Cancer-Free!

I am ecstatic to report that Jonathan is cancer free! What a whirlwind of crazy this health scare has been, and I'm so glad it's behind us. The surgery was straight-forward and his recovery was fairly easy. And let's be honest, the compression socks were straight up sexy :)

Jonathan's surgery was 2/27, just 2 weeks after Claire was born. We were lucky to have our wonderful family to help us out - J's grandparents and Cousin Carol came to watch the kiddos that day, while his parents and I were at the hospital, his Aunt Andi came the next day, and Erin came the next week to stay with us while he recovered and help me with all 3 littles. That day was crazy, with me having to come home to pump & feed Claire and worrying about the surgery. The nice part of J's recovery & taking it easy was that he was totally allowed to just sit and hold sweet baby Claire.



The scariest part of the recovery (not including the scar he likes to freak everyone out with - fail, the boys were not impressed), was his lack of a voice. J sounded like he was hoarse for a couple of months! The dr told him he wouldn't be able to yell at the kids for a while, to which I replied, Jonathan Solomon? Yell? He hardly disciplines these maniacs, much less yells at them when they're naughty! But it did frustrate him to not be able to raise his voice when needed. My little all-boy three-year-olds need a stroooong hand sometimes, which does require a firm voice at the very least. I am glad his voice came back!

These boys missed their daddy while he was in the hospital and during his recovery

After he was all recovered and his levels returned to normal, Jonathan took a radioactive iodine pill to irradiate any remaining cancer in his body. Because he was radioactive ("welcome to the new age, to the new age" - I hear it in my head every time I say that) he couldn't be around the littles for a week so he stayed with his parents. Poor Richard & Susie! I think he tried to stay a safe distance, and the pictures he sent had everything saran wrapped in his little room that he was basically confined to for a week. Anyway, we were really glad when that was over, and he was able to make it home for the boys' 3rd birthday and party, thankfully. In other good news, it happened to correspond with a period of 2 weeks when we had night nurse Kim helping us out with Claire. I would have been a zombie had I been up all night during the height of her day/night confusion, and taking care of the boys on my own for a week.

We are very thankful for our friends and family who banded together to support us during such a busy, scary time. Jonathan and I have been so humbled by the outpouring of well-wishes, prayers, dinners, and hand-holding that we've received. It was a good reminder of how very blessed we are by the families we were fortunate enough to be born into/married into, and how very blessed we are with amazing friends.

Cancer is a horrible disease, and we were so fortunate that Jonathan's happened to be treatable. Good-bye Fred! Jonathan is now thyroid-free, and takes a daily thyroid hormone replacement medication. Other than that, he is the same old J :)

Lord, thank you for this man, and thank you for healing him. I am so blessed by my marriage, and this growing little family You have given us. The thought of losing him was scary, and I pray for others who haven't been as fortunate. I cannot imagine walking through life without my life partner, and I'm so grateful to have him beside me. Thank you for the love that we share, and thank you for his faithfulness to You, to me, and to our precious babies.  Thank you for his morals and his work ethic, and for the way that he encourages me. Thank you for his cute smile and his sense of humor, and thank you for giving him the patience of a saint. Thank you for his health, and please keep him healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. Please, Lord, let us spend many more wonderful years together! I pray that you keep this family safe and healthy.