We're Back!

We're back on the blogging scene. I have found that this blog was actually doing what it was supposed to be doing; keeping everyone up to date on our lives.

My reason for quitting my blog was difficult because I didn't want to talk about Justin's cancer. Since July I have come to terms with the thought of Justin having cancer and I am finally ready to talk about it and share our experiences with everyone.

Toward the end of July we found out that Justin had testicular cancer. It turned out to be a whirlwind of events from there. A week after finding out that Justin had cancer he was immediately scheduled for surgery to remove his testicle. After the testicle was removed he tried to recover while we found out that his type of cancer was fast spreading and had moved into several of his lymph nodes. Immediately we were transferred to the Huntsman Cancer Hospital and were told that he would have another suregery to remove his lymph nodes in a few weeks. In the meantime we had to do some sperm banking because it was sure he would be sterile from the surgery. After he recovered from his surgery we were told that he needed to start chemotherapy to kill any other cancer cells in his body. Before he started chemo he had another surgery to install a power port to make it easier to receive the chemotherapy infusions. A week after that surgery he started chemotherapy for several weeks. It was almost a full time job. He somtimes had to be there for 8 hours a day hooked up to chemotherapy. The side effects were awful. He lost his hair, he gained 10-15 lbs a day, he was vomitting, his skin turned red, his mouth was full of sores and he was very weak and tired. A month after his last chemotherapy appointment he had a CT scan to see if the cancer was gone. And our prayers were answered, he was cancer free according to his CT scan. We are so happy. Now he has to go and get CT scans every 3 months for the next year to make sure the cancer is gone. Our next CT scan is on April 8th.

We have had so many wonderful people help us along this hard road. And I am so thankful for the help we have recieved from helping with meals, to mowing our lawn, to simple cards telling him to get well. We are so grateful for the love and support that we have had the past few months.

Everything seems to be getting back to normal and Justin is back at work and trying to make his body keep up with all of the things he wants to do. He has a nap about every day to regain some of his energy. Justin and I have really grown together the last few months and we are definetly much stronger and closer than we were before. Cancer was a definite struggle and I have had to learn things that I wish I never had to know at 25 but in a weird way I think cancer has helped us. I look at Justin in a whole new light. His positive attitude through this hard time has really made my outlook on life much different. You never know what trials will come your way but I think it definetly builds character and strengthens your spirit how you deal with these trials.