Hi from Heidi

Well, its been two weeks since my surgery and I am just getting onto my computer for the first time. This recovery has been going slower than the last one..which was also slow..so I am just now feeling up to getting on my computer. As it is I've tried for several days and my head has hurt too much so I'm not sure how often I'll be on, but at least I'm going to try to connect with the world again.

Yesterday I ventured out to the Dr. to get my 50 staples removed from my head. That was not pleasant, and I'm still quite sore, but it is nice to know that the staples are out and my head can continue to heal. I'm very weak and am still not walking much at all. Scott has taken me walking downstairs 3 times but I can not walk without help. I'm very uneasy on my feet and I've had issues with muscle tone and control so I'm not safe to walk alone. Today I did a few laps around the island in my kitchen and until I got woozy I was feeling encouraged..it felt good to walk.

I knew this recovery would be harder than last time. They prepared me for that. I knew that just the sheer fact that this was the SECOND time my body was going to go through this was going to be a challenge. Add to that the fact that the surgery was more invasive and it just seals the deal. Although I'm frustrated by my lack of improvement I'm trying to remind myself that eventually I will be back to my normal self..its just going to take a long time. I hope to wean off pain meds this week which will help me feel less tired and foggy. Right now I'm still on a lot of meds, another thing that is slowing down my recovery this time.

Anyhow, I don't think I can sit up any longer so I'll end this post now before my head starts screaming too much. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and I'll try to keep in touch in the coming days. I've enjoyed reading your comments!
Love, Heidi

Heidi's Home

Heidi came home from the hospital on Tuesday evening. That meant she was in the hospital for 5 days post surgery. It was a day longer than last time and a day longer than we would have liked. Though she has made some good progress in some areas, she has continued to struggle with nausea and dizziness as her equilibrium is still fairly out of balance. She remains fairly heavily medicated which keeps her fairly sedated and resting often. Each day though gets a little better and we are still hopeful she will be back to herself in the coming weeks.

We also spoke with her surgeon today regarding the results of the pathology tests done on the removed tissue. Two tests were done, one on the tumor and one on the brain tissue margin that was removed around the tumor. The bad news is that the pathology test on the tumor confirmed that there was living and growing cancer cells in the tumor. The good news is that there was no detectable signs of cancer in the margin tissue that was removed. The doctor thus believes he was able to get all the cancer removed and at this time is not recommending any additional treatments.

Thanks again for all the help, support and thoughts and prayers.

Heidi Post Surgery Day 2

Heidi continues to recover on schedule. She is in significant pain in her head from the procedure and the trauma/swelling it has caused. However, she has been able to tolerate it thus far with less pain medication than she had recovering from her previous craniotomy. She is very coherent and all signs so far indicate there will not be any long term side effects to her vision or anything else. We hope to have her up and moving about a little by the end of the day and she is preparing for a scrabbled egg and bagel breakfast this morning. All good signs and we look forward to continued improvements.

Heidi's 2nd Brian Surgery

This morning Heidi went to the University of Utah Medical Center/Huntsman cancer Center for her second round of brain surgery. We continue to be very grateful for all the thoughts, prayers and acts of service being provided by so many of our family and friends. We feel truly blessed and loved. Heidi's surgery took a little over 3 hours, much less than the 4 to 5 hours scheduled, and her Dr. felt the surgery went very well. He was able to easily remove the tumor and felt comfortable removing a significant amount of additional brain tissue to provide a good margin. He said there were no issues or problems and feels very hopeful she should have no long term side effects from the operation. As part of the procedure he did line the tumor cavity with chemotherapy wafers that will slowly release drugs over the next 2 months designed to hopefully kill any remaining cancer cells in the area. We are very grateful for the advances in medicine that give Heidi a fighting chance and for those, like Dr. Jensen, who dedicate so much of their life to pursing such a worthwhile career and cause. Heidi will now start the slow and long recovery process and we hope she will be home form the hospital by Monday and back to her full strength by the end of August. Thank you for your continued support,

The Wrights

4:30 AM thoughts on Surgery Day

Well I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't sleep.....so I decided to come in and update my blog with a presurgery post. So today I go in for surgery...again...its hard to believe..it is starting to feel more real, now that I had all my pre-op stuff yesterday, but its still crazy. I don't know how you go about preparing for a surgery like this....emotionally I mean....

But today is here..the time is now..and here I go!! My surgery is at 7:30 am and they have 4 hours slotted for the surgery. Last time is at 3 1/2 hours so we'll see what happens this time. We have to be at the hospital at 6 am since I have a 7:30 surgery time so being up bright and early isn't so horrible since I have to be up anyhow!

Last night I enjoyed sleeping on my back and on my head....it'll be a long time till I can do that again....there are so many 'little' things I've been enjoying the past few days. I'm going to enjoy a shower shortly...thats something I don't enjoy post surgery as the water hurts my head for a good month afterwards. Scott had to help me shower for a good week after surgery last time...I didn't have the strength to stand up in the shower by myself and I worried about falling. Oh man...memories...can I just say that I ENJOY being independent!! This is hard for me!! It really is, I don't like being helpless and needy....grr!!

Well, Scott will update you all on how I'm doing as I continue on this journey. Thanks for all the love and prayers and support. I FEEL IT and I appreciate each one of you!! Here's to a GREAT surgery and to getting ALL the cancer cells out!!!

Love and Hugs,
Heidi

A Getaway...

When we found out that I had to have surgery again Scott and I decided to try to plan as much as we could into this last week!! Phew...its been exhausting too!! But its been a little slice of heaven too to be able to spend so much time together as a family.

We headed up to spend some time camping, one of our favorite past times, and so here's some snippets from our 'happy time' as a family.

Look at the amazing views where we were...SO gorgeous!

The kids had a blast playing in their secret hideouts, riding bikes, playing games, exploring, etc!

What camping trip would be complete without roasting marshmallows???

We were pretty close to Provo after going to the waterfall so we decided to meet up with Amy and Austin and family to enjoy a sisters Birthday dinner together! It was great to be together a bit!

Bridal Veil Falls

We took the kids down to Bridal Veil falls and let the older kids hike up to the midway point. They thought that was great. Here's our family photo....

The boys waiting while the older kids hiked up...

Playing in the water....brr...it was cold!

You can't see it in this photo but Scott, Kaylie and Cameron are tiny specks right underneath the waterfall!! =)