Thoughts & Prayers

It is 5:15 in the morning, and my body has apparently decided that it has gotten enough sleep as of 4:45. So rather than sit in bed with a million thoughts in my head, I decided to get up and come out in the living room to put a few of them into writing. I will start out with the sad news first and then end with some happier thoughts because I am trying to stay positive! :)

I found out yesterday that one of my best friends, Phil, has two malignant tumors that are brain cancer. He had been having headaches and started having some cognitive errors and went to the doctor to figure out what was going on. After several MRIs, they have determined that it is brain cancer and that he will need to undergo surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to even have a chance of fighting this off. Like I said, I just found out most of this yesterday afternoon and last night, so we are still not sure the extent of how bad it is or what his prognosis might be. He was attending Princeton for his PhD so luckily has gotten great medical care in the process at the Princeton medical center, but they have advised him to seek his treatment in Florida so that he can be closer to his family since this will be a long and arduous process and he will need his family close by. Luckily his fiance will be able to come with him as well, so they are now in the process of trying to find a great neurosurgeon and cancer center in Florida to transfer him to so that he can begin treatment as soon as possible.

I have known Phil since the 8th grade when he transferred into my school, and we have been good friends since. He stood on my side for my wedding with another one of my best guy friends, and he has been an important person in my life growing up from high school and into the woman I am today. It is still kind of shocking even to think about all of this and to accept the reality of the situation, and he and my friend, Ryan, are extremely concerned since we don't know the extent that the cancer has already taken over or what his prognosis might be. But I have my dad looking into doctors and facilities that he can transfer to so hopefully he will have a better chance of fighting this. When I talked to him last night, he luckily sounded in decent spirits and even though he knows he has a long road ahead of him, he was joking with me that I know how stubborn he can be so he knows he can get through it.

If you pray, please include him in your prayers today and for the months to come. If you don't, at least please think of him and his family in their time of need. It is a difficult thing to even fathom, and even more difficult because I feel so helpless to do anything. But I know that I can at least be a support to him via phone or however else I can manage, and I just have to hope that when I go to Florida again in May during my maternity leave that I will be able to visit him and see him recovering. He wants to see Cooper and was so sweet asking about him and how I'm doing on the phone, even though he's lying in a hospital bed in ICU wondering whether or not he has much longer to live. He is a strong person, and I have faith that he will get through this. But please include him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happier note, happy birthday to Kim! Also, we had a wonderful weekend this past weekend. Austin & I feel so extremely blessed that we have so many wonderful and caring people in our lives. Our little boy was showered with gifts on Saturday, and it was so great to have so many people we care about all in one place and all so excited about our new bundle of joy. They are so excited to meet him just like we are! We really had a great weekend - my parents were in good spirits and we all got along really well for a change, so I am very grateful for that. Things around here are almost completely boxed up, and I am so grateful that Austin has been able to do so much so that we can get prepared for the big move this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon is the big day when we sign off on everything, and I can't wait to get those keys! It is all coming together, and it is very exciting! Of course, it finally decided to be winter here this week and is supposed to be really cold this weekend, but since I won't be doing much of anything besides watching them move everything out and then making sure everything gets moved in, I can't really complain too much! :)

Sorry for the sad post at the beginning but I needed to get it out in writing and ask for your help. Things like this really bring home to me how short life can be sometimes and how much you have to let people know that you love and appreciate them because you never know what might happen. Hope you all have a wonderful day! :)