...it hurt soo badly and mommy felt super bad :(.  Finally, I calmed down when Kevin held me, and we took some pictures together to remember the night by.  Hopefully, I will get to see them again soon because we had lots of fun, despite my incident with the plate...lesson learned.  Below are the pictures thanks to cousin Whitney.


Until next time,

The tot

fire trucks and dinosaurs

my nebulizer

So, lately I have been really sick.  Many of you saw that I was sick a few weeks ago, and I have never really gotten over it.  I first had the croup, then I caught RSV and they put me on a nebulizer, which is the highlight of all of this sickness because it is a fire truck.  But, that is not even the best part, the mask is even better...it is a dinosaur!  I am patient for my treatments for the most part, but sometimes I get really sick of them.  I got the nebulizer on Friday because the doctor heard some fluid in my lungs and I was having a hard time breathing.  On Sunday, I was having an even harder time breathing and took a trip to the emergency room.  They released me, but were still very worried.  Yesterday, I went back to see my doctor and she said my lungs were clear, but that I was still having problems breathing and she did not know why.  Everyone is really worried, but I have mommy, daddy, grandma, and nana who are taking excellent care of me.  I will keep everyone posted of my progress. 

Unitl next time,

me asleep and feeling crummy

The tot

binky bears and bouncy chairs, these are a few of my favorite things!

funny face!

2 cool dudes!

frog hat and mommy

one of burp cloths many uses!

I thought I would take a moment to tell you about a few of my favorite things as of right now.  First and foremost, I love people...anyone and everyone!  I love to smile and make faces at them in hopes of getting a smile, conversation, or any type of attention in return.  As I have stated in my previous posts, I love Miss Bee...she is my girl and I love to talk up a storm with her.  My binky bear is one of my new favorites and I have gotten to where if binky bear doesn't go everywhere with me, I make sure it is a loong outing for mommy.  He helps my medicine go down easier, soothes me when I am upset, and comforts me to sleep when I don't want to...he is my best buddy.  Giraffe blankie and sophie, my other giraffe, are binky bear's buddies and they are also becoming super important to me as well.  Right now, mom won't let me go anywhere without sophie because it is my teething toy, and I am cutting my first tooth on the top right side this week.  You see, sophie is made out of rubber and contains two separate squeakers, one in her head and the other in her body (perfect to drive my papa nuts!).  Every time I accidentally squeak on of the squeakers, I jump...I know it's coming, but I still jump.  Essentially, she is a dog toy dressed up a little, with a cute face and is sold to desperate moms everywhere dealing with grumpy, teething babies.  I like her, so I guess it works out for mom. :)  Burp cloths, ah the many uses of burp cloths!  They have been used for spit-up, drool, runny noses, a make shift teether, a wig (yes, a wig!  check out the picture of me...I think I look distinguished :)), and a sun shield in the stroller.  Speaking of strollers, I love mine!  Maybe it is because I always like to be on the go so much; the car is also a great option!   My bouncy chair is another one of my favorite things because it has Miss Bee on it and a get to bounce until my heart is content, while still watching the world go by.  Other things that make my heart happy are crowded places (again the people thing), my bottle, frog hats, my girlfriend at daycare, overalls, mommy and daddy, grandmas and grandpas, being held and played with, kisses, nanas and papas, tractors (ok, so maybe I am influenced by my daddy right now, but its possible I like them too :)), trying to sit up like a big boy, silly faces,  monkey butts, godparents, big boy carseats, Dr Argao (he's a pretty cool guy, he makes me feel better and doesn't give me shots), aunts and uncles and cousins, my lamb, being outside, sports on TV, fishies that put you to sleep (thanks baby einstein), and sleep (yes, I LOVE my sleep!).  And these are a few of my favorite things!!!

Monkey butt (I think my mommy likes it more than me :))

binky bear!

John Deere's and papa!

my godparents

Big boy carseat

Until next time,
The tot

binky bear and daddy's hat

Miss Bee, my first girlfriend

silly faces :)

Down with the old man up with the new, part 2

The 5 cousins together for the first time!

Me and my daddy... aren't we a good looking pair?!?!

I think Dudley enjoyed my gift as much as I did!!!

