So for everyone who reads the following and didn't know, I'm really sorry I didn't share sooner. I have never felt like anything was as personal as the following and needed time to deal before I was ready to share...
On Feb. 26 of this year, my husband David, 25, was diagnosed w/ Hodgkin's Lymphoma... Cancer. The diagnosis followed a couple months of doctors visits for a swollen right side of his neck. All along we were told it was benign, a cyst, benign, blah, blah, blah. He was prescribed steroids and anti-biotics repeatly, they did a biopsie that was inconclusive and finally removed the nodes. Two golf ball sized nodes- his neck was huge (cup you hand and put it up to your neck), but never did we imagine cancer would come up. Um, the following weeks went quickly, staging, tests to check his heart and lungs (because chemo can damage both), and a mediport inserted below his right collar bone so he no longer has to be stuck w/ needles, they stick his port.
He was staged 1A, which is the best news, very treatable and cureable. He has had 8 chemos, everyother Tuesday since March, he finished at the end of June. He did very well considering, only missing 1 day a week on average from work, dealt with fatigue and nausea, but no puking. In the last 2 sessions the fatigue was impossible to fight.
Also, during this time his mother was fighting leukemia (now cancer free), my gram was diagnosed w/ dementia and my papa passed away. You all also know we are expecting our beloved first child- this is a great blessing that the timing worked for us to become pregnant before the chemo began. We do not know if David's fertility will be an issue in the future, but we are very blessed to have this little baby in our lives already!
These last 5 months have been an amazing testament to why I love my husband. He has faced every week with courage, knowing that the chemo would exhaust him and knowing he would kick cancer's ass!
Please keep David in your thoughts and prayers this week. He had a scan this afternoon that will tell the doctor if the cancer is gone. He has done very well with all this, we are praying he has kicked it and he can move on! We'll have scan results late Friday or Monday. I will let you know as soon as we do.
And again, I am sorry I didn't share sooner, but this was a big thing and alot to figure out. I can't properly describe how this was and is- I can tell you David is a stong man and an amazing husband, even taking care of me during morning sickness on weeks when he had chemo. I love him and I am lucky and blessed to have met him, married him, and have him be the father of my child!
