Repelling 365 feet, Bucketlist?

You know I'm trying to go through my bucket list with my family (all of our bucket lists)! I didn't put anything too risky or adventurous on our bucket list. I am not an adrenaline junkie and just never put anything like that on my list.

Until now...

Something sweet just fell into my lap and I'm going to do it!

I was contacted by my sister-in-law, LaVonne, who is a great blogger at Long Wait for Isabella, who was contacted by Over the Edge San Diego. And to make a very long story short, I am going over the edge, literally to raise money for brain cancer!! I'm so excited (and yes, a little nervous too) for this opportunity. I will be repelling down the Manchester Grand Hyatt, the tallest San Diego waterfront building....365 feet!!!

Here is a link to my fundraising page and a link to the general information page.

Many people have asked me if I'm afraid of heights and up until now I never really have been. I figure I won't really know until I get up there and when I do, I'm not purposefully looking down. I'm sure my legs will be shaking or like jello when I start out, but I'm hoping the adrenaline carries me through and gets me down the side of the building!

My repel time is at 1:30pm and I'd love for you to come support me and cheer me on!! I am so looking forward to this event! Hope to see some of you there when I get to the bottom!

Update- CarePages

Update

Posted Oct 6, 2013 11:10am

Edit: REPOSTED FROM CAREPAGES

So I haven't been writing on this site as I've been using my blog to keep people updated.

My June check up was not so good as the doctor said my tumor had grown by 10%. My September check up was much better as my surgeon said she thought it may be the cut of the MRI images making it hard for the oncologist to see whether he saw growth or not. She also said as there is still tumor remaining, I need another surgery. I am getting another PET scan(which shows the tumor a little more clearly than an MRI) on October 24th and then seeing my surgeon to discuss the results on October 28th as well as seeing a different surgeon later that same day. I will be getting a second opinion and choosing which surgeon I want to use.

If you'd like to keep up with more of the updates, you can subscribe to my blog and the future updates will be emailed to you. You can also see past updates by just clicking around on the things I have written. I have also slowly been adding in the stuff we did for our cross country trip and things that come up in our family to different alternatives I am trying, so I like that I can keep everything updated all in one place and it isn't so much about only my cancer.

http://bucketlistfamily.blogspot.com/

I appreciate all the prayers, keep them coming.

Love,
Mel

Choosing sides/choosing surgeons

I have my next surgery coming up, most likely in the beginning of November. I am not sure as I have not yet decided on which doctor I'm going to use for my surgery. Should I go with the last neurosurgeon or a world renown neurosurgeon? That is the question I have been tossing back and forth in my head.

And it happens to be a very difficult decision. My last surgeon was great and I did well during the surgery and know I would be in good hands and recover just fine if I chose her, plus she said she would pull my forehead back a little bit, giving me a semi-face lift, just in time for approaching my 40's!! Now you're probably thinking, why is there even a decision. But she did my last surgery and there is some residual tumor, meaning some leftovers from my last surgery. For some reason she wasn't able to get it all out, although she initially told us she removed it all, the following MRIs showed differently and now I am up for another surgery and it's not because of regrowth.

The other doctor that I am deciding on is a world renown brain surgeon, people (and movie stars) have come from all parts of the world to have him do their surgery and if you're in as many cancer groups and I am in, his name comes up often. He's the best of the best...so why not let him have a try at a full resection of my tumor. Well since you asked, he doesn't accept insurance. We have to pay cash for his skills, the rest (like my hospital stay, medications, anesthesiologist, etc) will be covered by insurance. But I see that no matter the cost or hardship it may pose on my family, more years on my life is what our ultimate goal is. BTW, this neurosurgeon happens to have written a book that I am currently reading which is helping me choose sides at the moment, although things may change as I've heard he is very cocky and not very friendly.

Although I may feel like going to a new surgeon is like cheating on my last surgeon, I am still in limbo and will wait until I see them both (at separate appointments, of course, so they don't know I'm cheating) on October 28th. At that time, God willing, I will see clearly the right doctor for me.

Other than that things are going fairly well for me, I feel healthy and am continuing to do some natural treatments to fight this disease. Some things are harder than others and at times I get hit with emotions, especially when I think about my kids possible growing up without me and feel the pressure of being the best mom/wife ever so that they will remember the good stuff about me (and not the times that I put them on timeout, etc).