Now, for the long awaited party!  As I said in the last post, the baptism was so special and all of the church members and the priest, my family, and friends welcomed me into the fold and made my day very special with their presence.  After the baptism, we all went either to grandma and grandpa's or to the local motel to change into our party clothes, which if any of you have been to the Akers before, that equals swimsuit, shorts, t-shirt, and of course a towel (my ensemble also included a bouncy chair).  As we drove out there, we were able to see exactly how dry this part of Texas really is.  We are in drought in the Brazos Valley, but the Junction area has been plagued by wildfires and the north Llano is a pitiful form of its former self (the South Llano still looks pretty good).  The Akers have a beautiful piece of property that is thousands and thousands of acres with two(I think?) spring fed creeks on it that feed into the Llano River (just ask grandpa if you want all the specs, he will show you a detailed map on Google Earth ;)).  The house is a ranch house that was built in the late 1800's by Mrs. Akers family; they were the first family west of Fredericksburg.  Can you imagine how scary that would be with all the Indians in that territory at that time?    It sits under pecans that are at least 100 years old and the beginnings of Copperas Creek run right behind the house, with a dam, that allows for some really good swimming and canoeing :)  They have goats, cows, horses, cats, and dogs along with many pecan orchards.  It is paradise for kids and kids at heart.      They actually had quite a bit of water behind the dam, even though a few miles down the road, the creek was completely dry.  Everyone definitely enjoyed this!  It was pretty hot that day, but between the pecans, the water, and a breeze, it felt pretty great.  I sat on the porch for most of the time staring at the dinosaur tracks that made up the patio stones. No, I am not telling a tall tale...they really have dinosaur tracks that they found on their property and they even had a team of geologists that came out to check the tracks out.  One of the first attractions for all the males was the swing that hung high from one of the pecan trees (well mom, Michelle, and my girl cousins tried it out too :)).  Daddy decided that he was still about 8 and as nimble and light as he used to be so he decided to climb the tree that had railroad spikes sticking out of the trunk, and jump off it onto the swing king kong style.  He made it, but scared mommy to death in the process.  Dudley then decided to try it with a boost from daddy but chickened out the last minute (or maybe he was the smarter of the two? who knows.).  After that we rallied the troops and everyone ate BBQ, except for me and Lincoln...I got spoiled and was fed by Aunt Kara and Lincoln was kept content by Michelle and Craig.  Grandma cooked other side dishes on top of what the senior citizens center provided, so daddy was in hog heaven because of 3 words, broccoli rice casserole!  Grandma did such a wonderful job of coordinating all of this and we all really appreciated it.  After lunch and a lot of chatting, some people decided to go to the dam and swim, while I choose to stay with Nana and Grandma with Lincoln.  A few people went out in canoes, as you can see from the pictures, while others decided to swim over to a rock outcrop and jump off of this one large rock that hung over into the water (which was about 20 feet deep around that area). Check out the picture of Dudley and Kyler in one of the canoes...Kyler is riding almost all out of the water, but having the time of her life!  After that, we all helped clean up, well I didn't because too busy being adored by everyone :)  All you gotta do is give them a little smile and they are suckers!  As you can tell, we all had a blast!  I want to say a special than you to the Akers, who are such wonderful people (and also brave) to host this shindig of Thomson's and Frederick's out at their place.  Thanks to everyone who sent or brought a gift...I love all of them and promise I am sending out thank you notes once I feel a little better and mommy recovers from the craziness of the last couple of weeks.  A couple of highlights of the gifts were some books, money for my college fund, ornaments, picture frames, a lamb that instantly became my buddy, and this crazy chicken that sings and then starts laughing when you tickle it (check out the picture!). Thank you to Grandma who put so much time and effort into coordinating this.  Thanks to those of you who were with us in thoughts and prayers but were unable to make it.  Thanks to the church for welcoming this crazy group.   Finally, thank you to everyone who attended my baptism and made me feel special.

Me and Lincoln (my cousin)  hanging out

Mommy with Jackson and Kinsey

Canoeing on the dam

The lamb that the California Thomsons sent me

Kinsey on the cool swing

Love to you all,

snuggled with my lamb :)

The tot

father/son time

enough said!

Kyler and Dudley

big kids having fun

Patrick popping up out of the water to surprise these two! 

Aunt Kel and Jackson enjoying looking at all the animals

Kyler and Papa

sisters, sisters (think song from White Christmas!)

