Surgery complete

Surgery is over, she is headed to recovery. Our new life begins now. Thank you all for the prayers and support.

Will update more when we know more.

1636hrs.: Well we are in a private room thanks to some string pulling by friends on the inside. The surgery went as planned and only took about an hour and a half, right on time. The nurses and staff are exceptional at Richmond General, very nice and obviously care about their patients. We had a nice turnout of friends and family. It was a much more emotional experience for me than I had anticipated. She will more than likely be staying the 23hrs 59min. 59sec. that they will allow her just to manage pain and get some of the anesthesia out of her system. The road has not ended but we never thought that 4 months would go so quick and that we are already to this point. Our new life started today and our Phoenix has risen from the ashes. Never underestimate the strength of a woman, as if you needed to be told that.

More to follow, thank you all again.

Some Updates

Zabrina had a PET scan 4.13
Dr. Friedman called her that night to say good news
a cancer free scan ~ the chemo did its job
and thank God, Zabrina's body tolerated those treatments
tomorrow is Zabrina's surgery
Pray for her
Zabrna says "her faith, family, friends, God sent doctors and prayer
is what has taken her through this journey

Katrina told Zabrina she was going to pray
"that all of this leaves Zabrina as fast as it came."
That gives me a very good visual
because this did come on so quick
and I now envision God taking it all away that quick.

At the end of one of Zabrina's doctors appt
with great compassion, the doctor told her, she needed
to get tough and concentrate on getting healthy
So she has been working on "getting tough" to get
through tomorrow.

Spring Time!

Spring arrived March 20th ~ I remember a friend, whose sister is now cancer free, share how she watched her sister blossom like spring after a long winter.
I held onto that visual. Now I can say, I am witnessing my daughter emerging from a long winter with the spring time beauty that God blessed her with.

Bri finished her last treatment ~ that means 4 months have passed
Surgery is next on the schedule ~ keep the prayers flowing, this is a lot
I look forward to my message to all of you saying it is summer and Bri is done with radiation. Plus summer is Zabrina's favorite season

God at work

one more treatment

tomorrow Zabrina has her last taxol treatment. While we are very thankful this is the last chemo treatment and her body is responding so well to the treatments, it is still going to be a very tough week for Bri. This treatment gives a lot of arthritis like joint pain throughout her entire body. One day she said to me "my body hurts from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, then she said you know, none of my organ hurt though." A blessing is she does not remember this pain from treatment to treatment. God erases the memory and Bri says that is a good thing because she is not sure if she could do it again if she remembered the pain.

We had a ladies day at our church on Saturday and Zabrina did come for most of the day. God sent an angel by the name of Lisa, who had breast cancer when she was 30 years old ~ she has been cancer free for 7 1/2 years (yes you count the months too). Zabrina has not talked with anyone who had breast cancer at 30. For me, witnessing the hand of God as Lisa and Zabrina talked was very humbling. A line from a song that we sing at church is ~
We are standing on holy ground,
For the Lord is present and where He is,is holy
I witnessed Gods awesome love for our daughter ~ and we indeed were on holy ground!
I know you all are praying and I wanted to share this God moment with you

We were headed to an appointment with the surgeon and bri was feeling overwhelmed and scared ~
Kristen texted Zabrina and said, "cancer has no power over you, because the blood of Christ has covered you and He has all authority over you"!

Luck "O" the Irish

Well happy St. Patricks day everyone! Just a little update and time line for ya. Not sure if we leaked the good news about the genetic testing. Zabrina was tested for the genetic strands that would pre-dispose her to this nasty disease and she passed with flying colors. She always has been a good test taker. What this means is that she does not have to have a bilateral mastectomy or deal with the whole ovarian issue. What a relief to not have to worry about passing this on, or dealing with more surgery.
We just had round 7 of 8 yesterday and it is going as it has in the past. The crazy thing about these drugs is you can set your watch to the side effects and how she is going to feel. Dr. Friedman is still very impressed with her progress and we have him do exams just so we can here him say everything feels normal. Last round of chemo is the 30th then we gear up for surgery. We will be meeting with the surgen next week to learn more about the procedure and what to expect. She will go for a PET scan the third week in April and surgery the last week, so mark your calanders for some seriouse praying time. Radiation will start about four weeks after surgery. So we should be done with the physical side this nightmare by end of July. The phsycological and emotional stuff will last a lifetime.
We are so thankful for all that has been provided for us and cannot thank you all enough for what you have done.

