Ty's and My Story

We just had a journaling lesson in RS on Sunday and so with Ty turning 4 this week, I thought I would take this chance to record a little story of how Ty saved my life....

Dave and I got married in 2001 and loved having "our" time. Although Dave was in Law School we loved to travel and go and do as pleased, without anything holding us back (such as a baby). After about 2 and a half almost 3 years I decided it was time for a baby and to start trying, although Dave probably could've waited another 10 years. Well, Heavenly Father had a different plan for us, which in turn saved my life.

We tried for over 2 years to get pregnant, which was fine with Dave, but I was gonna be turning 29 and didn't want to be totally old having babies. And after 2 years I started to wonder if something was wrong. I finally decided to schedule a Dr.'s apt. to see if I needed to get checked. Close to this time I had a dream, that I WAS pregnant with a baby girl. Well come to find out a day before my scheduled Dr.'s apt., my dream was right, I was pregnant! We were so excited and for the most part, I loved being pregnant. (It was a lot easier when you don't have any other kids and you can just lay around and relax as much as you want).

Ty was do in Feb. and in Dec. I got the flu. Just the typical flu, throwing up and what not. I would've thought and done nothing of it, but I had my monthly check up that day so I went in. My doctor decided to send me over to the hospitial to put an IV in me just to make sure I wasn't getting dehydrated. While I was in the hospital they did an ultrasound just to make sure the baby was fine. They pumped me up with fluids and sent me home an hour later.

A month later when I went in for my next checkup, my doctor told me that during that ultrasound in the hospital they found a small lump on my left kidney. He told me it was probably nothing. Pregnant ladies often grow little fatty lumps that are nothing, but right after I deliver, while I was still in the hospital, he wanted me to get a MRI done.

We induced Tyler on Feb. 14th (not realizing it was Valentines Day when I scheduled it), because Dave had to go to Tuscon 3 days later to take the Bar Exam and I wasn't gonna have him be gone and me go into labor.

Feb. 14th we had a beautiful baby girl, Tyler Ele Eastman. She was perfect, with her big beautiful lips. The following day they had me go and get my MRI and came back with the results that it was a tumor but didn't know if it was just a fatty tumor or cancer. They wouldn't biopsy it because it wouldn't be accurate, they might get a fatty piece and miss the cancerous part. So they wanted to wait a few months so my body could get back to normal after having a baby and do another MRI. Again, same answer, "we don't know if it's cancer or not". So they gave me the option of having surgery and just removing it, or just keep an eye on it to see if it grows or not. We decided to have it removed so we wouldn't have to worry about it. They scheduled my surgery that July in Tuscon where there was the only doctor in AZ who could do the surgery laparoscopically. Well that ended up being the same weekend Dave had to be in Tuscon to take the bar again (yup, he didn't pass his first time).

So come July, I left Tyler with my mom, Dave was studying like crazy for the bar, so who else to come with me than the best friend anyone could ask for, Tami. It was weird thinking that "maybe" I had cancer, but me and Dave really thought it was nothing, and weren't too worried. So come the morning of my surgery, Dave went off to take the bar exam and Tami took me to the hospital. The surgery went really well, they removed just a little part of my left kidney and and left me with 3 tiny scars where they did the incision (pretty cool how they can do that without cutting me open). They took the tumor to be tested and came back a couple hours later with the results. It was a STAGE II, CARCINOMA KIDNEY CANCER!!

Really, I had cancer??? and stage II?? Stage III and IV is when it starts spreading and becomes more deadly. It was pretty sereal and wasn't as traumatic for me since I didn't know I had cancer until it was already out of me. I healed fine and have to go back every 6 months to make sure it hasn't come back. It's been almost 4 yrs and they say I look great and will soon go to once a year checkup, then once every 5 yrs for the rest of my life.

Here's the miracle: They say kidney cancer is most common in black males, over the age of 50 who smoke! Really, could I be more opposite? And they say that MOST the time they won't find Kidney Cancer in someone until it's too late! It's a cancer that just grows in you with absolutely no signs or symptoms!

If I had not been pregnant with Tyler at that time when I got the flu, who nows if they would've ever found my cancer until it was too late. I really believe that Heavenly Father saved Tyler to come down at a time that she could save my life. And I couldn't imagine living my life without my Tyler. She is an amazing little girl that we absolutely LOVE to death!