MRI tomorrow and eye update...thanks for your prayers!

May! It makes me crazy. I guess it is only fitting to end the year with mind blowing busyness and therefore start summer off with much overdue laziness. Only 7 more days of school!

Mother's Day was great. We hosted our Moms and my sister here and the 4 us of moms snuck away for an afternoon pedicure together.  Somehow I didn't get a pic of my awesome MIL, ugh.

my OLDER sister ;)

It was these people that the Lord used mightily to carry me through the fun of surgery that I endured 3 months ago.

It was also my amazing hubby's birthday.  Hard to believe we will be celebrating 14 years together this summer.  Remember what I wrote to you on our tenth? And you even wrote me back!  Thanks for being a good sport about sharing your birthday with my mom's day! Of course you are always a good sport...even wore the duck tape necklace that the girls made you for a while!

It was a fun day of celebrating. The monarch we had been raising also decided to come out of its chrysalis Sunday. We released it and it flew away beautifully!

3 months means it is finally time for my follow-up MRI. It is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:15. I am not nervous, mainly because I won't know the results until early June. One surgeon rescheduled me and then I had to reschedule the other.  So now, two separate appointments coming up on June 5 and June 8.  I will be more nervous for those appointments. *sigh*

I am asking for prayer for these 3 specific things and would love for you to join me in praying:

1) that the MRI will confirm complete removal of the acoustic neuroma tumor operated on in February.

2) that it will show no enlargement of the secondary tumor, a 3cm meningioma on my parietal lobe.  Dr. Moody has told me that sometimes these meningiomas just arrest....which would be such a blessing in my case. Otherwise I will be facing another surgery to remove it.

3) that if the meningioma is growing, that the doctors (Dr. Kutz and Dr. Mickey) will have wisdom about how soon to remove it. Apparently if it grows much more it will cause a seizure.

I am also still struggling with eye issues.  Long story short, one punctal plug didn't help enough and two punctal plugs left me wiping tears away.  So now I am trying a new treatment plan which pretty much grosses me out, but I am hopeful will work.  It involves me getting my blood drawn regularly and then taking it to a special pharmacy for them to make autologous serum eye drops.  Sounds exciting. Ahem. Having to put in refrigerated eye drops, made out of my own blood serum, 4 x a day seems a little nuts. I just hope it works!  It seems my cooler at the pool will not just be holding beverages this summer. Frosty eye drops anyone?!?

I have been a bit down about my hearing loss lately too. Maybe it has just finally become more of an annoyance to me. A hearing loss isn't apparent to anyone, so it makes for awkward moments as people have been trying to get my attention without my knowledge. I think I would also *really* like for the ringing in the deaf ear to cease. I am disappointed that it hasn't subsided at all yet. Might even be getting worse. 

All in all though, I am feeling great and so thankful to be where I am today. My mom was telling me on Sunday that when people ask her how I am doing, she shows them 2 pictures.  One of me when I was in the ICU on 2/14 and then a current one. So far no one has been unimpressed! Of course I was surprised she had taken a pic of me in the ICU...that is sort of rude don't you think? Well come to find out Jerry had also.

I look at this picture and am thankful in 10 million ways. My immediate memory takes me to the moment when I vomitted into that oxygen mask. Delightful!

Then this one is just a couple of days later. I AM ABLE TO SMILE. Praise the Lord!!!!

Another fun picture I found out that my mom had taken was this one...taken two Sundays before surgery. I am so thankful for the body of Christ! The way we have been cared for humbles me to this day.

A sweet pastor that I worked under last year encouraged me with Psalm 17 today.

I will be taking these verses into the MRI capsule with me in the morning...

Psalm 17

 ⁶ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
    turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
⁷ Show me the wonders of your great love,
    you who save by your right hand
    those who take refuge in you from their foes.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings!

 Thank you for your prayers. They mean SO much.