We Feel the Love!

For Zabrina's B-day a couple of her gifts were fun sandals for summertime and as the kodak moment shows we had a pedicure! Focusing on pretty toes and lazy crazy days of summer that call for sandals, is a prelude that proclaims we are on the other side of treatments, surgery and radiation. A recurring statement I make is that "on the other side of this, I know we are going to all be good."
Thank you to so many of you for saying happy birthday to Zabrina in so many loving ways. At church we had a beautiful hat and scarf day ~ many of the girls at church wore scarfs/hats to say to Zabrina "we are supporting you". Bob, thanks for spending time with Jeff turning money into sound. Tiff ~ on Monday you were an answer to prayer for Zabrina, armed with the word of God.

A girls lunch with Erin and Gabriella ~ fun.
But before we get to the other side:
Monday is the next taxol treatment ~ one more tough step for Bri. Keep praying ~ I so don't want Zabrina on this path but I also know God is healing her ~ spirit, mind and body.

Happy B-day Zabrina

Rob and Sarah came to Mentor this weekend to celebrate Zabrina's b-day
Zabrina's b-day is Thursday March 5th
For sure having your b-day while going through treatments gives an emotional spin like none other.
I remind myself, that Zabrina is going through a season of life that will pass
but sometimes the minute to minute can be so overwhelming
Tomorrow is the next taxol treatment at 9:00a ~ keep the prayers flowing

Share with Zabrina

Zabrina had her first taxol treatment Monday ~ Jeff's observation that taxol leaves Zabrina in a much different place than the (AC) treatment did, is oh so true. With AC her mind and body were both beat up by the treatment. Taxol leaves her with a lot of joint pain but her mind is very clear ~ Being alert is good but it also leaves her with a lot of time to process what has happened, what is happening and what is yet to happen on her road to recovery.
Ok, with that all said ~ I have a request from all of you ~ one of Bri's comments is she misses her life. On 12.8.08 life as Zabrina knew it was put on hold. Everyday that Bri was at MHCA she brought home a cute story about one of the children.
Share with her the lighter side of what is going on in your life.
For those of you who have children or work them share your cute stories.
You can email, text, add it to one of your cards that you send to her or leave a voice mail.
Some of you are already doing this and she enjoys sharing those stories with her family. Sonya ~ a day in the life of her children, Mere ~ creates a visual that leaves Zabrina laughing. Kim, I shared the story about Liam and "the pledge".
Also let her know you are lifting her up in prayer and holding on to her tight. If you saw the story where the mountain lion was trying to take her friend and she would not let go, that is how tight we are holding onto Zabrina.
Bri needs to know you are in this fight with her and holding on tight!

Happy Valentines Day

First, thank you to all of you who continue to express love and concern in your very own personal ways. From a phone call saying consider yourself hugged, to a card that says I've got your back! Those are all such encouragements!
I have realized that this road to recovery has many twists and turns. Some days almost have some normal moments, then there are days that we fall into a pot hole and have to climb out.
Monday, Zabrina starts round 2 ~ there are 4 treatments to round 2 ~
Dr Friedman says this round has concerns but that Bri is done with the really bad ones.
Since this will be the first one of this round, we will spend up to 5 hours for this treatment. Keep the prayers going up to our awesome God.
An example of some normal moments is Zabrina decorated cupcakes for Valentines Day for her students at MHCA ~ I took them into her class and they were very excited ~ telling me how much they love Mrs. Lee.

