Party of Five

Monday, December 26, 2022

Alena Turns 13!

We have a teenager! Thirteen years ago, we were welcoming you into the world and now we are watching you grow up. Every day, you make us prouder and prouder to be your parents. You have become such a beautiful, intelligent, goofy thirteen-year-old. You remain humble in your sports, even though you are usually the strongest player on the field/court. You continue to do select soccer, (North Polk United), volleyball, basketball and softball (off and on). We love watching you compete in middle school sports with your friends. You plan to do WG volleyball, basketball, track and softball. This winter/Spring you will play club volleyball with Ignit. You have such an amazing group of friends: You always lift each other up and have each other's back, which is so important as you navigate through life. Your friends would describe you as loyal, funny, easy going and smart.

We knew you would be athletic but I am still in awe at times watching you. For the conference cross country meet, they asked a few volleyball players to run as there were not enough girls to make a team. You went to one practice and ran twice out in our neighborhood to prepare for it. You ended up finishing 8th overall with one of the fastest times in WG history and was the first 7th grader to finish. Simply amazing!

To celebrate you turning 13, we ventured to San Diego with your good friend Claire, and her mom, Shelly. We had such an amazing time exploring the city, relaxing on the beach, visiting the San Diego Zoo, and kayaking in the ocean.

For your birthday party we created a live clue game and all your friends dressed up in character! It was a fun night!

I have had to look up to you for the last couple years and although you may not like being tall, one day you will realize the benefits of it. Everyone is jealous of your beautiful long legs! You now wear a size 10 shoe and I think your feet are done growing, so I'm more willing to spend money on nice shoes. Your picky eating habits haven't changed much but some days you surprise us and are willing to try new things.

We know your next trip around the sun will be amazing! We can't wait to watch you continue to grow into the beautiful, respectful, hilarious person you are. You can do anything you put your mind and energy into.

What is your favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite toy? Lauren's hover board

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

What is your favorite movie? Animated Grinch

What is your favorite TV show? Dance Moms

What is your favorite thing to wear? Leggins and sweatshirts

What is your favorite animal? Beluga Whale

What is your favorite song? You Belong With Me-Taylor Swift

What is your favorite book? To All the Boys I Loved Before

Who is your favorite friend? Kendyl Hansen and Claire Modracek

What is your favorite snack? Granola bars

What is your favorite drink? Sprite

What is your favorite breakfast food? Pancakes

What is your favorite dinner? Cheeseburgers

What is your favorite place to go? Vacation

What is your favorite game? Clue

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play volleyball

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you sleep with? Eeyore, Squishmallow, weighted blanket, other stuffies and holiday blankets

What do you want to be when you grow up? Pediatric Ophthalmologist

Friday, December 23, 2022

Twins Turn 10!

It is very hard to believe that Lauren and Caleb are now in double digits. The time is flying by and I am so sad about it because I am loving the ages of my kids right now. They still want to spend time with mom and dad, their minds are still advancing, and they are full of questions.

Lauren:

You had a busy year with activities. You participated in softball in the fall and Spring, basketball, gymnastics and dance, (hip hop and lyrical). You also did run club spring and fall. You have really enjoyed running and I think Cross Country may be your thing come middle school. At the last second you also decided to try soccer for the first time since you were 5, and you played with 4th and 5th graders from WG.

We love your enthusiasm in the morning and know that you are tired or not in a bad mood if you are not happy in the morning. You don't like silence so fill any silence with talking or asking questions. Your friends (and their parents) would describe you as silly, funny and loyal. A friend's mom recently told me after you spent some time at her house, "Lauren is hilarious!" You have brought laughter to us this year in a time when we really needed it. You are also my emotional one, and the events of this last year have been hard for you to understand but we appreciate your honesty and questions. You have no filter and tell us everything you are feeling which we are so grateful for.

I feel like you only grow upwards. You can still fit in clothes you wore a couple years ago, except for pants which have gotten too short. You are gaining muscle mass through gymnastics and we love your dimpled smile.

We decided to do a birthday party at home this year. You invited 6 friends over and spent the evening doing tie dye, sitting in the hot tub, playing Among Us, and playing the saran wrap game. It was loud but fun!

We can't wait to see what this next year brings for you. We love watching you compete, (you will be doing competitive gymnastics), this year. Thank you for making us laugh, keeping us grounded and reminding us to enjoy life to it's fullest.

