Stress and Friendly Distractions

Well, it seems the Miller Family is not out of the medical woods yet. Derek will have surgery this Wednesday to remove a growth in his colon. Unfortunately, the mass, which is about an inch in diameter, could not be safely biopsied to tell if it is cancerous or not. So, the best option is surgery to remove it and the surrounding tissue. It will be tough on our family as Derek will be hospitalized for a week as he heals from surgery and will need a further 2-3 week recovery period at home afterwards. However, Derek's parents are coming out which will be a big help. We also have support from our many friends here in Bartlesville. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends who have gotten us through all of the challenges during this past year (it really has been a crazy time since about last March!!!!). Case in point, our friends the Hammon's had us over to their house on Saturday to swim, eat BBQ, and have a small belated birthday celebration for my 34th. Tracy took a nice photo of our family as well as a cute shot of me blowing out brownie cake candles. Zach's expression is just priceless! (I stole the pics from her blog! Thanks Tracy!!!!). We had a great time and were able to set aside our troubles for a few hours. Please keep Derek in your thoughts this week. I will try to periodically post updates on his progress as the week goes forward.