Erin’s Battle Against Breast Cancer

On May 1st Erin was admitted to Covenant because her marker numbers came back really high.. which then led to a PET scan and a CT scan. Immediately after her  CT scan, the radiologist called and said they needed to get her into the hospital. Her breast cancer has spread to her brain, bones, liver, and lungs. Since then Erin has gone through two major surgeries ; the first was to remove her tissue expanders in her breast so that she could receive an MRI , and then she had brain surgery to remove the tumor on her frontal lobe. Iv sat here and typed and deleted for sometime now  trying to explain everything that Erin has gone through , but no one can do that better than Erin ! So here Is an update from the WARRIOR herself ...

I just want to get this one update out of the way swiftly and thoroughly and then focus on nothing but the positives from here on out! Lol! The healing process is ugly. I’m bruised from head to toe, I hurt, and I have the worst haircut I’ve ever had in my life but all of that is just temporary and all of these scars and bruises are reminders of how hard my body has fought over these last couple of weeks. If I’m being completely honest, I still don’t feel like I’ve wrapped my brain around everything. When you’re thrown into a situation like this so quickly and abruptly, it’s kind of an out of body experience. You’re there, going through the motions.. but nothing is actually sinking in. I suppose for a person like myself though that’s probably best. God is steering the boat and I am simply just His passenger. There are so many doctors, surgeons, nurses, and I don’t even know who else that swooped in on my case quickly and effectively with such grace and brilliance. It truly took an army. My trust or faith was never once tested. It’s pretty miraculous honestly how much that hospital stay improved my quality of life. When I was admitted, I was having such excruciating headaches, I was vomiting up everything I tried to eat or drink, and I was beginning to lose my ability to walk on my own. The tumor in my brain was starting to cause a shift on my center line, and all of those symptoms were a direct result of just that. Now I’m eating like a linebacker, the headaches have subsided (I just have post surgery pain now), and I’m quickly regaining my strength. I get a little more winded doing simple tasks like brushing my teeth or bathing, and it’s going to be a little while before I can lift sage again.. but I already feel so much better. I may not look like it- but I can definitely feel it. The physical therapists have been really pleased with my progress so far, and my sweet husband is always there to make sure he could catch me if I were to fall. It’s kind of disappointing to have to accept that the cancer didn’t rid itself of my body, but I also understand that’s why we have these check ups so frequently. Check ups are SO IMPORTANT. One blood test is what got us here. I walked into my appointment that day with my head held high, completely oblivious. It was kind of wild how everything happened. I was having headaches already, but I had no idea it was related to my breast cancer!? No body did. There was no way to tell just by looking at the outside of my body. That’s what’s so wicked and frustrating about cancer and all of these other internal diseases. No body has x ray vision. Thank God technology and modern medicine has advanced the way that it has- time is truly precious and of the essence. But it’s still just so unpredictable and no one has any way of knowing what the future will look like for each individual person. I may never understand in this life and on this Earth why all of this is happening, but I’m just so grateful that so many people are helping me fight this fight. I refuse to dwell on how “unfair” all of this is. It’s too hard to try and understand “why” all of this is happening. I don’t want to exhaust myself trying to understand it. It wouldn’t matter, it doesn’t change anything. What does matter is that I feel so loved. So incredibly beyond loved and care for. I get overwhelmed when I try to think about all of the different ways people have sent their love and how thankful we are for all of it. If you have done something for us recently, and you haven’t heard from us personally yet, please know it hasn’t gone unnoticed. There are probably still so many questions to be answered and so many conversations to be had, but this is where I’m going to leave it for today. My sweet girl just got here and I am about to snuggle her with as much love as she will let me. Thank you all for the constant love, prayers, support, and kindness. We have such an amazing tribe