To all the followers we don't know about

I would like to make a request to all of you who visit the blog and are not signed up to please do so. You don't have to leave any comments, just sign up so we know your there. We know you are out there tracking Zabrina's progress and it would just be neat to know who's following along. Don't feel pressured to participate, but by all means don't hesitate to sign up. You are all now invited to come out of the shadows and be recognized, and by all means feel free to leave a comment or thought. There is a link on the right side of the site for Prayers, Scriptures , and Well Wishes if you do not want to make a comment about a posting you can do so there.

Thanks

Last of the worst

By the time most of you read this we will be well into round 4. The last week or so has had it's share of ups and downs and in between. From a procedure that holds a silver lining, to a meeting that pulled the rug out form under us and back to zero again, it has been quite the ride. The good news is we are back on track again thanks to the great Dr. Friedman. Once again he has come through for us and I truly believe he shares our love for Zabrina.

This experience has opened our eyes to many things, and Zabrina and I can't get over the impact that this disease has had on us and that's not all negative. Let's just say that things have been put into perspective. Not that things were that out of perspective, but the insight that comes from "tragedy" can be very inspiring. Just tonight I was telling the wife that when I discuss our ordeal with people it is not in a negative light, strangely it is with a message of faith, hope, and pride. This process has pushed me closer to the Lord and my wife, and for this I could not be more thankful. The pride I feel in sharing how strong Zabrina is cannot easily be expressed. I know she didn't sign up for this, but she is truly an inspiration, and I am confident that there will be even more incredible things that come from this. Don't get me wrong this sucks on many levels and I can really only give my perspective with a touch of what she is going through.

We have talked a lot about how a few months ago our biggest problem was deciding what color to paint the living room. Now we are making decisions that really matter. Please, please, please, put things in your own lives in perspective. If her going through this has no other effect than those we love taking stock in what really matters than this just might have been worth it. We now live life 15 minutes at a time and that is a beauty and a beast. Right now we do it because of physical reasons, but we pray that this is the way we remain when this is over. By living 15 minutes at a time you take it all in, the good and the bad, we feel our time and not just let it go by now.

This is not the worst thing that could be happening, although it does rank up there on the scale. Let's all make this experience be a permanent change in how we approach life. Take the time today to tell the people in your life that you love them, don't get in a rush to move on to the next task, and be thankful for the blessings that you have and not bemoan the things that you feel are missing. If everyone does this than it takes cancers power away and gives this whole mess some real purpose.

Thanks to all of the snow and ice we started getting some water leaking through our picture window. Any other time this would have been a big deal, now we just say put a towel down. So all of you "put a towel down" over the things that seem like big deals and put things back in perspective.

God Bless

p.s. The picture is of the best sundae ever. We enjoyed this on our anniversary cruise while at downtown Disney. It is one of those things that we will forever think back on and count as one of our blessings. It was 15 minutes of shared bliss with my wife that I would not give back for the world.

one more day...

Zabrina had a procedure done today, she is recovering this evening. Last night we had a bringing it to Jesus in prayer meeting. Tiffany, Kristen, Mona, Zabrina, Jeff and I poured out our hearts to God. First, we talked and laughed a lot which was amazingly good medicine. Kristen's story about buying her son a Jesus statue from the dollar store and Tiffany saying "I thought Jesus was free to us, I did not know he cost a dollar".
As we held hands and prayed, I realized the power of a circle of those who call on the name of the Lord.
So, as we moved through the events for Zabrina today, I envisioned the numerous prayers that surrounded us.
again thank you for your prayers

FYI
Zabrina's next treatment will be next Monday 2.2.09
The treatment was moved back a week because of today procedure

THIS IS A LOT

With each passing day of this journey for Zabrina, I become more acutely aware of how much she is in a fight for her life. Cancer/chemo continues to test her physically and mentally in ways I could never have imagined. I know you all are praying and I know God is and will continue to hear and answer the many prayers.
I am with Bri a lot and I find this so hard to comprehend. It would seem because we know the next treatment is the last one of the "really tough ones" should help ~ but honestly, it does not. Zabrina said, it is like she has been shot with a gun three times and has to be shot one more time. Friday we go to the radiation oncologist which will be an appointment where we are going to receive a lot of information to digest.
I think only four months of treatment but honestly watching Bri get through 15 minutes of all that chemo has left her with and without makes 4 months seem almost unachievable. But I know we have to go forward.
When you pray for Bri
Pray that He heals her spirtually, mentally and physically. Because I know when she is in a good place spirutally her mental and physical well being will follow.