Birthday Questions:

What is your favorite color? Teal

What is your favorite toy? Hover Board
What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple

What is your favorite movie? Jumanji
What is your favorite TV show? KC Undercover
What is your favorite thing to wear? Sweatshirts
What is your favorite animal? Squirrels
What is your favorite song? Unstoppable
What is your favorite book? Finding Gobi
Who is your favorite friend? Jules Modracek
What is your favorite snack? Apple
What is your favorite drink? Propel
What is your favorite breakfast food? Crepes
What is your favorite dinner? Bacon
What is your favorite place to go? Sky Zone
What is your favorite game? Cards
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Jump on trampoline
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What do you sleep with? Squishmallows and Zebe

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Veterinarian

Caleb:

If anyone has a conversation with you, they would think you are older than you are. Besides being the tallest in your class, you are incredibly smart. We love your intelligence and hope you continue to embrace it. You and dad can talk about sports all day long and you love any statistics regarding sports. We should have built a gym in our house as you would use is all the time. You are outside rain, shine, or snow, shooting baskets. Depending what season it is, you will spend any free time focusing on that sport, throwing the baseball or football around or shooting baskets with your sisters.

You are naturally talented in every sport you do but we hope you remember that hard work is needed as well to excel in these sports, and it's always important to continue working on good sportsmanship. You are in ELP for math and are starting to enjoy reading more. You would prefer to read every sports book with statistics but are willing to branch out a bit recently.

You love your dog so much and snuggle with him lying on the floor every morning. As before, you continue to have quite the appetite and love to snack after school. Unfortunately, whenever you are sick, you tend to be sick for days and take longer to recover when compared to your sisters. You are a trooper when we travel with the Modracek's and we all enjoyed a spring break trip to Nashville and Gatlinburg together.

We can't wait to see what the next year brings you and are excited to watch you compete in all your activities. This year you did flag football and select soccer (DCG). You continue to play basketball with your WG friends and will play on a AAA baseball team through Johnston.

Birthday Questions:

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite toy?  Basketball
What is your favorite fruit?   Applesauce
What is your favorite movie? Animated Grinch
What is your favorite TV show? None
What is your favorite thing to wear? Jerseys
What is your favorite animal? Lion
What is your favorite song? Shooting Star by Owl City
What is your favorite book? None
Who is your favorite friend? Kellen Velky
What is your favorite snack? Protein bar
What is your favorite drink?  Rootbeer
What is your favorite breakfast food? Doughnuts
What is your favorite dinner? Cheeseburger
What is your favorite place to go? Sports Event
What is your favorite game? Dominoes
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play basketball
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What do you sleep with? Blanket

What do you want to be when you grow up? Basketball Player

Friday, March 18, 2022

Appointments, appointments, appointments…

The following week was a whirlwind. I had an appointment with the general surgeon, Dr. Hamling, plastic surgeon, Dr. Lekkas, and genetic counselor. I also had a breast MRI to assure there were no concerning areas of the left breast. I remember one day having 2 appointments and a blood draw and thinking, “this is going to be my life from here on out.” It’s amazing how overnight your health can change. You go from seeing your OBGYN for your annual appointment and physical to receiving a diagnosis that will forever haunt your medical history. Thank goodness I had decent life insurance and disability insurance prior to receiving this diagnosis.

I immediately started researching treatment options for DCIS and after meeting with Dr. Hamling, he helped guide me on the best treatment options. There were really 3 options: 1. A lumpectomy, followed by radiation and Tamoxifen for 5 years, 2. Single mastectomy, followed by Tamoxifen for 5 years, or 3. Double mastectomy plus Tamoxifen for 5 years.

Breast cancer has always scared me. I have had too many patients and known acquaintances who have had recurrent breast cancer down the road. I felt a need to be aggressive, yet also understood the risk I was taking by being more aggressive. I wanted to avoid radiation as well for a couple reasons: Reconstruction after radiation is very difficult; you can only have radiation once so wanted to avoid it as long as possible; and d/t concerns about damage to my skin from the process. Once I leaned my breast MRI showed my left breast was healthy and that my genetic testing was negative, I felt a single mastectomy was the way to go. I just wanted to assure I got rid of all the cancer. However, I felt a double mastectomy was overkill and would be even harder to recover from. Surgery date was set for 3/21. We enjoyed a spring break get a way to Nashville and Gatlinburg with friends before the big day. It was the perfect distraction.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

D Day

We all have certain dates we will never forget. Whether that day is significant because of a birthday, anniversary, worldly event or something else, every year when that date comes around it produces some visceral response. Joy, sadness, anxiety, fear, memories of that day from years ago. I’ve always been a numbers person and certain dates are more “pleasing” to me than others: 11/11, 2/22, 10/5, 9/16, 8/13 are all important numbers to me. 10 years ago, 9/6 became Justin’s diagnosis day. It’s hard to not remember exactly where I was and how I felt when we heard his devastating news. More recently, 2/20 became a memorable day as this was the day I held my father’s hand as he took his last breath.

