1.21.26

Surgery went great! I am so thankful they were able to get me in so quickly and my surgeon- Dr. Melstrom always takes the best care of me. Going into the procedure we were not sure if they would be able to do it robotically or if they would have to do it open. Since my first liver surgery was back in April, they were not sure how much scar tissue I had and that was what would determine how they were able to operate. But- they were able to do it Robotically!!! 

They removed the portion that lit up in the PET scan and also thoroughly  checked out everywhere else. They took a biopsy of one part that they were concerned about and they even put some green dye on the liver to see if anything showed up.

When I woke up from surgery I didnt have a tube in my nose so not only was I excited about that, I was happy to hear that it was done robotically. Shortly after waking up, they moved me to my own room- the facility at Duarte is fabulous- the room even had its own bathroom. 

A few hours after waking up I started to get a crazy pain in my left shoulder/ heart area- I wasn't sure if I was having a heart attack or if my collar bone broke in half but it was terrible. The nurses explained to me that when you have robotic surgery they fill your stomach with co2 and some of the gas gets trapped under your ribcage and you get a referred pain in your left shoulder. Whoa- it was intense! 

The next morning I started getting muscle spasms in my abdomen and some other pain that felt like I was having birthing contractions. Those went away with some muscle relaxers and since then my pain was very well managed.

That day my friend Lori came to visit me. We went on my first walk and it just happened to be at the same time that the service dogs were there for a visit. I was SO excited! Last time I was at Duarte I wanted to see the dogs so bad but we missed them by a couple days and I didnt get the opportunity. 

My sister in law flew in from Idaho to help my mother in law with the Kiddos while I was out and that was such a huge help because Mike was able to come visit me and the kiddos had THE BEST time. 

I stayed at Duarte for a total of 2 nights. I can't say enough amazing things about the Nurses and the Nurse assistants. They took such great care of me and I am so appreciative of people that choose nursing as their career because it is hard work! 

After surgery, I knew the best way for me to get some rest would be to go over to my cousins for a few nights. Her and her partner graciously opened up their beautiful house in Venice Beach to me and it was the perfect environment for me to be able to recover and rest for a couple extra days. They got me up and out of the house and we were able to sit at some cute coffee shops, people watch, and have some big laughs. A few of my girlfriends also stopped by to take me on short walks and go out to dinner. 

I am so thankful and grateful for the amazing people God has put in my life- weather they are friends, Drs, family, nurses, and everyone who pops on here to check in on me and read up about my journey. I truly feel blessed. 

1.8.26

Thursday night before I went to bed I could hear what sounded like water behind the wall. Sure enough the water heater in the garage had broke and there was water leaking into the house. 

Friday I had my iron infusion- I was nervous that it would make me feel off or sick but I didnt notice any difference. I am happy that we have a plan to boost my hemoglobin back up. Also, before I walked up to the infusion center I stopped to see if my PET scan report was ready and IT WAS!!!! It was such a relief to get the results back especially because I already happened to have a meeting with my liver surgeon scheduled for after my iron infusion. 

We were able to go over all of the findings and come up with a plan to remove the activity. She wants to go in robotically and cut the tip of segment 2 off and then check out the spots in segment 5. If I have too much scare tissue she will have to do it open and that will determine how long I have to stay in the hospital after surgery. But I am pumped there is a plan and am ready to do whatever it takes to get any activity out. She also said she wants to do the surgery within the next 3 weeks. 

On Monday I got a call that I would have my PATC testing on Tuesday and they were able to schedule my surgery for the following Wednesday. A friend of mine drove me up to City of Hope Duarte and they went over all of my prescriptions and how to prep for surgery. They also did an EKG. I passed the EKG so now it is time to start packing and getting things in order for me to be gone for surgery and recovery. 

Late Dec 2026

My Tempus CTdna came back really high after the initial detection so I requested a PET/CT and thankfully there was a cancellation because they were able to get me in on 1.5.26. 

The scan was easy- this was my second PET/CT- they inject you with radioactive glucose tracer, you wait about 45 minutes and then get in the machine. The scan only takes about 15 minutes. 

The next day I had my routine follow up apt with Dr. Kasi and he was able to view the images and without an official report we could see something lighting up in my liver.  It was a weird relief to be able to see something and we were thankful it was the liver and a new area. 

My bloodwork was also a little all over the place with my hemoglobin dropping so we discussed a plan to get that back up with a combination of oral iron and iron infusions.   

We also talked about the trial and how any surgery would take priority but that I could try to get back into it after we had a better idea of what we would need to do to get rid of any detection on my liver. 

12.25.25

The holidays came up extra quick. Christmas was mellow and small but the kiddos had the best time and I'm thankful we were able to make some fun memories with cousins and grandparents. While the kids were on winter break we did all of the fun indoor activities since it was super rainy. We went to the trampoline park, the movies, and even went ice skating. 

NYE I took the kiddos to the library for a "noon" years eve celebration with some of Scarletts classmates and it was such a fun middle of the day activity. Then when Mike got home from work he helped me put up a balloon drop for the kids and we did an early countdown.