My mom will be having a surgical biopsy next Wednesday, October 29th.

We do not know the time yet, but she will be staying over night, and the recovery time is about two weeks.

My mom has asked that I not make the trip back (it is a fourteen hour drive).  My father and sister will be there to help out.

Please keep her and my family in your prayers.  Thanks

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 can organic chickpeas
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup olive oil (this can be omitted)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cold water
• paprika for sprinkling

Directions

1. Start a food processor (blender can work as well, but it won’t come out as creamy).
2. Add the garlic cloves first.
3. Then add the chickpeas and tahini.
4. Add lemon juice and oil, if using.
5. Add the spices- this isn’t a science. You can really add how ever much you want of the cumin and cayenne pepper, but don’t put too much salt.
6. Using the chickpea can, slowly add water until the consistency is what you want.
7. Process until very smooth.
8. Taste it to make sure that it doesn’t need anything else.
9. Serve sprinkled with paprika

I usually double or triple this recipe, and I don’t usually make it with the oil. I will add the oil to the top of the hummus before sprinkling the cayenne.

I like my hummus very smooth with a little kick. If you like yours chunkier, process it for less time. If you don’t want the “kick”, only use one garlic clove and omit the cayenne paper and, possibly but not necessarily, the cumin.

We still don’t know what is going on with my mom.

It seems, though, that the surgeon is now leaning towards doing the biopsy with a needle, like last time.  However, they will put my mom under anethesia this time.

I’ll let you know when the decision is made and when the biopsy will be.

I found a few great links to websites where you can send Orthodox e-cards:

• All-Merciful Savior Monastery
• Orama World
• Religious Mall
• Iconograms

Here are some details about what happened today with my mom’s procedure:

• My mom was prepped and ready for the procedure when she noticed that the IV administering the numbing medication was leaving.  She told the resident; and that person fixed that problem.
• She was awake the for entire procedure and was aware of everything that was going on.
• When her BP went down, the doctors asked if she was feeling ok, and she said that she was.
• Her BP was 50/37!
• She was also bleeding a lot.  With the combination of the dropping BP and bleeding, the procedure was stopped.  The doctor wasn’t able to get any samples.

• The surgeon and doctor considered trying to go in from a different angle, but it would have put her in extreme pain and he would have had to go through twice as much bone to get to the location.
• The surgeon will be doing surgery to obtain a sample of her bone and bone marrow.
• My mom meets with the doctor on Thursday.

Obviously, everyone (especially my mom) is feeling frustrated and discouraged.  Please pray a prayer that my mother’s spirits would be uplifted; I can only imagine how frustrated she must be feeling right now.  She is not looking forward to surgery, but knows that this is the best option.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. Sorry that my blog is lacking right now.  I’ll try to get some other posts up within the next few days.  Thanks.

They got about halfway through the biopsy procedure when my mom’s blood pressure went very low.  She was also bleeding too much; so the surgeon decidely to immediately stop the procedure.  My mom is now in recovery for the greater part of the afternoon.

The surgeon will be speaking with her doctor to determine what they will do next.  He will either try to the procedure again on a later date or do a more invasive surgery.

Please pray for him my as she heals from this procedure.  Thank you.

I had a horrible dream last night.

My whole family (grandparents included) were at the beach and my mom was having her biopsy done in the water.  It was terrible.  She was screaming and there was nothing that would could do.  I woke up feeling distraught and helpless.

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

But am really struggling with this right now.  When I am not worrying, I am distracting myself with something- usually not something that needs to be done, but something that keeps my mind from thinking too much.

I would really appreciate prayers right now.  Thank you, Mimi, for the beautiful card.  You brightened my day!

“Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes. Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices.” ~ St. Teresa

On Monday morning at 10:30 my mom will be having a biopsy done of her hip bone and the marrow in the bone.

For those of you who do not know, my mom has been having severe pain in her hip for several months now. To play it safe, the doctor had an MRI done. That is how they found the tumor. She has had xrays, a full body scan, MRI and CAT scans done over the course of the last month.

At one point, the bonescan showed that there might have been other affected areas, but, thankfully, those areas were not tumors. However, the tumor is IN the bone and the doctor told her that is is non-operable, but we aren’t sure what that means at this point. That is why they must do the biopsy to determine exactly what the tumor is. It may possibly be a benign tumor, an infectious process in the bone or a malignant tumor.

Please pray that this is a benign tumor. Also pray for my mother and the pain that she will be facing on Monday and the following days. Thank you.

OurLittleMonkeys

I gave in and started another blog.  This one is bascially a combination blog of everything from my family blogs, my Orthodox blog and the other things that interest me.  I am still going to keep up with Akathistos and focus more on my faith, things that are important to me, stories about my family, and fun things like memes and quizzes.

Please check it out!

Sarah asked for everyone to share their favorite fall recipes. Here is one of mine:

Favorite Autumn Pumpkin Bread Recipe