PS-If anyone has pictures (thanks Aunt Kel for the wonderful pictures in this blog!) from my baptism weekend, please send them to mommy and she will add them to the blog to share with everyone :)

tough week

Sorry, I haven't updated in a while or told you about the great party I had after the baptism, but I have been sick this last bit and have had a tough week. I am working on the party story, I promise!  Last week, I started to get some congestion and had trouble sleeping.  It got worse over the weekend, and on Friday night/Saturday morning, I only slept about 2 hours over 4 different segments...totally not my M.O.  I LOVE to sleep, especially at night, so my mom knew something was wrong.  Sunday, Nana came in because mommy was supposed to go to a conference in Galveston and she and I were going to hang out together on the beach while she was at work.  They decided that we shouldn't go because I felt bad still, and it was a good decision because Sunday night wasn't much better as I struggled to sleep, tossing and turning and coughing all night long. I was having a real hard time breathing laying down, but was fine when held upright.   Monday morning, my mom called the specialist and we left to go to Dallas to see him the very next day.  Dr. Argao saw me and thought my dosage of meds was too low for how much weight I had gained (a good thing) and that this higher dosage should clear it up.  He said that when I lay down, the acid goes into my sinus cavities and causes my congestion.  He also cleared me to eat cereal, fruits, and vegis (yea, finally the good stuff!).  We came back to College Station late Tuesday night and I thought I would be headed off to daycare to see my girlfriend the next day...I was wrong. I woke up feeling worse, so mommy went to work for a few hours and then came home.  I was kinda so-so yesterday, but woke up today with a barking cough and had a hard time breathing.  I did go to daycare for a couple of hours while Nana took her car into the shop and mommy went to work; they thought I might get better as I was up longer as I had all the other days, but it just got worse.  Nana picked me up and took me to the doctor here in College Station and she confirmed what Nana and mommy thought-I have croup....not fun at all.   On top of it all, daddy is still gone and won't be home for another week...like I said, a tough week.  So, the snot sucker, boogie wipes, humidifier, and of course binky bear are my best friends right now as I try and get better.

Until I get back to my old self,
The tot

Down with the old man, up with the new, Part 1



all the godparents together

Wow, it was a crazy weekend!!!  Everyone ventured to Junction, TX for a very special day-my baptism.  You might of heard of Junction from the lore of the Junction boys (for those of you who are Aggies) or if you're a hunter, you might know of it as good hunting grounds in the fall.  Anyways, we arrived in Junction at Issak's cafe to eat with all the family-Aunt Dani, Aunt Kathy, grandma, grandpa, nana, papa, Sarah, Dudley, Aunt Kelli and her family, and Aunt Kara and her family.  Am I leaving anyone out?  It was the first time that all the cousins on my mom's side were together.  Needless to say I was spoiled rotten because everyone wanted to hold me...which is just the way I like it :)  I think everyone at the restaurant was glad to see us go because we were definitely lively.  After dinner, many of us went back to grandma and grandpa's house to visit with everyone.  A few decided to go deer hunting...yes, I know it's not the season for it, but they hunted with spotlights, um I mean flashlights (no deer were harmed during this outing).  They walked all over Junction shining their flashlights trying to look for eyeballs.  It's funny that when you're looking for deer, they can't be found anywhere, but when you want them to go away, you have like 20 standing in your front yard having a convention. 







Linda Gilley-daddy's godmother



daddy and me :)

  

prayer time

the water

the Picketts

Aunt Kelli, Uncle Andrew, Jackson, and Lincoln



church members



me, very upset from the water!



Dudley and me



Grandma and Grandpa

Aunt Kara and my cousins, Kinsey and Kyler

one special lady-Miss H

Aunt Susan and Uncle Terry-mommy's godparents

peace be with you

Nana, Papa, and me

peace

Craig and Michelle

the official photographer

happy little family :)



Godfather-Patrick



Godparents-Craig and Michelle

Saturday was the big day and the house was bustling with activity.  The service was at 2pm, but we arrived early at the church to see everyone and get a good seat (my idea of a good seat was at the back away from the water, but my parents had other ideas).  There were about 40 people there for the service, and on Sunday during church there were only about 26 people...I was a very popular little boy!  My Godparents (Patrick Dudley, and Michelle and Craig) were all there as well as lots of family, friends and church members.  Miss H, both mommy and daddy's godparents, and even Sarah (who is the photographer of these wonderful pictures) were there to celebrate.  I don't remember anything except for the fact that I was sleeping peacefully until the priest grabbed me and poured water on my head, not once, not twice, but 3 times!  I was definitely not ok with that and let everyone know it.  He then tried to kiss me to make me feel better...yeah right, the only thing I wanted was out of his arms and away from that water!  The only thing that saved him was that he is an Aggie and talks about it a lot. Whoop, um AAAA, um what privileges do babies actually have as far as that is concerned anyways...any ideas?!?!? 

Stay tuned for the party!

The tot

PS-It is my Papa's birthday today, so happy birthday Papa!!!