Round three

Sorry there hasn't been an update for a while but there was nothing really remarkable until Monday. Monday started at midnight for us, as most days do begin at midnight this is not remarkable except that we were awake. Some of you have had the pleasure of meeting my best friend (dog) Maximus. Well he had been sick for a couple months and was being treated with no real results. Long story short he made a turn for the worse and was sick all night until I had to make a decision about 6am. Zabrina and I drove to my vet and the decision was made to put him down. It appeared he was in quite a bit of pain and discomfort so we gave him the best gift we could, a painless sleep. My mom was able to meet us at the vet and the staff there were very accomodating of our situation. Lot's of tears shed and I'm hurting pretty bad about now, we really miss him. We still have Bravo and those of you who have met him know that's of little comfort:) He's a bit of a nerotic freak.
After that ordeal it was back to my mom's house for a quick regrouping before heading off to round three. Everything went as planned and we had a nice talk with our social worker Jamie. She is very pleasant and helpful and as of next weekend off the market. We caught her when she slipped up and mentioned a fiance' and completely turned the tables on her. She will be a great asset as we progress through the next phases.
We met with the great Dr. Friedman again and he was positve as usuall. He is consulting with the Radiation Oncologist and Surgen to get the surgery ball rolling.
The wife is resting and recovering well, the fatigue is strong but the nausea is pretty light.
Sorry I can't muster much more for you all now, been a rough week and the details are kind of blurry.

Thank you all again for the prayers and to the sponsors for the care packages we really get a lift from them.

A Lump A Bump Don't Worry Just Hurry

Today Zabrina and Jeff went to her school, Zabrina wrote a book to read to her class to help them understand why Mrs. Lee is not their teacher right now.
Early after the diagnoses, a night when sleep would not come, Zabrina formed "her story" about the process from the lump to chemo to the cure with lots of prayer. The words came to Bri and the next morning she wrote them down.

Zabrina is still in the nadir (low white blood cell count)
So Jeff had the idea of rather than Zabrina wearing the mask, have her students wear the mask. Jeff wore scrubs, had the children wash their hands with purell, put on their mask (because they are going to be the doctors that help Bri get well).
Zabrina likes to say, Jeff was her opening act.
He warmed up the crowd very well!
Zabrina was not sure if she would make it through reading this part of her life that is unfolding for her day by day without crying ~ she did.
Zabrina then said, they could ask her any questions they wanted to about the book or they could ask what she got for Christmas. There were some questions about what they had just learned but then they wanted to know what she got for Christmas and wanted to tell Mrs. Lee what they had got.

Another day to say God is Good
God gave Bri the words for the book
He gave her an amazing husband that complimented the reading of
A Lump A Bump Dont Worry Just Hurry
He gave her the energy to go to school and share with her children

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!

Well an update for you all. We had an appointment with the oncologist today, the great Dr. Friedman. We were a little apprehensive and really not trying to predict what he would say, this was the first follow up with him since the treatment began. We began with a idle chit chat and then discussed some of the "little" stuff like constipation and prescriptions. That all went well and then he performed his exam on my Bride.

He palpated her left breast like he was playing a piano and then a look came over his face. It was a look we have seen before, you know the look, it's the kind that could go either way. That "huh" didn't expect to find that kind of face. Then he looked at Suzanne and I and said "Guys, this is amazing". The rest I cannot directly quote him on but it went something to the effect of I CAN'T EVEN FEEL ANYTHING. He said what he was feeling was remarkable. At this point shock of a different kind set in, the good kind, similar symptoms but good. The discussion then turned to our next course of action.

