Love and Gratitude

This year has been a roller coaster kind of year.   We started out 2015 with a small "cyst" growing in the middle of my son's nose.  We had it removed twice.  But then it returned with vengeance in October.  Since that time we've been seeing specialists - ENT, Dermatologist, a 2nd opinion plastic surgeon.  All have read the same pathology report from August.  All have given us different interpretations.  The most helpful of the specialists was a dermatologist who said it's not just a cyst, it's a rare, benign tumor.  Of course she added more words to this and of course it sent me in a tailspin.  I'll spare you the details because right now, we're not dealing with that other scenario.

This past week we finally made it to the Children's Hospital to see a Pediatric Plastic Surgeon who has more expertise in the area of rare benign growths.  And we were so relieved and thankful that this doctor feels that the growth is benign.  This rare growth is growing in the middle of his nose and is definitely not the small cyst it started out as back in February/March.  It's now quite misshapen due to the previous two surgeries and is now going to need a lot more extra care (perhaps a couple of removal surgeries and then back for a reconstructive surgery).

a silly selfie last January before all of the nose stuff started happening

Of course, first and foremost, we want the growth to be gone.  But we also understand the stress of appearances of a middle school kiddo when you have a growth in the middle of your face and some new scars to go with them.  I am hopeful that this new doctor at Children's Hospital is the best match for us, for Tucker, and that we will hopefully end 2015 with at least one of the surgeries completed and if not, start off 2016 with a "clean slate".  

this new Descriptive Apparel t-shirt is absolutely perfect for me

I haven't shared too much on social media about this because I was scared to death it was much much worse than this.  Mama Bear in me, just didn't know what the heck to do other than hug her kids more and take Tucker to see all of the doctors out there in the world.  If Boston didn't have a viable solution, we would have been off to the Mayo Clinic for sure.

The point of this post is to point out that we often times get too wrapped up in the smaller things - like "why isn't my kid playing x number of minutes playing soccer" or "why didn't he get a 90% on his quiz" and other small things when we really need to be taking a step back and looking at the big picture.  Remember what's important this day and everyday.  Remember that time together, smiles, laughter, memories are what makes the world go round.  

and my Momentum Motivate wraps have been a great source of inspiration and strength during these times

I am beyond grateful that this health scare turned out to be a benign case.   Some people haven't been so lucky this year.  My heart goes out to them.  Trust me, I know what's it's like to lose a loved one.  It's been over 9 years since we lost my mom to lung cancer and it still hurts.  But those memories are what keeps me going.

So, this holiday season, call up a loved one you haven't spoken to in a while just to say hi.  Make it a point to see friends and laugh a lot.  And let's not stop there.... let's make it a goal to bring more happiness to our lives this day and everyday.

Merry Christmas everyone!