Surprise! Well, okay, it's no longer a surprise as we have already gone to Florida and came back but it was a surprise to both of our Mom's for Mothers Day! A week prior, yes, A WEEK prior, Josh and I decided to make a spontaneous trip town to Florida for a week of leave. Since it was the weekend of Mother's Day, we thought it would be awesome to surprise our moms. I have never been in the position to do it, but Josh has done his fair share of surprise homecomings. We left Maryland on Friday, flew into Orlando and rented a car down to Palm Bay. The only people who knew we were going home was my brother and sister-in-law (thanks guys for keeping the secret!) so we were extremely anxious the entire flight. We decided to surprise my mom at work. We told her that she was having her Mother's Day gift delivered. We walked in and she was completely stunned. Once she realized that I was actually there, she started bawling! It was a complete success! We then drove to his parents house and had another successful surprise from his mom. She was completely speechless, haha. I am happy we were able to pull of the surpise, it was incredibly hard lying to my parents, especially when they call every day to check in on us. But I love being home. We grew up in the same town, so it's definitely home to the both of us. A lot of people hate it. A lot of people can't wait to get out. Back in high school both of us couldn't wait to leave. Josh joined the Navy at 19 so he could leave. I stayed behind, did college and once that was over, I was ready to leave. But I'll tell you from first hand experience, nothing beats being home when you've been away from it for so long. Nothing beats being back in the house you grew up in, especially when you're parents haven't changed a single thing about the room you grew up in. There is a sense of comfort, being surrounded by your personal things and the memories made in there. The house I grew up in is literally the only place in the world that I feel completely at ease in. It's comforting knowing my Mom is right down the hall. I don't care how old I get, I will always need my mom.
It's nice to be able to cuddle with my dog, who has adjusted well living with his
grandparents, lol. Lucky for us, the house was empty this time home. It was just my mom, Josh, and I until my Dad came home that Wednesday. It was nice and relaxing. We had no plans. No places to go. No doctors. No appointments. No Chemotherapy. Nothing. We went to the beach when we wanted. We went fishing when we wanted. We were able to spend time with people we haven't seen in so long. I was able to get a break from care-giving by leaving Josh with his parents so I could treat my mom and other mother, Dawn to manicures and pedicures for Mothers Day. I was even able to let loose and have a drink at dinner, which is something I haven't been able to do in a VERY long time! My sensitive, pale, northerner skin got really burnt by the Florida sun, but it was another reason that reminded me why I love being home. Being home reconfirmed our decision to move back after our time in Maryland is done. We even drove around a couple times to look at houses! I am excited for what our future holds!
Coming back home on Thursday threw us back into reality. We had to get back to the appointments. To the doctors. To the Chemotherapy. To the reality that we are still in the process of fighting this cancer. Yesterday we spent the entire day in the hospital, we had back to back to back appointments. It started with us meeting our new Primary Care Doctor. He's the guy we go to for general things and we were there to have them look at a few growths Josh has developed on his inner thighs. With chemotherapy, you have to be extremely careful. Any new symptoms, any new growths on his body, anything new it HAS to be shown to someone. He suggested we show it to Josh's oncologist, which is the next appointment we were going to. While here, we found out Josh's MRI came back normal! No new growth and the tumor is stable. His blood work came back low though, so for this week Chemotherapy is on hold. I am no longer surprised when our "schedule" is no longer a schedule. Chemotherapy for him can be moved around and it can be delayed so he doesn't always line up with the previous date from the last month. I assume as long as he gets his dose for the month, he will be okay. The oncologist assured us that the blood work being low isn't a result of something we are doing. It's normal, affects of the chemotherapy. So we will retest next week and hopefully he will be cleared to take it. We then went to Dermatology afterwards and they basically stated that the growths between his legs are an infection within the hair follicles. FUN! We now have to apply medicated body wash to his entire body and let it sit for a few minutes every day for the next three months. I swear, it's always something! In happy news, Josh is 8 months smoke free. I am so happy for him and proud that he has made such a huge commitment to it. He is almost to the point now where being around smokers disgust him, haha. That is something I never thought I would hear him say!
To end this blog, I figured I would share that today marks our 11 year togetherversary! I know many people think it's stupid to celebrate our "dating" anniversary considering we're married now but HELLO 11 years is something to celebrate! Especially since we started dating in high school, haha. I am lucky everyday to say that I married my prom date. Here are some pictures of young Josh and Jenna!
Coming back home on Thursday threw us back into reality. We had to get back to the appointments. To the doctors. To the Chemotherapy. To the reality that we are still in the process of fighting this cancer. Yesterday we spent the entire day in the hospital, we had back to back to back appointments. It started with us meeting our new Primary Care Doctor. He's the guy we go to for general things and we were there to have them look at a few growths Josh has developed on his inner thighs. With chemotherapy, you have to be extremely careful. Any new symptoms, any new growths on his body, anything new it HAS to be shown to someone. He suggested we show it to Josh's oncologist, which is the next appointment we were going to. While here, we found out Josh's MRI came back normal! No new growth and the tumor is stable. His blood work came back low though, so for this week Chemotherapy is on hold. I am no longer surprised when our "schedule" is no longer a schedule. Chemotherapy for him can be moved around and it can be delayed so he doesn't always line up with the previous date from the last month. I assume as long as he gets his dose for the month, he will be okay. The oncologist assured us that the blood work being low isn't a result of something we are doing. It's normal, affects of the chemotherapy. So we will retest next week and hopefully he will be cleared to take it. We then went to Dermatology afterwards and they basically stated that the growths between his legs are an infection within the hair follicles. FUN! We now have to apply medicated body wash to his entire body and let it sit for a few minutes every day for the next three months. I swear, it's always something! In happy news, Josh is 8 months smoke free. I am so happy for him and proud that he has made such a huge commitment to it. He is almost to the point now where being around smokers disgust him, haha. That is something I never thought I would hear him say!