At this point lumpectomy is back on the table as an option, this was not even a thought at our first meeting. This news also means that we have bought time, the time to discuss everything with the surgeon and the radiation oncologist to determine the best type of surgery and treatment. In the meantime we are still doing the chemo until we have all the info we need. She will be getting the remaining 6 treatments it's just a matter of what order we do it in. The first four rounds of chemo are the worst part of all of this, the second 4 are a different kind and have different less potent side effects. Our doctor even makes math sound good. Today he said " You're half way through the hardest part".

The fight is far from over, we are not "cancer free", but we are in a great place considering the only other options we could have heard today where "it's the same" or "it's getting bigger". The past 3 days have been particularly tough and we have really been feeling the battle. Yesterday Zabrina and I came to a little breaking point, and today our prayers have been answered. We remain cautiously optimistic while we let this new news set in. We even had to ask the doctor if we were allowed to be excited about this, he reassured us that we were.

So a big PRAISE GOD and big THANK YOU to all of you. Keep up the good work.

Prayer Page

It has been suggested and agreed that we should have a separate page just for prayers and well wishes so not to muddy the page. So here it is, please feel free to post a scripture, prayer, or just a "thinking of you".

Winner of Five Rounds ~ Zabrina

Nicole Johnson performs drama at the women of faith conferences. One of her skits was about breast cancer. One of the lines in the skit is, I may have cancer but cancer does not have me. Seeing my daughter take control and decide to have her hair buzzed makes her winner of round 5
Round 1 Finding out she had cancer ~ still standing
Round 2 Three days of medical testing completed
Round 3 Completing her first treatment
Round 4 Completing her second treatment
Round 5 Deciding to buzz her hair

In the video Nicole talks about being angry ~ Bri has not been angry, she just repeats the doctors all saying "we don't see cancer in 30 years olds ~
you are too young"

Thank you for your prayers ~ God hears and answers
Continue to pray for Zabrina and Jeff
Sunday Bri's white blood cell count will be low for a week so pray for God's protection for her immune system.
Pray for her as she see her oncologist tomorrow (an amazing part of her team)

Oh, if you would like to watch Nicole's video the link is freshbrewedlife.com
(scroll down ~ Nicole is in a boxing ring)

Taking some of my power back!

Taking some of my power back!

It was Saturday morning as I showered that my hair started falling out in clumps in my hands. I spent the next few days trying to clean the mess that was left with every move I made. Well Thursday morning, a dear friend came over and helped me take some of my power back. I thought to myself in these terms, I can let it happen or I can make a choice for myself. Now the next morning, I had quite the comedic act going with my new buzzed look. Such things as “who authorized this hair do?” And “Do not let me go to that Best Cuts on Vine St. ever again!” Along with a few verses from Sinead O'Connor hit songs. All in all, I think it does not look to bad. I am not sure it is the look I have always wanted, but it is not the worst. I told my mom at this point my only choice is to grow it out.
Thanks for the prayers! I am here to tell you they are working!
God's word is perfect and always right on time
This is my verse for today :
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

The Giving Tree

I would like to put together a "symbolic reminder" of your prayers and words of encouragement for Zabrina and her family. I am not sure what it will look like... maybe a Tree with your words of encouragement hanging on note cards (like apples) from the branches. I will work on thinking of some creative display.

Anyway, please email me any short notes, scripture versus, and/or prayers for Zabrina or her family that you would like to include.  Please keep them relatively short (1 paragraph max), however, you can have more than one little note or prayer... just number each little "tidbit" you want me to include, so that I know how to separate them. Make sure you sign your name, so I know who it is coming from. 

  My email address is thesarahj34@juno.com.

Also, if you are interested in sponsoring a treatment (ie: putting together a gift bag for Zabrina to open at one of her treatments), please let me know. I also have a number of gift ideas, so I can help you if you like. Some of my gift ideas are a little pricey, so you can also let me know if you want to "go in on a bigger gift" with some others. 

Finally, as you continue to pray for Zabrina and the Davlin/Lee's, it would be great if you could pray specifically for:

1) Protection for Zabrina as she endures the hardships of chemotherapy

2) Strength for her family, as they hold her hand through this process.