I received perhaps the most shocking news 2/25/2022. My D day. The day I received a phone call stating that I have breast cancer. I went on 2/14 for my annual mammogram. I had zero symptoms or concerns but I believe in regular health maintenance screening and had recently seen my OBGYN for my annual exam. She reminded me I would be due for my mammogram in February and encouraged me to schedule it. So I did. I am so glad I didn’t decide to skip this year. I reviewed the report later in the day on the 14th. I knew what I was reading was concerning but I didn’t let it ruin the twins’ Valentines Day party I was planning to attend that afternoon. I kept this news to myself for a couple days before sharing with Justin. I didn’t think it was necessary to provoke worry if it isn’t necessary. Unfortunately, mammograms have gotten a bad rap for false positive results. Causing anxiety to numerous women every year as they wait for follow up testing, only to find out everything is ok. This was in the back of my mind the entire time, however having the medical knowledge I have, I knew a “cluster of calcifications” in a pre-menopausal woman was not normal.

The following Wednesday I had a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound which confirmed the concerning area. The following day I was set up for a biopsy. The radiologist took 5 biopsies of the area to assure we got a good sample. By the time the biopsy came, I was having a bit more anxiety about the possible diagnosis. I was told I would receive a call the next day, early in the afternoon. The anxiety of waiting brought back so many memories of when Justin was diagnosed and we were waiting for the results of his PET scan. Similar to that time, we only had each other for support. Friday I had clinic patients to see all morning. Every time my phone rang, my heart rate would elevate and the anxiety would set in. Shortly after seeing all my morning patients I was finishing up some charting when I received the call. I stepped into an exam room and waited for the radiologist to tell me the news.

She said the biopsy confirmed that I do have breast cancer, more specifically ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). From my research, this was the most likely diagnosis I would receive if it wasn’t benign. I also knew that this is very treatable if caught early and I was hopeful I had caught this early. The next moments were quite a blur. I remember throwing my phone on the ground and crying. I composed myself as well asI could and left the office, driving to the gym, my brief escape from what was happening. I called Justin on the way to share the news before relieving some stress working out.

It’s hard to know how to react when you receive unexpected news. I’ve had daydreams in the past about being diagnosed with cancer and I remember thinking that Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” would be my go to mantra. Never did I think this nightmare would actually occur. The next few days, so many emotions went through me: shock, anger, sadness, denial. I remember asking Justin when I got home that day if I had actually called him and told him I had breast cancer. It was still hard to believe.

A new date has been added to my list of significant dates. I would love to forget about this one all together, but I am looking ahead to passing it by every year, still being in remission.

Friday, October 15, 2021

Alena-12 years old

Alena Jane is turning 12. The last year before those teenage years. I am going to predict that your teenage years will not be all that horrible. You are such a sweet, loving girl that I find it hard you will stray much from that.

Over this last year you have obtained braces. After having 4 teeth pulled, your braces were placed this past March. It was amazing how much your teeth moved even in those first couple weeks. I am hopeful you won't need a full 2 years of braces as we are already in the "fine tuning" phase. You adjusted well and followed the no popcorn/gummy candy rule for a while but lately have dabbled into those gummies again...

Last spring was also a crazy time as you were actually involved in 4 sports at one time: softball, volleyball, basketball and soccer. It was not intended to be this crazy but we sort of overcommitted. Thankfully that craziness only lasted a few weeks. You love all these sports and having to choose between them is very difficult. You continue to excel at all of them as well. You have become a fabulous basketball player, to add to your soccer and softball skills. I am most impressed with how much you have improved in volleyball. We decided to pass on club volleyball this year (except with Woodward Granger) but you tried out and made two local teams. I think this is your sport.

We love watching your friendships grow. You have a sweet, group of friends who have similar likes and personalities. I love that our small school will allow all of you to remain together from 6th grade to 12th. You are your goofy, outgoing self around these friends and it is refreshing to see.

Alena, you are so special to us. I look at you daily and am in awe of the person you are becoming. I now look up to you as you have outgrown me. You are more mature than most 12 year olds, are incredibly intelligent, and a naturally gifted athlete. Along with being a responsible daughter, a loving sister, and a great Parker hugger, you are beautiful inside and out. Happy 12th Birthday!